2015-2016 Maya Brin Resident: Veniamin Smekhov
October 29, 2015
The Maya Brin Residency Program is pleased to welcome Veniamin Smekhov
Veniamin Smekhov is a Russian actor, director and writer known for his work with the influential Taganka Theatre in Moscow as well as documentary and curatorial work for Russian television.
Veniamin Smekhov, the 2015-16 Maya Brin Resident at the University of Maryland, is an outstanding Russian actor and writer, one of the stars of the legendary Taganka Theater in Moscow.
In joint performance with students of Russian, Smekhov read Russian poetry and prose and shared his insights on how the University of Maryland has changed in the 25 years since his first visit.
Under the direction of Yuri Lyubimov at the Taganka Theater, Smekhov performed in numerous pieces, including Brecht’s The Good Person of Szechwan and an adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov's novel The Master and Margarita. In film, he is famous for playing Athos in a Russian version of The Three Musketeers.
Russian speakers can learn more about Veniamin Smekhov through the documentary series The Golden Age of Taganka, which features reflections on the actor’s career with the Taganka Theater. In the following clips, Smekhov discusses his roles in Hamlet and Master and Margarita.
Smekhov’s screenwriting credits include Twelve Months of Tango (2011), The Movie Star Between the Sickle and the Hammer (2013), Vladimir Tendriakov: Portrait Against Time (2013) and The Last Poet of the Great War (2015). In 2009-2012, Smekhov was the host and curator of several popular cultural programs such as Temnoe Delo and Talents and Admirers.
Smekhov has also directed numerous operas for both the stage and television, including Bizet-Constant’s The Tragedy of Carmen, Tchaikovsky’s Queen of Spades and Verdi’s Falstaff.
In 2010, Smekhov’s collected work appeared in three volumes: That Taganka, Ali Baba and Others, and In Life it Does not Happen. He is also the author of Theatre of my Memory (2001), The Golden Age of Taganka (2012) and I Come to You With Verses (2014), a collection of poems, songs and skits composed in the Taganka Theater.
