Text 1 theatre and cinema in ukraine

Interest in the arts used to be largely confined to a small elite. Compared with previous years far less people today read books, visit art galleries, go to the theatre, cinema, attend concerts. They prefer their television, internet, videos and other free time activities. The arts in Ukraine are met with a mixture of public apathy and private enthusiasm. Publicly, the arts are accepted and tolerated, but not actively encouraged. To great regret, government financial support for the arts is very low, it should be driven by “market forces”. This process has resulted in the decline of many theatres and film studios.

The theatre has always been very strong in our country. Its centre is of course, Kiev, where successful plays can sometimes run without a break, for many years. Every large town in Ukraine has its theatre. Even small towns often have “repertory” theatres, where different plays are performed for short periods by the same group of professional actors. Theatre is the only place that gives a safe opportunity to look behind the mask of accepted social behaviour. The country’s most successful and respected playwrights are usually those, who reveal the inner world of personality, expose and explore the darker side of personality and personal relationships (often through comedy). Productions of this sort practically always call the highest praise from the public and the critics and arouse a feeling of admiration. Ukrainian theatre-goers have got used to repertory surprises.

In contrast, the cinema is often regarded as not quite part of “the arts” at all – it’s simply entertainment. Partly for this reason almost no financial help is given to film industry in Ukraine. Although cinema-going is a regular habit for a number of people, the pace of film industry is rather slow in our country. Film directors often have to go somewhere, because the resources they need are not available in Ukraine. As a result, comparatively few films of high quality are made in the country. Odessa film studio, Dovzhenko film studio are short of money and practically unable to make films.

Exercise 9. Remember your last visit to the theatre and answer the questions.

1. Do you often go to the theatre or to the cinema?

2. When did you visit theatre last time?

3. What performance did you see?

4. Did you sit in the stalls or circle?

5. Which row were you in?

6. Were you next to an aisle?

7. Did you have a good view of the stage?

Exercise 10. Match the words on the left with the best definition on the right and memorize them.

1. violent	a) very exciting
2. moving	b) terrible
3. complex	c) fantastic
4. gripping	d) lots of fighting
5. funny	e) very enjoyable
6. good fun	f) lots of different ideas
7. dreadful	g) sad and emotional
8. superb	h) it makes you laugh

Exercise 11. Read and translate the following short conversations. Underline the new theatre and cinema terms and memorize them. Act out the conversations.

I

A: What are you going to do?

В: Oh, perhaps I’ll go to the cinema. What about going together with me?

A: Certainly. That's a good idea. You know I’m a great cinema-goer. I’m always ready to go to the pictures (cinema)

В: Well, what’s on at the pictures? It should be in the local paper.

A: Oh, yes, here we are. “The Black Swan”.

В: I’ve seen that already. It was a success with the public.

A: Who is the producer of the film?

В: I’m sorry, but I don’t remember.

II

A: Would you like to go to the theatre with me?

B: What performance are you going to? Matinee, or evening one?

A: I’m going to a matinee performance.

B: I’m sorry. I’d love to go with you, but I can’t. I am busy.

A: I’m very sorry. I have two stalls in the middle of row 3.

Exercise 12. Read and translate the text. Give it a headline.

Text 2

Nowadays, foreign films with comic book heroes like superman or real life heroes like James Bond are widely spread on screens in Ukraine. Films with superheroes are big business. They make a lot of money, as they are very popular. There are two reasons for their popularity. The first is that visually these films are very spectacular, they have amazing special effects. George Lucas set the trend when he made “Star Wars” in 1977. The huge spaceships and the creatures from different planets all look real. Modern director can use all sorts of computer techniques. Special effects are used not only in science fiction films. They are used in different action, adventure and war films like “Rambo”. These films are not so spectacular as “Star Wars”, but they have incredible stunts and are very exciting. So, technically these films are very complicated, but their plots are very simple. These films are based on a very simple idea of the conflict between good and evil. And in the end the good guys always win. Happy end attracts people because in real life nothing is simple. People are tired of routine, of their monotonous grey life. When they watch films of this sort, they escape from reality, relax, forget their problems. Besides, they don’t give much thinking watching films where everything is clear. The heroes are good and the villains are bad. Moreover, heroes are good-looking and have high moral standards. They are rough and tough, but gentle. They don’t think of themselves, never hurt women, children, animals. When people watch these films they identify themselves with all these heroes, they would like to be.

It’s great we’ve got a chance to get acquainted with cinematograph of the world, but it would be right to renew our own film production in Ukraine and present it to the world in its original greatness and glory.

Exercise 13. Are the statements on the texts 1 and 2 true or false? Correct the false ones if there are any.

1. Most Ukrainians prefer to read books, visit art galleries and go to the theatre.

2. Government financial support for theatres and film studios has reduced in Ukraine.

3. Every large town in Ukraine has its “repertory” theatre.

4. Spectators enjoy revealing the inner world of personality and personal relationships.

5. Comedies always call the highest praise from the public and the critics.

6. Film studios are short of money because the cinema is not regarded as “the arts” in Ukraine.

7. Films with superheroes are always gripping.

8. Computer techniques and special effects make films very exciting.

9. The screenplays of action films are always very complicated.

10. Happy end attracts viewers because they don’t want to think much when watching films.

Exercise 14. What cinema and theatre terms are being defined?

1. A play or film, and part of the story is sung to music.

2. The people who watch a play at the theatre.

3. The person who makes a film.

4. Journalists who write articles about films and plays.

5. The name of the articles they write.

6. The translation of the words of a film across the bottom of the screen.

7. To reserve tickets before the performance.

8. The most important actors in a film.

Exercise 15. Complete these sentences describing parts of the story of different books and films.

1. The film is ______________ in the 1940s, during the Second World War.

2. At the beginning, Paul meets Jennifer in bookshop and they fall in ______________.

3. The film is ______________ two women who drive across America.

4. The main character is young, clever and comes from a very rich ______________.

5. The couple are too young to marry, and their parents are very unhappy about the relationship, so they run ______________.

6. In this film the husband loses money gambling, but ______________ first his wife knows nothing about it.

7. At the beginning, the company is successful, but then things start going ______________.

8. There’s a love story in it, and it’s very funny. I suppose you’d call it a ______________.

Exercise 16. Read the text and do the tasks after it.