What is the role of the Theatre in life?
About the meaning of the theatre – I think it has a social meaning, nothing personal or individual. If it does not serve a social purpose, it is a great illusion. …….Real social consciousness means to do whatever work we do, having in mind our usefulness to society. And this is the main thing which makes social problems in modern life so difficult.
-Michael Chekhov
Social Community Projects
Chekhov observed that we humans often fail to truly change collectively, even in the face of disaster. He attributed this, among other things, to a lack of imagination and consequently a lack of empathy. This vision is extremely relevant today.
By using the Chekhov tools, you can delve deeply into a character as an actor, but also into a situation, emotion, atmosphere. You can start to experience what another person feels and understand the perspective from which they act. You can gain insights into why things happen between people in a certain way. Therefore, the Chekhov method can be used for any target group that needs to become more aware, develop their imagination, grow internally, communicate better, become more body-conscious, deal better with emotions, become more empathetic, and so on. The list is endless.
Chekhov was van mening dat een kunstenaar midden in het leven moet staan en zijn kunst moet inzetten om bij te dragen aan positieve ontwikkelingen in de samenleving. Daarom is één pijler van het Michael Chekhov Center om workshops aan te bieden aan ‘performers/acteurs in het dagelijkse leven’, kortom iedereen die leeft en speelt op het ‘wereldtoneel’. De Chekhov Methode biedt tools om toe te passen in je werk en leven. Hier gelden namelijk dezelfde wetmatigheden als op het podium: de voorstelling, het speelvlak, de voorbereiding, het trainen, de improvisaties: allemaal hebben ze hun equivalent in het dagelijks leven. In de Chekhov techniek bestuderen we die wetmatigheden en spelen we ermee. Juist daarom is de techniek zo werkzaam.


