A broad-ranging guide to the process, collaborations and lasting influences of one of Europe's leading Twentieth Century actor trainers. Written for students and scholars of Theatre Studies, particularly acting, directing, European theatre and 20th Century theatre. By far the most comprehensive and up to date setting out of Meyerhold's role in theatre.

What did modern theatre in Russia look like and how did it foreground tradition building and transmission processes? The book challenges conventional historiographical approaches by weaving contemporary theories on cultural transmission into its historical narrative. It argues that processes of transmission - training spaces, acting manuals, photographic evidence, newspaper reports, international networking, informal encounters, cultural memories - contribute to the formation and consolidation of theatre traditions. Through English translations of rare Russian sources, the book expounds on: *side-lined material on Stanislavsky, including his relationship with German actor Ludwig Barnay, use of improvisation at the First Studio, and rehearsal practices for Artists and Admirers (1933); *Valentin Smyshlaev's acting manual The Technique to Process Stage Performance and the creation of hybrid practices; *proletarian theatre as an amateur-professional combination and force in the transformation of everyday life, as seen in the Proletkult's volume Art at the Workers' Clubs; *Meyerhold's Borodin Studio as an early example of Practice as Research, his European tour of 1930, and international persona as depicted in newspapers published in the West; and *Asja Lacis's work with children, which contributes to current efforts to address the gender imbalance that is often characteristic of modernism. This historical-theoretical investigation is combined with practical exercises that provide a more experiential understanding of the modern performance realities involved. In this way, the book speaks not only to theatre scholars and historians, but also to students and practitioners engaged in practical work.

What did modern theatre in Russia look like and how did it foreground tradition building and transmission processes? The book challenges conventional historiographical approaches by weaving contemporary theories on cultural transmission into its historical narrative. It argues that processes of transmission - training spaces, acting manuals, photographic evidence, newspaper reports, international networking, informal encounters, cultural memories - contribute to the formation and consolidation of theatre traditions. Through English translations of rare Russian sources, the book expounds on: *side-lined material on Stanislavsky, including his relationship with German actor Ludwig Barnay, use of improvisation at the First Studio, and rehearsal practices for Artists and Admirers (1933); *Valentin Smyshlaev's acting manual The Technique to Process Stage Performance and the creation of hybrid practices; *proletarian theatre as an amateur-professional combination and force in the transformation of everyday life, as seen in the Proletkult's volume Art at the Workers' Clubs; *Meyerhold's Borodin Studio as an early example of Practice as Research, his European tour of 1930, and international persona as depicted in newspapers published in the West; and *Asja Lacis's work with children, which contributes to current efforts to address the gender imbalance that is often characteristic of modernism. This historical-theoretical investigation is combined with practical exercises that provide a more experiential understanding of the modern performance realities involved. In this way, the book speaks not only to theatre scholars and historians, but also to students and practitioners engaged in practical work.

Stanislavsky in the World is an ambitious and ground-breaking work charting a fascinating story of the global dissemination and transformation of Stanislavsky's practices. Case studies written by local experts, historians and practitioners are brought together to introduce the reader to new routes of Stanislavskian transmission across the continents of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australasia and South (Latin) America. Such a diverse set of stories moves radically beyond linear understandings of transmission to embrace questions of transformation, translation, hybridisation, appropriation and resistance. This important work not only makes a significant contribution to Stanislavsky studies but also to recent research on theatre and interculturalism, theatre and globalisation, theatre and (post)colonialism and to the wider critical turn in performer training historiographies. This is a unique examination of Stanislavsky's work presenting a richly diverse range of examples and an international perspective on Stanislavsky's impact that has never been attempted before.

This is the first collection of primary sources that addresses the amateur theatre produced by the workers in the first decade after the Russian Revolution. Newly translated from the Russian, the essays capture both theoretical articulations on the scene - by luminaries such as Alexander Bogdanov, Platon Kerzhentsev, Valerian Pletnev, Alexander Mgebrov and Valentin Smyshliaev - and the more fleeting descriptions and first-hand accounts of the productions staged, accounts and voices which are typically harder to capture. The essays tell a story of unabashed optimism in the creativity of the working classes. They speak of the use of theatre to carve a public and political role in the construction of a new world. The sources, however, also exhibit the flipside of the scene, or the sombre difficulties faced by the amateur actors and the incessant calls to raise standards through professional help. The narrative developed is that of an amateur theatre which began as an autonomous and heterogeneous activity but which by the mid-to-late 1920s was transformed into a regulated practice and a space for cultural programming. The collection makes an important contribution to our understanding of modern theatre: scholarship conventionally tackles the canonical names from the professional world but gives little attention to the more down-to-earth forms of performance taking place in factories, clubs and amateur circles. An introductory essay also highlights the range and significance of the collection and draws links between the essays.

This is the first collection of primary sources that addresses the amateur theatre produced by the workers in the first decade after the Russian Revolution. Newly translated from the Russian, the essays capture both theoretical articulations on the scene - by luminaries such as Alexander Bogdanov, Platon Kerzhentsev, Valerian Pletnev, Alexander Mgebrov and Valentin Smyshliaev - and the more fleeting descriptions and first-hand accounts of the productions staged, accounts and voices which are typically harder to capture. The essays tell a story of unabashed optimism in the creativity of the working classes. They speak of the use of theatre to carve a public and political role in the construction of a new world. The sources, however, also exhibit the flipside of the scene, or the sombre difficulties faced by the amateur actors and the incessant calls to raise standards through professional help. The narrative developed is that of an amateur theatre which began as an autonomous and heterogeneous activity but which by the mid-to-late 1920s was transformed into a regulated practice and a space for cultural programming. The collection makes an important contribution to our understanding of modern theatre: scholarship conventionally tackles the canonical names from the professional world but gives little attention to the more down-to-earth forms of performance taking place in factories, clubs and amateur circles. An introductory essay also highlights the range and significance of the collection and draws links between the essays.