Maria Shmaevich
Born in Moscow, Shmaevich studied acting at the Beit Zvi School for the Performing Arts in Tel Aviv and the Russian University of Theatre Arts (GITIS). She holds a PhD in stage movement from the GITIS, where she has been teaching stage movement since 2002. Shmaevich has been active for several years at the Central Academic Theatre of the Russian Army. In 2009 she became the director of the Futuroom Laboratory Theatre in Moscow.
Shmaevich has directed and acted in numerous productions of plays by canonical authors (Anton Chekhov, Alexander Dumas, William Shakespeare, Jean Anouilh, Jean Racine).
She has been teaching classes and seminars on biomechanics and stage movement in France, Italy, Greece, Lithuania, Germany and other countries for the last 16 years. As professor of stage movement, she focuses on the construction of drama by using and mastering the principles of biomechanics.
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION
Biomechanics and the emotional gesture in ancient drama: The case of Medea
A workshop on stage movement and emotional gesture, combining Nicolay Karpov and Maria Shmaevich’s teaching methods (drawn from Meyerhold’s biomechanics) with the stage representations of Euripides’ Medea. Participants will work individually, in pairs and in groups, employing a set of theatrical tools to further develop their physical and psychological skills.
The principles of theatrical biomechanics will allow performers to explore alternative ways of approaching characters on stage, enabling them to engage in an in-depth analysis of the characters they have been assigned.