House of Actors

a club for people active in the theater. The Moscow House of Actors, organized in 1937 as part of the system of the All-Russian Theatrical Society (VTO), is the oldest in the USSR. In 1956 its name was changed to the Central House of Actors, and in 1964 it was named after A. A.Iablochkina.

The local VTO divisions have Houses of Actors in Leningrad, Kazan, Novosibirsk, Khabarovsk, Rostov-on-Don, Petrozavodsk, and Ufa. (In some cities Houses of Actors are consolidated with Houses of Artists.) The theatrical societies of the Union republics have their own Houses of Actors in Kiev, L’vov, Kharkov, Odessa, Kishinev, Minsk, Vil’nius, and other cities. The Houses of Actors regularly hold lectures, give reports, and sponsor artistic evenings by masters of the stage, exhibitions, reviews, and contests. They produce journal readings and parties for theater groups. Some sponsor universities of theatrical culture. Houses of Actors are directed by public councils (or administration boards).