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Tag Archives: Anton Chekhov
“Medicine is my lawful wife, and literature is my mistress. When I get fed up with one, I spend the night with the other.” — Anton Chekhov
It’s his birthday today. Anton Chekhov, letter to actress (and wife) Olga Knipper January 2, 1901 “Describe at least one rehearsal of Three Sisters for me. Isn’t there anything which needs adding or subtracting? Are you acting well, my darling? … Continue reading
Posted in On This Day, Theatre, writers
Tagged Anton Chekhov, Christopher Walken, Maureen Stapleton, Olympia Dukakis, scripts, The Cherry Orchard, The Seagull
9 Comments
2025 Books Read
I ended last year with a flurry of Oscar Wilde’s short stories, declaring I’d read all the plays in 2025. I mean, there were only five, sadly, due to the homophobic violence of his own society. I know these plays … Continue reading
Posted in Books
Tagged Anton Chekhov, Austria, books read, Charles Lamb, children's books, Croatia, Czechoslovakia, Czeslaw Milosz, David Lynch, Dubravka Ugrešić, England, essays, fiction, France, Frankenstein, Germany, Guillermo del Toro, Hungary, Ireland, Jane Austen, Janet Malcolm, John Keats, Lord Byron, Mark Danielewski, Mary Gaitskill, Mary Shelley, Matthew Arnold, Memoirs, nonfiction, Oscar Wilde, poetry, Poland, politics, Rebecca West, Roald Dahl, Robert Kaplan, Robert Louis Stevenson, Russia, sci-fi, Scotland, scripts, Spain, The Beatles, Twin Peaks, William Shakespeare, Yugoslavia
12 Comments
“The reality is you don’t arrive, you don’t have a crone ceremony and suddenly get wisdom.” — Olympia Dukakis
“I recognize that the real pulse of life is transformation, yet I work in a world dominated by men and the things men value, where transformation is not the coinage. It’s not even the language! Winning is everything in Hollywood. … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day, Theatre
Tagged Anton Chekhov, Olympia Dukakis
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R.I.P. Olympia Dukakis
Husband and wife Louis Zorich and Olympia Dukakis in The Seagull, Williamstown Theater Festival The first thing I thought of when I heard the sad news of Olympia Dukakis’ passing was her compulsive sighs in her Oscar-winning performance in Moonstruck. … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies, RIP, Theatre
Tagged Anton Chekhov, Olympia Dukakis, The Seagull
2 Comments
Bookshelf Tour #6
More plays! First up: the essential two volumes of Paddy Chayefsky’s stuff (and there’s still more out there). The Stage Plays and The Collected Works of Paddy Chayefsky: The Television Plays. He’s so good for acting classes, both his plays, … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Theatre
Tagged Anton Chekhov, Arthur Miller, bookshelves, Christopher Marlowe, Clifford Odets, Paddy Chayefsky, scripts
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The Books: The Actor’s Chekhov: Interviews with Nikos Psacharopoulos and the Company of the Williamstown Theatre Festival, on the Plays of Anton Chekhov, edited by Jean Hackett
Daily Book Excerpt: Theatre Next book on the acting/theatre shelf is The Actor’s Chekhov : Interviews with Nikos Psacharopoulos and the Company of the Williamstown Theatre Festival, on the Plays of Anton Chekhov , edited by Jean Hackett Amy Irving, … Continue reading
The Books: Stella Adler on Ibsen, Strindberg, and Chekhov, edited by Barry Paris
Daily Book Excerpt: Theatre Next book on the acting/theatre shelf is Stella Adler on Ibsen, Strindberg, and Chekhov, edited by Barry Paris Must-read. Must-read. Must-read. Stella Adler came from an illustrious hard-working theatrical family, active in the vibrant and important … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Books, Theatre, writers
Tagged Anton Chekhov, August Strindberg, Group Theatre, Harold Clurman, Lee Strasberg, Russia, Stella Adler, Sweden
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“All Russia is our orchard. The earth is so wide, so beautiful, so full of wonderful places.” – The Cherry Orchard, Anton Chekhov
There is a great sense of frivolity to this scene. Life catches up with you and you ridicule yourself. You have to allow yourself to go very high and very low. These are people who take their feelings and elevate … Continue reading
Quotes on acting 1: Anton Chekhov
“Describe at least one rehearsal of Three Sisters for me. Isn’t there anything which needs adding or subtracting? Are you acting well, my darling? But watch out now! Don’t pull a sad face in the first act. Serious, yes, but … Continue reading Continue reading
“a most unusual conversation”
Chocolates by Lewis Simpson Once some people were visiting Chekhov. While they made remarks about his genius the Master fidgeted. Finally he said, “Do you like chocolates?” They were astonished, and silent. He repeated the question, whereupon one lady plucked … Continue reading