Tatiana Frolova

The KnAM theatre (Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Khabarovsk region, Russian Federation) was founded in 1985 by the director and the head Tatiyana Frolova with a group of like-minded people. The Theatre started as  an independent group although it was difficult to do that during “soviet” time. In 1986 the Theatre settled in a small lodgment  on one of the renewed town avenues. Sensible local authorities assisted in it and of course Gorbachev’s “Perestroika” had already been on the way.
Having no financial support from the government and sponsors the troupe using their own financial means and relying on only their own powers equipped the Theatre. Even the lighting equipment was made with their own hands by the engineers and technicians from defense plants who were whether a part of the troupe or sympathized it.
In 1987 with the issue of the first laws allowing the private forms of juridical persons and private production forms the Theatre was registered as one of the first town cooperative societies – it was the only non-state juridical forms of an enterprise. As appeared later (and it was confirmed at the Russian Theatre Figures Union) the Theatre happened to be the first cooperative theatre since 1927. And the last one. In July, 1999 the Theatre obtained more contemporary and meeting all what the Law demanded form. At present it is a non-commercial partnership “The Tatiana Frolova Theatre”. Bat the Theatre still carries its “historical name” – The KnAM Theatre.
The theatre never by nobody was financed and exists only at the expense of the earned means and charitable payments. The survival of theatre is promoted by that under the decision of collective, the wages are not paid to the workers of theatre, all means go on development of theatre. Means for existence everyone earns by own forces in free from work time.
At the moment there are 6 participants in the troupe.