Sergei Tcherkasski, Ph.D, D.Sc
Russian State Institute of Performing Arts, St. Petersburg
Stanislavsky and Yoga
Courtesy of TPO TV Channel Russia-Kultura
Stanislavsky and Yoga
Courtesy of TPO TV Channel Russia-Kultura
Duration – 44 min, English subtitles
This documentary film is based on Sergei Tcherkasski’s award-winning books “Acting: Stanislavsky – Boleslavsky – Strasberg” and “Stanislavsky and Yoga” (Routledge, 2016) and deals with one of the most important sources of the Stanislavsky System – Yoga, its practice and philosophy.
It presents records on yoga in Stanislavsky's writings from different periods and discusses hidden references which are not explained by Stanislavsky himself due to the censorship in his day. Vivid examples of Yoga-based training from the rehearsal practice of the Moscow Art Theatre and many of Stanislavsky's studios are provided.
Film also includes rare archival footage and photo stills as well as stunning views of Moscow Art Theatre and Stanislavsky’s House.
Furthermore, the film presents theater director and acting teacher Sergei Tcherkasski in conversation about yoga in actor training with leading practitioners of the modern theatre – directors Anatoly Vasiliev and Luk Perceval, playwright Ivan Viripaev, artistic director of St. Petersburg Molodezhny Theatre Semen Spivak, as well as Archimandrite Isidor, Grotowski’s scholar Natella Bashindgagyan and young actors.
Director - Andrei Torstensen
Script - Sergei Tcherkasski
Director of photography - Evgeny Timokhin
English-language subtitles – Vreneli Farber
Sergei Tcherkasski's Biography
Sergei Tcherkasski is Professor of Acting and Directing, Head of Acting Studio at the Russian State Institute of Performing Arts (St Petersburg State Theatre Arts Academy, est. 1779). He is a director, teacher and theatre historian and holds Ph.D. and D.Sc. (Theatre Arts). He was formerly Artistic Director of the Pushkin Drama Theatre in Krasnoyarsk and has taught and directed productions all over the world, including the Komisarjevsky Drama Theatre, Liteinii Theatre (St Petersburg), and RADA (London), NIDA (Sydney), and National Theatre (Bucharest). His books include Stanislavsky and Yoga (Routledge, 2016, also in three other languages); Sulimov’s School of Directing (2013); and the multi-awarded Acting: Stanislavsky – Boleslavsky – Strasberg (National Prize for Best Theatre Book, 2016, International Stanislavsky Award, 2017).