The first troupe of the city theater mainly consisted of serfs of Kursk landowners, which included the future great Russian actor Mikhail Semyonovich Shchepkin.
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«I was born in the Kursk province of the Oboyansky district in the village of Krasnoye, on the Penka River, in 1788, on November 6th,» (November 17th)
Mikhail Shchepkin was born into the family of Semyon Grigoryevich Shchepkin, a serf of Count G.S. Wolkenstein.
In 1805, in mid-November, at the benefit of actress Pelageya Lykova, Mikhail Shchepkin made his debut in the play «Zoya» by J. Mercier in the role of Andrei the postman at the Kursk Theater.
As a serf, Shchepkin served in the Kursk Theater from 1805 to 1816.
Then he served in the troupes of Kharkov, Poltava and other cities of Russia and Ukraine.
The traditions of stage realism laid down by Shchepkin were of great importance for the development of the Russian drama theater.
On September 20, 1822 Shchepkin made his debut in Moscow as Bogatonov in M. N. Zagoskin's comedy «Mr. Bogatonov, or a Provincial in the Capital» and on March 6, 1823 he was enrolled in the troupe of the Moscow Theater (since 1824 — the Small Imperial Theater).
Shchepkin was not only an outstanding actor, he taught at the theater school at the Maly Theater from 1832 to 1863.
M.S. Shchepkin died on August 11 [23], 1863 in Yalta, Taurida province. He was buried at Pyatnitsky Cemetery in Moscow.
«He was a great artist, an artist by vocation and by work. He created the truth on the Russian stage. He was the first to become non-theatrical in the theater»
In 1895, for the first time in Russia, in the town of Sudzha, Kursk province, where Misha Shchepkin lived and studied, a monument to actor M.S. Shchepkin was unveiled. The opening of the monument was attended by artists of the Maly Theater, led by M.N. Ermolova.
In 1911, the Kursk City Theater was named after M.S. Shchepkin (Kherson Street, now Dzerzhinsky). Now there is a concert and creative center «Zvezdny» in this building.
In 1927, the theater staff was transferred to the Ilyich House. Shchepkin's name in the posters was lost forever, but not in the memory of the servants of the theater.
Since 1938, the Higher Theater School (Institute) named after M. S. Shchepkin has been named after M.S. Shchepkin.
«THE THEATER IS A TEMPLE FOR AN ACTOR. THIS IS HIS SANCTUARY!
YOUR LIFE, YOUR HONOR, EVERYTHING IRREVOCABLY BELONGS TO THE STAGE TO WHICH YOU GAVE YOURSELF. YOUR FATE DEPENDS ON THESE STAGES. TREAT THIS TEMPLE WITH RESPECT AND MAKE OTHERS RESPECT IT. PERFORM THE SACRAMENT OR GET OUT!»
For greater immersion, it is recommended to turn on music