Aleksandr Molochnikov
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Aleksandr (aka Alexander) Aleksandrovich Molochnikov (Russian:Александр Александрович Молочников) is a Russian-born American theater/film/opera/ballet director and screenplay writer and actor. Born in St Petersburg (formerly Leningrad), Russia, on April 14, 1992, Aleksandr graduated from the Anichkov Lyceum in 2008 and studied acting and directing at Russian Institute of Theater Arts (RATI-GITIS) under Leonid Kheifets and graduating in 2012.[1] Alexander joined the Moscow Art Theater named after A.P. Chekhov where he acted in many leading roles from 2012-2018 including Puck in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (W. Shakespeare), Vronskiy “Anna Karenina”, Bulanov “The Forest” (director - Kirill Srebrennikov), Werter “The New Sorrows of Young Werther.”
Aleksandr also acted in several feature films (Cold Front, the Chekhov Brothers and others) and branched into stage direction, film directing and screenplay work at Moscow Art Theater of A.P. Chekhov, Theater on Malaya Bronnaya, Bolshoi Theater and with Kinopoisk, Sreda, and Hype Film production companies as well as WWDSSPR and Disney+.
The youngest-ever stage director of the Moscow Art Theater of A.P. Chekhov<ref name="undefined" </ref>, Molochnikov has received many awards including the Oleg Tabakov Prize (2014 for acting, 2015 for directing), Golden Mask Award in 2022 for directing the ballet “Seagull” at the Bolshoi. Most recently, until he was fired for speaking out against Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine in 2022, Molochnikov worked as a stage director at the Bolshoi Theater. He is currently getting his master's degree in film directing from Columbia University in New York City.
Early life
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Molochnikov (Russian:Александр Александрович Молочников) is a Russian theater/film/opera/ballet director and screenplay writer and actor. Born in St Petersburg, Russia, Aleksandr’s father, also named Aleksandr, is a math teacher at the Anichkov Lyceum, and his mother, Anna Nemtsova, is a journalist. His parents divorced when he was nine, and his mother moved to the United States. For a while, Aleksandr lived with her in the US but then decided to return to Russia to live with his father.
Performing Arts Career
Theater Directing
From 2014 - 2017, Aleksandr began his theater screenplay writing and directing career at the Moscow Art Theater of A.P. Chekhov where he had acted. In 2014, he directed a cabaret play about WWI called “19.14 Сabaret” the cast of which included Artyom Bystrov. In 2015, he created a punk-rock concert show called “The Rebels” (Buntari) about the rebellions in Russian history the cast of which included Aleksandr Kyznetsov. In 2017, he wrote the screenplay for and directed “Night of Lovers” -- a play with all-Russian film stars, re-enacting scenes from Hollywood movies, the cast of which included Konstantin Khabensky, Milos Bikovic, Yuliya Snigir, Yuri Stoyanov, Yevgenia Dobrovolskaya, Anna Chipovskaya, Aleksandra Rebenok. He then wrote and directed the utopian play “19.17 The Bright Way” about the Russian Revolution of 1917. The cast included Viktoria Isakova, Inga Strelkova-Oboldina, Igor Vernik.
From 2020 to 2022, he directed two plays at the Theater on Malaya Bronnaya. Molochnikov directed the Chekov play, Platonov, about the last party of the Russian intelligentsia in 2022. In 2020, he directed "Bulba. Feast." a play based on an upcoming war between east and western based on a play by Tomas Vinterberg and Nikolay Gogol, the cast of which included Igor Mirkurbanov.
From 2019 - 2022, Molochnikov worked as a Stage Director at the Bolshoi Theatre. He directed “Telephone. Medium” by Gian Carlo Menotti in 2019 and then in 2021 he directed “The Seagull” by Anton Chekhov, Ilya Demutskiy, the cast of which included Svetlana Zakharova, Maria Alexandrova, Artem Ovcharenko, Ekaterina Krysanova, Vladislav Lantratov.
In August 2022, the Bolshoi Theater notified Molochnikov that he was suspended from productions at the Bolshoi Theater citing that a group of lawmakers and cultural figures had demanded Molochnikov’s dismissal for his speaking out against the war in Ukraine.
TV & Film Directing
In 2017, Aleksandr Molochnikov developed the screenplay for "Myths" – a musical about the Moscow celebrity life, starring Russian actors Kseniya Rappoport, Fyodor Bondarchuk, Ivan Urgant, Sergey Bezrukov, Nadezhda Markina, Andrey Smolyakov, Miloš Biković, Paulina Andreeva and others.
In 2019, Molochnikov directed the short film/mockumentary titled “Escaped to Arizona” (in which he also acted) with Svetlana Khodchenkova about hitchhiking from Denver to Las Vegas with a celebrity.
During the coronavirus pandemic, in 2020, Molochnikov innovated and directed a Zoom series called “Madness” about actors (of which he was one) who are forced to rehearse remotely starring Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė, Maksim Matveyev, Kristina Asmus.
In 2020, he wrote the screenplay for and directed “Tell Her" – a more biographical feature film based on the divorce of his parents when he was a young child. The film was nominated for the Seattle International Film Festival and shows the challenges of moving to another culture and how divorce can impact children. Actors starring in “Tell Her” include Svetlana Khodchenkova, Aleksei Serebryakov, Artyom Bystrov, Wolfgang Cerny, Irina Rozanova.
More recently, Molochnikov has written the screenplay for and directed a six-episode series called “A Monestary” about a sexually-independent young woman entering an orthodox Russian monastery which stars Filipp Yankovsky, Nastya Ivleeva, Maria Mironova, Artur Smolyaninov, Aleksey Rozin, Maria Abashova.
TV & Film Awards
“The Myths” – Kinotavr 2017. Nominated for – best film, best director) “Tell Her” – Seattle International Film Festival 2021. Nominated. “Tell Her” – Kinotavr 2020 Sochi festival. Nominated for best film, best director. “Escaped to Arizona” – Moscow International Film Festival (Moscow. Experimental.)
Theater Awards
Molochnikov’s theater stage work (acting and directing) has received several awards.
In 2014-2015, he was twice awarded the Oleg Tabakov Prize: The first time for the role of Edward in the children's production of "The Amazing Journey of Edward Rabbit", and the second time for directing the play "19.14".
In 2015, the jury of the Russian National Theater Award "Harlequin" presented Molochnikov with a special award for creating the role of Edward the Rabbit. Additionally, in 2014-2018, the productions of "19.14", the “Rebels”, “Bright Way” made the long list of plays considered for the Golden Mask Award.
In 2021, “The Seagull” ballet performed at the Bolshoi (which Molochnikov staged directed) won “Best Ballet 2021” in the Golden Mask award ceremony.
Theater Acting
After graduating in 2012 from the Russian Institute of Theater Arts (RATI-GITIS) where he studied under Leonid_Heifetz, Alexander joined the Moscow Art Theater named after A.P. Chekhov where he acted in many leading roles from 2012-2020 including:
2007 Tishka in It's a Family Affair – We'll Settle It Ourselves by Alexander Ostrovsky at the Theater on Liteyny Avenue, St. Petersburg
2008 Vasechka in “Elder Son”
2011 Yura in The Slow Sword by Yuri Klavdiev at the Alexei Kazantsev and Mikhail Roshchin Center for Drama and Direction, Moscow
2012 Puck in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night's Dream at Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theater, director Christopher Alden
2012 Dmitriy (Zvezdich) in Mikhail Ugarov’s Masquerade Masquerade based on the drama by Mikhail Lermontov at the Vsevolod Meyerhold Center
2012 Vronsky in Karenin by Vassily Sigarev and also Edgar in Die neuen Leiden des Jungen, director– Vasily Barkhatov
2013 Yashka Pisetskiy in The Tale of What We Can and What Not by Mihail Durnenkov based on the prose by Petr Lutsik and Alexey Samoryadov
2013 Fadinard in The Italian Straw Hat by Eugène Labiche
2013 Edward in The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
2014 Alexei Bulanov in Alexander Ostrovsky’s The Forest, director – Kirill Serebrennikov
2019 Leading role in “Night Writer” – director Jan Fabre
TV & Film Acting
Molochnikov has acted in more than 30 roles in television and film including “Сold Front” the first film of Hype production. Also "Friends of Friends", “Sunrise”, “Сhampions”, "Live Longer", "One More Year", "Studio 17" and others.
In 2016, Aleksander played four roles alongside actors Andrei Burkovsky, Yan Tsapnik, Svetlana Ustinova in the TV series “Pushkin.”
In April 2020, while not an acting role, Molochnikov participated in the 11th season of Dancing with the Stars television show. Also, Aleksander could be seen in the third season of a popular series "Gold diggers".
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Molochnikov created and directed and acted in a Zoom series called “Madness”.
His acting roles in movies include the leading roles in Heads and Tails (2021), Escaped from Arizona (2018), Sunrise (2018), Pushkin (2015) and Cold Front (2014).
In November 2017, Molochnikov's first feature film, which he directed and acted in, was “Myths".
War in Ukraine 2022 and Being Canceled in Russia
On February 24, 2022, Molochnikov posted a message of protest against the “military special operation in Ukraine” on social media saying: “People of Ukraine: forgive me if possible, for God’s sake.”
In August 2022, the director of The Bolshoi Theater notified Molochnikov that he was suspended from opera productions of Francesca da Rimini and Florentine Tragedy at the Bolshoi Theater citing that a group of lawmakers and cultural figures had demanded Molochnikov’s dismissal in letters for speaking out against the military special operation in Ukraine. In addition to Molchnikov’s opera production, the Bolshoi has paused the productions of the Seagull and Medium.
On September 2, 2022, the Malaya Bronnaya Theater canceled Molochnikov’s performances, and the Moscow Art Theater removed his name from the “19.14 cabaret” performance.
Personal Life
Currently, Aleksandr Molochnikov is pursuing his Master's degree in Film Directing at the Film & Media Studies College at Columbia University in New York City.
References[edit]
- ↑ Charush, Andrey. "«Рашн-синема — это завод, где рабочие давно ничего не ищут и штампуют туфту»". Собака.ru. Собака.ru. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
External links[edit]
Links:
Aleksandr Molochnikov at IMDb
Aleksandr Molochnikov on Operabase
Aleksandr Molochnikov on Kinofisha
Aleksandr Molochnikov on Instagram
Alexander Molochnikov on LinkedIn
Alexander Molochnikov Russian Wikipedia page
Alexander Molochnikov on Afisha
Aleksandr Molochnikov's Instagram post about the invasion of Ukraine.
Media Coverage & Interviews
Interview with Yuri Dud, “Being Canceled in Russia”
Interview with Ksenia Sobchak, Against All, Телеканал «Россия-Культура», Jan 20, 2013
Interview with Aleksandr Molochnikov, Channel 1, Dec 21, 2017
Slipped Disc, Bolshoi Fires Director
Russia Free Press, Bolshoi Theater Cancels PremierАлександр Молочников на сайте МХТ им. А. П. Чехова
Interview on Night Watch on "Looking at the night" Dec 21, 2013 Alexander Sobchak on "Sobchak against all" Nov 17, 2017
Rolling Stone, The Kremlin Cracks Down on Moscow’s Artists, Nov. 2022.
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