This dialogue-based seminar is aimed at actors and directors who wish to engage artistically with the work of the great playwright and physician Anton Chekhov in their work. Based on the idea of the ‘knowledgeable artist’, we will create an initial core of knowledge that can then illuminate and shed light on specific acting and staging issues and lead to interesting and relevant artistic conclusions. We will be particularly interested in Chekhov’s collection of sociological data on the living conditions of people on the Siberian convict island of Sakhalin in 1891, the angry stoic Anton Chekhov and his tense relationship with the Russian intellectuals of his time and, last but not least, the Darwinist and man of science Anton Chekhov. We will read his master drama ‘The Cherry Orchard’ as well as his great story ‘Ward No. 6’ and develop approaches to how we can artistically place our artistic work in the service of this great philanthropist with the ice-cold view on mankind. The course requires at least 20 hours of independent reading and writing.
English / Deutsch
“Subjectivity is a Terrible Thing”
“Working on a scene with Anne means analysing the character in detail, not just from a purely emotional point of view, but by adding to the person’s life those qualities that we humans have and that we so often forget to bring to the stage. The character, whoever they may be, is first seen as a person, as a human being who makes mistakes, is impulsive, bored, ridiculous, ashamed and enthusiastic. Anne helps to give meaning to all the moments of preparing a scene and to humanise them.”