Visuomeninio gyvenimo ritualas
The ritual of social life

Summary/Abstract: During the Soviet period of rule Lithuania was often called “the theatre republic”. Data from the 90’s indicates that eleven Lithuanian professional theatres showed more than 4000 performances per year, which were attended by 2 million spectators. Today thirteen state theatres show 2,500 performances and have about 600 thousand spectators. Quantity is not the best indicator for the arts, but as the author assumes, in Soviet times the popularity of theatre arts in Lithuania was based not only on aesthetic factors, but also on the influence of rituals. The Soviet ideology neglected religion, folk holidays, so the theatre remained the only official institution with a high potential for rituals.In theatre, a ritual could be expressed in four spaces: on the stage, in the hall, in the lobby and in the buffet. Comparison of the changes of the ritual in these spaces shows that growth of the accessibility of the theatre and the loss of its “deficit” status contributed to the decline of theatre rituals. The other factor is the expansion of the possibilities of ritual activities after the collapse of the Soviet regime. Such a situation created new possibilities for the Lithuanian theatre: losing so-me ritual background allowed the aesthetic potential to strengthen.

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