Well-trodden paths : US, UK, Russian and Soviet perspectives on Stanislavsky’s transmission

Abstract

One consequence of the 1922–4 tours which Stanislavsky himself had understood was that America was going to play a signifi cant role in his own future as a theatre- maker. His letters indicate how he and the Moscow Art Th eatre became caught within the exigencies of both American and Soviet theatres. For example, while yearning for his return home, Stanislavsky recognized the necessity to develop a concrete link with America because ‘without American support, I do not see the existence of theatres and studios in Russia possible, at least for many years’ ( Stanislavskii, 1961 , p. 59). Th e diplomatic dimension of the tours did not escape Stanislavsky, with one letter to Nemirovich-Danchenko pondering the Moscow Art Th eatre’s position as ‘the fi rst and most eloquent and persuasive ambassador of Russia, who did not bring commercial items to trade but the living Russian soul, to which America felt an attraction’ ( Stanislavskii, 1961 , p. 43). In these letters Stanislavsky might have draft ed an image of US – USSR relationships based on reciprocal support, but what emerged from those tours – the creation of two Stanislavsky- informed but distinct and confl icting acting traditions – was far removed from that utopia.