STUDIO PRACTICE AND SPONTANEITY: A CULTURAL MODEL FOR THEATER ARTIST TRAINING IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Abstract

The purpose of the work is to reveal the cultural foundations of the studio model for theater artist training as an effective mechanism for the formation of “spontaneous directing,” capable of withstanding the algorithmic media environment and military turbulence of the 2020s, and also to show that the theater-studio functions as a space of cultural resistance, where the act of creativity becomes an act of ethical choice. The research aims to build a theoretical model that describes the mechanisms of transforming individual creativity into collective creativity without losing authorial specificity, as well as to identify indicators of studio practice effectiveness in the conditions of mediatized culture of the 21st century.Methodology – interdisciplinary theoretical-analytical synthesis based on cultural hermeneutics, discourse analysis, and comparative-historical method. Key categories are conceptualized through the lens of G. Deleuze and F. Guattari’s concepts (“machines of subjectivation,” “plateau,” “minor art”), correlated with laboratory practices of R. Lepage’s Ex Machina, Zh. Bortnik’s concept of liminal strategies, and the internal dynamics of the Kharkiv studio movement.An additional analytical perspective is provided by the notion of “alternative reality of theater,” considered as a mechanism for transcending the total algorithmization of mass culture.Scientific novelty – introduction of the category “spontaneous directing,” which describes the synergetic ability of a director to instantly combine intuitive decisions with reflexive cultural code, formed specifically in the studio ecosystem; revealing the studio as a resonant network of “plateaus,” where authorial subjectivity is constructed through the interaction of bodily-spiritual practices (hatha yoga, pranayama, meditative techniques), esoteric-philosophical discourse, and polyfunctional work structure, as well as formulation of measurable indicators of studio model effectiveness and clarification of cultural foundations that ensure this dynamics in the conditions of mediatized culture.Conclusions – the studio environment provides a bifurcation field that accelerates the formation of directorial individuality compared to the university educational model; the mechanism of creative selection is carried out through horizontal role distribution and project responsibility, creating compensatory immunity to institutional pressure; inclusive filtering based on the principle of “desire instead of diploma” generates social mobility and increased cultural resonance; spontaneous directing as systemic composition in real time fundamentally differs from traditional improvisation; further research should be directed toward developing a quantitative index of studio effectiveness and adapting the obtained results to standards of higher arts education.