The Seagull Study Guide (12MB) - Goodman Theatre

would never again write for the stage.
But in 1898 Stanislavsky and MAT co-founder Vladimir
Nemirovich-Danchenko contacted Chekhov. They were
extremely interested in Chekhov’s new play, The Seagull.
In fact, Danchenko personally pushed for the show’s
addition to MAT’s season. Stanislavsky and Danchenko
jointly directed the cast for 26-plus rehearsals, more
than twice the rehearsal sessions common in that time.
The second opening of The Seagull was a great success.
Chekhov continued his partnership with Stanislavsky until
his death – a partnership that included the premieres
of the playwright’s most famous plays.
What it All Meant
Chekhov’s work with MAT is remembered for the complex
relationships, great productions and how it changed the
world of theatre. He was a playwright who had developed
a radical new way of writing for the theater – his
characters talked about life through seemingly superficial
conversation. Something as simple as characters
eating and bantering was a philosophical iceberg; all
of the truth and meaning in the act lay below the surface
for the actor to bring up. This had never quite been
done in theater before, and as a result new methods in
directing and acting need to be created. Stanislavsky
developed many of his core thoughts about acting from
working on Chekhov’s plays. The work actually helped
generate Stanislavsky’s doctrine that drama happens
inside the character and should be played from thought
and emotion, not from arbitrary gesturing. Production of
Chekhov’s plays marked the first step in the maturing of
MAT’s work. This artistic partnership helped to introduce
the theater world to realism, the Stanislavsky technique
and other conventions that have made directing, design,
acting and playwriting what we know today.
Chekhov reading The Seagull to the Moscow Art Theatre company. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
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