Fidan Mamedova: "Theater breaks down language barriers"

National studios are a long tradition, of which Boris Shchukin Theatre Institute ('Shchuka', as it is informally known) is proud. In last year, an Azerbaijani studio in 'Shchuka' was opened under the leadership of Mikhail Borisov. Recently, second-year students of the Azerbaijani studio did an acting technique auditorial test, and the correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza managed to interview some future and already accomplished actors. One of them is a 23-year-old Fidan Mamedova from Baku.

- Fidan, you got to 'Shchuka' from the Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts. Is it difficult - one education after another?

- If you do what you love, it's not difficult. When you enjoy it, it's also a hobby.

- There are a lot of studios in the institute. Why is the Azerbaijani one special?

- We are kind and hospitable. Actually, all the peoples of the Caucasus are like that. I can say that the theater is very popular in Azerbaijan. There are 24 theaters in Baku - people like performances, they love art. Our people likes to sing and dance.

- When did you decide to become an actress?

- They said me at my first audition: "Girl, you will be an actress, and you will be a People's Artist, and from this day you should say: "I have always dreamed of being an actress!" Since that day, I have said that all my life I dreamed of being an actress.

- Do you remember your program for the first audition?

- I had poems by Akhmatova, Pushkin, monologues from Chekhov, Teffi. When you have a program, you choose several authors, preferably classics. Moscow people are very fond of the Silver Age, and it is very much appreciated in the Shchukin Theatre Institute. I tried to keep up with the tastes of the institute and chose the poetry of the Silver Age.

- Do you have a dream?

- There is a myth and a well-known painting by Pieter Bruegel 'The Tower of Babel'. According to a myth, the world's peoples speak the same language, but people started to build a tower to heaven and God made the people speak many different languages, so they couldn't understand each other anymore. Even if there is a language barrier, I want people could understand each other's feelings, understand kindness. We need that in the world now. However, all these feelings can be expressed through the theater and art to unite people.