Visit by Theater Company a Triumph of <i> Perestroika</i>

For a while, the visiting actors and theater directors from Leningrad answered questions through an interpreter about the differences between Soviet and American theater and whether censorship has become a casualty of perestroika.

Afterward, the Soviets and the Americans who posed all of the questions mingled over wine and a lavish buffet, talking--albeit with translators as intermediaries--the way everybody seems to talk at parties.

When it was over, the thespians from the East and the art patrons from the West had a better understanding of each others’ cultures.

“They’ve come to find out if the stories and dreams about America are true, and also to show you who they are,” said Bill Raiten, director of the New Surrey Theatre in Maine, who sparked the American visit by the 48 Soviets.

The tour began nearly a month ago on the East Coast, reaching the South Bay this week where it will end.

The Soviets were welcomed in Rolling Hills Estates on Wednesday at a reception at the Norris Theatre for the Performing Arts, where they are presenting a Soviet Theatre Festival that includes one-act plays, Russian vaudeville and jazz Soviet-style. The festival runs through Sunday night. The plays are in Russian, with an English synopsis preceding each one.

The performers come from two Leningrad theater companies--the Komedy Theatre and the St. Petersburg Theatre--as well as the Leningrad Dixieland Jazz Club, the Soviet Union’s only club offering American Dixieland and swing.

In the discussion at Wednesday’s reception, the Soviets said actors in their country and Americans share one thing in common: a sense of humor.

Komedy Theatre director Yuri Gubanov said the biggest difference between American and Soviet theater is the repertory system. His company of actors perform 20 plays in rotation during a season, while American theaters typically perform single plays in lengthy runs.

The Soviets saw a long-running play after arriving in New York, prompting Gubanov to remark, “I’m amazed that an actor playing in the same play for so long a period of time is so professional, good and excited every night.”

But while the 60-year-old Komedy Theatre follows a traditional Russian theatrical mode--with a single artistic director often shaping all productions--the 2-year-old St. Petersburg Theatre is doing things differently, said the company’s Eugene Lukoshkov.

Directors from other countries are being used to bring new and different perspectives to his theater. “Casts get used to a director and know what to expect. They lose interest,” he said, describing one of his reasons for departing from the more traditional ways.

On the question of censorship, Gubanov said perestroika put an end to it three years ago. “You can do any play the theater wants,” he said. “It’s even possible for actors and actresses to undress on the stage now.”

This new spirit allowed the Komedy Theatre’s successful production in Leningrad of Bulgakhov’s “Zoykhin’s Apartment,” which was banned for nearly 60 years because of its criticism of the government. Scenes from the play are being done at the Norris.

The Soviet visit germinated from Raiten’s working last year at the Komedy Theatre, where he directed three American plays--in Russian. He was impressed by the actors and the success of the plays. “I said, ‘Why can’t I get you people to come to America?,’ and they said it would never happen because they had no money,” he recalled in an interview.

As it turned out, the actors raised their own money for the trip to America.

In addition, airlines and hotels in the United States have given them discounts, and they have stayed in private homes. The Soviets performed several times in Maine and in New Brunswick, Canada, before arriving in Los Angeles.

The Norris’ Soviet Festival was an act of serendipity.

Raiten, who is directing a coming production of “Fiddler on the Roof,” was looking in the spring for a theater where it could be performed.

The Norris was recommended, and while discussing it with theater Managing Director Peter Lesnik, Raiten mentioned the Soviet tour. Lesnik suggested they play at the Norris, and call it a Soviet Theatre Festival.

“It seemed like something the community would really enjoy,” Lesnik said. “From the geopolitical point of view, it seems like the right time to do it.”

“Fiddler” will play at the Norris Oct. 18 through 21, then travel to Leningrad for six performances between Nov. 24 and Dec. 8.

Although the Soviets talked primarily about theater at the reception, some also shared feelings about their month in the United States. Irina Tsvetkova said she has been impressed by the families she has stayed with. “Americans have open hearts and are open to discuss things,” she said.

Gubanov had an observation that at first seemed focused on Los Angeles, but he applied it to the East Coast as well. The United States, he said, is a hospitable but fast-tempo sort of place where “people seem to live in their cars.”