Potencija Pinkauskaitė | |
|---|---|
 Pinkauskaitė c. 1922 | |
| Born | 22 August 1897 |
| Died | 9 April 1984 (aged 86) |
| Nationality | Lithuanian |
| Occupation | Theater actress |
| Years active | 1913–1968 |
Potencija Pinkauskaitė (22 August 1897 – 9 April 1984) was a leading character actress of interwar Lithuanian theater, representative of the first generation of professional Lithuanian theater actors.
Potencija Pinkauskaitė was born into a poor family of Simonas and Elžbieta Pinkauskas in Joniškis. The family soon moved to Riga, where at that time existed a large Lithuanian colony up to 50,000. In 1907, her father left for two years for the United States to work in a Boston steel plant. [1]
In Riga, Pinkauskaitė debuted in an amateur theater of the Lithuanian community's organization "Pašalpa". Her first role was mother in Three Beloved (Trys mylimosios) by Žemaitė. [2] In 1914, she played a role of mother in comedy Intelligentsia by Dāvids Šveņķis, also staged by the amateurs of "Pašalpa". [3] : 11–12
During World War I, the family moved to Mariupol, where Pinkauskaitė finished gymnasium. After the war, the family then returned to Riga, where they lived till 1920, when Pinkauskaitė's parents decided to return to the home town of Joniškis and she moved to Kaunas. During the Riga period, she performed in Love Parodies (Meilės parodijos) by Bolesław Gorczyński , [4] Živilė by Vincas Nagornoskis, Poor We (Gaila mūsų) by Ludwik Adam Dmuszewski , Weaver Under the Cross (Verpėja po kryžiumi) by Franciszka Omańkowska, Out of Love (Iš meilės) by Ivan Togobochny , Our dear (Mūsų gerasis) by Žemaitė, [3] : 12 One of us must marry (Vienas iš mūsų turi apsivesti) by Jean Baptista von Schweitzer. [5] : 110 Most of these plays were staged by Jurgis Linartas.
In Kaunas, Pinkauskaitė joined the troupe of Juozas Vaičkus , but soon transferred to the theater studio of Antanas Sutkus . The studio evolved into the improvisational Werewolf Theater (Vilkolakio teatras) [6] directed by Balys Sruoga and Sutkus till its closing in 1925. She also studied at ballet school of Olga Dubenieckienė in 1921–1923.
In 1920–1925, Pinkauskaitė worked at the Kaunas City Theater or Folk Theater (Tautos teatras), organized and directed by Sutkus. In 1925–1931, she worked at the State Theater, which was the first professional Lithuanian theater.
In 1926–1927, she also played at Our Theater (Mūsų teatras) in Kaunas.
She played various character roles: beggars, witches, washerwomen, aunts, old moms, nuns. [7]
In 1931, Pinkauskaitė together with part of the Kaunas troupe relocated to Šiauliai to work at a new division of the State Theater. The theater was located in the building of Šiauliai cinema Kapitol and frequently toured around northern Lithuania and Samogitia. [8] : 48–49, 54
On 1 June 1935, the Šiauliai section of the State Theater with its troupe was relocated to Klaipėda and renamed as the Klaipėda Section of the State Theater. The theater remained there until 23 March 1939 (Lithuania lost Klaipėda Region to Nazi Germany as a result of the ultimatum). The theater moved back to Šiauliai. During these relocations and after World War II, Pinkauskaitė continued to work in its troupe. In 1961, she retired, but continued to play occasional roles. In 1968, she played her last role of Viltichen in Hauptmann's The Sunken Bell .
In 1959–1970, Pinkauskaitė also taught declamation at the Šiauliai Pedagogic Institute and managed several school drama studios in Šiauliai.
Pinkauskaitė died in 1984 and was buried in Antakalnis Cemetery in Vilnius.
In 1991, non-governmental Lithuanian Foundation of Culture established Potencija Pinkauskaitė Price for theater achievements.
On 9 February 1995, a memorial plaque and a bust of Pinkauskaitė, created by the Lithuanian sculptor Aloyzas Toleikis , was unveiled on Vilnius Street in Šiauliai. [10]
Joniškis is a town in northern Lithuania with a population of about 9,900. It is located 39 kilometers north of Šiauliai and 14 kilometers south of the Lithuania–Latvia border. Joniškis is the municipal and administrative centre of Joniškis district municipality.
The NationalKaunas Drama Theatre is the biggest theatre in Kaunas, and one of the oldest functioning theatres in Lithuania. There are six different creative spaces for events in the Kaunas Drama Theatre.
Daina Society was a Lithuanian cultural organization promoting Lithuanian folk traditions and songs. It was established as an illegal cultural society by the composer Juozas Naujalis and officially registered with the Tsarist authorities in 1905. Active from 1899 to 1944 in Kaunas, the society organized various events, concerts, amateur theater performances. In 1924, it initiated the first Lithuanian Song Festival.
Juozas Grušas was a Lithuanian writer, editor, dramatist and playwright.
Vladas Vitkauskas who in 1993 became the first Lithuanian and the first mountaineer from the Baltic states to climb the world‘s highest mountain, Mount Everest. Between 1993 and 1996 Vitkauskas climbed the Seven Summits.
Kazys Šimonis was a famous Lithuanian painter.
Gabrielė Petkevičaitė was a Lithuanian educator, writer, and activist. Her pen name Bitė (Bee) eventually became part of her last name. Encouraged by Povilas Višinskis, she joined public life and started her writing career in 1890, becoming a prominent member of the Lithuanian National Revival. She was the founder and chair of the Žiburėlis society to provide financial aid to struggling students, one of the editors of the newspaper Lietuvos žinios, and an active member of the women's movement. In 1920, she was elected to the Constituent Assembly of Lithuania and chaired its first session. Her realist writing centered on exploring the negative impact of the social inequality. Her largest work, two-part novel Ad astra (1933), depicts the rising Lithuanian National Revival. Together with Žemaitė, she co-wrote several plays. Her diary, kept during World War I, was published in 1925–1931 and 2008–2011.
Liudvikas Jakavičius was a writer, journalist, publisher, theatre director, banker and nobleman. He was born in Akmenė (Lithuania) and died in Anykščiai (Lithuania).
Vytautas V. Landsbergis : Lithuanian writer, journalist, director of films and theater, children's book writer, son of Vytautas Landsbergis and father of Gabrielius Landsbergis.
Rūta Society was a Lithuanian cultural society in Vilnius, then part of the Russian Empire, active from 1909 to the outbreak of World War I in 1914. It organized various events, including lectures, literary evenings, and musical performances, but it is most noted for its contribution to the development of the Lithuanian theater. In total, Rūta staged about 50 plays.
Kėdainiai Bus Station is the central bus station in Kedainiai, Lithuania. It serves as a terminal for suburban and national coach services.
Mūsų senovė was a Lithuanian-language academic magazine published in Kaunas, Lithuania in 1921–1922 and in 1937–1940. It was the first attempt to publish a periodical dedicated to the study of the history in Lithuanian. It was published irregularly and mostly dealt with the materials and topics related to the Lithuanian National Revival and the Lithuanian press ban. In total, 10 issues appeared.
Vytautas Landsbergis-Žemkalnis was a Lithuanian architect most active in interwar Lithuania (1926–1939). He was the father of Vytautas Landsbergis, the first Lithuanian head of state after independence from the Soviet Union.
America in the Bathhouse is a three-act comedy by Keturakis. The play was first published in 1895. It became the first Lithuanian-language play performed in public in present-day Lithuania when a group of Lithuanian activists staged it on 20 August 1899 in Palanga. The play depicts an episode from the everyday life of the Lithuanian village – a resourceful man swindles money from a naive woman and escapes to the United States. Due to its relevant plot, small cast, and simple decorations, the play was very popular with the Lithuanian amateur theater. It became one of the most popular and successful Lithuanian comedies of all time and continues to be performed by various troupes.
Jurgis Smolskis was a writer and socialist activist in the Rokiškis District, then part of the Russian Empire now Lithuania.
Sofija Čiurlionienė née Kymantaitė was a Lithuanian writer, educator, and activist.
Gabrielius Landsbergis-Žemkalnis was a Lithuanian playwright and activists of the early Lithuanian amateur theater.
Jonas Kriaučiūnas was a Lithuanian activist during the Lithuanian National Revival mostly noted for editing and publishing Lithuanian periodicals Varpas and Ūkininkas in 1891–1895 and Vilniaus žinios in 1905–1906.
Antanina Vainiūnaitė-Kubertavičienė was a Lithuanian stage actress. She was recognized as the People's Artist of the Lithuanian SSR in 1956.
Julija Biliūnienėnée Janulaitytė (1880–1978) was a Lithuanian dentist.
