The Foundation of Theatre OM
AUTONICA
This book opens the space of Autonica — a theatrical, creative, philosophical, and practical system. The system was created by Roman Akimov as the result of nine years of research and is now represented by three books: The Union of Opposites, I Am Nobody — I Am Everything, and Seven Thunders.
Autonica emerges where familiar ideas about creativity, life, theatre, the actor, the artist, the creator, action, image, and the artistic process are no longer sufficient. It offers a holistic rethinking of the very nature of the creative process: from unconscious reaction to action, from action to deed, from representation to the co-creation of a living phenomenon
In this sense, Autonica is not a continuation of existing theatrical and creative approaches, but their profound reconsideration. Its revolutionary nature lies not in the external rejection of tradition, but in a return to the very source of creativity — to the human being, their inner space, their choice, and their capacity for an authentic creative deed
At the foundation of this system lies a long-term interdisciplinary study of the human being. Autonica is formed at the intersection of ontology and phenomenology, philosophical anthropology, the dialectics of becoming, depth psychology, psychoanalytic thought, conflict studies, theatre methodology, the philosophy of art, semiology, philological analysis, and the mythopoetic understanding of reality, including its cosmogonic dimension
It turns toward those layers of human experience where inner tensions, unconscious reactions, hidden conflicts, images, associations, symbols, and creative and fundamental vectors are born
Before the reader is not only a book about theatre. It is an investigation of the human being in their ultimate possibility: the capacity to perceive, distinguish, act, become conscious, participate, and create. Autonica does not offer universal rules. It sets a direction — a movement toward authenticity, in which creativity becomes a form of life, and life reveals itself as a continuous creative process.
Today, the followers and students of Autonica are located on different continents of the Earth. In various countries, they continue its living process in forms that correspond to their personal path: in theatres, theatre laboratories, educational initiatives, individual artistic practice, and the investigation of the human being.
“If everything around you has become mixed and intertwined, if the moment comes when darkness has covered every shore — preserve your heart. The world and life itself have placed upon you far more than what you already carry — will you truly be frightened by this weight? Therefore, everything that follows is the natural outcome of long wanderings and an unshakable faith in those who came before you, and in those who stand beside you. Do what must be done, and know that what will be, will be
Now, to the creators: this is precisely the moment when everything is turned toward you and placed upon you, for you see beyond what is merely possible and are able to make tangible and manifest that which is hidden. As it was once said — do not be afraid
What is written in this book does not mean that someone is worse or better than you. It is time to part forever with these evaluative notions, as with many others that resemble nothing more than a label hung upon a person. Your path is difficult, but it is also beautiful — as is the path of everyone around you. We are all united and indivisible, for a healthy tree does not compare itself with the surrounding nature, nor does it compete with it; only through their unity do healthy fruits appear. Be perfect
I know all the hardships of your path, especially when your hands fall helplessly and you no longer know where to go or where your bed is. I also know the incredible resistance that arises in terrible moments, when everything seems to take on the nature of destruction. But I will say this: in the minutes of complete despair, a favorable wind always rises from the footsteps of the one coming from the East.”
“Everything is process!
Roman Akimov
Roman Akimov