The Path of a Character: Michael Chekhov's Inspired Acting and Theatre Semiotics

by Yana Meerzon

Overview

Nephew of Anton Chekhov and a disciple of Konstantin Stanislavskii, Russian émigré actor Michael Chekhov (1891-1955) created one of the most challenging and inspiring acting theories of the 20th century. This book is a reinterpretation of Chekhov's theory both in the context of the cultural and political milieu of his time and in the light of theatre semiotics: from Prague Structuralism to French Poststructuralism and contemporary performance theory. This work presents Chekhov's understanding of the actor's stage product - stage mask - as a psychological, psychophysical and cultural construct engaged with the mysteries of the actor/character or, what Mikhail Bakhtin describes as the author/hero, dialectical relationships. It offers new horizons in interdisciplinary and intercultural visions on theatre acting described by Chekhov as a most liberating and cathartic process.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783631530962
Publisher:	Peter Lang GmbH, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften
Publication date:	06/22/2005
Series:	Heidelberger Publikationen zur Slavistik: B) Literaturwissenschaftliche Reihe , #29
Pages:	342
Product dimensions:	5.83(w) x 8.27(h) x (d)

About the Author

The Author: Yana Meerzon is Assistant Professor in the Department of Theatre at the University of Ottawa (Canada). Her articles appeared in Semiotica, Slavic and East European Performance, Slavic and East European Journal, Semiotics of Writing, Translation Perspectives, On Stage Studies Journal, Toronto Slavic Annual and Teatral'naya zhizn'. Her research interests are in the area of theory of drama and performance, performance studies, theatre semiotics, and Russian drama and theatre.

Table of Contents

Contents: Stage Figure versus Stage Mask – Semiotics of Actor’s Body: Chekhov’s Notion of Atmosphere and Creating Space in Theatre – Semiotics of Actor’s Voice: Chekhov on Language, Rhythm and Gesture in Theatre Performance – Michael Chekhov Creating the Hamlet Stage Figure – Michael Chekhov Creating a Film Figure.