You must believe in what you do, in what you say.
Yegor Averin (born October 14, 1998, in Novosibirsk) is an actor of the Small Dramatic Theater and cinema. However, his creative portrait would be incomplete without one more important detail. He is the creator and inspirer of the street poetry project "Poetry Around the Corner." Yegor reflects on the nature of acting, sincerity on stage, and the power of words that can resonate not only in theater but also amidst the urban hustle.
- At one time, you called yourself a “shadow artist.” Now, you have many works in your acting portfolio – you perform at MDT, and you act in films. Has your self-perception changed?
- I am a “shadow” artist only at MDT – that’s how it turned out, but in St. Petersburg, I often encounter opinions that I am well known as an artist. My self-perception is just one – there is never too much work.
- If it weren't for the acting profession, what would you be doing? Could that hypothetically happen?
- I would have become a diplomat or a lawyer – I want to believe that in any situation, it is always possible to come to a human agreement.
- “With the death of Stanislavsky, the Stanislavsky system died. Now we all mix,” you said in an interview, mentioning that you have your own – the Averin system. What is it like?
- With the death of each author, their work dies too – it reflects in the minds of others, but its practical significance changes. The Averin system is simple: you must believe in what you do, in what you say, believe sincerely, and strive to believe. What you believe in is what you are.
- There are many superstitions in theater and cinema: not dropping the script, not saying “last” performance, but “final.” Do you believe in any professional omens? Do you have a personal ritual before going on stage or filming an important scene?
- There used to be many rituals, now there is only one – to tune myself so that throughout the performance or take, I am “here and now” – without this, it’s impossible.
- Three performances that one must see...
- It’s hard to choose… Let’s say: “Brothers and Sisters” - MDT, “The Effect of Charlie Gordon” - Such Theater, “Mother's Heart” - BDT.
- You are the author of the project "Poetry Around the Corner." How did it come about, and why do you need all this?
- "Poetry Around the Corner" is a unique, one-of-a-kind, accidental miracle! Unique because we take poetry as a basis – a phenomenon that is now perceived distortedly, as an atavism, and that’s a shame. Accidental because we just read poetry in the square for donations from passersby – and in 4 years, we grew into an organization. Our project is not so much about the poems themselves, but about the poetics of what is happening – we always create conditions in which people heal: from the mundane, everyday troubles, and remember again that we are still children, adult children, and we sometimes need to play, sometimes to be unserious, to rejoice in life. Perhaps not only for that, but for this.
- You called these street performances, if they can be called that, a means to express emotions that you cannot show in ordinary life. What vibrations do you find yourself in more often?
- We love to call it a circus. Since I am an actor, I am constantly in polar vibrations – the people I tell stories about in performances are radically different – hence the different vibrations.
- When you search for your name in a search engine, your namesake – Maxim Averin – also pops up. Have you encountered situations where people attributed kinship to you? Are you personally acquainted? Have you been confused with the full namesake, the Lokomotiv hockey player Yegor Averin?
- Maxim Viktorovich, unknowingly, systematically helps me with our last name. Once, I was almost cast in a movie because of “Averin-ness,” and recently, during auditions, we started a conversation because of this last name. In my childhood, I watched “Glukhar” and have warm feelings towards Maxim Viktorovich, even though we are not acquainted. As for the Lokomotiv hockey player – I’m hearing about him for the first time.
- In the age of social media, actors often share shots from filming, rehearsals, and behind the scenes. What will never make it to your personal blog or stories – what moment of the creative process do you consider too sacred or "not for the camera"?
- The most sacred moment is when you create a role from your experiences, from your personality. Roughly speaking, from your tears, laughter, sweat, pain… I dislike it the most when this is filmed.
- If your life for the next year were filmed as a series, what genre would you choose? And which director could best bring it to life?
- I think, if looking at things realistically, my life right now is a sitcom. I would trust directors of the series “Friends” to shoot something like that.
