Abstract

This study of the Moscow Art Theatre's influence during the lifetime of its founders, Nemirovich-Danchenko and Konstantin Stanislavsky, is limited to the European and North American context and will illustrate several factors that both historians of Soviet Theatre and critics in host countries often overlook, lacking an overall perspective on the nature of ensemble and thus a means for comparison. To gain a clear picture of the Moscow Art Theatre's effect on both production and actor training, one must also dissociate the impact of the mother company's tours from the impact of its traveling studios, its emigrant separatist troupes (the Kachalov and Prague Groups), and also from the studios and companies created by Theatre artists after they had moved abroad. This variety of forms, in itself confusing, also compromised the clarity of the Moscow Art Theatre's teachings, even though it helped boost the Theatre's renown. Disciples used the prestigious Art Theatre brand to earn the trust of host countries, but often propagated work methods different from those taught in Moscow.