Anton Chekhov And Stanislavsky

Realism played a massive role in the lives of Anton Chekhov and Konstantin Stanislavsky. Both men made a significant impact on the world of theatre, and results are still seen today. They paved the way for those who came after them. Elements from Chekhov’s plays have influenced playwrights that preceded him, like the works of Tennessee Williams, who listed that Chekhov had a large effect on his writing. Stanislavsky’s acting system, based on acting truthfully, inspired many other acting systems that are still used today.
Realism was a huge movement in the late 1800s to early 1900s. All art forms were influenced by it. Writers, artists, actors and more started taking a more simple direction and tried to depict life as it actually was. In visual art it was common for artists to illustrate ordinary people doing every day tasks, as opposed to elaborate paintings of holy and royal figures from the previous eras (Campell). In literature, the plots were simple and focused on common citizens of the lower and middle classes (Campbell).
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a realist writer, born in Taganrong Russia on January 29, 1860 to a poor family. Chekhov’s father provided for the family by working in a grocery store, where the children were also required to work. During Chekhov’s teenage years his father went bankrupt and the family relocated to Russia leaving Chekhov behind with relatives and working odd jobs to support his family (Puchner, et al.). He received a scholarship from the Moscow University to study medicine, and began to write short, humorous stories for magazines to make money (Puchner, et al).
Realism captures “life as it actually is,” and Chekhov did this in his plays by having natural dialogue, relatable characters and si...

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... The achievements Chekhov and Stanislavsky made in their era are still reflected on and relevant. Theatre companies near and far still put on productions by Chekhov and Stanislavsky’s System is still used in acting. Chekhov paved the way for naturalistic authors and playwrights. He showed that every day occurrences and ordinary people can make for a great night at the theatre. It does not need to over the top and dramatic. Stanislavsky helped show that, through Chekhov’s own plays and more, that acting should be natural and truthful, as if you were speaking in real life. Even thought there are many acting systems that exist, Stanislavsky was the first to develop and put his in place. Though not everyone follows his System, useful tools came from it. Other theatre practitioners found what worked for them, and fleshed these concepts out into their own acting systems.