THEATRICAL PRESENTATION
Pages brought to life
14 April 2023 • Petrozavodsk. The practical component of Pavel Kulagin's graduation project: Jack Haris's early story told through drama, music, choreography, video projection and light.
FROM CONCEPT TO DEFENSE
How the novel became a stage production
The story of an original graduation project — from two weeks of script work and the first rehearsals to the premiere and an excellent defense.
Pavel's own project
The presentation was the practical component of Pavel's graduation work at the Karelian College of Culture and Arts named after A. M. Lisitsyna. The idea of basing it on his own novel emerged in his third year. Pavel served as author, screenwriter, stage director, organizer and project lead: adapting the material, assembling the team, assigning roles and bringing the production together.
Lead role and direction
Pavel played Jack Haris and performed two original songs. Combining the lead role with directing was a central challenge, so stand-ins temporarily played Jack whenever he needed to watch rehearsals from the auditorium. Alexey Shalaev monitored the process as the directing instructor, oversaw its professional side and designed the lighting, but did not rebuild scenes or alter Pavel's directing choices.
Connection to the novel
The production focused on Jack Haris's rise, the prologue to the larger story. In 2023 the material formed one chapter of an early draft; in the current edition it spans mainly the first four chapters and selected later fragments. The characters and core ideas remain canonical, while some scenes and portrayals have changed.
From script to premiere
The stage script was written in about two weeks. Rehearsals began on 3 March 2023 and moved from read-throughs to individual scenes and numbers, complete runs with music, lighting and projections. The dress rehearsal took place on 13 April, followed by the practical performance the next day.
Pages brought to life
The production combined dramatic scenes, several periods of Jack's life, Valafar's interaction with the audience, four narrators, a stylized news broadcast, flashbacks and video projections. Acting and music were joined by choreography, live sound, costumes, props, strobe lighting and a smoke machine.
Music
Esaul's As It Must Be, written specifically for the project and tracing Pavel's path toward creative work, opened the performance. Maestro de la vida closed it; part of the audience already knew the song and sang along. The number Criminal was performed by Ekaterina Nevolina and Elizaveta Ievleva, with Egor Kalmykov on guitar.
Team and characters
Twenty-two people took part in the performance and technical work: a theatre group of twenty, one lighting specialist and one sound specialist. Jack Haris, Valafar, Abbas and Lydia Hussein, Eric Hollman, James Naismith and other characters appeared on stage, while four narrators linked the parts of the story.
Principal cast
Pavel Kulagin — Jack Haris; Anton Rudakov — young Jack; Daniil Kolachev — Eric Hollman and Valafar; Artem Bugmyrin — Valafar's stand-in; Daniil Parnekov — Abbas Hussein; Evgenia Lagunova — Lydia Hussein; Egor Kalmykov — James Naismith. Narrators: Artem Bugmyrin, Anastasia Liukkonen, Nikolai Pavlov and Tatiana Sharapova.
Creative and technical team
Alexey Shalaev oversaw the professional side and designed the lighting concept; Tatiana Drapeko supervised the written graduation work; Anna Kartashova staged the choreography. Daria Anisimova operated the lighting during the show, while Elisey Saraev handled sound. Other participants assisted with props and recorded material.
Premiere and defense
The college auditorium, designed for roughly 90 seats, held an estimated 110–120 viewers. Pavel formally defended the project on 19 June 2023, receiving an excellent grade; the commission selected it as one of five graduation projects for special recognition. He received his diploma on 20 June.
VIDEO / FULL RECORDING