Biomechanics (of theatre!) Kelly Nienaltowski

 Born in Penza, Russia 1874  Family of a Russian- German wine manufacturer  "Vsevelod" an Orthodox Christian name, not birth name  Studied law at Moscow University (never got degree)

 Under Vladimir Nemirovich Danchencko, joined Moscow Art Theatre  Performed 18 roles at MAT (Treplev in The Seagull by Chekov)  Left MAT, began experimenting  Russian Revolution 1917 – joined the Commies

 Had a falling out with Stanislavski  Late 1939 – arrested/tortured/forced to confess involvement with enemies  Sentenced to death by firing squad in early February, 1940

 Vera Kommissarzhevskaia founded theatre in St. Petersburg and invited him to direct  Once a Commie, appointed head of the theater division of the People's Commissariat for Education  1923, Meyerhold had his own troupe in Moscow, and staged innovative productions of both classics and new works  Mid-1930s, Meyerhold's relentless experimentation was no longer in favor. His theater was harshly criticized and then closed in 1938  Stanislavski died – Meyerhold directed his opera for nearly a year until his arrest

 Provocative experiments dealing with physical being and symbolism in an unconventional theatre setting  One of the seminal forces in modern theatre  Searched for theatrical innovations

StanislavskiMeyerhold  Actor's own personal memories create character’s internal motivation  Perfect and defend ‘realist’ method  Psychological truth on stage  Connected psychological and physiological processes  Learning gestures and movements as a way of expressing emotion outwardly  Symbolist/Experimental theatre

 One could call up emotions in performance by practicing and assuming poses, gestures, and movements.  Developed a number of body expressions that his actors would use to portray specific emotions and characters.  Tried to return acting to the traditions of Commedia dell’arte

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 Meyerhold inspired revolutionary artists and filmmakers such as Sergei Eisenstein, who studied with Meyerhold and whose films employed actors who worked in Meyerhold’s tradition. Eisenstein cast actors based on what they looked like and their expression, and followed Meyerhold’s stylized acting methods.

 Ian Way’s E.T. is good example of experimental theatre that centered around symbolism  Although it was more geared towards Quantum Mechanics, the cast touched on biomechanics  Jef’s classes are also very closely related to Meyerhold’s techniques.

Is there a brave soul that would like to demonstrate any of the 12 movements?