MICHA Announces the Establishment of the Zelda Fichandler Scholarship

Today, the Michael Chekhov Association (MICHA), announced the establishment of the Zelda Fichandler Scholarship to benefit the next generation of Chekhov teachers and practitioners.

MICHA, the not-for-profit organization dedicated to preserving the artistic vision and technique of actor/director/author Michael Chekhov, was the beneficiary of a bequest from the late Zelda Fichandler. A leader in America's regional theatre movement, Ms. Fichandler was a strong supporter of the work of Michael Chekhov, and the long-time chair of NYU's Graduate Acting Program. She also sat on MICHA's Board of Directors for many years.

The Zelda Fichandler Scholarship will be available to NYU alumni from the Acting Program and will provide full tuition for two weeks to MICHA's International Michael Chekhov Workshop, which takes place every summer at Connecticut College in New London, Connecticut.

"Zelda Fichandler believed in the actor's soul more than any teacher I have ever encountered. She valued the work of Michael Chekhov and made it an important aspect of our training at NYU," said actor Maggie Siff, a former student of Fichandler and alumni of NYU's Graduate Acting Program (Mad Men; Sons of Anarchy; Billions). "The technique's soulful approach--as it guides actors to burrow into their deeper selves to serve character--aligned perfectly with her own passion for storytelling and actors as the agents of storytelling."

"MICHA is grateful to the late Zelda Fichandler for endowing MICHA with a scholarship fund to support actor training," says Chekhov's former student Joanna Merlin, founder and president of the organization. "Our goal at MICHA is to cultivate and educate the next generation of practitioners as a way to continue the legacy and work of Michael Chekhov. This kind gift from Zelda will help us continue to focus on diversity and bring this incredible technique to a wider circle of actors and teachers."

NYU Alumni are invited to apply for the scholarship by emailing inquiries@michaelcheckhov.org. Those interested in contributing to the Zelda Fichandler Fund, or learning more about MICHA should go to www.michaelchekhov.org.

ABOUT MICHA

MICHA is a not-for-profit Association that celebrates and preserves Michael Chekhov's artistic vision and legacy. We provide a community for performers, teachers, scholars and directors in the form of workshops and events; we research approaches to teaching that utilize Michael Chekhov's technique. We publish primary and secondary source materials, have a growing archive, and support individuals engaged in practice as research as it relates to Chekhov's psycho-physical approach and its many forms of application. The organization is committed to providing opportunities to artists interested in comprehensive teacher training in the Michael Chekhov Acting Technique. www.michaelchekhov.org