Eighth Creative Union of MEPhI

The Eighth Creative Union (ECU) of Moscow Engineering Physics Institute (MEPhI) () is a creative and interdisciplinary team unifying students, graduates, postgraduate students and the university lecturers and professors. The ECU implies a variety of activities including a student theatre of pop sketches, arrangement of concerts and performances, scriptwriting, arrangement of night entertainment events and conventions, issuing of wall newspapers along with prose, poetry and playwriting almanacs, participating in Singer-Songwriter Club and Club of the Funny and Inventive People and Sharp-witted activities and taking part in different shows and competitions.
History of the ECU.
The Union was founded at Physics and Power Engineering Faculty of Moscow National Research Nuclear University MEPhI in accordance with the Faculty Komsomol (Young Communist League) Committee decree. Its stage debut was on 13 December 1969. That particular day is considered to be the official date of the ECU foundation. Its first President was Oleg Yurievich Fyodorov, a former captain of 1962 Institute CCS (Club of the Cheerful and Sharp-witted. ) team. Nikolay Artemyev, Mel’ko Khutsiev and Vladimir Chekhonadskiy triarchy was in charge of scriptwriting, arrangement of rehearsals and managerial issues. The Union management had been traditionally conducted by three students since then.
An oak tree and a woodpecker, a forest guard, are portrayed in the ECU insignia. The woodpecker symbolizes satire defeating the blood-suckers eaten into the country's body.
In 1974, the Faculty Komsomol Committee insisted on electing the only person as the head of the ECU and Valeriy Shambarov became as the President. He was in charge of solving the ECU managerial issues and his responsibilities did not cover art direction. Nikolay Artemyev, Vladimir Chekhnadskiy, Alexander Razumov, Valeriy Shambarov, Sergey Struev, Alexander Selin, Andrey Troitskiy and others were theatre directors at different time periods of the Union history.
The ECU activity is of a selfless character which is the reason for its success and steady demand for the Union throughout its long period of existence. The ECU activities cover all the available areas of its creative work starting from arrangement of social and outreach activities up to the student's theatre which is involved in not only pop sketches but in far more serious and large-scale performances staging as well.
Theatre of Social Horror project was launched in 1988 and lasted until 1991 as a part of the ECU activities. The MEPhI amateur actors and actresses showed their theatricals in different cities and towns, took part in Sem’ Ya Festival of Independent Theatres in Saint Petersburg and in the First All-Soviet Union festival of Club of the Cheerful and Sharp-witted Teams in Dnepropetrovsk. Alexander Selin, an excellent actor and a talented writer who wrote several plays, was the Manager of Theatre of Social Horror.
The ECU history can be divided into four time periods.
1969 – 1984 It is the time of traditions establishing and development. It is the time of large-scale theatrical productions both by amateur authors (M. Khutsiev, V. Shambarov, A. Selin) and by professional playwrights (Felix Krivin, Evgeny Schwartz, D. Al).
1985 – 1997 Several creative individuals were making attempts of developing their creative work in a professional environment. For instance, V. Shambarov was involved in social and political journalism, A. Selin was working in television, writing scripts for TV programmes and commercials and was cooperating with CCS (Club of the Cheerful and Sharp-witted) TV programme. S. Struev started his film director's career and A. Semyonov became a poet and his poetry had been the basis of Vezhlivyi Otkaz (the Polite Refusal; Russian: "Вежливый отказ") rock-group creative development. The ECU existed as parallel activities of several small creative groups.
1998 – 2002 By M. Khutsiev, A. Selin, N. Turchaninov and Ch. Kaitukov's efforts the ECU were focused on taking part in CCS (Club of the Cheerful and Sharp-witted) team competitions. Inter-faculty competitions had been arranged, the university team had taken part in regional league competitions and Vizit team had qualified to the Major League of KVN.
2003 – present. The ECU have been working within the framework of traditional student theater of pop sketches (STPS) format. Their theatricals include short short stories, parodies and sketches. Performances are almost not staged.
Traditions.
First-year Student's Day is celebrated annually on 1 September. The ECU have conducted a theatrical performance for the first-year students of all faculties since 1 September 1974. Although the content of the performance changed throughout its history starting from parting words of ‘Scholar Elders’ to the first-year students, Higher Education game and amusement arcades to a concert of all on-stage performance groups of National Research Nuclear University MEPhI the ECU have constantly taken part in that important event.
The first-year Student Outdoor Convention is held annually on the 2–3 September weekend. The tradition was established by the ECU members in 1974 when the first convention of that type was held in Tuchkovo. The agenda included Faculty F first-year students outdoor trip, student's ‘horror path’, a memorial meeting at Moscow defenders’ obelisk and a night concert. There usually were some sport completions and give-away prize ceremony on the second day. The tradition of September conventions has existed since then and only the convention venues in Moscow Oblast were changed.
May Student's Convention in Sknyatino (held annually on 1 May).
It is strictly the ECU event. The tradition was established on 1 May 1975. That day a group of the ECU students covered 165 kilometers to reach Tver Oblast (to the village of Sknyatino) to relax in the lap of nature. There were so many people willing to go to Sknyatino in 1976 that the persons charge had to divide them into teams. Creative and sport competitions were held then. The tradition is still alive and more than 100 people go to the village every year.
April Fools’ Days (held annually in April).
The first April Fools' Day of Moscow Technical Universities was held on 1 April 1973. A large concert was arranged in Zamoskvorech’ye Community Centre and apart from the MEPhI ECU, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Moscow Power Engineering Institute, National Research University of Electronic Technology and Kurchatov Institute student teams had taken part in it. Afterwards the event title changed to Day of Laughter, Fool's Day and Woodpecker's Day. Presently, the ECU arrange a four-day event with a diverse programme. A large humorous concert is held on the final day. Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Moscow State University, Moscow Aviation Institute and the MEPhI ECU teams take part in it.
Propaganda teams.
They are small creative ECU teams which used to go on tour to remote areas of the country in the Soviet times. The first propaganda team went to Naberezhnye Chelny in 1974 when Kamaz was being erected. The team members showed sketches, declared poems and sang hiking songs for the construction site workers. Afterwards, there had been a series of trips to different border military districts with concerts conducted for border patrol soldiers with the following agitation for entering the institute. The final trip of that sort was made in July 1989. We hope to breath a new life to that tradition.
Winter farewell party.
Winter farewell party was conducted by the ECU in cooperation with Esta MEPhI ballroom dance studio in March 1977 – 1979 not far from Zvenigorod. It was a theatrical performance which included dances, down heel sledging, blins (pancakes) eating and seizure of snow fortress. Afterwards Esta MEPhI were completely in charge of the event arrangement.
The ECU school.
The ECU keep on trying to recruit its new members and to invite new first-year students with a creative potential. Each year the freshmen have classes conducted by experienced ECU team members. They try to master the basics of text and playwriting, stage movement, elocution, vocal and dancing. Only a year later on coming through initiating of Ordination they become full-fledged members of the Eighth Creative Union.
MEPhI Club of the Funny and Inventive People.
It is an integral part of the ECU which was finally formed at the end of the 1990s. V. Shambarov remembers that "In 1969 when the ECU was established there were several groups of the guys. One group which included Kolya Artem’ev and Nina Gulova wanted to establish a theatre. The guys from the other group headed by Khutsiev wanted to take part in Club of the Funny and Inventive People (KVN) competition. As they had come to an agreement they established something in between, a theatre of KVN style."
Film and video production.
In 1974 the ECU shot their first short feature film "Monday or No Words about the Patient" (Russian: "Понедельник, или о больном ни слова") (directed by N. Artem’ev featuring M. Khutsiev). The plot was about a student who was preparing April Fools' Day's tricks for his neighbors and his girl-friend was trapped instead. In 1979 Alexander Bolgarov shot an auteur ten-minute film "Corridor" (Koridor Russian: "Коридор"). The film can be stuck in memory for both real life events took place in a student's hostel in the morning and for student night and day dreams about joys of life. Short feature film "Stulker" (Russian: "Стулкер") directed by A. Khipko based on original script and shot in 1979 is a parody of Stalker (1979 film) directed by Andrei Tarkovsky. The main events took place in a student's hostel and its vicinity instead of the "Zone" (starring A. Selin, A. Igomonov, A. Shramko and others).
In 1983 a coloured documentary about MEPhI health camp in the Volga River area was shot (script by A. Khripko and A. Sheblakov).
In 1990 the ECU shot an introduction video of MEPhI KVN team required for participation in the First All-Union KVN Festival in Dnipropetrovsk (script by A. Selin, directed by A. Yazlovsky). It was a parody of a famous The Government Inspector by Nikolai Gogol. The action took place in the National Opera of Ukraine and Alexander Maslyakov was thought to have been the Governor of the Town. Auteur short feature film "MEPhI and a Dorm" (directed by Yu. Antushev 2001) was devoted to the students’ native Chair and to those who live in a dormitory. A striking story was shot several months before the author's death. A short feature film "Only You and Me" script by P. Markelov, directed by D. Golovkin) shot in 2007 as a part of KVN video competition told about human relationships and supernatural forces interference with them.
In 2007 communication service provider MegaFon Moscow initiated holding a video clip festival devoted to different types of the provider services. A video clip should have been based on the auteur script which was perfectly made. The ECU video clip "Look for a Girl" won the Grand Prix (written and directed by V. Budrik, shot by D. Golovkin).