ИСТИНА

This article describes the more than 40 years of history of theatrical tradition at Moscow School 1269 as well as the transformation of this tradition into an educational innovation in the 1990s. An annual competition in theatrical performance called Theatre Week for Children has been held since the late 1970s for students from grades 1 to 11. However, since the mid-90s, some new educational forms based on this theatrical tradition have been introduced as an experiment in teaching humanities at this school. Alongside traditional educational forms, students have been encouraged to stage the elected material in the subjects of literature and foreign languages (German, English). The article aims to follow the emergence of close school theatre communities as the result of involving children in performing activities. Performatized practices, both during the lesson and after class, highlight “theatre’s potential community-building power” (Fischer-Lichte 2008). In my final analysis, I will compare the principle of educational innovation at School 1269 with methodological issues used at the Waldorf School during the class performances. My comparison lays stress on the anthroposophical principles introduced by Austrian pedagogue and philosopher Rudolf Steiner, which are still used at the Waldorf School.