The play “Be at the Ark by Eight” by Ulrich Hub was presented on the stage of Saratov Kiselev Youth Theater in a form of a reading-performance at the fifth creative laboratory “The Forth Height. Contemporary Dramaturgy.” in December, 2010 by young director from Norway Sigrid Strøm Reibo. The aim of the creative laboratory is a study of the newest drama for children both Russian and foreign. After the performance a voting of the audience deciding the fate of the play took place: “continue the work” – include the play in theater’s repertoire as a full-scale performance; “leave it be” – it’s a nice laboratory work, but not for the repertoire and “forget like a nightmare”. Voting results for the play “Be at the Ark by Eight” by Ulrich Hub, which opened the laboratory, showed that Saratov spectators loved it from the very beginning, more than half of them voted for “continue the work”. At the discussion critics, actors and audience admitted that they would be delighted to see the performance again – Sigrid managed to create in few rehearsal days not just a reading-performance, but an almost-ready show. And now according to the agreement made after the laboratory Sigrid Strøm Reibo has completed her work on “Be at the Ark by Eight”.

Ulrich Hub is a German playwright, actor and director. He has written the play “Be at the Ark by Eight” in 2006, when one of the German publishers proposed to 5 theaters to create a performance for children about Religion. Ulrich Hub reread the Bible and the story about Noah Ark inspired him to write a play, full of the witty remarks on the serious matters. In 2006 this play was declared the best in Germany. After the publishing of the play it was translated into several world languages and staged in many theaters.

“Be at the Ark by Eight” is a rewritten story about the Flood. Its main characters are three penguins with remarkably open and trustful minds.  They are curious and ingenious, spontaneous and emotional – in other words they are children. News about the coming Flood put three friends in awkward position. If it’s “two of all living creatures” – what about the third penguin? While solving the problems at the best of their ability characters of the performance are searching for the answers to the questions philosophers puzzling themselves over for centuries.  Ulrich Hub managed to combine in his play matters of friendship and responsibility with the questions about the nature of God and the world he created.

Sigrid Strøm Reibo is a young theater director from Norway. In 2001-2002 she studied for a director in the Klaipėda University in Lithuania, course of Gytis Padegimas. Then, from 2002 to 2006 in Denmark’s division of GITIS at the actor’s department , course of V.V. Teplyakov. After the tour in Moscow with the graduation performance Sigrid for a year studied Russian in Norway. Then in 2006 she entered GITIS (RAofTA) directing department, course of S.V. Genovach, she graduates in 2010.

As a director Sigrid Strøm Reibo wanted to create a light funny performance that will point out children’s attention to serious questions. Ever since the reading-performance the great play’s staging potential was revealed. Such a play by modern children playwright from Germany is a very important part of the repertoire. This performance will prepare children to understand conventional contemporary art. Actors:

The First Penguin	Loginov Anton Alexandrovich
The Second Penguin	Krasnova Elena Alexeyevna
The Third Penguin	Chernyshev Alexey Nickolaevich
The White Dove	Chupikova Tatyana Pavlovna
The OldMan with a Beard	Konev Vladimir Ivanovich
The Voice	Emelyanov Valery Nikolayevich