Biography

Semyon Spivak is a Soviet and Russian theater director, teacher. People's Artist of the Russian Federation.

As a child, he drew well. He attended an art studio. Then he enrolled in a pioneer theater. There he played on stage and staged plays. After finishing school, he moved to Leningrad, where he entered the Engineering and Economics Institute, which he graduated from in 1972. In the early 1970s, he became interested in theater. He studied at the theater club 'Saturday', founded by the theater scholar and director Yuriy Smirnov-Nesvitskiy. Semyon became one of the most active participants of the theater. He staged a version of 'Romeo and Juliet' in this theater, the play was called 'Old Verona'.

In 1979 he graduated from the Leningrad Institute of Theatre, Music and Cinematography, faculty of Dramatic Arts. In 1979-1984 - director of the Lenin Komsomol Theatre (now the Baltic House Theatre-Festival). In 1984 he moved to the Lensovet Academic Theatre. Since 1986 - director of the Young Theater at Lenconcert. In 1989 - headed the Youth Theater on Fontanka. From May 1991 to May 2003, he combined artistic direction of the Youth Theater on Fontanka with work as the chief director of the Moscow State Theater named after Konstantin Stanislavski.

Semyon Spivak taught acting and directing courses at the Russian State Institute of Performing Arts.
- IMDb mini biography by: Bazza the Beast

Laureate of the St. Petersburg Government Prize in Literature, Art and Architecture "For Outstanding Contribution to the Development of St. Petersburg Culture" (2013).

It was a kind of public confession of young people, helping to free themselves from many complexes. At that time I only guessed, but now I am sure that it was a kind of psychotherapy, thanks to which each of us became aware of ourselves. Over time, many actors and directors came out of our company. At Subbota, I made my best performance - 'Old Verona'. It is not for me to judge how good it was objectively, but, according to my inner feeling, it was the best because it gave many delightful minutes of complete freedom