Stella Adler On Ibsen Strindberg And Chekhov

Edited by Barry Paris

An original member of the famed Group Theatre, Stella Adler was one of the most influential artists to come out of the American theatre. The extravagant actress was also an eminent acting teacher, training her students in the art of script interpretation.

The classic lectures collected here, delivered over a period of forty years, bring to life the plays of the three fathers of modern drama: Henrik Ibsen, August Strindberg, and Anton Chekhov. With passionate conviction and shrewd insight, Adler explains how their plays forever changed the world of dramaturgy while offering enduring insights on society, class, culture, and the role of the actor. She explores the struggles of Ibsen's characters to free themselves from societal convention, the mortal conflicts that trap Strindberg's men and women, and the pain of loss and transition lyrically evoked by Chekhov.