The civil-law status of stage directors as performers of a special kind

The article highlights the course of the discussion on raising the legal protection of directors of theatrical performances. The author analyzes changes made to chapter 71 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, granting directors a status differentfrom other performers. The authors consider the authorship and the possibility of applying the criterion of originality to them, taking into account additions introduced into the law. There is an extension in the law of the concept of «form of performance» and the significance of this for the practical activities of directors.