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22
Summer
2014
A teacher, an alumna
and Stanislavski
Think Marlon Brando. Marilyn Monroe,
Jack Nicholson, Paul Newman, Johnny
Depp, Sidney Poitier, Elizabeth Taylor,
Kate Winslet.
Think Stanislavski. Think Moscow Art
Theatre School.
Think IC.
For the first time in the history of the
Moscow Art Theatre, eight high school
students took intensive theatre classes
in the prestigious school last February.
Those eight were none other than IC’s
very own students.
It was a privilege rarely bestowed on
university theatre students, let alone high
school ones.
But the esteemed Moscow theatre
agreed to give IC students the chance
- thanks to one young alumna who
couldn’t forget IC and her drama teacher.
“I kept thinking to myself, if only Mr.
(Riad) Chirazi could see this or hear that,”
said
Milia Ayache ’05
.
As part of her Masters theater pro-
gram at Harvard University, Ayache was
required to spend a semester at the
Moscow Art Theatre.
The Theatre School was founded in
1897 by Constantin Stanislavski – consid-
ered today a guru to all actors.
A pioneer in modern theatre, Stanislav-
ski’s system is a progression of techniques
used to train actors and actresses to draw
believable emotions to their performance.
Professional actors worldwide are drilled
in the system during their training.
The lucky ones get to learn the system
in Stanislavski’s own theatre. Those who
don’t, tend to dream about it.
“I have been teaching Stansilavski’s
method, the theorists and the theories
that emerged from the Moscow Art
theatre for many years,” said Chirazi, the
head of the Drama Department. “All my
life I have been thinking: will I ever have
the chance to go to this place? Will I
ever have a chance to sit in Stanislavski’s
chair?”
IC students spend a week at the Moscow Art Theatre
Touring Moscow