Modern theatre education in Russia is influenced by a number of factors that determine the process of replenishment of the theatrical world, implemented in theatre schools. The main factors include the formalization of the higher education system as a whole, the erosion of the boundaries of the traditional theatre school associated with the departure of the older generation of teachers, and the search for new forms of theatrical expressiveness in culture. The contextuality of theatrical education presupposes both the influence of external sociocultural factors on the educational and creative processes, as well as direct textual decisions expressed in publications, stage acts, and theatre events. The materials presented in the article combine the analysis of theoretical sources and the practice of theatre education in terms of their relevance to the contemporary Russian cultural context. As a result of the study, the most urgent problems of the higher theatre school in Russia are identified - its target orientation, qualitative characteristics of the learning outcome and the combination of traditional and innovative in the modern theatre space.