Mark Kropyvnytsky
Marko Kropyvnytsky (Ukrainian: Марко Лукич Кропивницький, Marko Lukych Kropyvnytsky; May 7, 1840, Bezhbairaky (Kropyvnytske) village (now Kirovograd region) - 21 April 1910) was a Ukrainian writer, dramaturge, theatre actor.
Early years
Marko Kropyvnytsky was born on May 7, 1840 in Bezhbayraky village (now Kropivnitske), Kherson Governorate. His father, Luka, was a "man of labor", achieved prosperity working as the manager in manor estates. Hence, Marko spent his childhood (till he was 14) in Prince Alexis Kantakuzen' estate located in Katerynivka village, where his father worked as manager. Marko received education that did not have any system: he studied at the private school organized by a Polish noble man Rudkovskiy, then at the Elisavetgrad school. Normal training was available only at Bobrynets school, Marko graduated with an appreciation letter. His mother taught him music; at that time Marko participated in amateur theater group, which was setting the pieces of Ukrainian and Russian writers. After he failed to continue his education in Kiev high school, the young man returned to Bobrynets and started working as clerk at the district court (1861—1871).
Creativity start
In 1862 M. Kropivnitskiy attended classes at the Law Faculty of Kiev University as a non-matriculating student. Deeply impressed by a melodrama he saw in Kiev Theatre, he wrote the play Nikita Starostenko. He later criticized this work as it was an attempt by inexperienced author. Now the play is known in the version, that has undergone numerous fundamental revisions. M. Kropivnitskiy had not completed his education for various reasons; yet he constantly complemented to his knowledge independently, especially after he moved to Elisavetgrad, where there was a library. There, he had a chance to get acquainted with Robert Owen, John Stuart Mill, Shakespeare, Byron, Goethe, Heine, Dumas, George Sand, Thackeray and many others. At the government service, he almost got no promotion, and often completely lost his earnings due to his devotion for art and amateur performances.
In 1871 Kropivnitskiy joined the troupe of professional actors, and agreed to work in the company of Count Morkov (Odessa). He gained a great theatrical experience after spending over ten years in the Russian theater troupe; he thoroughly studied the specific rules of theater genre and learned the place of theater in society.
In 1872 the Odessa newspaper Novorossiysk Telegraph published two musical comedies by M.Kropivnitskiy: Reconciled and God will protect an orphan, or Unexpected Proposal.
In 1875 Kropivnitskiy went for tour in Galicia, where he worked as an actor and director of the theater company Russian talk; he has made some effort to change the repertoire and artistic style of the theater in bringing it to the realism and national character.
Creating the Coryphee Theatre
In 1881 the ban for Ukrainian theater was abolished; though there still were many limitations and restrictions, Ukrainian troupes emerged in Kiev, Kharkiv, Odessa. Yet these troupes did not satisfy Marko Kropyvnytsky, who sought for dramatic changes in scenic art. In 1882 he organized his own company, that in about a year merged with the Mykhailo Starytsky troupe, and Marko Kropyvnytsky became a leading director there. A new era in the history of Ukrainian professional theater began. Many famous actors played in Kropivnitskiy' troupe, such as: Maria Zankovetskaya, Mykola Sadovskiy, later M.Sadovska-Barilotti, Panas Saksahanskiy, Ivan Karpenko-Kary.
At the beginning Kropivnitskiy wrote mainly comedy pieces: Reconciled (1869), God will protect an orphan, or Unexpected Proposal (1871), Actor Sinitsa (1871), A revision (1882), Mustache (1885) and others.
Later period
In 1890s Kropivnitskiy called his pieces "pictures" not just once; "pictures of rural movement" ("Konon Blyskavychenko", 1902, "Tough Day", 1906), "pictures of rural life" ("Old bitch and young shoots», 1908) etc.
Even in his later years, forced by worsening health to settle in a farm House, Kropivnitskiy often travelled to participate in theatre performances, he continued writing plays. Kropivnitskiy bothered for organization of a school for farmers and their children, created two plays for children, using folk motifs (Ivasik-Telesyk, On the wave of the wand), and worked on its staging at the farm.
Marko Kropyvnytsky died on 21 April 1910, on his way from Odessa, where he was on tour; he was buried in Kharkiv.