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The Theatre Studies Division within the Mediterranean Institute at the University of Malta is organizing two lectures and two workshops between 15th and 17th March 2010 on Russian and Soviet Systems of Actor Training: Histories, Practices and Influences.

The lectures and workshops will be delivered and conducted by Professor Jonathan Pitches chair in Theatre and Performance Studies at the School of Performance and Cultural Industries, University of Leeds, UK.

Lecture 1: Monday 15th March, 1200 CEST and 1400 CEST, Science and The Stanislavsky Tradition. This lecture will outline a tradition of training which is distinctly and intimately connected to Stanislavsky’s innovations at the beginning of the 20th century. It’s aim will be to offer a map of pivotal practitioners based on some key scientific and cultural influences.

Lecture 2: Tuesday 16th March , 1000 CEST-1200CEST, Vsevold Meyerhold and Michael Chekhov: Case studies. Building on the wider context outlined in Lecture 1 this session will focus on the practical training regimes of two of Stanislavsky’s most significant pupils, Meyerhold and Chekhov. It will outline the cultural context of two of the most important aspects of Chekhov’s and Meyerhold’s training – the Psychological Gesture (PG) and the biomechanical études.

The Workshops will be held on Monday 15th March and Wednesday 17th March between 1730 CEST and 2030 CEST at MITP Theatre, Valetta.

Practical work will involve practical exercises relating to Chekhov’s Psychological Gesture, his ideas of staccato and legato, of archetypal gestures and element-based movement qualities.

The culmination of both workshops will be a comparative exploration of a short folk tale (I Should have Laughed Were I not Dead) using both Meyerhold’s and Chekhov’s methods so that we can see for ourselves the similarities and differences in the two systems.

Those interested to follow the lectures and workshops are kindly asked to send an e-mail to Mr. Stefan Aquilina at stefan.aquilina@um.edu.mt.