- A LIFE OF CONTRADICTIONS
- MEYERHOLD’S KEY WRITINGS
- MEYERHOLD’S KEY PRODUCTION: THE GOVERNMENT INSPECTOR
- PRACTICAL EXERCISES
Apprenticeship (1874–1905)
St Petersburg (1906–17)
Meyerhold and the Revolution (1917–22)
The Meyerhold Theatre (1922–31)
The death of Meyerhold and his theatre (1932–40)
Meyerhold today
Don’t (always) believe what you read!
The key theoretical principles
Naturalism
Stylisation
Rhythm and music
The mask
The grotesque
Biomechanics and the actor of the future
Chaplin and Eisenstein: a theory of montage
Gogol’s challenge
Meyerhold’s response
Nikolai Gogol: the comet
Gogol’s Government Inspector
Meyerhold’s Government Inspector
Practice: the living link with Meyerhold
So what are the basic skills of a biomechanical actor?
The exercises
Skills-based exercises
Back to the basic skills
Improvisation exercises
Work on text
Conclusions
Bibliography
Books and articles
Films and videos
Index
Biography
Jonathan Pitches is Professor of Theatre and Performance at the University of Leeds in the School of Performance and Cultural Industries. He is founding co-editor of the journal Theatre, Dance and Performance Training.
'Pitches' skill ... is impressive.'
Aleks Sierz, The Times Higher Education Supplement
'A useful entry point.'
Theatre Research International
