Michael Chekhov's Pedagogy from Europe to America, Volume I

Discovering a Holistic Dramatic Method
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-032-70639-9
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 408 Seiten, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm

Reihe: Routledge Advances in Theatre & Performance Studies

This study describes and applies the pedagogical method of the actor, director, and dramatic theorist, Michael Chekhov (1891-1955), as a unique phenomenon in the broader context of modern theatre history.

This volume shows how Chekhov took the principles he learned as a student and then as a colleague of Konstantin Stanislavsky at the Moscow Art Theatre and developed them into a new humanistic and holistic dramatic method. Chekhov emphasized images, imagination, psycho-physical acting, a sense of spiritual grounding, ease, centers, atmospheres, and specific techniques that have become famous, such as Psychological Gesture. Chekhov’s method found notable followers in his lifetime and continued to thrive after his death, not only onstage and in films and television, but also in classes taught by his disciples. Volume One provides a historical background, sets Chekhov’s pedagogy in the context of his artistic career describes the basic elements of Chekhov’s method in relation to those of Stanislavsky and other practitioners, and analyzes the presentation of his techniques in his published works. The volume then offers a narrative of the author’s experience learning the Chekhov techniques with the Michael Chekhov Association (MICHA). The chapters are supported by an extensive bibliography, a glossary, and chronologies of Chekhov’s life as well as the teaching of his method, brief biographies of famous actors associated with the Chekhov method, and the Los Angeles County Probate Court documents relating to the death of Michael Chekhov and Xenia Chekhov.

This collection will be of great interest to students and scholars in performance studies.

Zielgruppe

Academic

Autoren/Hrsg.

Pichlikova-Burke, Lenka

Pichlíková-Burke, Lenka

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Theater- und Filmwissenschaft | Andere Darstellende Künste Theaterwissenschaft Theatergeschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgements

Introduction

List of Abbreviations

PART I

Michael Chekhov’s Dramatic Method and Theatre Pedagogy in the Context of His Career

Chapter 1: Michael Chekhov as a Teacher

Chapter 2: The Elements of Michael Chekhov’s Dramatic Method

PART II

Learning the Chekhov Method

Chapter 3: Learning the Michael Chekhov Technique

Bibliography

Appendix 1: Chronologies

Appendix 2: Glossary of Chekhov’s Terms

Appendix 3: Famous Actors Associated with Michael Chekhov

Appendix 4: Death documents of Michael Chekhov and the last will of Xenia Chekhov

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Lenka Pichlíková-Burke is an actress, mime, theatre scholar, and drama professor active in Europe and New York area. She was a Visiting Assistant Professor of Theatre and Performance at the Conservatory of Theatre Arts at The State University of New York, USA.