Maria Shevtsova

"Robert Wilson is an American-European director who is also a performer, installation artist, writer, designer of light and much more besides - a crossover polymath who dissolves both generic and geographical boundaries and is a precursor of globalisation in the arts. This second edition of Robert Wilson combines: - analysis of his main productions, situated in their American and European socio-cultural and political contexts - a focused detailed study of Wilson's pathbreaking Einstein on the Beach - an exploration of his 'visual book', workshop and rehearsal methods, and collaborative procedures - a study of his aesthetic principles and the elements of composition that distinguish his directorial approach - a series of practical exercises for students and practitioners highlighting Wilson's technique. As a first step towards critical understanding, and as an initial exploration before going on to further, primary research, Routledge Performance Practitioners are unbeatable value for today's student"--

This is the first ever full-length study of internationally-acclaimed theatre company, the Maly Drama Theatre of St. Petersburg, and its director, Lev Dodin. Maria Shevtsova provides an illuminating insight into Dodin's directorial processes and the company's actor training, devising and rehearsal methods, which she interweaves with detailed analysis of the Maly's main productions. Dodin and the Maly Drama Theatre: Process to Performance demonstrates how the impact of Dodin's work extends far beyond that of his native Russia, and gives the reader unparalleled access to the company's practice. Including a foreword by Simon Callow, a dedicated admirer of the Maly, Dodin and the Maly Drama Theatr provides both a valuable methodological model for actor training and a unique insight into the journeys taken from studio to stage.

Discusses each director's key productions, ideas and rehearsal methods, combining theory and practice.

"This Introduction is an exciting journey through the different styles of theatre that twentieth-century and contemporary directors have created. It discusses artistic and political values, rehearsal methods and the diverging relationships with actors and designers, treatment of dramatic material and approaches to audiences. Offering a compelling analysis of theatrical practice, Christopher Innes and Maria Shevtsova explore the different rehearsal and staging principles and methods of such earlier groundbreaking figures as Stanislavsky, Meyerhold and Brecht, revising standard perspectives on their work, as well as analysing a diverse range of innovative contemporary directors, including Ariane Mnouchkine, Lev Dodin, Peter Brook, and Peter Sellars. While tracing the different roots of directorial practices across time, and discussing their artistic, cultural and political significance, the authors provide significant examples of the major directorial approaches and reveal comprehensive patterns in the craft of directing and the influence and collaborative relationships of directors"--

"Konstantin Stanislavsky (1863-1938) was one of the most influential and innovative directors of modern theatre and his system and related practices continue to be studied and used by actors, directors and students. Maria Shevtsova sheds new light on the extraordinary life of Stanislavsky, uncovering and translating Russian archival sources, rehearsal transcripts, scores and plans. This comprehensive study rediscovers little-known areas of Stanislavsky's new type of theatre and its immersion in the visual arts, dance and opera. It demonstrates the fundamental importance of his Russian Orthodoxy to the worldview that underpinned his integrated system and his goals for the six laboratory research studios that he established or mentored. Stanislavsky's massive achievements are explored in the intricate and historically intertwined political, cultural and theatre contexts of tsarist Russia, the 1917 Revolution, the unstable 1920s, and Stalin's 1930s. Rediscovering Stanislavksy provides a completely fresh perspective on his work and legacy"--