GRADE LEVEL TARGET: High School 9th-12th grade.
Things to know:
Plot:
“The Seagull” is a play about unrequited love and the meaning of life. The moon rises on the lake-bordered estate of Sorin in a beautiful countryside. Family and friends of Sorin enter and the love triangles of this play are established, setting forth the ensuing conflict: Medvendenko loves Masha, but Masha loves Treplev. Treplev loves Nina, and Nina loves Treplev until Trigorin (Treplev’s mother’s lover) enters the scene and Trigorin’s love is split between the two women and himself.
Throughout the play, Treplev struggles with the artistic life style, unable to create great work like the famous Trigorin, as well as with love and the banality of existence, leading to a number of bold moves on his part to achieve freedom from the pain.
Author:
Anton Chekhov is known as one of the most prolific playwrights in history. His brilliant works that span from the famous “Cherry Orchard” to “Uncle Vanya,” are all incredibly well known and commonly produced plays all around the world in different translations originating from the language of Russian. Born in 1860, he was first regarded as one of the greatest short story writers in history… he was also a pretty good doctor! “The Seagull” was the first play he had written and sent out to be performed on the stage. Produced in 1896 at the Alexandrynsky Theatre first: it was an extreme failure. The audience hated it, assuming that all the characters in the play were “lunatics.” Chekhov, then fled to the country claiming he was never going to write another play again. If it wasn’t for Stanislavsky producing it again a year later with such brilliant success, Chekhov wouldn’t have gone on to write his other three masterpieces. Unfortunately, due to tuberculosis he died before he could write anymore plays after the “Cherry Orchard.” A notable device used by Chekhov in his works is the occurrence of characters in situations where, instead of directly addressing conflict, they dance around it and most, I f not all action, occurs offstage and the bulk of what happens in script is reactions to said actions and the drama that ensues from that.
Characters:
Sorin – Elder owner of the estate in decaying health. Brother of Arkadina. Uncle of Treplev.
Treplev – Younger protagonist who is a struggling artist. Son of Arkadina. Loves Nina.
Trigorin – Middle-aged famous writer. Lover of Arkadina. Falls in love with Nina.
Nina – Daughter of a wealthy landowner who aspires to be a famous actress like Arkadina. Loves Treplev at first, and then Trigorin.
Arkadina – Famous actress. Middle aged and immature. Mother of Treplev, lover of Trigorin.
Masha – Depressed young woman who loves Treplev. Is aware of Medvendenko’s love for her, and she hates him for that.
Medvendenko - Poor school teacher. Loves Masha.
Dorin – Attractive doctor who loves himself.
Paulina – Mother of Masha and unhappy wife of Shamrayev, but is secretly in love with Dorn the doctor.
Shamrayev – Manager of Sorin’s estate. Married to Paulina. Star struck by Trigorin and Arkadina.
Performance History:
Like mentioned earlier, “The Seagull” premiered in St. Petersburg at the Alexandrinsky Theatre and was a big failure. Revived by Stanislavsky in Moscow, it was a huge success. In a letter to Chekhov from an audience member stated:
“In the first act something special started, if you can so describe a mood of excitement in the audience that seemed to grow and grow. Most people walked through the auditorium and corridors with strange faces, looking as if it were their birthday and, indeed, (dear God I'm not joking) it was perfectly possible to go up to some completely strange woman and say: "What a play? Eh?"
The play continued to be produced in great success, even to this day. Uta Hagen made her broadway debut as Nina at the age of 18. The show also opened up on Broadway, again, in 1992 in the Lyceum Theatre starting Tyne Daly, Ethan Hawke, Jon Voight and Laura Linney.
There was also a star-ridden production of “The Seagull” done by the NY Shakespeare Festival at the Delacorte Theatre starring Natalie Portman, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Meryl Streep that took the show in a different direction. CurtainUp reviews claimed that“few will be surprised to learn it is pitched in the lighter, funnier direction. Yet few could fully expect the degree of rethinking we find in the creation of some of the characters”
Things to Think About:
1.) What’s the significance of the shooting of the seagull?
2.) How does the change of weather correlate to the change of events and scenes?
3.) Why would Chekhov consider and regard this a “comedy?”
4.) What character, do you think, is the happiest at the end of the play? Why or why not?
5.) Does anything actually happen in this play and on stage?
Exploring Further:
1.) Anton Chekhov.
http://www.theatredatabase.com/19th_century/anton_chekhov_001.html
It’s a lengthier biography than my own but still not too long as to demote attentiveness.
2.) Short Stories.
http://www.shortstoryarchive.com/c/anton_chekhov.html
A list of his short stories for reading pleasure. Helps in getting a grasp for Chekhov’s style of writing.
3.) Plays.
http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/c/chekhov/anton/
Read his plays online for free!
4.) Play information.
http://www.seagulltheplay.com/
A whole website devoted to “The Seagull.” Contains hordes of information for the avid reader.
5.) Crossword
http://www.crosswordcraze.com/a/anton_chekhov_crossword.html
An Anton Chekhov crossword puzzle! Answers elude to his works as well has his life.
No comments:
Post a Comment