Moscow Art Theatre
Moscow Art Theatre
1858-1943
Konstantin Stanislavsky
(1863-1938)
Their Goals
• ensemble acting
• no “star” actors
• no type- or stock-casting
• artistically substantial plays
• theatre with an artistic, social,
and educational value
Initially designated roles:
KS’s job--staging
ANTON CHEKHOV
ANTON CHEKHOV
(1860-1904)
ANTON CHEKHOV (1860-
1904)
How To produce Chekhov?
Stanislavsky gave The Seagull
a feeling of continuous life
Overlapping dialogue
Lots of specific business
Sound effects for ambiance
The Seagull
Olga Knipper
as Arkadina,
Konstantin
Stanislavski
as Trigorin in
Chekhov’s
THE
SEAGULL.
Telegraph from N-D to Chekhov
The House of Chekhov
Characteristics of Chekhov
1) Life in rural Russia
Great at comedy
and character
roles.
Extensive bag
of actor tricks!
How did Stanislavsky
learn to act?
Imitating actors, teachers
Singing and movement lessons
Studying alone in the mirror
--Stanislavsky
Acting in Chekhov’s Plays
These plays worked on SUBTEXT!
Stanislavsky Investigated Acting!
Made discoveries in
Chekhov productions.
Observed successful
actors.
Took notes!
Began to try training
techniques with MAT
actors.
IMAGINATION
Used by actor to
flesh out the world
of the play and
make it more alive.
GIVEN CIRCUMSTANCES
OBJECTIVE!
SUPEROBJECTIVE!!!!
Which brings us back to SUBTEXT!
-- STANISLAVSKY
Inside -> Out Outside -> In
Stanislavski Meyerhold
“Representational” “Presentational”
ACTOR TERMS
• Auditions
• Cold/Prepared Reading
• Open Call
• Callbacks
• Actor’s Equity