Chekhov

January 2022

Chekhov and His Theater

Listed in: Russian, as RUSS-229

Formerly listed as: RUSS-30  |  THDA-21

Faculty

Catherine A. Ciepiela (Section 01J)

Description

Anton Chekhov’s reputation rests as much on his writing for the theater as on his fiction. His plays, whose staging by the Moscow Art Theater helped revolutionize Russian and world theater, endure in the modern repertoire. In this course, we will study his four major plays in their cultural and historical context, drawing on the biographical and critical literature on Chekhov, printed and visual materials concerning the late nineteenth-century European theater, and the writings of figures like Constantine Stanislavsky, who developed a new acting method in response to Chekhov’s art. We also will examine key moments in the production history of Chekhov’s plays in Russian, English, and American theater and film. No knowledge of Russian language or culture is assumed.

January Term. Professor Ciepiela.

Offerings