Youth Drama Theater

Founded in 1982 as a folk theater under the direction of Yuri Alekseevich T-Sen .

In the theater, the “ Marriage ” by N. Gogol , the “Self-denying Hare” by M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin , the “Beggar” by V. Kataev , “The Awakening” by S. Chukhantsev, and “The Hunt for Rats” by P. Turrini were staged . The work of the theater was highly appreciated at the All-Russian Theater Conference in Moscow.

1985 - The theater was transformed into the state self-supporting theater.

1989 - became the studio theater "Experiment". It consisted of the national amateur theater, a model TYUZ and a preparatory group of the TYUZ. Both groups were winners of the regional festival of All-Russian folk art. On the basis of the theater held a seminar of amateur theaters of the Volga region.

1991 - "Experiment" participated in the III All-Union festival of folk art.

In February 1992, the studio theater was transformed into the professional municipal theater of the young spectator “Experiment”. In May 1992, the theater became the laureate of the International Theater Festival in Germany with the play "Marriage" by the play of N. V. Gogol ^[1] .

In September 1992, the theater moved to the former recreation center of the Rechnikov Togliatti shipyard in the village of Shluzov . The opening ceremony took place on November 6, 1992 with the play “The Hunt for Rats” based on the play by the Austrian playwright P. Turinni. The opening ceremony was attended by Rolan Bykov, Elena Sanaeva, Vsevolod Sanayev, Alla Larionova, Valentina Telichkina, Tamara Semina and other theatrical figures of the country. The opening of the Theater of the Young Spectator was reported both by central television and Russian radio ^[2] .

With time and a change of generations, the earlier history of the theater was completely forgotten. 1992 began to be considered the year of its creation, only in 2017, on the basis of publications of the city archive employees, historical justice was restored.

In June 1998, Dmitry Viktorovich Kvashko became the new director of the theater. With his arrival, the theater team was completely updated;

From February 2000 - the theater moved to the building of the former cinema "October", starting in September of the same year, opening a new theatrical season on a new stage. In March 2005, there were changes in the management of the theater, Dmitry Kvashko moved to the position of chief director, and Vladimir Lukich Korennaya became director of the theater.

On November 1, 2015, in Tolyatti, within the framework of the mini-festival “Vadim Levanov’s Day in Tolyatti”, a grand opening of a memorial plaque dedicated to Vadim Levanov was held on the building of the Youth Drama Theater (65 Chaykina St.). In the building of the theater, with which the playwright for about ten years was associated with close creative contacts and friendly relations, a mini-museum was opened, where there are exhibits representing Levanov's creative and social activities - books, posters, programs, photographs, letters, etc.

In 2018 in Tolyatti, an initiative group of citizens offered to assign the name of Vadim Levanov Square, adjacent to the Youth Drama Theater. February 6, 2019 at the next meeting of the Duma Tolyatti this initiative was supported. However, as a result, due to legal nuances, this territory was officially called the “Vadim Levanov Square”. Also in the budget of Togliatti for 2019, the costs for the implementation of design work for the future improvement of the park are provided. It is assumed that the actual work on the "reset" of the square will be performed in 2020-2021.

• Lobanova N. G. The history of the development of theatrical affairs in Stavropol - Tolyatti. - V: Stavropol-Tolyatti Theaters // Bulletin of the Department of Culture of the City Hall of the Togliatti City District: magazine. - 2007.