The Vakhtangov Sourcebook
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The Vakhtangov Sourcebook Yevgeny Vakhtangov was the creator of fantastic realism, credited with reconciling Meyerhold’s bold experiments with Stanislavsky’s naturalist technique. The Vakhtangov Sourcebook compiles new translations of his key writings on the art of theatre, making it the primary source of rst-hand material on this master of theatre in the English-speaking world. Vakhtangov’s essays and articles are accompanied by: • unpublished diary and notebook excerpts • his lectures to the Vakhtangov Studio • in-depth accounts of Vakhtangov's methods in rehearsal • production photographs and sketches • extensive bibliographies • director’s notes on key performances. An extensive introductory overview from editor Andrei Malaev-Babel explains Vakhtangov’s creative life, his ground-breaking theatrical concepts and inuential directorial works. Andrei Malaev-Babel is Assistant Professor of Theatre at the Florida State University/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training. He holds an MFA from the Vakhtangov Theatre Institute in Moscow, where he trained under Aleksandra Remizova. He is a member of the interna- tional faculty for the Michael Chekhov Association (MICHA). Figure 1 Yevgeny Vakhtangov, 1918. © Moscow Art Theatre’s Museum. The Vakhtangov Sourcebook Edited, translated and with an introduction by Andrei Malaev-Babel First published 2011 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business Selection, translation and editorial matter © 2011 Andrei Malaev-Babel The right of Andrei Malaev-Babel to be identied as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identication and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN: 978-0-415-47268-5 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-415-48257-8 (pbk) ISBN: 978-0-203-85291-0 (ebk) Typeset in Sabon by Bookcraft Ltd, Stroud, Gloucestershire Printed by TJ International Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall This publication was made possible by a generous grant from the Dolores Zohrab Liebmann Fund. I would like to dedicate The Vakhtangov Sourcebook to the memory of my teacher, and Vakhtangov’s student, Aleksandra Remizova. The youngest of Vakhtangov’s disciples, Remizova acted in her teacher’s productions of The Miracle of Saint Anthony and Princess Turandot. For over fty years, she remained one of the leading directors of the Vakhtangov Theatre in Moscow. Through ve years of close profes- sional collaboration and personal contact with Aleksandra Remizova, I have been fortunate to be exposed to her wisdom and creative genius (see Figure 2). Figure 2 Aleksandra Remizova as Zelima and Yuri Zavadsky as Calaf in Act 3, Scene 6, of Princess Turandot, 1922. © Vakhtangov Theatre’s Museum. Contents List of Illustrations and Plates xi Acknowledgements xiii Editor’s Note xvi PART I Introduction 1 1 On Vakhtangov’s Work and Writings 3 2 The Theatre of Mystery 28 3 Toward the Theatre of Fantastic Realism 48 4 Toward the Theatre of the Future 66 5 Theatre of the Eternal Mask 82 PART II Vakhtangov on Theatre, Actor Training and an Actor’s Creative Process 85 6 On Theatre 87 7 On the Actor’s Creative Process 92 8 On the Stanislavsky System 99 viii Contents 9 On Character and Characterization 103 10 On Consciousness and the Subconscious in an Actor’s Creative Process 110 11 On the Organic Outer Technique 120 PART III Fantastic Realism 125 12 Axioms of Fantastic Realism 127 13 Fantastic Realism and the Russian Theatre (All Saints’ Notes) 128 14 Expressive Means of Fantastic Realism 134 15 Theatrical Models of Fantastic Realism 136 16 Two Final Discussions with Students 149 PART IV Popular Theatre 159 17 Theory and Practice of the Popular Theatre 161 18 Philosophy of the Popular Theatre 165 PART V Transfiguring the Stanislavsky System 169 19 Lectures on the Stanislavsky System 171 20 Materials on the Stanislavsky System 191 Contents ix PART VI From Director’s Diaries: Toward the Theatre of Mystery 197 21 On the Production of Hauptmann’s The Festival of Peace 199 22 On the Production of Berger’s The Deluge 203 23 On the Production of Maeterlinck’s The Miracle of Saint Anthony (First Variant) 208 24 On the Production of Ibsen’s Rosmersholm 210 PART VII Vakhtangov at the MAT and its First Studio 225 25 On the Inception of the First Studio of the MAT 227 26 On the First Studio of the MAT Artistic Philosophy and Esthetics 233 27 On the First Studio of the MAT Traditions and Perspectives 235 PART VIII Vakhtangov Rehearses 243 28 Theatre of the Emotional Experience 245 29 Toward the Theatre of Mystery 257 30 Toward Fantastic Realism 273 31 Fantastic Realism 282 x Contents PART IX Correspondence with Colleagues 309 32 First Studio of the MAT Letters 311 33 Letters to the Vakhtangov and Habima Studios 318 34 Three Final Letters 325 Glossary of Terms 329 Bibliography 353 Index 358 List of Illustrations and Plates Illustrations 1 Yevgeny Vakhtangov, 1918 ii 2 Aleksandra Remizova as Zelima and Yuri Zavadsky as Calaf in Act 3, Scene 6, of Princess Turandot, 1922 vi 3 Hannah Rovina as Leah in The Dybbuk, 1922 41 4 Vakhtangov as Tackleton in The Cricket on the Hearth, 1914 47 5 Vakhtangov as Brendel in Rosmersholm, 1918 50 6 Scene from Act 1 of The Miracle of Saint Anthony, 1921 56 7 Scene from Act 2 of The Dybbuk, 1922 (beggars’ dance) 60 8 Scene from Act 2 of The Dybbuk, 1922 (beggars’ dance) 62 9 Scene from Act 3 of The Dybbuk, 1922 (nale) 65 10 Actors putting on costumes at the start of Princess Turandot, 1922 75 11 Boris Schukin as Tartaglia in Princess Turandot, 1922 76 12 Ivan Kudryavtsev as Pantalone in Princess Turandot, 1922 76 13 Yuri Zavadsky as Calaf in Princess Turandot, 1922 78 14 Michael Chekhov as Erik in Erik XIV, 1921 140 15 Scene from Act 3 of The Dybbuk, 1922 143 16 Actors’ parade at the start of Princess Turandot, 1922 146 17 Michael Chekhov as Friebe and Grigory Khmara as Fritz Scholz in The Festival of Peace, 1913 200 18 Vakhtangov as Frazer in The Deluge, 1915 205 19 Yuri Zavadsky as Anthony in The Miracle of Saint Anthony, 1921 277 20 Anna Orochko as Adelma in Princess Turandot, 1922 292 21 Osvald Glazunov as Brigella in Princess Turandot, 1922 295 22 Ruben Simonov as Trufaldino in Princess Turandot, 1922 300 xii List of Illustrations and Plates 23 Scene from Act 2 of Princess Turandot, 1922 (scene of the riddles) 302 24 Finale of Princess Turandot, 1922 308 Plates 1 Ignaty Nivinsky’s design of King Erik’s costume for Erik XIV, 1920 2 Ignaty Nivinsky’s set design for Act 1 of Erik XIV, 1920 3 Natan Altman’s set design for Act 1 of The Dybbuk, 1921. Set model (reconstructed later) 4 Natan Altman’s design of the beggar costume for The Dybbuk, 1921 5 Ignaty Nivinsky’s set design for Acts 2 (Scene 2) and 4 (Scene 7) for Princess Turandot, 1921 6 Ignaty Nivinsky’s design of Pantalone’s costume for Princess Turandot, 1921 7 Ignaty Nivinsky’s set design for Act 2 (Scene 4) of Princess Turandot, 1921 8 Ignaty Nivinsky’s design of Tartaglia’s costume for Princess Turandot, 1921 9 Ignaty Nivinsky’s set design for Act 3 (Scene 6) of Princess Turandot, 1921 10 Ignaty Nivinsky’s design of Calaf’s costume for Princess Turandot, 1921 Acknowledgements There are quite a few people without whom this book would not have been possible. At Routledge, I would like to acknowledge Talia Rogers, Ben Piggott and Niall Slater; I would also like to thank Minh Ha Duong for seeing the book through in its early stages. I am greatly indebted to Franc Chamberlain, whose insightful comments and suggestions helped me better express my thoughts and clarify my ideas. Florida State University and its Council on Research and Creativity provided me with a generous award in support of my work on this book. I am thankful to them and to those people who supported my application: Dr. Sally McRorie, Dean of the College of Visual Arts, Theatre and Dance; Dr. C. Cameron Jackson, Director of the School of Theatre; Professors Terry Lynn Hogan and Martha Cooper, as well as School of Theatre’s administrative associate Tanya Byrd. I would also like to thank Kirby Kemper, Vice President for Research and Jan Townsend of the Council on Research and Creativity. The Dolores Zohrab Liebmann Fund gave a generous gift in support of The Vakhtangov Sourcebook. I would like to thank the Liebmann Fund, and especially Edward L. Jones and Mr. M. Haigentz, for their contribution to this pioneering Vakhtangov edition. My wife, Lisa Eveland Malaev, proofread every word of my writings for the past eighteen years. I want to thank her, my son Nicholai, my mother Lidiya and my grandmother Antonina for their tremendous patience and support during my Vakhtangov saga.