Moscow Art Theater became one of the most influential theaters in the history of modern drama. It presents plays by major Russian authors and has made several tours of Western countries. One of its founders, the director Konstantin Stanislavski, developed his Method style of acting at the theater. The style stresses psychological realism in the interpretation and presentation of plays. In the Method style, actors and actresses define a role by saying, “If I were this character, I would…” They also define a role by drawing on relevant experiences from their own lives. The style has had great impact on Western theater. It was refined by Lee Strasberg, director of the Actors Studio in New York City, which produced such actors as Marlon Brando and James Dean.
The Moscow Art Theater was founded in 1898 by Stanislavski and the playwright and director Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko. Stanislavski served as artistic director, and Nemirovich-Danchenko was the head of administration. The theater’s first production was Czar Fyodor Ivanovich by Alexei Tolstoy. The theater’s production in 1898 of Anton Chekhov’s The Sea Gull started his career as a successful playwright. Chekhov wrote his classic plays The Three Sisters (1901) and The Cherry Orchard (1904) for the Moscow Art Theater. The theater continues to present plays in Moscow.
