On the basis of the theater university will open journalism courses "MK" under the leadership of Pavel Gusev

It was possible to move the “kind and famous” on the pedestal because the Institute professes honest principles and approaches to teaching. Transparency of curricula, creative approach to study, admission without “blat”, a unique faculty. And there is also a useful amount of adventurism, because progress is unthinkable without experiment.

Observer "MK", visiting various educational institutions, in Mositi coaled comfortable and almost homely atmosphere. All the counter-cross students greeted, the rector in his own way asked the repairmen not to make noise while the interview was going on. Then a big actor, a star of the Maly Theatre and People's Artist of the Russian Federation Valery Afanasyev came out in the corridor. He ran through the curriculum of his workshop and said, “Well, I’m going to go play Churchill...”

- Dmitry Valentinovich, what are the distinctive features of your university?

I’m not going to be original when I say that people decide everything. We in Mositi teach and conduct workshops of 35 honored and folk artists of the Russian Federation. There is no such teaching staff in any state theater university, anywhere! Times are not easy, and even leading universities take people from the outside. We don't. (Andrey Sokolov, Yevgeny Gerasimov, Yevgeny Steblov, Mark Rozovsky, Alexander Pashutin, Gedeminas Taranda, Maria Golubkina, Yana Poplavskaya and other stars are leading their workshops and classes at IIT.)

It is also very important that we have both mass directions of education and personalized ones. Acting art, choreography go in ordinary groups. But there are exclusive things, directions, such as theater producer, creative industry, theater directing, mass media, etc. It's something that can't be studied on a wide audience, and it shouldn't be, there's no need. They wanted to open a department of literary critics, but failed, few applications. There is little understanding of why such criticism is needed.

But it is obvious to me that such specialists, such accompaniment is necessary for the work of the actor and the theater, it is their support and promotion. Journalism is about the same thing.

- "Modern journalism" - it will not be a specialty for 4-6 years or "just courses"?

In fact, this is a DPO (additional education) on the basis of the higher education already available to a person. We tend to take these steps aside and experiment. In addition to “Modern Journalism”, we are opening another set for “Creative Industries”, the head there will be the Director for Business Development from MTS holding Gela Romanovsky. This would seem to be an economic story, but for the development of the theater is now very necessary. For the first time, we have recruited a task force from the theater of the Russian army, now, the guys are being released. 26 people doesn't mean they're all going to get there. But the guys learn and gain experience in the acting theater, and even in such a theater as Tsatra. In general, many ideas and plans arise, but I can not immediately take them and implement them for nothing. As a rector, I am limited by the decisions of the Scientific Council of the Institute. They don't all claim innovation. But we, on the other hand, do not have such a powerful founder to dictate anything and direct state money flows. It's all self-same.

What else distinguishes you from state theater schools?

- Oh, that's my favorite subject. To begin with, according to the Ministry of Education and Science, in Moscow already 57% of private universities. But even budget universities are partly commercial because of fee-based departments. In theatrical 20 people are taken on the budget and 25 on paid training. And the prices there are higher than ours. What do they charge for? If we have teachers – theatrical figures, professionals, and the program is more rich, and everything is transparent in the programs and admission. Yeah, it's self-sufficiency. I do not really understand where state universities spend money if all their needs are covered by the founder and the state. But it is, reasoning. And what is fundamental for me is that Mosithi is applying to us for talent, for a creative competition. And there, you know. Blat, connections, dynastic history...

Now AI in education is developing, digitalization. Do you use this equipment?

The theater actively began to use artificial intelligence in stage videography, virtual graphic models of the stage and scenery. And in lighting, lighting effects are very well used. There, if everything is properly programmed, then a person is no longer needed.

I’m skeptical of the talk that actors will soon be out of the movies, and avatars will play. And robots will begin to come out on stage. I see no sign or reason for this. In acting, it is impossible to replace a person, and only a master can teach art, from person to person. Someone who has been in the theater for a long time. Theatre is a unique phenomenon that AI is not replaced. Although, the robot was recently brought to the stage in “Lenkom”, the play “Rehearsal of the Orchestra” by Vladimir Pankov. But not as a hero of the play, but as a symbol, an allegory of the coming times.

The course of modern journalism under the leadership of the editor-in-chief of the newspaper “Moskovsky Komsomolets” Pavel Nikolaevich Gusev, MosITI recruited from October 15. The result of the training will be students’ own journalistic investigations, author’s columns in the newspaper or multimedia projects, which will be published on the resources of the Moskovsky Komsomolets Publishing House with the mark: “Modern Journalism Course from MK”. The term of study “Modern journalism” is 1 year.