Vakhtangov Study Day – Rose Bruford College

Posted on March 9, 2015 by michaelcraig

Vakhtangov Study Day at the  Rose Bruford College – Film. Hosted by The Stanislavski Centre.

Guest Speaker Andrei Maleav Babel with the participation of  Graham Dixon 

The Vakhtangov Study day which took place in 2014 took place at the Rose Bruford College of Theatre and performance organised by The Stanislavski Centre with guest speaker Andrei Malaev-Babel, and Graham Dixon. The film Vakhtangov and the Russian Theatre was also premiered at the event.

Books by Andrei Maleav-Babel about Vakhtangov:

The Vahktangov Sourcebook is a rich and extensive source of information and analysis of the central principles of Vakhtangov’s  work and compiles new translations of his key writings on the art of theatre, making it the primary source of first hand material on this master of theatre in the English speaking world. For more information click on this link or click on the thumbnail.

Ranging from Moscow to Israel, from Fantastic Realism to Vakhtangov’s futuristic projection, the theatre of the ‘Eternal Mask’, Yevgeny Vakhtangov: A Critical Portrait:

For more information click on this link or click on the thumbnail.

• considers his input as one of the original teachers of Stanislavsky’s system, and the complex relationship shared by the two men;
• reflects on his directorship of the First Studio of the Moscow Art Theatre and the Habima (which was later to become Israel’s National Theatre) as well as the Vakhtangov Studio, the institution he established;
• examines in detail his three final directorial masterpieces, Erick XIV, The Dybbukand Princess Turandot.

 Graham Dixon and the Michael Chekhov Studio London:

The Chekhov Studio. Graham Dixon  started the Michael Chekhov Studio in 2003 as a means to give actors and directors living in London an opportunity to access and explore Michael Chekhov’s unique approach to the art of acting. Click on the thumbnail or the link above for more information about his work.

The Stanislavski Centre.

The Stanislavski Centre . The Stanislavski Centre at Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance is a unique initiative within the UK to create a home for both academic research and practice/performance events based upon the work of Konstantin Stanislavski. The Centre, which is located within the college’s Learning Resources Centre, houses a core collection of books and other printed material (mostly in the Russian language), a photographic archive of more than 200 images and a small collection of material on video and DVD.

Michael Craig,  Copernicus Films.

Michael Craig and Copernicus Films completed a film about Vakhtangov “Vakhtangov and the Russian Theatre” which was also premiered at the Vakhtangov Study day. Vakhtangov eventually became one of the foremost directors of the Russian theatre in the early twentieth century until his early death in 1922 at the age of 39. Talented and enigmatic, his great achievement was the the synthesis of Stanislavsky’s theories of acting and realism and Meyerhold’s studied theatrically. This film by Michael Craig is the third in the series about Russian theatre in the early 20th century. Click here for more information about this film.

Vakhtangov and the Russian Theatre premiere at the Rose Bruford College

Posted on June 16, 2014 by vakhtangov

Cover of film “Vakhtangov & the Russian Theatre”

Several days back from the UK after a successful screening and Premiere of Vakhtangov and the Russian Theatre. It took place on May 10th 2014 as part of the Vakhtangov study day at the Rose Bruford college of theatre and performance organised by The Stanislavsky Centre which is based at the centre. It was a privilege to be able to participate in the and share the podium with the Vakhtangov scholar and specialist Andrei Malaev Babel who has written two books about Vakhtangov ‘The Vakhtangov Sourcebook” and “Evgeny Vakhtangov – A Critical Portrait”. Also Graham Dixon of the Mikhail Chekhov Studio in the morning session which he participated in together with Andrie Malaev Babel The morning session was dived into three parts. A long introduction presented jointly by Andrie and Graham, then the film Vakhtangov and the Russian Avant-garde which I briefly introduced and then a question and answer session with Andrie Malaev Babel, Graham Dixon and myself.

Michael Craig – Director of the film “Vakhtangov and the Russian Theatre”

The afternoon session was a master class presented by Andrei Malaev Babel which lasted a couple of hours and consisted of a series of intensive exercises and short pieces for actors. About sixteen members of the audience took part in this session and it gave a real insight into the practical  insights and interpretations of Vakhtangov’s work. Natasha and myself filmed as much of the day as possible and I will try and put together  a short clip to give a flavour of the day if all parities are agreeable. This was also a good opportunity to try out the new camera which I recently purchased and develop my DSLR skills a bit – gradually getting the hang of this new way of filming.

 

Left to right; Graham Dixon, Andrei Malaev Babel, Michael Craig

Any premier is a worry and this was no exception. I have showed the film to  many people but there is nothing more effective than showing a film to a live audience and probably nothing more gratifying when the response is positive as it was in this case. I was very pleased when people came up to me after the film to express their thoughts and feelings.I was also glad to see meet some new people who share an interest in Vakhtangov like Oleg Mirochnikov the Russian theatre director who now lives and works in London as far as I am aware. He has a special interest in Vakhtangov’s work in relation to his own productions, as part of Belka Productions.I was especially glad that the actor Andrew Elias was able to attend. He has been a great supporter of the film form its early inception and throughout post production to the very end and so it was apt that he was able to make the premiere. There wasn’t much time to get to know each other but I am sure we can rectify that in subsequent meetings when I am back in the UK and of course we will be in touch over the internet.

Paul Fryer of The Stanislavski Centre

Michael Earley – Principal of the Rose Bruford College of Theatre & Performance

– See more at: http://www.vakhtangov.copernicusfilms.com/#sthash.CYgXb3gO.dpuf

Progress with Stanislavsky

  Yesterday was good day for editing even with winter biting in the way that it is in Moscow. Not being able or wanting to go out can be a positive experience.  It gives me plenty of opportunity for editing and working on our present project “Stanislavsky and Russian Theatre” . For one reason or another I needed to spend Sunday around the Tverskoi Bulvar area of Moscow. I decided to shoot some footage around this area as it is associated with the theatrical history of Moscow and visually features in the theatrical archives. The snow had stopped for a while and it was not so cold. The light was perfect for what I had in mind. Soft and muted, giving a vaguely fuzzy and paradoxically warm tone to the images. 

Waiting to receive the second part of the narration for the film from the actor James Langton. After a bit of going backwards and forwards until we settled on a final version. Once this is complete then we will go through the final part of the narration and then should be set for sound mixing. There were some problems with the syntax of the script but these hopefully have been ironed out. 

Using After Effects to animate an old Moscow engraving or picture of a snow scene on Tverskaya, the main street which leads down to the Kremlin.  It is a quintessential winter scene form old Moscow and if it works it will be a very effective piece of animation for the film. From this I have been able to work out a sequence using other engravings and integrating them with footage I have shot already and footage I will be shooting in the near future once the weather lets up a bit.