PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP
‘Me’ is the Other - Michael Chekhov Technique for Transformation
by Ulrich Meyer-Horsch (Germany)
18 – 20 NOV, WED – FRI | 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM
21 NOV, SAT | 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM
⦿ Intercultural Theatre Institute
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This workshop is currently pending SkillsFuture Credit confirmation.
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Participants enjoy complimentary access to the full conference.
Please note: Participation in the corresponding work demonstration on 27 Nov is mandatory.
“All true artists bear within themselves a deeply rooted and often unconscious desire for transformation.”
— Michael Chekhov
When children play games, we can observe this desire to transform – they lose themselves in play and fully commit to another world. The “Other” (i.e. the character in a play) is always bigger than the personal experience of the performer. Michael Chekhov therefore asks us to appreciate the differences between the character and ourselves rather than looking for similarities. Martin Buber calls it the dialogical principle of human existence: the Thou creates the I, the otherness of people who we encounter transforms our own identity.
In this workshop, we will explore the connection between inner images and organic breathing, using Chekhov tools such as the Imaginary Body and Imaginary Centers. We will allow ourselves to get transformed by the Other, and look at the world from their perspective.
Participants will be asked to prepare some lines from a short story or play – in English or in the language of their choice.
For the training, please bring casual clothes in black or dark, without any writing (exception: ITI T-shirts).
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Michael Chekhov Acting Technique
As an accurate observer of the ‘creative process’, Michael Chekhov investigated the interplay between psyche and body, between ‘intangible and tangible’. He found simple and clear tools for the actor, based on the powers of Concentration and Imagination, the Psychological Gesture, the Imaginary Center and Atmosphere.
Applied in practice, these techniques enable actors to discover their character in a relatively short period of time. They open doors to the artist’s creative individuality.
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Michael Chekhov (1891–1955)
Michael Chekhov was widely recognized as one of the greatest actors of the 20th century. At the Moscow Art Theatre the collaboration between K.Stanislavsky, E.Vachtangov, V.Meyerhold and Michael Chekhov led to a theatre that was bold, expressive and imaginative. In their work they searched for objective principles that would lead to inspired acting. This investigation led Chekhov to develop his own psycho-physical acting technique, incorporating body and imagination.
After leaving Russia in 1928 Chekhov spent eleven years in Europe - acting, directing and teaching. He worked with Max Reinhardt in Berlin and Vienna, founded his own company in Paris and directed for the theatres in Riga and the Baltic countries. In 1936 he opened the Chekhov Theatre Studio in Dartington Hall, England.
In 1939 he moved to the United States, where he taught in both New York and Hollywood.
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Ulrich Meyer-Horsch and participants will present a work demonstration on 27 Nov, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM at Esplanade Annexe Studio.
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