7/27/2019 Treino de Atores Na Uniao Sovietica

1/4

The Training of Actors in theU.S.S.R.

Summ arized from an article by V. Z. Kadom yslenskj, Director of theMoscow Art Theatre Studio

THE Sta te Ins t i tu te o f Dramat icArt founded in 1931 is one ofthe biggest institutions ofdram atic education in the U.S.S.R. I tis staffed by the most distinguishedteachers in Moscow and conductsexperimental work and research inthe his tory and theory of dramatic ar t .Under it are various national studioswhich provide theatre training for thenon-Russian republics.Th ere a r e so me th o u s an d p ro fess io n a l,p e r m a n e n t t h e a t r e s i n t h e S o v i e t U n i o nn o t co mi t in g th e ten s o f th o u san d s o fa m a t e u r t h e a t r e s . T h e s e t h e a t r e s n e e d av er i tab le a rmy o f ac to r s , s tag e d i r ec to r s ,an d s tu d en ts of th e th ea t r e . As l if e p ro g resses , a s h u man ex p er ien ce b eco mes r ich er ,an d h u man co n sc io u sn ess d eep er an d b ro ad er ,r ea l i sm in a r t r eq u i r es th e ac to r to s tu d yrea l i ty mo re an d mo re d eep ly . Ar t i s t ic in tu i t ion alone is absolu tely insuf iScient forth i s s tu d y . I t r eq u i r es an a l l - ro u n d ed u cat i o n .

K . S . S tan is lav sk y , to wh o m we a r e in d eb ted fo r g en era l i s in g an d ex t r ac t in g th eessen ce f ro m th e b es t ex p er ien ce in ac t in g ,was th e f i r s t to mak e th i s d eman d o fth ea t r ica l wo rk er s . B efore s tu d y in g ac t in gitself, th e n o v ice sh o u ld lo o k to h i s g en era le d u c a t i o n . " I f y o u r e m a i n a n i g n o r a m u s , "S tan is lav sk y s te rn ly ad mo n ish ed o n e y o u n gac to r : " I sh a l l co n s id er y o u an en em y ofth e s tag e an d d i r ec t a l l my a r ro ws ag a in s ty o u . "Th e So v ie t Go v ern men t h as es tab l i sh ed ah u g e n e tw o rk o f es tab l i sh m en ts fo r th eat r ica l ed u ca t io n , r an g in g f ro m d ramat ic in s t i tu tes to th ea t r ica l s ch o o ls wh ere , b es id esacq u i r in g a sp ec ia l ed u ca t io n in th e i r ch o senf ield , fu ture actors also acquire an al l- roundg e n e r a l e d u c a t i o n .Th e d ec is io n o f th e C en t r a l C o mmit tee o fth e C o mmu n is t Par ty o f th e So v ie t Un io n(Bolsheviks) of Apr il 23 , 1932, concerningth e r eo rg an isa t io n o f l i t e r a ry an d a r torganisations facil i ta ted the f inal unif icationo f th ea t r ica l wo rk er s a ro u n d th e r ea l i s t icid eas o f S tan is la v sk y an d Va k h ta n g o v .L. M. Leonidov, a pupil and fo llower ofS tan is lav sk y , b ecame th e h ead o f th e S ta teI n s t i t u t e o f D r a m a t i c A r t .H e a t t a c h e d t r e m e n d o u s i m p o r t a n c e t oth e cu l t iv a t io n o f th e ac to r ' s s en se o f th enew, h is sense of the sp ir i t o f the t imes andh is t i e s w i th th e So v ie t p eo p le . "N o t o n lymu s t we teac h p ro fess io na l sk i l l , " Leo n id o v

wro te in 1 9 4 1 , "n o t o n ly mu s t we teac h t h eth eo ry an d p rac t ice o f th e th ea t r e , n o t o n lymu s t we in sp i r e r esp ec t fo r a r t . We m u s ta l so b r in g u p o u r p u p i l s , b r in g th em u p inth e w id es t sen se o f th e te rm, an d wh at i smo s t im p o r t an t , in th e So v ie t sp i r i t . I f th eac to r , s tag e d i r ec to r , an d s tu d en t o f th eth e a t r e d o es n o t k eep h is ea r s o p en to t h evoice of the t im es, does no t ma inta in closere la t io n s w i th h is co u n t ry , d o es n o t lo o ku p o n ev en th e c las s ics f ro m th e p o in t o fv iew of the t imes, ever3r th ing he does wil lseem imp er f ec t , w i l l b e r emo te , a l ien , an di n c o m p r e h e n s i b l e . ' 'T h a t p a r t o f S t a n i s l a v s k y ' s t e a c h i n gwh ich r e la tes to th e ac to r ' s acq u is i t io n o fin n er an d o u te r tech n iq u e i s ex p o u n d ed inh i s b o o k " T h e A c t o r ' s W o r k o n Himself."This book contains the scientif ic basis of them e t h o d s w h i c h p u t t h e a c t o r ' s p s y c h o p h y s i c a l a p p a r a t u s i n t o m o t i o n . T h e m a i np u rp o se o f th ese meth o d s i s to teach th eac to r co n sc io u s ly to r eg u la te h i s c r ea t iv eap p ara tu s , to f in d th e way co n sc io u s lyto w ard s c r ea t iv e f ee l ing . I t i s th i s wh ichm a d e S t a n i s l a v s k y ' s s y s t e m r e v o l u t i o n a r y .

Leo n id o v fo l lo wed a d i s t in c t an d c lea rp r in c ip le in cu l t iv a t in g c r ea t iv e f ee l in g ." T h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t t h i n g , t h e b e g i n n i n gof a l l b eg in n in g s , i s th o u g h t . Th o u g h tengenders feeling , feeling results in actionwh ich in i t s tu rn r esu l t s in th o u g h t . "L EONiDOv's principles are beingfollowed in the Institute by M. M.Tarkhanov, who succeeded I/eonidovas the Head of the Institute after thefo rme r ' s d ea th . Su b jec ts in th e cu r r icu lu mare character is t ic of t t ie Soviet conception ofan ac to r . Th e fu tu re So v ie t ac to r mu s t b eeq u a l to th e ad v an ced id eas wh ich a r e th emotive force of Soviet society , must be well-e d u c a t e d . T h e I n s t i t u t e ' s s t u d e n t s t h e r e f o res tu d y , as r eq u i r ed su b jec ts , th e fu n d amen ta ls o f Marx ism-Len in ism, th e h is to ryof philosophy, aesthetics , the h is tory of ar t ,th e th eo ry o f d r amat ic a r t , th e h is to ry an dth eo ry of ac t in g . Th e r eq u i r ed s tan d ar d s ing en era l ed u ca t io n a l su b jec ts a r e th e same asth o se mad e in a l l o th er h ig h er in s t i tu tes inth e U .S .S .R .

Th e co u r se in ac t in g i s co n d u c ted o n th eb as is o f S tan is lav sk y ' s sy s tem, an d i t s a imis to teach fu t iu ' e ac to r s th e in n er tech n iq u eo f in te rp re t in g ch arac te r p ar t s , o f r ev ea l in gth e co n ten t o f each p ar t . Th e co u r se b eg in swi th th e s imp les t ex erc i ses a imin g a t th ed ev e lo p men t o f th e p sy ch o lo g ica l an dp h y s ica l f acu l t ies n ecessa ry to th e ac to r .25

7/27/2019 Treino de Atores Na Uniao Sovietica

2/4

Onl y a f t e r t he s t uden t has deve l oped t hesequal i t ies in suff icient measure and has gainedco m m an d of th e elem ents of scenic feeli ng , does he p roceed t o work on psy chol og i ca l p l o t s t ud i es , beg i nn i ng wi t h t he verys i mp l es t . W i t h t he s t u de n t ' s acqu i s i t i on ofsk i l l t hese s t ud i es a r e made more and morecompl i ca t ed un t i l t he nov i ce i s se t t asks i nc h a r a c t e r p o r t r a y a l .Th e nex t s t ep is work on a r ea l ro l e . Th ec u r r i c u l u m i s s o a r ra n g e d t h a t b y t h a t t i m et he s t u de n t ha s a l r eady acqu i r e d su ff ic i en tg round fo r perce i v i ng and f ee l i ng t he i dea-con t en t of a p l ay . Th i s i s an essen ti a l p re r equ i s i t e fo r h i s beg i nn i ng t o work on t hed r a m a t i c p o r t r a y a l of c h a r a c t e r . T h e s t u d yof ro les i s the last f inal s tage in an actor ' seduca t i on , fo r wh i ch he p repared h i mse l fnot only in the special classes in act ing , butalso in the process of fulfi l l ing the wholeeduc a t i ona l p l an . Bes i des t he genera l sub j ec t s and t he cou r se i n ac t i ng , t h i s p l ani nc l udes such sub j ec t s as p l as t i cs , rhy t hmi cs ,s i ng i ng , and mus i c al l sub j ec t s p romot i ngex t erna l h i s t r i on i c t echn i que .T h e I n s t i t u t e ' s g r a d u a t e s a r e t h o r o u g h l yt r a i ned fo r i ndependen t c r ea t i ve work .Sca t t e r i ng , a f t e r g radua t i on , t o t he mos tr emot e par t s o f t he Sov i e t Un i on , t hey app l yt he i r knowl edge and t a l en t t here . In t h i sr e s p e c t t h e I n s t i t u t e ' s n a t i o n a l s t u d i e swh i ch t r a i n c r ea t i ve per sonnel fo r t hen a t i o n a l t h e a t r e s , a r e p a r t i c u l a r l y i m p o r t a n t .T h e S o v i e t G o v e r n m e n t h a s a l w a y s p a i dspec i a l a t t en t i on t o t hea t r i ca l t r a i n i ng i nth e Sovie t repu bl ics .* As ear ly as 1918-1919t h e t h e a t r e d e p a r t m e n t o f t h e C o m m i s s a r i a to f Pub l i c Educa t i on o rgan i sed a t hea t r ecommi t t ee fo r t he exp ress pu rpose o f deve l op i n g d r a m a t i c a r t a m o n g t h e p e o p l e s w h oun t i l t hen had e i t her no t hea t r e o f t he i r own ,o r on l y a very p r i mi t i ve fo rm o f t hea t r e .

M ASTERS of th e R ussia n th ea tr ecame to the aid of the non-Russian republics of the Soviet Unionin the developing of dramatic art , int he c r ea t i on o f na t i ona l r eper t o i r es andnat i o na l s t ud i os . You ng peop l e f romY a k u t i a , O s e ti a , T a j i k i s ta n , K a z a k h s t a n , a n do t her r epub l i cs acqu i r e t hea t r i ca l educa t i oni n t he In s t i t u t e . Th e eagerness t hese youngpeople showed for cul ture, the heroic ef for t st hey made t o ach i eve t he i r goa l ( t h i s i sespec i a l l y t rue o f t he g i r l s among t hem, whobroke t he anc i en t t r ad i t i ons con f i n i ngOr i en t a l women t o t he home) i n sp i r ed t heI n s t i t u t e ' s t e a c h e r s t o s u r m o u n t a l l t h eobs t ac l es i n t he i r way .Pro fesso r O . I . Pyzhova r ecoun t s her ear l yef fo r t s t o t each a g roup o f Kara-Kal pak i ans t ud en t s . She spe n t t he f ir st f ew l essonst ry i ng t o es t ab l i sh con t ac t wi t h t hem wi t h -

* [ In t h i s connec t i on i t i s i n t e r es t i ng t ono t e t ha t a new t hea t r e has j u s t beenopened i n Ta l l i n , Es t ho n i a . Th e nuc l euso f t he new company i s composed o ft h i s year ' s g radua t es f rom t he S t a t eIns t i t u t e o f Dramat i c Ar t , Moscow. Ediior.}

ou t mu ch success . Th e p l o t s o f a l l t he s t ud i esshe sugges t ed d i d no t wi n t he i r i n t e r es t ,t ouc hed no sp r i ngs i n t he m. Af t e r a f ewd a y s , when t he a t mosphere o f t he c l ass roomhad become i n t o l e rab l y t ense , one o f t hes t u d e n t s s u d d e n l y b u r s t o u t w i t h t h e c o m p l a i n t : " T e a c h e r , y o u h a v e y o u r p h a n t as i es , a n d I h a v e m y o w n . " " H e i s r i g h t , "a g i rl sa i d , r i s i ng f rom her p l ace . "Y ou haveyour own pha n t as y , he h i s own . Le t h i ma c t h i s p h a n t a s y . " T h i s s u g g e s ti o n i m m e -d i t a t e l y e l ec tr i fi ed t he s t ud en t s . Ea ch oneeager ly offered to act out h is own study inwh i ch he cou l d make use o f t he i mpress i onshe had accumul a t ed du r i ng h i s l i f e .

The s t ud i es t hus e l abo ra t ed r e f l ec t ed t hec u s t o m s a n d m o d e s o f t h e K a r a - K a l p a k i a npeople, thei r ways of l i fe , thei r manner ofc o n d u c t i n g t h e m s e l v e s . T h e i r m o v e m e n t shad spec i a l rhy t hm and p l as t i c qua l i t y , andt he i r s t ud i es con t a i ned t he i mpress i ons o ft he i r ch i l dhood , spen t i n t he i r na t i ve par t s .They t r i ed t o convey t he sensa t i ons a rousedby t he l andscape o f Kara-Kal pak i a , w i t h i t sb r i gh t sun l i gh t , t r ees , b i rd s , and i r r i ga t i oncana l s . Th ey r ep rod uced scenes o f s t rugg l ewi t h wi l d beas t s wi t h much p l as t i c g race .

In t he t r a i n i ng o f ac t o r s fo r t he Nat i ona lThea t r es o f t he Sov i e t Repub l i cs t he In s t i t u t e has acqu i r ed r i ch exper i ence ; andi t s work i s now f i rmly based on nat ional ar tt r a d i t i o n s .The In s t i t u t e ' s na t i ona l s t ud i os genera l l yt r a i n who l e t hea t r i ca l compan i es , wh i chre t u rn t o t he i r homel and wi t h t he i r ownqual i f i ed s t age d i r ec t o r s and ac t o r s , and arepe r t o i r e a l r eady p repa red . Ma ny fo rmers t uden t s o f t he In s t i t u t e ' s s t ud i os have nowbecome wel l -known t h roughou t t he t J .S .S .R .as ac t o r s and s t age d i r ec t o r s .Bes i des t r a i n i ng ac t o r s , s t age d i r ec t o r s ,

and t hea t r i ca l h i s t o r i ans , t he S t a t e In s t i t u t e o f D r a m a t i c A r t a l s o c o n d u c t sr esearch work i n t he h i s t o ry and t heo ry o fd r a m a t i c a r t a n d d r a m a t i c p e d a g o g y . I nd rawi ng up i t s cu r r i cu l um and educa t i ona lp l ans , t h e d e p a r t m e n t o f t h e a t r i c a l r e s e a r c hpays spec i a l a t t en t i on t o t he e l abo ra t i on o ft he p rob l ems o f t he new Sov i e t t hea t r es .Problems of social i s t sesthet ics and theethics of the Soviet actor are d iscussed atf acu l t y meet i ngs and i n s t uden t aud i t o r i um s . Th e Sov i e t Un i on , where t hea t r i ca lrese arch has bec om e a science, i s th e f irstcoun t ry t o t r a i n d ramat i c c r i t i cs andt h e a t r i c a l r e s e a r c h w o r k e r s .A l l t h e d e p a r t m e n t s o f t h e I n s t i t u t econduct r esearch work , and t he i r p ro g rammes cover a l l aspec t s o f t he t hea t r e .T h e s t a g e - d i r e c t i n g d e p a r t m e n t s t u d i e s t h eexper ience of the world theat re in th is f ield ,e l abo ra t es s t age-d i r ec t i ng p rob l ems i n t heSov i e t t hea t r e , and met hods o f t r a i n i ng s t aged i r e c t o rs . T h e I n s t i t u t e p r e p a r e s t e x t - b o o k sfo r d ramat i c i n s t i t u t es and schoo l s , w i t h t hehe l p o f t he p ro fesso r s and pos t -g radua t es t u d e n t s of t h e I n s t i t u t e .I t s exper i ence he l ps t he d ramat i c i n s t i tu tes in o ther Soviet ci t ies , of which thereare a t p rese n t fou r t een . Ea ch i n s t i t u t e i ss t a f f ed by p romi nen t ac t o r s o f t he Sov i e tt h e a t r e .

2 6

7/27/2019 Treino de Atores Na Uniao Sovietica

3/4

THE studio schools organised b y th etheatres themselves represent aspecial typ e of dra m atic school. Thereare io8 of such schools at present int h e U . S . S . R . T h e N e m i r o v i c h - D a n c h e n k os t u d i o u n d e r t h e M o s c o w A r t T h e a t r e , t h eS h c h e p k i n S c h o o l u n d e r t h e M a l y T h e a t r e ,a n d t h e S h c h u k i n S c h o o l u n d e r t h e V a k h -tan g o v Th ea t r e , f o r in s tan ce , d i f f e r f ro m th eS ta te In s t i tu te o f Dramat ic Ar t ch ie f ly inth a t th ey a im to t r a in fu tu re ac to r s fo r th e i ro w n t h e a t r e s .

An essen t ia l f ac to r in th e t r a in in g g iv eni n t h e s e s t u d i o s i s t h a t t h e s t u d e n t s t a k ep a r t i n t h e t h e a t r e ' s p r o d u c t i o n w o r k . T h ev a lu e o f th i s meth o d i s co n f i rmed b y th eex p er ien ce o f th e Mo sco w Ar t Th ea t r e ,which has used i t to train a f ine reinforcem en t fo r i t s co m p an y . Th e lead in g ac to r so f w h a t i s k n o w n a s t h e A r t T h e a t r e ' s" s e c o n d g e n e r a t i o n " w e r e t a u g h t i n t h e A r tT h e a t r e ' s S e c o n d S t u d i o .Th e p r in c ip a l a r t su b jec ts in th ese s tu d iosch o o ls a r e tau g h t b y th e ac to r s o f th e g iv ent h e a t r e , t h u s e n s u r i n g c o n t i n u a t i o n o f t h et r ad i t io n s an d a r t i s t ic t r en d s o f th e g iv ent h e a t r e . E a c h t h e a t r e s o l ve s t h e p r o b l e m oft r a in in g in d i r ec t co n n ec t io n w i th i t s o wntask s . Th e ex is ten ce of a s tu d io sch o o l h e lp st h e t h e a t r e t o d e v e l o p a n d p e r f e c t i t s o w nw o r k .I t c a n b e s a i d w i t h o u t e x a g g e r a t i o n t h a tt h e s t u d i o s o f t h e A r t T h e a t r e a r e t h ec r e a t i v e e x p e r i m e n t a l l a b o r a t o r i e s w h e r eS t a n i s l a v s k y ' s b a s i c t h e o r e t i c a l p r i n c i p l e sh av e b een p er f ec ted . Th ese s tu d io s h av et r a in ed a wh o le g a lax y o f o u ts tan d in g So v ie ts t a g e d i r e c t o r s .Th e 1 9 47 g rad u a te s of th e Nem iro v ich -

D a n c h e n k o S t u d i o , u n d e r t h e M o s c o w A r tTh ea t r e , a g ro u p o f ta len ted y o u n g ac to r s ,f o r m e d a c o m p a n y w i t h i n t h e t h e a t r e , w i t ha r e p e r t o r y of i t s o w n . T h e V a k h t a n g o vTh ea t r e ' s s ch o o l h as in th e las t t en y ear sp ro d u ced a la rg e n u mb er o f ac to r s wh o h av es t r e n g t h e n e d t h e c o m p a n y a n d b r o u g h t n e wl if e i n t o t h e V a k h t a n g o v T h e a t r e . P o u n d e dmo re th a n a h u n d red y e ar s ag o , th e Sch o o lo f th e Maly Th ea t r e h as g iv en sev era lg en era t io n s of ac to r s to th e R u ss ian th ea t r e .I n c o n t r a s t t h e r e i s t h e y o u n g s t u d i o u n d e rth e Mo sso v ie t Th ea t r e w i th i t s f i r s t g r ad u a test h i s y e a r .

P r o m i n e n t a c t o r s a n d s t a g e d i r e c t o r sf r o m t h e t h e a t r e s c o n c e r n e d t r a v e l o v e r t h eSo v ie t Un io n a r r an g in g co n te s t s an d se lec t i n g s t u d e n t s f o r t h e i r s t u d i o s .A m a t e u r t h e a t r i c a l c i r c l e s p l a y a t r e m e n d o u s ro le in th e t r a in in g o f ac to r s in th eU.S .S.R. Circles orga nise d at factor ie s , mil ls ,co l lec t iv e f a rms , an d a t So v ie t in s t i tu t io n s o fa l l k in d s a r e d i r ec ted , as a ru le , b y p ro f es s io n a l s tag e d i r ec to r s an d ac to r s . Ea chp r o d u c t i o n i m d e r t a k e n b y a n a m a t e u r

d ramat ic c i r c le i s acco mp an ied b y a se r ieso f lec tu res o n d ra ma t ic su b jec ts fo r th em e m b e r s of t h e c i rc l e . T h e a m a t e u r d r a m a t i cc i r c les co n s t i tu te a v as t r ese rv o i r o f ac to r s inth e U .S .S .R . Th e d ra ma t ic sch o o ls a l so d rawn ew s tu d en ts la rg e ly f ro m th is so u rce .In g en era l , th e So v ie t th ea t r e i s b e in gc r e a t i v e l y e n r i c h e d b y i t s c o n t a c t w i t hy o u n g p e o p l e w h o h a v e g r o w n u p u n d e r t h eSo v ie t sy s tem . Th e f amo u s mas te r s o f th et h e a t r e , i n r e t u r n , t r a n s m i t t h e i r c r e a t i v ee x p e r i e n c e t o m e m b e r s o f t h e y o u n g e rg e n e r a t i o n , w h o m t h e y r e c o g n i s e a s w o r t h yo f ca r ry in g o n th e i r wo rk .

S.C.R. PUBLICATIONSS O M E R E C E N T E N G L I S H P O E T R Y . A f ew c o pi e s s t iU l e ft of t h i s l i m i t e dedit ion of f ive 12- inch gramophone records , bound in covers , forming replica of theg i f t p r ep ared b y th e S.C.R. Write r s ' Gro u p fo r p r esen ta t io n to th e p o e ts o f th eU . S . S . R . I n t r o d u c t i o n s p o k e n b y W ^ t e r d e l a M a r e , a n d c o m m e n t a r y b y t h eco mp i le r ( Jo h n Leh m an n ) . T . S. E l io t , Ed i th S i twel l, C ec i l Da y Lewis , Lo u isMacNeice , an d S tep h e n Sp en d er r ead th e i r o wn p o ems ; an d p o ems b y Alu n Lewis ,S y d n e y K e y e s , a n d F r a n k T h o m p s o n a r e r e a d b y D a v i d P e el . O b t a i n a b l e o n ly b yS.C.R. memb er s an d ed u ca t io n a l b o d ies , p r ice ; i3 3 s . ( p o s t f r ee ^ 4S. 2d.) , fromS.C.R. W r i t e r s ' G r o u p .A R C H I T E C T U R E O P T H E U . S . S . R . I l l u s t r a te d h a n d b o o k , w i t h s u r v e y of h i s t o r i c a l a n d c o n t e m p o r a r y w o r k , p r e p a r e d f o r t h e r e c e n t e x h i b i t i o n a t t h e R . I . B . A .Inv alu ab le expos it ion of tre nd s in s ty le . Pr ic e 2s . (post f ree 2S. 2d . ) f rom S.C.R.A r c h i t e c t u r e a n d P l a n n i n g G r o u p .S a E N C E I N T H E S O V I E T S T A T E . V e r b a t i m r e p o r t of t h e S y m p o s i u m h e lda t C a x t o n H a l l o n N o v e m b e r 1 2 t h , 1 94 7 . S p e e c h e s b y S ir R o b e r t W a t s o n - W a t t ,F .R.S. (Chairman) , Prof. J . D . B ern a l , F.R.S . . Prof. V. Go rd o n C h i ld e , Mr . An d rewR o t h s te in . P r ice 3 s . 6 d . p o s t f ree fro m S.C.R. Scien ce Sec t io n .V . G . B E L I N S K Y 1 8 1 1 - 1 8 4 8 : n o t e s o n h i s l if e, e x t r a c t e d b y A r t h u r C a l d e r-Marsh a l l f rom o i e wo rk s o f A lex an d er H erzen . I s su ed in co n n ec t io n w i th t h eB el in sk y An n iv er sa ry , 1 9 48 . P r ice i / - ( p o s t 2 d . ) f ro m SC R W r i te r s ' Gro u p .

7/27/2019 Treino de Atores Na Uniao Sovietica

4/4

T W O RUSSIAN PLAYSReviewed by

FRANK JACKSONTHE CHERRY ORCHARD

at the Old Vic.TSAR FEODOR

by the S.C.R. Theatre Sect ion.TH E Old Vic Com pany's revivalof "The Cherry Orchard" at theNew Theatre was the thirdI/ondon production of this play inrecent mo nths. "The Cherry Orchard"ha s won a special place in the affectionsof theatre-goers, and is an irresistiblechallenge to actors and producersanxious to test their strength.The exact nature of th is challenge is d if f icu l t to d escr ib e in a f ew wo rd s , b u t I th in ki t m a y b e f a i r l y s u m m e d u p i n t h e p l a y ' sach iev emen t o f e f f ec t a tmo sp h er ica l ly , b yu n d e r s t a t e m e n t , a n d b y i t s b e i n g a p l a yessen t ia l ly d em an d in g g ro u p p ro d u c t io n . A l lp a r t s a r e i n t e r d e p e n d e n t a n d , if " T h e C h e r r yO r c h a r d " i s t o a c h i e v e a n y t h i n g l i k e i t sm ax im u m eff ect , a l l p a r t s m u s t b e wel l p lay edan d , in ad d i t io n , p lay ed in s id e th e g en era lf r amew o rk . Th i s i s n o t a p lay for an in d iv i d u a l s ta r an d su p p o r t in g p lay er s . I t i s ap lay fo r an en t i r e cas t o f s ta r s .T h e O l d V i c C o m p a n y m i g h t r e a s o n a b l yh av e b een ex p ec ted to g iv e u s a n o tewo r th yp r o d u c t i o n f o r i t is a g ro u p th ea t r e , wh o sememb er s h av e wo rk ed to g e th er fo r so me co n s id erab le t ime ( co n s id erab le , th a t i s , a s co mp a r e d w i t h c o m m e r c i a l t h e a t r e c o m p a n i e s ) ,an d i t i s , mo reo v er , a co m me n d ab l y u n self ish group, in which i t is quite usual tof in d th e main p ar t in o n e p ro d u c t io n p lay edb y a memb er o f th e g ro u p wh o , in o th erp lay s , h as o n ly a smal l p a r t . Th e re i s n of ighting for th e l im eligh t here . All th i s isv ery mu ch to th e g o o d , an d y e t th e r ev iv a lwas an a lmo s t co mp le te f a i lu r e .I a l lo w my se l f th e "a lmo s t" to ex cep t th ep e r f o r m a n c e o f E d i t h E v a n s a s M a d a m eR a n e v s k y . M a d a m e R a n e v s k y m a y b e a nu n c o n t r o l l e d , h i g h l y e m o t i o n a l p e r s o n ;E d i t h E v a n s n o t o n l y p o r t r a y e d a l l h e rr ap id ly v ary in g emo t io n s^sh e p o r t r ay edt h e m w i t h s u c h g r e a t u n d e r s t a n d i n g t h a ts h e c o m p l e t e l y w o n o u r s y m p a t h y . Ir e m e m b e r , p a r t i c u l a r l y , h e r s c e n e w i t hTro f imo v in Act 3 . W i th wh a t fiery co n v ic t io n sh e tu rn s o n h im, wh en h e p lead swi th h er to f ace th e t r u t h fo r o n ce in h erl if e ! Th en as sh e te l ls h im w h a t th e ch er r yo rch ard mean s to h er p er so n a l ly , an d r eca l l sthe trag ic fate of her l i t t le son (surely aju d g men t o n h er ) sh e weep s , eq u a l ly co n v in c in g ly , o n ly , a f ew seco n d s la te r , tolau g h a t p o o r Tro f imo v an d mo ck h is p u n yb ea rd . An d th e re i t a l l was , b y so me mirac leo f a r t , a ch arac te r " in th e ro u n d , " co m

p le te ly r ea l i sed an d co mp le te ly co m-n u m i c a t e d .No t o n e o f th e o th er ch arac te r s ev erach iev ed co mp le ten ess o f e i th e r r ea l i sa t io n o rc o m m u n i c a t io n . W h a t e v e r h e m a y h a v eto ld u s , an d h o wev er r ep ea ted ly , we co u ldn o t p o s s ib l y b e l i e ve t h a t t h i s L o p a k h i n w a sa nouveau r iche, son of a serf; h e w o u l dh av e b een mu ch mo re a t h o me as a r esp ec t ab le c le ric in an En g l i sh co u n t ry to wn .Yash a , f a r f ro m b e in g a y o k e l w i th a th inv en eer o f c i ty cu l tu r e , was a p u b l ic sch o o lp re fec t d esp era te ly t ry in g to b e v u lg ar .Gaev , wh en we co u ld h ear wh a t h e wassay in g , was as wo o d en as h i s b e lo v ed b o o k case ; wh i le Vary a , o n th e o th er h an d ,r a r e ly ceased weep in g . Tro f imo v (R o b er tEd d iso n ) was co n v in c in g o n ly in th o sescen es wh en h e was b o o r i sh ly sh y an dawk ward in co mp an y , b u t h i s g en u in e id ea l i smn ev er sh o n e th ro u g h h is p o o r ex te r io r , an dh is b eau t i fu l p ro p h e t ic o u tb u r s t , a lo n e w i thV a r y a , w e n t f o r n o t h i n g .

Th e b lame fo r th i s f a i lu r e mu s t , I th in k ,b e a p p o r t i o n e d b e t w e e n c a s t a n d p r o d u c e r .I t was c lea r th a t in su f f ic ien t ca r e an d s tu d yh a d g o n e i n t o t h e p r o d u c t i o n s o t h a t w e h a dp erh ap s so me o f th e le t te r o f th e p lay , b u tcer ta in ly n o n e of th e sp i r i t . An d , in a sen se ,th e o n e f in e p er fo rman ce o n ly se rv ed tof a ls i fy th e p lay ev en fu r th e r ; f o r wh a tsh o u ld h av e b een th e t r ag ed y o f a c las s , o fan en t i r e so c ie ty , tu rn ed o u t to b e th et r ag ed y , d eep ly mo v in g , i t i s t r u e , o f o n ei n d i v i d u a l w o m a n .

TO celebrate the 5 0th anniversa ry ofthe foimdation of the Moscow ArtTheatre, the Theatre Section of theS.C.R. gave a reading of the first playt o b e p e r f o r m e d t h e r e A . T o l s t o y ' s " T s a rP e o d o r . " I n s o m e w a y s t h i s w a s n o t afo r tu n a te ch o icefo r i t i s o b v io u s ly a p laywh ich n eed s to b e seen in a se t t in g , ag a in s ta r ich b ack g ro u n d o f scen ery an d co s tu mes .I t to o k so me t ime , to o , f o r th e la rg e n u mb er so f ch arac te r s to emerg e c lea r ly , e sp ec ia l ly inv iew o f o u r a lmo s t to ta l ig n o ran ce o f R u ss ianh i s t o r y . N e i t h e r d i d t h e t r a n s l a t i o n ( u n h a p p y b lan k v er se mix t u re o f a s ti ff f ak emed isev a l i sm an d a f r eer b u t r a th e r in co n g r u o u s m o d e r n s l a n g ) m a k e t h e a u d i e n c e ' stas k an y eas ie r . B u t , in sp i te of ev ery th in g ,so meth in g o f th e p lay ' s c las s ic q u a l i ty" c a m e a c r o s s " a n d I , f or o n e , w i s h e d t h a twe co u ld h av e an ea r ly p ro d u c t io n o f th ep l a y h e r e .

A n d , w h a t e v e r c r i t i c i s m s m a y b e m a d e o fth e r ead in g as su ch , th e lo n g an d d is t in g u ish ed cas t mad e o f th e ev en in g a h ear t w a r m i n g a n d i m p r e s s i v e t r i b u t e f r o m t h eac t in g p ro fess io n o f th i s co u n t ry to th eM o s c o w A r t T h e a t r e .28