The Acting Innovations of Alla Nazimova before Hollywood and Vsevolod Meyerhold before Biomechanics

• In Event: New Perspectives on Russian Theater and Performing Arts I: Liberating Lost Histories: Reclaiming Revolutionary Theatre Innovators

Abstract

In 1905, Alla Nazimova (1879-1945) became the first student of Stanislavsky to perform in the United States. A champion of realism on the stage, she eventually would revolutionize acting in the American theatre and in film. During that notably tumultuous year, Stanislavsky and Meyerhold created their first attempt at a studio, the Moscow Art Theatre Studio on Povarskaia Street, an experimental space for developing new forms. Meyerhold and Nazimova, who were both alumni of the Philharmonic School and the Moscow Art Theatre, took nearly opposite approaches to revolutionizing acting. An icon of the suffragist movement, Nazimova knew no barriers, ignoring constructed limitations such as borders, language, gender, and sexuality and her acting techniques based in psychological realism bridged the gap between film and theatre. This paper offers a side-by-side look at Meyerhold and Nazimova’s early-career endeavors, highlighting the impact of Nazimova’s stardom in the US in contrast with Meyerhold’s physical ensemble work at the Studio on Povarskaia.

Author

• Greer Gerni, U of Missouri–Kansas City