Enter Neil Simon, born 1927 in Bronx, USA, and Anton Chekhov, born 1860 in Taganrog, Russia. Simon’s The Good Doctor took the Broadway stage in 1973 as a series of sketches celebrating Chekhov’s short stories bound by Chekhov’s reincarnation, the Writer, who states in the opening monologue, “here I am, day after day, haunted by one thought, I must write, I must write, I must write.”
And write both Chekhov and Simon did, becoming two of history’s most eminent and prolific authors. But as Simon claimed, “[Writing] doesn’t just come. It’s always hard and it’s never easy.” Passion is not enough. Reports describe Chekhov, argued as the greatest writer since Shakespeare, writing every spare second, often starting and finishing a story in a single evening. Others account Simon, the world’s most produced living playwright, habitually carrying a bag of in-process scripts, furiously writing and rewriting to the final rehearsal. Ceaselessly, both created comedies of human nature, presenting everyday follies and foibles as humor.
Despite renown, many critics dismiss Chekhov and, as a result, Simon’s The Good Doctor, claiming nothing happens or resolves. To such criticism Chekhov wrote, "in real life people don't spend every minute shooting each other, hanging themselves and making confessions of love. They're more occupied with eating, drinking, flirting and talking stupidities.” Striving towards objectivity, Chekhov presents such behavior in his writing, unaffected but not unheightened. Just as he found absurdity in the commonplace, he also found significance, observing, “People eat their dinner, just eat their dinner, and all the time their happiness is being established or their lives are being broken up."
Reifying this import in the day’s gestures, for the company of The Good Doctor, in sewing a thread, adjusting a light, painting a wall, and memorizing a line, significance exists. These actions strike steel to flint, producing sparks, tiny fires kindling our resolve to show up every day and amassing into our show this evening.
Tonight we present the culmination of the January theatre Exploration term. Twenty-six students arrived morning after early morning to work through sunset on this undertaking, because as Simon and Chekhov demonstrate, passion is not enough. Theatre is neither art nor business but craft— skilled work propelled by purpose but work nonetheless. So why do it? When the Writer in The Good Doctor asks himself why he writes, he answers, “I am a writer.” I respond likewise. We, The Good Doctor Company, consign our January to theatre because we are designers, directors, technicians, managers and actors. We have heard the counsel, “If you can do anything else and be happy, do it,” and have responded, “I am doing it.”
Dear audience, my wish is the same for you. Thank you for being here with us.
– Anna Rose MacArthur, Dramaturg
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Monday, January 16, 2012
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Roots of Vaudeville: Commedia Dell’Arte
Overview of Commedia Dell’Arte from TheatreHistory.com
Overview of Commedia Dell’Arte from About.com
The Low-Down on Commedia Dell’Arte
Commedia Dell’Arte Drama Research Project
“The World of Commedia” Educational Video on Commedia from the National Theatre
Videos of Vaudeville Legacy: Buster Keaton
Buster Keaton “Nice to Meet You” Scene from Spite Marriage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNY1n3tYjcA&feature=related
Buster Keaton “Drunk Bride” Scene from Spite Marriage
Buster Keaton Montage
Videos of Vaudeville Legacy: Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin “Table Ballet”
Charlie Chaplin “The Lion’s Cage”
Charlie Chaplin 5 Famous Scenes from 5 Famous Movies
Charlie Chaplin v Murphy Bed
Videos of Vaudeville Legacy: Abbott & Costello
Abbott & Costello Perform Their Classic “Who’s on First?”
Abbot & Costello Perform “It’s Payday”
Comedy style similar to the scene from The Good Doctor “The Mistress” [0:28 to end]
Abbott & Costello at Their Best
[0:40 to 3:06]
Comedy style similar to the scene from The Good Doctor “A Quiet War” and to Chekhov’s One-Act Play “The Proposal”
Abbott & Costello “Dentist Scene” from The Noose Hangs High
Comedy style similar to the scene from The Good Doctor “Surgery”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DDYz6zID7k&feature=related
Top 10 Best Abbott & Costello Routines Part 1/2
Top 10 Best Abbott & Costello Routines Part 2/2
Videos of Vaudeville Legacy: Leslie Nielsen The Naked Gun
The Naked Gun Funniest Moments Part 1
The Naked Gun Funniest Moments Part 2
The Naked Gun Funny Excerpts
Comedy style similar to the scene from The Good Doctor “The Drowned Man”
[Dock Scene 1:26 to 2:29]
Kazav as Concept Visuals
Director of The Good Doctor, Alan Litsey, is using Mark Kazav’s paintings as concept visuals for the production, stating that Kazav’s expressionistic work represents the inner life of the characters, their passions, obsessions, playfulness, chaotic nature, vibrancy, quirks, eccentricities, vaudeville comedy, and, even in one, their dark side.
These five paintings serve as the main representation of this vision.
Click on painting to enlarge image.
Click on painting to enlarge image.
Mark Kazav
Mark Kazav was born in former USSR in 1960. In 1976 he went to Music Teacher's College to study accordion and art. In 1980 he began his military duty as a musician in Big Band orchestra with the Soviet Army which lasted 2 years. By the 1990's he and his family were forced to leave the USSR as a result of all the disorder and war. They soon fled to Canada. While living in Canada/The limitless possibilities of oil painting fascinated him and he quickly began to gain recognition amongst other artist. Mark Kazav produces works with bountiful texture as part of a "wet-in-wet" technique that captures the essence of subject rather than the intricacies. His heavy textured works can be found in numerous Corporate and Private Collections throughout the US and Europe.
Taken from: http://www.etsy.com/people/kazavart
Video Slideshow of Mark Kazav’s Paintings
Gallery of Mark Kazav’s Paintings
Gallery of Mark Kazav’s Paintings
Gallery of Mark Kazav’s Paintings
Check Out and “Like” Mark Kazav’s Facebook Page
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mark-Kazav/217521294936074
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Russia: Country Profile
Basic Facts About Russia
Climate Economy
Language
Population
Political System
Administrative Division
Religion
Official State Holidays
History.com Profile of Russia
Introduction
Geography, Climate, Plant and Animal Life
People, Demographics, Languages, Religion, Settlement Patterns
Economy
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing
Resources and Power
Manufacturing
Finance
Trade
Services
Labour and Taxation
Transportation and Telecommunications
Government and Society
Education
Culture, Cultural Development, Arts, Sports and Recreation
History
BBC News Profile of Russia
Overview
Facts
Leaders
Media
CIA World Factbook
Introduction
Geography
Economy
Communications
Transportation
Military
Transnational Issues
A Country Study of Russia Composed by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress. Edited by Glenn E. Curtis. Research completed July 1996.
Video Slideshows of Russian Paintings
Video: Truth and Beauty: Realism in Russian Painting by ABNewsTV
80 masterpieces of distinguished Russian artists with Works by Ilja Repin, Isaak Levitan, Boris Kustodijev, Alexander Deineka, Maljavin and Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin from the 19th and 20th century who painted in the style of Realism.. The collection offers an extensive and diverse look at the development of the style of Realism in Russian painting from 1800 until the 1950s. From the collection of the Latvian National Museum of Art.
Video Showcasing Famous Russian Paintings
The pieces showcased are
1. The icon of the Mother of God and the Sign, Mid C15th, Novgorod.
2. "Neizvestnaya" (The Unknown Lady)1883, Ivan Kramskoy
3. "Grachi prileteli" (The Rooks have returned) 1871, Alexey Savrasov
4. "Neravnyi Brak" (Misalliance) 1862, Vasily Pukirev
5. "Yavlenie Messii" (The appearance of Messiah)1857, Alexandr Ivanov
6. Portrait of Vera Repina, 1884, Ilya Repin
7. "Siren' v korzine" (Lilac in a basket) 1933, Piotr Konchalovski
8. "Pohishchenie Europy" (The abduction of Europe) 1910 Valentin Serov
9. (midpoint) Portrait of Maria Lopukhina 1797, Vladimir Borovikovski
10. "Bogatyri" (Warriors) 1898, Viktor Vasnetsov
11. "Utro v sosnovym lesu" (Morning in a pine forest) 1889 Ivan Shishkin
12. Caprice on Shishkin's Morning in a Pine Forest, by Andrzej Nowak, 2005.
History and Culture of Russia through Art
Andrew Graham-Dixon Presents the History and Culture of Russia through its Art in these three episodes of the “Art of Russia”
Art of Russia Introduction
Art of Russia: Episode 1: Out of the Forest
Out of the Forest 1-4
Videos of Russia's People and Culture
Video Slideshow of Russian People Intermingled with Text Describing the Russian “Soul”
Video of the Russian National Anthem with Pictures
Video Slideshow of the People of Russia and of the Russian Landscape
Video of a Brief Overview of Russia and its Culture
Educational Overview Video of Modern Day Russia
Videos of Russian Geography
Brief Introduction to Russian Geography
Video on Russian Geography 1/2
Video on Russian Geography 2/2
Russia’s Sites and Cities
Navigate 360 Panoramas Inside Russia’s Landscapes, Monasteries, Buildings, Events, and Sites
Video Slideshow of the Seven Wonders of Russia
Video of Russian Sights
Moscow
Mandrogi
Kyiv
Yaroslavl
Baikal
Vladivostok
Kamchatka
Video Slideshow of 54 Russian Cities
Explore the Galleries of The Russian Museum of Ethnography, St. Petersburg, Russia
Russian Cuisine
Video Slideshow of Traditional Russian Food
Russian Recipes
Russian Recipes and Stories of Russia
Bizarre Foods in Russia by Discovery Channel/ St. Petersburg Farmers Market
Bizarre Foods in Russia by Discovery Channel/ Caviar, Beef Stroganoff
Videos of Russia’s Nature and Wilderness
Video Showing Winter in Russia
Video Slideshow of Russian Nature Shots
Video Slideshow of Russian Nature Shots
Video Slideshow of Russian Nature Shots
Video of the Russian Wilderness by National Geographic
Video of the Russian Wilderness of Siberia by National Geographic
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