Theatre Director
Iskander Sakayev graduated from the Production Department of the Ufa State Institute of Arts in ? 1995 (master shop of professor Rifkat Israfilov). Simultaneously, he graduated from the Production Courses at VGIK (VIPPC, master shop of Bulat Mansurov). His diploma work “The Twelve or My Decadence” was made after A. Blok’s poem “The Twelve” (1995). This performance opened the Chamber stage of the Youth Theater of the Republic of Bashkortostan.
Iskander Sakayev worked as an actor at the State Tatar Nur Theater (Ufa), at the Ufa Youth Theater, Russian Drama Theater in Sterlitamak, and the Puppet Theater of the Republic of Bashkortostan. He produced several radio performances after Russian and national classics at the Bashkortostan State Radio and Television Company. In 2001, Sakayev directed a performance “The Last Concert of Mr. R.”after memoirs of Sergey Rakhmaninov at the Organ Hall of Bashkiria State Philharmonic.
In 2003, Iskander Sakayev enrolled to the production Master’s degree program at the MKhAT School-studio and V. Meyerhold Center (Master Valery Fokin). In 2003 – 2005, he studied biomechanics under the guidance of A. Levinsky. Sakayev participated in directing of “Oedipus” after Sophocles and S. Becket (director Alexey Levinsky, 2003) and “Persians” by Euripides (director Theodoros Terzopoulos, 2003). He took part in directing V. Zherectsov’s piece “Descendent” (Moscow Tabakerka Studio Theater under the guidance of Oleg Tabakov, 2005), and also in the mutual project of the MKhAT School-studio and the Debut Center “A Fear of Soap Bubble” after plays of modern Russian dramatists.
In spring 2005, Iskander Sakayev carried out an independent project on the Chamber Stage of the Youth Theater of the Republic of Bashkortostan: it was called “Fairy Tales for Adults” and oriented towards the modern drama and exploring non-standard scenic spaces. The program was started by Iskander Sakayev’s performance “A Demobee Train” after A. Arkhipov. In May 2005, Iskander Sakayev issued a documentary “To Live to the Victory” dedicated to a former prisoner of the Dachau concentration camp Vali Biktashev.
Since August 2005, Iskander Sakayev is director at the Russian Pushkin State Academy Theater (the Alexandrinsky Theater). He was assistant director at the performances “Oedipus Rex” by Sophocles (director Theodoros Terzopoulos, 2006), “The Living Corpse” by L. Tolstoy (director Valery Fokin, 2006), “The Seagull” by A. Chekhov (director Krystian Lupa, 2007). In 2007 Iskander Sakayev released performance “Flowers for Charly” after Daniel Keyes’ novel “Flowers for Algernon” at the smaller stage of the Alexandrinsky Theater. He was appointed Head of the producing department of the theater in 2007.
