Join us for a panel discussion on world-renowned theater practitioner Konstantin Stanislavski. Celebrated Russian playwright and director, Mark Rozovsky will discuss the legacy of Stanislavski’s acting method with Evan Yionoulis, award-winning U.S. theater director and Richard Rodgers Dean and Director of the Drama Division at Juilliard. U.S. film and theater director Seema Sueko will serve as moderator. The event will begin with the premiere of the short documentary Stanislavski: From Moscow to Hollywood. A live Q&A with the panelists and audience will follow the discussion. 

About the guest speakers:

Mark Grigoryevich Rozovskiy was born on April 3, 1937 in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. In 1958, while studying at the university, Rozovskiy became the artistic director of the student theater of the Moscow State University, which was closed for censorship reasons in 1969. In 1982, he organized a new amateur group, the studio theater "At the Nikitsky Gate," which became his artistic home for decades. The theater’s first performance, "Doctor Chekhov" on March 27, 1983, became the date of birth of the Moscow Theater "At the Nikitsky Gate." In 1991, his studio theater "At the Nikitsky Gate" under the direction of Mark Rozovskiy received the status of a state theater. The theater has produced 170 theatrical productions over 40 years; 100 of these productions were directed by Mark Rozovskiy. 

Rozovskiy is the director of a large number of theater performances based on the works of great classics of Russian literature, including Anton Chekhov, Nikolai Gogol, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Vladimir Nabokov, Alexander Pushkin, etc. He also created performances based on the works of Soviet and Russian writers and poets, many of whom have become classics of Russian literature. Among Rozovskiy’s productions are those based on the works of Western classics — Shakespeare, Byron, Strindberg, Tennessee Williams, Arthur Conan Doyle, etc. 

Also a playwright and the author of librettos for musical productions, Rozovskiy successfully adapted classics into musicals. His musical Strider ("The Story of a Horse") was performed on Broadway – on the stage of the Helen Hayes Theater (1979/1980 season). The play has also been staged at the National Theater in London (England), the Stockholm State Theater (Sweden), the Royal Theater of Copenhagen (Denmark), in Japan, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Finland, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Austria.

As a stage director Rozovskiy has also worked at the Polish Theater in Wroclaw (Poland), the Higher Theater School of Tel Aviv (Israel), and at the Russian-American Musical Theater "Wandering Stars" in New York (USA), etc. Rozovskiy has worked at the Russian State University for the Humanities and at the Russian Institute of Theater Arts, and for more than 10 years, led the acting program at the Institute of Russian Theater. Also a journalist, Rozovskiy has published hundreds of articles in periodicals and literary and art magazines. Mark Rozovskiy is the ‘People’s Artist of the Russian Federation (2004),’ among his awards are the Order of Honor (1998), the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree (2012).

Evan Yionoulis, an award-winning director and nationally-recognized teacher of acting, is Richard Rodgers dean and director of the drama division at Juilliard. She has directed new plays and classics including the critically-acclaimed world premiere of Adrienne Kennedy’s He Brought Her Heart Back in a Box for Theatre for a New Audience. Other credits include Richard Greenberg’s The Violet Hour (Broadway), Three Days of Rain (Obie Award for direction, Manhattan Theatre Club), and Everett Beekin (Lincoln Center Theater). Among many regional credits, she directed Cymbeline, Richard II, The Master Builder, Brecht’s Galileo, Gozzi’s The King Stag, Caryl Churchill’s Owners, Guillermo Calderón’s Kiss, and numerous other productions while a resident director at Yale Repertory Theatre. She directed Seven, a documentary theatre piece about extraordinary women from across the globe who work for human rights, in New York, Boston, Washington, Aspen, London, Deauville, and New Delhi. With composer/lyricist Mike Yionoulis, she is developing the multi-platform project Redhand Guitar, about five generations of musicians across an American century, and The Dread Pirate Project, about identity and anonymity across the digital and natural worlds. She is a Princess Grace Awards recipient and serves as president of SDC, the national labor union representing stage directors and choreographers. 

About the moderator:

Seema Sueko grew up in Honolulu, with a Pakistani father and a Japanese American mother. Conversations about the arts, politics and community wove through her upbringing, stitching the tapestry of her core belief: theater is transformative and can contribute to building successful communities when we intentionally activate this art form for the public benefit. Today, Seema directs stage, film, consensus organizing and R&D projects and productions for theaters, think tanks, and the greater good. Current/Upcoming projects include: ​​​The Chinese Lady, by Lloyd Suh, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Sept. 9 — Oct. 16, 2022. Extended to Oct. 23, 2022; Silent Sky by Lauren Gunderson, Asolo Repertory Theatre, January 19 — March 5, 2023; Solidarity Economy Learning Circles for the Theater Community; Field Advisor for Management Consultants for the Arts. 

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This event will be livestreamed on the American Center in Moscow’s YouTube channel, VK group, and Telegram channel. The recording of the presentation will remain available on the American Center in Moscow’s YouTube channel and VK group.

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Photo by Paolo Chiabrando on Unsplash