Shadow Mechanics

Prt of series of 6 about the Russian Avant-garde by Copernicus Films and directed by Michael Craig.
Watch the whole film:http://www.copernicusfilms.com/?page_id=262
The Russian theatre director, Meyerhold devised an acting technique called biomechanics. Using actors this film attempts to recreate his ideas in the context of Russian Theatre of the 1920s. The film is extracts from a larger film about Meyerhold (50 Minutes) which can be found at Amazon or see http://www.copernicusfilms.com for more information about this film and the series.

Available on Amazon http://amzn.to/n5FwVR

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• Meyerhold
• theatre
• Russia
• Avant-garde
• art
• constructivism
• performance
• Malevich
• Rodchenko
• Tatlin
• Biomechanics

[Got2bsingn117]

I really loved this video. My friend and I are doing a project on biomechanics for our theatre history project. We have to adapt a scene from the Cherry Orchard into constructivism/biomechanics. Some tips on biomechanics would be helpful because we cannot find much on the action of it and hearing it directly would just be great. Any ideas?

[Copernicussun]

Just to add. If you have any more questions, do ask, although I'm not an expert.

[Lorthanoth]

Nice to find something about this in video form online. I was introduced to biomechanics through a production I was acting in which utilised some of the ideas. Fascinating stuff!

[Copernicussun]

Thanks for your comment, much appreciated. I worked with an actor here in Moscow. We had good fun trying to recreate some of Meyerhold's original ideas and experimenting with our own attempts. Its very difficult to imagine exactly what myerhold had in mind so we tended to improvise in order to show the basic idea of using the body and movement to release an actors potential emotional expressiveness. If you want to ask me anything feel free to ask.

[skomdra]

Hi! We in Zagreb, Croatia, hardly have anybody understands the meaning and importance of biomechanics, so do you have any knowledge that somebody would come and make a workshop? You can p.m. me, maybe we can arrange something, I believe that I could find some funding for it

Drasko

[Copernicussun]

Hi Drasko

I think nobody anywhere really understands biomechanics except Meyerhold. However I may be able to help but I can't gaurantee anything as yet. I will talk to the actor I filmed with. When you say funding could you give me any details of what you have in mind.

But generally it sounds an interesting idea.

I await your reply

Talk to you soon

Michael

[Kievest]

Prototype for Merce Cunningham's

brand of Modern Dance. Very

interesting....thank you!

[vstasov]

Really fascinating.  Many thanks.

[vklucas1]

Thanks for posting this very informative video.

[Oshenie]

Very well done!

[shursts]

thank you again, for pointing me in the direction of this Meyerhold piece. I had the pleasure of being in Moscow for 13 weeks on 2002 and immersed myself in as much theatre history and dom-musees as possible. It was an exciting study though this film has taught me more about Meyerhold than any trip to a museum would have done. Thank you for the illumination.

[moominpic]

How widely is Meyerhold studied in Russia? Funny thing; I once ran a project for students using commedia dell arte. By mistake one of the participants was from the Kaliningrad theatre and was a professional actor. However, he could not (and would not) do what we asked him because he was sooo grounded in Stanislavskian technique that he couldn't accept the idea of a physical theatre which was not based on internalised characterisation.

[moominpic]

fantastic. Am I correct that the moves are exaggerated/stylised but not fixed/frozen. The actor must be able to move flowingly from one move to another?