| Vsevolod Meyerhold’s Theatre Practice |
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International Conference Thu-Sat 3–5 October 2013 Laboratory Theatre Space, Rynek-Ratusz 27 Admission free The conference will be simultaneously translated into Polish, Russian and English. Stanislavski’s rebellious student, brilliant actor and director, the creator of Biomechanics and advocate of physical actor training, the greatest revolutionary of staging and precursor of the concept of music-based performance structure, the first ‘theatre auteur’, Eisenstein’s teacher, and Shostakovich’s discoverer, Vsevolod Emilevich Meyerhold (1874–1940) is widely recognized as one of the most influential theatre artists of the twentieth century. His ideas and methods have been taken up and creatively developed by masters of twentieth-century theatre such as Jerzy Grotowski, Eugenio Barba, Robert Wilson, and Tadeusz Kantor. The Russian director, especially as the creator of biomechanical actor training and unique directing methods, continues to inspire artists to this day. At the same time, he remains one of the least-known founders of the Great Theatre Reform in Poland. Now, at the start of the twenty-first century, we want to re-examine Meyerhold’s legacy from a perspective informed by the changes that theatre underwent in the second half of the twentieth century, and explore its relevance in contemporary theatre. To this end, the Grotowski Institute will hold an international conference on ‘Vsevolod Meyerhold’s Theatre Practice’, which will bring together experts from Russia, Western Europe, the USA, and Poland. We want to rekindle interest in Meyerhold and encourage scholars to revisit his legacy, especially his methods of work with actors. The invited speakers will put Meyerhold’s work in a contemporary context, and the programme of accompanying events will allow engagement with the Russian director’s practice, which, combined with the academic perspective, will hopefully inspire some interesting discussion. CONFERENCE PROGRAMME Thu 3 October 10am–1:30pm Laboratory Theatre Space, Rynek-Ratusz 27 Conference opening Béatrice Picon-Vallin (French National Centre for Scientific Research) ‘Meyerhold: towards an actor of the scientific era and double reference’ Nikolai Pesochinsky (Saint Petersburg State Theatre Arts Academy) ‘The acting method in Meyerhold’s theatre. Technology as philosophy’ Vadim Shcherbakov (State Institute of Theatre Art) ‘Plastic embodiment of paradox’ Discussion 3:30pm–6:00pm Laboratory Theatre Space, Rynek-Ratusz 27 Natalia Makerova (Meyerhold Memorial Museum) ‘The actor in the scenic space of Meyerhold’s performances’ Nadezhda Tarshis (Saint Petersburg State Theatre Arts Academy) ‘From Meyerhold’s “musical realism” to theatrical soundtracks of recent times’ Discussion 7pm PWST (drama school), ul. Braniborska 59 Jonathan Pitches (University of Leeds) in conversation with Alexey Levinskiy Work demonstration by workshop participants Fri 4 October 10am–1:30pm Laboratory Theatre Space, Rynek-Ratusz 27 Maria Shevtsova (Goldsmiths, University of London) ‘Meyerholdian dimension in the work of contemporary directors’ Jörg Bochow (Academy for Performing Arts Baden-Wuerttemberg) ‘Meyerhold and contemporary theatre. A critical reflection’ Katarzyna Osiñska (Institute of Slavic Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences) ‘From Biomechanics to bio-objects: the actor in the theatre of Vsevolod Meyerhold and Tadeusz Kantor’ Discussion 3:30pm–6pm Laboratory Theatre Space, Rynek-Ratusz 27 Ma³gorzata Jab³oñska (Jagiellonian University) ‘Meyerhold’s Biomechanics: an actor’s training based on the paradigm of prearranged experience’ Philip Brehse (Open Space Performunion) ‘A tale of experiencing Biomechanics – From Living Theatre’s reconstruction to own theatre work’ Discussion 7pm PWST (drama school), ul. Braniborska 59 Jonathan Pitches (University of Leeds) in conversation with Gennadi Bogdanov Work demonstration by workshop participants Sat 5 October 10am–1:30pm Laboratory Theatre Space, Rynek-Ratusz 27 Janne Risum (Aarhus University) ‘Meyerhold’s casting of actresses in male roles’ Fausto Malcovati (University of Milan) ‘Meyerhold and the Theatre Division of the People’s Commissariat for Education (TEO of Narkompros) (1918–1920)’ Olga Kuptsova (Gerasimov State University of Cinematography) ‘Discovering Pushkin: Pushkin’s dramaturgy in Meyerhold’s theatre pedagogy in the second and third decades of the twentieth century’ Discussion Conference closing Conference coordinators: Dariusz Kosiñski kosinski@grotowski-institute.art.pl, Ma³gorzata Jab³oñska malgorzata@grotowski-institute.art.pl Supported by Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education  |