SCHOOL THEATER AS A FORM OF EXTRACURRICULAR EDUCATION (on the example of educational institutions of Yadrin in the second half of the XIX – early XX century)

Extracurricular education began to develop actively in the second half of the XIX century, when the Russian Empire was experiencing great shifts in all spheres of life. The changes caused an increase in the cultural needs in all segments of the society. One of extracurricular education forms was the school theater. The interaction between school and theater, as one of the types of arts, is historically conditioned. At the initial stage of its existence, since the time of Ancient Greece, theatrical art was one of the methods of cognition. The school theater performed several functions: didactic, educational and educational ones. In educational institutions, all performances were staged mainly basing on works of the Russian classical literature. In addition, many publications appeared in in printed press of the second half of the XIX – early XX century in which the teaching intelligentsia and professional actors gave recommendations for staging school and home performances. 
 
The aim of the work was to study student theater and concert activities at a non-classical secondary schools, a women’s gymnasium and a city school of Yadrin in the second half of the XIX – early XX century. The article analyzes the repertoire and the nature of the presentations. Separately, the work mentions people on whose initiative the theatrical art flourished in the educational institutions of Yadrin. The authors note students’ charitable activity, namely giving performances and literary and musical evenings that were very profitable. The research is based on archival materials, literature and memories. The methodological basis of the study was a set of scientific techniques and principles used in the study of socio-economic and socio-cultural life – objectivity, scientificity, complexity and comprehensiveness. The fundamental method in the work was the principle of historicism. The practical significance of the study lies in disclosure of “blindspots” on this problematics.