Acting Chekhov in Translation

List of Illustrations - Acknowledgements - Introduction - Translation - Modern Approaches to Translation - The Translator as Artist - Action - Chekhov's Dramaturgy - The Seagull - Uncle Vanya - The Three Sisters - The Cherry Orchard - A Body of Beauty - Bibliography - Appendix A: Glossary - Appendix B: The Cited Plays and Their Translators, 145 Renditions - Index.

Robin Beth Levenson completed her BA in French and dramatic art at the University of California, Santa Barbara; her MFA in acting at the University of California, Riverside; and her PhD in music and performing arts at New York University. She has written articles for Communications From the International Brecht Society on Woyzeck and The Seagull, for Dialogues in Social Justice: An Adult Education Journal on Ta-Nehisi Coates, and for the New York Society for General Semantics on language and George Gurdjieff, as well as publications for the New York State Communication Association, where she is also on the executive board. She has acted professionally in Los Angeles and New York, on stage and in film. She is currently Assistant Professor of Communication at LaGuardia Community College, CUNY. Her research interests include how language influences thought and behavior and the nature of performance.

"I read every page of Robin Beth Levenson's Acting Chekhov in Translation. I found it far too compelling to just select a chapter here and there. Her comparisons of variant translations are wonderful! Her knowledge of the fields of acting, drama, speech and voice bring new insights both to Chekhov's four masterpieces and to translation studies. She convincingly points out the pitfalls of translating a play strictly as a verbal text without properly considering all the elements that go into a performance. Her underlying theory that variations in language result in variations in subtext and action is of critical importance and is far too often overlooked in play translation. Her analysis of Stanislavsky's contribution to acting methods, along with his misunderstanding of some of Chekhov's intentions as well as later practitioners' misunderstanding of Stanislavsky's own concepts, will be illuminating for many, particularly translators who do not have an extensive background in theatre. Her careful analysis of Chekhov's dramaturgy likewise will be helpful to those who do not already have this level of familiarity with the great playwright's works. Her numerous personal interviews and observations drawn from classes she has taken with outstanding teachers are sources of considerable enrichment. Among her other crucial ideas are: the interaction of playwright and director; the question of how to capture source rhythm in the translated text; her discussion of how playwrights and translators impose themselves on the source text; the impact for the actor of deleting intentional ellipses and punctuation; the question of whether characters will speak perfect grammar when they are emotionally distraught; the impact of deleting elements from the source; the significance of title and character names and of stage directions. Levenson's book will attract a range of readers with varying interests: play translation, Chekhov, acting, and theatre in general. Its appeal extends