Forms of Advertising Communication with the Audience Adopted by Russian Theater in the First Half of the 19th Century

Section: History of Journalism

Up until mid-19th century, Russian theater seemed to survive without full-fledged information sources: censorship rigidly limited the publication of anything that was concerned with the Imperial stage; specialized theater periodicals were also few. However, due to a study of early media forms, it becomes clear that even under censorship theater had powerful information levers ensuring prompt and reliable communication with the audience. This communication implies daily oral announcements, playbills distributed among subscribers and information sheets. The article examines early communication forms and traces their influence on further development of theater journalism.

Babintsev S. M. (1959) “Dramaticheskiy vestnik” [Dramaticheskiy Vestnik]. In Kniga. Issledovaniya i materialy: sb. nauchn. trudov. T. 1 [The Book. Investigations and Materials: a Collection of Scientific Works]. Moscow. Pp. 253–266. (In Russian)

Bücher K. (2001) Proiskhozhdenie gazety [The Origin of the Newspaper]. In E. L. Vartanova, Ya. N. Zassursky (eds.) Istoriya pechati. Antologiya v 2 t. T. 2 [The History of the Press. A Reader in 2 vol. Vol. 2]. Moscow: Aspekt Press Publ. (In Russian)

Chernykh A. I. (2013) Media i ritualy [The Media and Rituals]. Moscow: Universitetskaya kniga Publ. (In Russian)

Danilevskiy R. Yu. (1980) Nemetskie zhurnaly S.-Peterburga v 1770–1810 gg. [German Magazines of St. Petersburg in 1770–1810]. In Russkie istochniki dlya istorii zarubezhnykh literatur: sb. issledovaniy i materialov [Russian Sources for the History of Foreign Literatures: a Collection of Investigations and Materials]. Moscow. Pp. 76–78. (In Russian)

Dmitrievskiy V. N. (2007) Teatr i zriteli. Otechestvennyy teatr v sisteme otnosheniy stseny i publiki: ot istokov do nachala XX veka [Theater and Spectators. Russian Theater in the Relationships Between the Stage and the Public: from the Origins to the Early 20th Century]. St. Petersburg: Dmitriy Bulanin Publ. (In Russian)

Esin B. I. (2004) Istoriya russkoy zhurnalistiki (1703–1917). Uchebno-metodicheskiy komplekt [A History of Russian Journalism (1703–1917). A Study Kit]. Moscow: Flinta Publ.; Nauka Publ. (In Russian)

Fomicheva I. D. (2007) Sotsiologiya SMI [Mass Media Sociology]. Moscow: Aspekt Press Publ. (In Russian)

Gromov N. (1976) Reklamnaya funktsiya teatral’nykh afish i plakatov [Advertising Function of Theater Playbills and Posters]. In Ekonomika i organizatsiya teatra: sbornik. Vyp. 4 [Theater Economics and Organization: a Collection, Issue 4]. Leningrad. Pp. 62–65. (In Russian)

Ivanov D. A. (2011) Izdaniya, repertuarnost’, kritika. O mekhanizmakh kanonizatsii v russkoy komedii pervoy treti XIX veka [Publications, Repertoire, Criticism. On the Canonization Mechanisms in Russian Comedies in the First Third of the 19th Century]. In A. A. Kolganova (ed.) Istoriya teatra v arkhivnykh i knizhnykh sobraniyakh: doklady devyatykh Mezhdunarodnykh nauchnykh chteniy “Teatral’anya kniga mezhdu proshlym i budushchim” [Theater History in Archive and Book Collections: Reports at the 9th International Scientific Readings “Theatre Book Between the Past and the Future”]. Moscow: RGBI Publ; Tri kvadrata Publ. Pp. 9–22. (In Russian)

Kiriya I. V., Novikova A. A. (2020) Istoriya i teoriya media [Media History and Theory]. Moscow: Higher School of Economics Publ. (In Russian)

Klepikov S. A. (1978) Filigrani na bumage russkogo proizvodstva XVIII – nachala XX veka [Watermarks on Russian-Made Paper in the 18th – Early 20th Century]. Moscow. (In Russian)

Klochkova Yu. V., Sidorenko L. Yu. (2017) Stanovlenie russkogo teatra: «komediant i publika litsom k litsu» (po memuaram P. A. Karatygina i S. P. Zhikhareva) [The Making of Russian Theatre: “the Comedian and the Public Face to Face” (Based on the Memoirs of P. A. Karatygin and S. P. Zhikharev]. In A. A. Kolganova (ed.) Dokumenty po istorii teatra v knizhnykh i arkhivnykh sobraniyakh: Dvenadtsatye Mezhdunar. nauchnye chteniya “Teatral’naya kniga mezhdu proshlym i budushchim” [Documents on Theatre History in Book and Archive Collections: the 12th International Scientific Readings “Theatre Book Between the Past and the Future”]. Moscow: Russian State Library of Arts Publ. Pp. 69–83. (In Russian)

Korolev D. G. (1999) Ocherki iz istorii izdaniya i rasprostraneniya teatral’noy knigi v Rossii XIX – nachala XX vekov [Essays in the History of Publication and Distribution of Theatre Books in Russia of the 19th – Early 20th Century]. St. Petersburg: RNB Publ. (In Russian)

Kuzicheva A. P. (2006) Teatral’naya kritika rossiyskoy provintsii: 1880–1917: komment. Antologiya [Theatre Criticism of Russian Province: 1880–1917]. Moscow: Nauka Publ. (In Russian)

Lapina K. V. (2008) Teatral’naya afisha v Rossii: opyt istorii ot vozniknoveniya do 20-kh godov XX veka: dis. ... kand. iskusstvovedeniya [Theater Playbill in Russia: Historical Experience from Its Origin to the 1920s: PhD in Art History sci. diss.] Moscow. (In Russian)

Lapshina G. S. (2015) Iskusstvo glazami zhurnalista [Arts As Seen by the Journalist]. Moscow: MSU Faculty of Journalism Publ. (In Russian)

McLuhan M. (2011) Ponimanie media: vneshnie rasshireniya cheloveka [Understanding Media: the Extensions of Man]. Moscow: Kuchkovo pole Publ. (In Russian)

Mechkovskaya N. B. (2009) Istoriya yazyka i istoriya kommunikatsii. Ot klinopisi do Interneta [Language History and Communication History. From Wedge Writing to the Internet]. Moscow: Flinta Publ.; Nauka Publ. (In Russian)

Nazarov M. M. (2010) Massovaya kommunikatsiya i obshchestvo. Vvedenie v teoriyu i issledovaniya [Mass Communication and Society. Introduction to the Theory and Investigations]. Moscow: URSS Publ. (In Russian)

Nekrylova A. F. (1984) Russkie narodnye gorodskie prazdniki, uveseleniya i zrelishcha. Konets XVIII – nachalo XX veka [Russian Folk Urban Festivities, Entertainments and Spectacles]. Leningrad: Iskusstvo Publ. (In Russian)

Petrovskaya I. F. (1971) Istochnikovedenie istorii russkogo dramaticheskogo teatra [Source Study of the History of Russian Drama Theatre]. Leningrad: Iskusstvo Publ. (In Russian)

Salamon L. (2001) Vseobshchaya istoriya pressy [A Universal History of the Press]. In E. L. Vartanova, Ya. N. Zassursky (eds.) Istoriya pechati. Antologiya v 2 t. T. 1 [The History of the Press. A Reader in 2 vol. Vol. 1]. Moscow: Aspekt Press Publ. (In Russian)

Starikova L. M. (1998) Dokumental’nye utochneniya k istorii teatra v Rossii petrovskogo vremeni [Documentary Elaborations to Theatre History in Petrine Russia]. In Pamyatniki kul’tury. Novye otkrytiya. 1997 [Cultural Monuments. New Discoveries. 1997]. Moscow. Pp. 179–190. (In Russian)

Watzlawick P. (2000) Pragmatika chelovecheskikh kommunikatsiy [Pragmaticism of Human Communications]. Moscow: EKSMO Publ. (In Russian)

Zakharov V. V. (1975) Svedeniya o nekotorykh peterburgskikh tipografiyakh [Data on Some Petersburg Printing Houses]. In Kniga. Issledovaniya i materialy: sbornik 26 [The Book. Investigations and Materials: a Collection 26]. Moscow. Pp. 65–79. (In Russian)

Zasursky I. I. (1999) Massmedia Vtoroy respubliki [Mass Media of the Second Republic]. Moscow: Moscow State Univ. Publ. (In Russian)

Zemlyanova L. M. (2004) Kommunikativistika i sredstva informatsii: Anglo-russkiy tolkovyy slovar’ kontseptsiy i terminov [Communication Studies and Information Media: English-Russian Explanatory Dictionary of Concepts and Terms]. Moscow: Moscow State Univ. Publ. (In Russian)