Chekhov М.А. (1891-1955), actor, director, and teacher

Categories / Art/Music, Theatre/Personalia
CHEKHOV Mikhail Alexandrovich (1891, St. Petersburg - 1955), actor, teacher, and theatre worker; Honoured Artist of the State Academic Theatres in 1924. Anton Chekhov's nephew. After graduating from the Suvorin Theatre School of the Literature and Art Society in 1910, he worked at the theatre of the society until 1912. He then worked at the Moscow Art Theatre and First Studio of the Moscow Art Theatre / Second Moscow Art Academic Theatre in 1912-28 where he became the art director of the studio / theatre in 1922. After emigrating in 1928, he was an actor and teacher at various theatres and studios and a film actor at a number of film studios in Europe and the USA. His major roles include Tsar Fedor Ioannovich in A. K. Tolstoy's play of the same name, Khlestakov, Hamlet, Ableukhov in A. Bely's Petersburg, Muromsky in A. V. Sukhovo-Kobylin's Case, etc. Chekhov combined various acting skills, thus, extending the possibilities of performance. He developed a unique system of training and acting that was first published as On the Technique of Acting in New York in 1946. His literary heritage consists of two volumes that also include two books of reminiscences and numerous articles and documents, which were published in Moscow in 1986 and 1995. He lived at 9 Kostromskoy Avenue, Udelnaya, in 1900-12 (not preserved).

References: Громов В. А. Михаил Чехов. М., 1970; Кириллов А. А. Театр Михаила Чехова // Русское актерское искусство ХХ века: Сб. науч. тр. СПб., 1992. Вып. 1. С. 259-308.

A. A. Kirillov. Chekhov Anton Pavlovich
Chekhov Mikhail Alexandrovich
Sukhovo-Kobylin Alexander Vasilievich
Suvorin Alexey Sergeevich
Tolstoy Alexey Konstantinovich, Count
Kostromskaya Ave/Saint Petersburg, city, house 9
Громов В. А. Михаил Чехов. М., 1970
Кириллов А. А. Театр Михаила Чехова // Русское актерское искусство ХХ века: Сб. науч. тр. СПб., 1992 Literary and Artistic Society Theatre
Literary and Artistic Society Theatre