Master Classes in the Michael Chekhov Technique (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Master Classes in the Michael Chekhov Technique Marc E. Shaw Master Classes in the Michael Chekhov Technique. MICHA, the Michael Chekhov Association. New York: Routledge, 2007; 6+ hours on 3 DVDs. User guide, pp. iii + 42. $180.00. Filmed over several days in upstate New York, this excellent DVD series showcases five master teachers from MICHA (the Michael Chekhov Association) instructing a group of experienced actors in different aspects of Chekhov’s technique. As the first session begins, we zoom in on the Spencertown Academy—which resembles a stately, renovated schoolhouse—and Michael Chekhov’s voice invites us to “open the door” to the “treasure house” where we will find “tremendous creative powers and abilities.” It is a fitting opening to what develops inside: twelve superb master classes that confirm the power and practicality of Chekhov’s work. Before now, individuals interested in Michael Chekhov’s techniques could turn to his writings or audio lessons. Those familiar with his most widely known book, To the Actor, will recognize many of Chekhov’s terms demonstrated on the more than six hours of workshop footage in this new set of DVDs: physical movements that connect to inner being (flying, floating, molding, radiating); movement qualities (ease, form, beauty, entirety); centers; psychological gesture; archetypes; expanding/contracting; atmospheres; sensations; and incorporation of images and imagination. While this series is most suitable for advanced actors, acting teachers, and directors, what makes these DVDs worth adding to any theatre library is the clarity and depth with which the video demonstration connects us to Chekov’s concepts. It is one thing to read and imagine his approach, but on video, the workshop actors, guided by the five instructors, embody, experience, discuss, and practice Chekhov’s technique in a manner that virtually invites the viewer to stand up and participate. MICHA’s teachers—Ted Pugh, Fern Sloan, Lenard Petit, Ragnar Freidank, and Joanna Merlin—clearly and inventively communicate Chekhov’s concepts and lead the relevant exercises, affirming foundational lessons in the Chekhov technique while also adding their own thoughts and experiences to each lesson. For example, Ragnar Freidank takes Chekhov’s lesson on atmosphere and reworks it. In To the Actor, Chekhov describes a group of rowdy revelers arriving at an abandoned castle. The disparity between the two established atmospheres—the ancient, serene building contrasted with the rambunctious party—necessitates a resolution when the two come together. In theory, either the castle will lose its specific atmosphere and fill with revelry, or the stately building will absorb the partiers’ effervescence, leaving the group in awe of their new historic surroundings. In the workshop, Freidank takes Chekhov’s idea and works with the actors in establishing atmospheres according to different levels of light and heat. After one group of actors develops a warm, golden atmosphere, filling the space with friendliness, a lone actor enters the same space surrounded by an atmosphere of coldness. But instead of an immediate pull in one direction or the other, what develops in the space is a third atmosphere that never fully resolves. For an extended period of time, the atmosphere around the lone “cold” actor continues to influence the others who are “warm” in various ways; they also influence him, yet a complete confluence never occurs. It is here that video proves to be a superior delivery format, because the nuances of this improvisation and the way it informs the actor cannot be adequately explained in words. As one actor comments about the negotiation between atmospheres: “it wasn’t as neat and tidy as I thought it would be”—and that is exactly the point. The MICHA producers made many wise choices in creating this series. First, intermittently throughout the classes, the actors work with text from Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters. At times, the dramatic text gives the workshop the feel of a rehearsal, as actors apply newly learned techniques to Three Sisters’ given circumstances. This practical approach is especially useful when instructor Joanna Merlin and the actors explore more abstract ideas like psychological gestures and archetypes for the characters. Second, during the taping of the workshops, no one hides the fact that a video is being filmed; we see the...