Checking out Chekhov
A Guide to the Plays for Actors, Directors, and Readers
Published on 1. October 2013
Book
Paperback/Softback
200 pages
978-1-61811-320-7 (ISBN)
Description
This book paints a vivid portrait of Anton Chekhov - a Russian writer whose elusive personality and richly detailed plays have left an indelible imprint upon the world's theatre. Every page reveals the joys and difficulties of his short life, his comic sensibility, deep compassion, and often puzzling use of dramatic style and genre. Carnicke demystifies Chekhov's plays - forged from his literary innovations, avid theatre going, love of vaudeville, and loathing of melodrama. She interweaves biographical and cultural information with insightful case studies and close analysis to leave her reader with a full and fresh perspective on an artist, who is as foundational to theatrical traditions as are Shakespeare and Stanislavsky.
Reviews / Votes
"A strong background in Russian language and culture, combined with professional theater experience as an actress and director, prepared Sharon Carnicke not only to translate Chekhov's plays for performance but also to illuminate the mysteries of his works for theater artists preparing to stage the plays. Certainly it is actors and directors who have the most to gain from this 'guide to the plays,' which also serves as an intelligent introductory study for general readers. Carnicke covers the basics-transliteration, how Russian names are used, capsule biography, late nineteenth-century theatrical genres-while offering enough fresh insight into Chekhov's world and his work to hold the interest of those already familiar with the plays." -Felicia Hardison Londre , University of Missouri-Kansas City. Review published in The Russian Review, January 2014 (Vol. 73, No. 1)More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Brighton
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
Illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 14 mm
Weight
371 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-61811-320-7 (9781618113207)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Sharon Marie Carnicke is Professor of Theatre and Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Southern California, USA. Her translations of Chekhov's plays have been produced by theatres nationwide to public acclaim, and were published as Chekhov: 4 Plays and 3 Jokes, which was a finalist for the 2010 National Translation Award (the American Literary Translators Association). Her groundbreaking book, Stanislavsky in Focus, is now in its second edition. Her other publications include The Theatrical Instinct, a study of the avant-garde director Nikolai Evreinov, and Reframing Screen Performance, coauthored with Cynthia Baron.