Anton Chekhov

Anton Chekhov, Headshot, Photo Courtesy of L.A. Theatre Works.jpg

Anton Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramaturg and author, who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics. 

Chekhov practiced as a doctor throughout most of his literary career. “Medicine is my lawful wife,” he once said, “and literature is my mistress.”

He renounced the theatre after the disastrous reception of The Seagull, but the play was revived to acclaim by Constantin Stanislavski’s Moscow Art Theatre, which subsequently also produced Anton's Uncle Vanya and premiered his last two plays, Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard. These four works present a challenge to the acting ensemble as well as to audiences, because in place of conventional action Chekhov offers a “theatre of mood” and a “submerged life in the text.”