past masters -October '95:
VSEVOLOD MEYERHOLD
(The project comprised four workshops led by Alexei Levinski and one
workshop led by Gennadi Bogdanov, in Cardiff 14th to 26th October; and an
international symposium in Aberystwyth 27th to 29th October)
As the first in the Past-Masters series, my expectations for the Meyerhold
workshops and symposium were naturally quite high. However, it wasn't until
the end of the entire event that I became aware of a sense of privilege. This
was an extraordinary occasion which made space for so many contrasts and, more
significantly, for so many meetings.
Two weeks of workshops in Biomechanics - Meyerhold's system of actor training
- began the event. The workshops were led by Alexei Levinski and Gennadi
Bogdanov - the two leading (and only, as Alexei noted) teachers of Biomechanics
in Russia. I participated in two of the workshops led by Alexei, who took us
through a daily routine of the basic components of Biomechanics. Work with
sticks - throwing, turning and moving them around our bodies - began our day,
bringing focus and humility to us all. Basic exercises in balance and tap
dance followed. Finally, time was spent learning two of the "etudes" devised
by Meyerhold: "The Game with the Stone" and "The Slap". It was here, in this
painstakingly slow and precise work, that I became acutely aware of a
connection with Meyerhold's work. As my muscles and sinews strove to take on
the form of the etudes, my body began to "learn" about Meyerhold.
The body-learning of the practical workshops was then met by the mind-learning
of the symposium. As the presentations were made a striking sense of diversity
and contrast became apparent, both in Meyerhold's work, and in the work of
those who draw inspiration from him:
The political context of Meyerhold's work (often-discussed) was foregrounded
in a lively discussion chaired by Robert Leach ... The poeticism and
spirituality of Meyerhold (seldom-discussed) was revealed in a paper by Edward
Braun.
Richard Taylor drew connections between the grotesque popular art forms in
early soviet cinema and Meyerhold's theatrical technique ... Béatrice
Picon-Vallin spoke of the form of Meyerhold’s theatre as aspiring to the
beauty of music.
Gennadi Bogdanov showed the importance of preserving Meyerhold's Biomechanics
in its pure and unaltered form - exquisitely illustrated by excerpts from the
video textbook being produced with the Mime Centrum Berlin ... Alexei Levinski
showed the importance of carrying forward Meyerhold’s Biomechanics as a
practical way of training actors, regardless of their level of study -
generously illustrated by an impromptu class, "Stick Work for Academics".
Mel Gordon located Meyerhold's acting techniques within the precise context of
the constructivist movement ... Jörg Bochow and Phillip Zarilli both
highlighted essential similarities between Meyerhold’s Biomechanics and
other formalised movement systems such as Commedia, Kabuki and martial arts.
Vadim Sherbakov showed us the importance of his task of helping to edit and
publish Meyerhold's performance scores ... Nikolai Pesochinski emphasised the
importance of remembering the passionate realms of creativity made possible by
Meyerhold's acting aesthetics.
Maya Sitkovetskaya took us through Meyerhold's journey of development in cinema
from an early primacy of the literary text to later work which viewed the
entire film as "text" in its own right ... With the help of Ralf Räuker
and Julia Varley, Eugenio Barba took us through his own personal journey of
coming to understand the essential sources of Meyerhold's Biomechanics.
Finally, the past and the future met at the Russian Banquet where Meyerhold's
granddaughter Maria Valentey was overcome with emotion at the sight of a
gathering whose purpose was to celebrate Meyerhold, both as past master, and
as an inspiration for the future.
Carla Shepherd (Bristol)
(In response to the desperate situation threatening the existence and
fabric of the Meyerhold Museum, housed in Meyerhold's former apartment and
cared for by his granddaughter, an appeal for funds was made during the
conference and over $1,500 was raised for refurbishment. In gratitude, Maria
Valentey promised to return to Moscow to lay on Meyerhold's grave, on behalf
of all the conference delegates, the bouquet of flowers presented to her.)
This web spun by Simon
Wheatley, 100337.302@compuserve.com. Maintained by Adam Hayward at cprwww@aber.ac.uk.
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