Russia is a gem on the map for theatrical education in the world.
The University of Idaho has developed a working relationship with Wayne State University in Detroit to bring American students to Moscow, Russia and study theatre at the prominent Moscow Art Theatrer School.
Matt Foss, University of Idaho theater arts professor organized, and led a group of about 20 UI students to Moscow, Russia for a month earlier this summer.
Foss attended the Moscow Art Theater in Russia when working on his PhD, and has been a part of the theatre study abroad program since its inception roughly two years ago. The program is specific to theater students who seek to make theater their career.
“We started with a small group two years ago and received a lot of help from the department and the office here on campus.The program has quickly grown into something very exciting,” Foss said.
University of Idaho and Wayne State University students form a human period while participating in theater training in Moscow Russia in June.
Sean Hendrickson, acting and directing student in theatre arts, traveled to Russia with Foss’ group. Currently, Hendrickson is a B.F.A. candidate in theatre performance in his final year.
“For financial reasons I wasn’t able to commit last summer, but after hearing from my classmates who did when they landed back in the states, I knew I’d have to go,” Hendrickson said. “Matt (Foss) was our point-man and mastermind behind the UI travelling contingent and did everything he could to make this study as accessible and feasible for us, students and faculty.”
The root of modern theatrical training in America stems from Russian artists in the early to mid 1900’s like Konstantin Stanisvlasky and Michael Chekov, said Hendrickson.
“Going to Russia allowed me to contextualize everything I have been learning over the last four years,” Hendrickson said. “It was like a pilgrimage.”
The students accepted for the trip go through an audition and application process. If chosen they undergo training six days a week from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. For 30 days students travel around Moscow, Russia to attend over 20 plays and visit museums along with lectures and various other experiences.
“Moscow Art Theatre is one of the largest and most influential production theaters in Russia as well as the home of great artists like Konstantin Stanislavski, Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, Vsevolod Meyerhold, Michael Chekhov and many more of the theatrical movers-and-shakers of the early 20th century,” said Hendrickson.
Hendrickson said he expects to incorporate his newfound sense of rejuvenated ambition into hard work moving forward, as well as translating accurately yet uniquely the culture he experienced from Russian theater.
“The real work for all of us starts now that we’re home, learning how to navigate our work here with a fine-tuned ear to our own work ethic and how we can translate (sometimes literally) our new experience into something vital and accessible here in the states,” Hendrickson said.
Foss has high hopes for the program’s future.
“I hope we can take more students and make it possible for faculty members and guest artists to travel to one of the most famous and important theaters in the world to train, study and immerse themselves in Russian Theatre and Culture,” Foss said.
Matthew James Skeate can be reached at [email protected]