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Which Came First: The System or ‘The Seagull’?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 January 2009

Bella Merlin
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Abstract

Anton Chekhov's dissatisfaction with Konstantin Stanislavsky's early productions of his plays is well known and oft-discussed. However, it may be argued that the detailed analysis to which Stanislavsky subjected the script of The Seagull, though offensive to the author's intentions, led to the germination of Stanislavsky's acting system as well as laying the foundations for the success of Chekhov's own dramatic career. Bella Merlin, Lecturer in Drama and Theatre Arts at Birmingham University, explores this avenue of debate by assessing the possible reasons for the Alexandrinsky Theatre's failure in its premiere of The Seagull in 1896. Thereafter, the mutual dependency of Chekhov and Stanislavsky is discussed with reference to the success of the Moscow Art Theatre's production of 1898. In the following article in this issue, she links these reflections on the play's early fortunes to its relevance to the ‘Method of Physical Actions’ developed by Stanislavsky towards the end of his career.

Type
Research Article
Information
New Theatre Quarterly , Volume 15 , Issue 3 , August 1999 , pp. 218 - 227
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1999

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References

Notes and References

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2. Nemirovich-Danchenko, V., My Life in the Russian Theatre, trans. Cournos, John (Boston: Little Brown, 1936), p. 65Google Scholar.

3. Kleberg, L., AND Nilssen, N. A., eds., Theatre and Literature in Russia, 1900–1930 (Denmark: Armquist, Wiksell, 1984), p. 27Google Scholar.

4. Ibid.

5. Nemirovich-Danchenko, V., My Life in the Russian Theatre, p. 148.

6. Cited in Benedetti, J. N., Stanislavsky: a Biography (London: Methuen, 1990), p. 74Google Scholar.

7. Cited in Polyakova, E., Stanislavsky, p. 99–101.

8. Ibid., p. 101.

9. Chekhov, A., The Seagull, trans. Frayn, Michael (London: Methuen, 1993), p. 1Google Scholar.

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12. Benedetti, J. N., Stanislavsky: a Biography, p. 107.

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14. Ibid.

15. Nemirovich-Danchenko, V., My Life in the Russian Theatre, p. 19.

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18. Letter to Suvorin cited in Styan, J. L., Realism and Naturalism: Modern Drama in Theory and Practice, 1 (Cambridge University Press, 1995), p. 77Google Scholar.

19. Styan, J. L., Realism and Naturalism, p. 77.

20. Melchinger, S., Anton Chekhov (New York: Ungar, 1972), p. 67Google Scholar.

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22. Nemirovich-Danchenko, V., My Life in the Russian Theatre, p. 63.

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26. Styan, J. L., Realism and Naturalism, p. 89.

27. Nemirovich-Danchenko, V., My Life in the Russian Theatre, p. 162.

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