Lewis & Clark College and PETE to Present A Chekhov Symposium

Lewis & Clark College in partnership with PETE, are pleased to present a four-day celebration and exploration of the many aspects of Anton Chekhov's work, and the art of contemporary dramatic translation. A culmination of two years of research and performance, the symposium will feature readings of Št?pán Šimek's new translations of The Three Sisters, Uncle Vanya, The Seagull and The Cherry Orchard. Each piece was workshopped with PETE to collaboratively translate not just the words, but the ACTION of the plays. Expect the distinct, energetic theatricality of PETE artists and a good show of some of Portland's most accomplished local talent.

Each day of the Symposium will include readings, several presentations and panels on various aspects of Chekhov and his work, such as: his role as a moral philosopher; his unique dramaturgy; contemporary Chekhov productions in the US and abroad; the art and craft of translating his plays. Events include a presentation by the Seattle-based "Seagull Project" and a devising workshop which will spur the creation of an interactive, participatory installation piece that will continue to evolve over the course of the weekend. Come add your own creative take to this community project. The Symposium will culminate with a "Chekh-O-Rama," a marathon reading of all four plays in one day, giving audiences the unique opportunity to see all of Chekhov's major works in relationship to each other

Speakers and presenters include: John Langs (ACT, Seattle), Misha Berson (Seattle Times, American Theatre), Mark Jenkins (University of Washington, Seagull Project), Lue Douthit (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Dmitry Troyanovsky (Russian director/translator), Yuri Corrigan (Boston University, Harvard), and a keynote speech by Libby Appel (Oregon Shakespeare Festival). Full bios of speakers, presenters and guest artists can be found on PETE's website. http://petensemble.org/event/chekhov-in-the-21st-century-a-symposium/

This Symposium was made possible with support from The Oregon Community Foundation Creative Heights, the Multnomah County Cultural Coalition and Lewis and Clark College.

DETAILS

Chekhov Symposium

June 27th - June 30th

Lewis & Clark College

Fir Acres Theatre

0615 SW Palatine Hill Rd, Portland, OR 97219

Reservations at www.petensemble.org

Wednesday, June 27

7:30 PM

Reading of The Cherry Orchard followed by a post-reading discussion with the director and cast.

Thursday, June 28

11:00 AM

"Chekhov as a Moral Philosopher" - Lecture by Yuri Corrigan, followed by a panel discussion with Yuri Corrigan, John Schmor, Stefka Mihaylova and Daniel Pollack-Pelzner

2:00 PM

"Devising Chekhov" - a devising workshop with Benjamin Fainstein, John Schmor, and members of PETE

4:00 PM

"Chekhov's Dramaturgy" - Panel discussion with Lue Douthit, Benjamin Fainstein, Misha Berson, and Daniel Pollack-Pelzner.

7:30 PM

Seagull Project Presentation of staged reading of The Bear followed by post- reading discussion with the participants.

Friday, June 29

11:00 AM

"Chekhov in Translation" - Panel discussion with Libby Appel, Yuri Corrigan, Mark Jenkins, Stepan Simek, and Dmitry Troyanovsky

2:00 PM

"Chekhov Without the Furninture" - lecture/presentation by Dmitry Troyanovsky

4:00 PM

"Issues in Chekhov's Productions in the 21st Century America." Panel discussion with Stefka Mihaylova, Misha Berson, Mark Jenkins, and Lue Douthit

7:00 PM

Keynote Address by Libby Appel

Saturday, June 30th

Whole Day "Chekh-O-Rama" - A marathon reading of Chekhov's four major plays.

9:30 AM

The Seagull

Directed by Rebecca Lingafelter

12:00 PM

Uncle Vanya

Directed by Cristi Miles

3:30 PM

The Three Sisters

Directed by Stepan Simek

7:30 PM

The Cherry Orchard

Directed by Alice Reagan

**Schedule subject to change. Check the website for updates: www.petensemble.org

About The Chekhov Project

PETE, with translator and director, Št?pán Šimek, rubs eyeballs with Chekhov, creating new translations of Chekhov's four major works: The Seagull, The Three Sisters, Uncle Vanya and The Cherry Orchard. We workshop each of the plays with staged readings, ultimately producing an anthology for publication, including an introduction detailing our unique process of dramatic translation as a collaborative act. Uncle Vanya was fully produced in January 2018. This followed a Šimek/PETE collaboration on The Three Sisters produced in 2014. Inspired by contemporary playwriting and performance techniques, we are working from the premise that language development is a cooperative event with an intrinsic emotional underpinning. One must care why they are saying what they are saying in order to truly communicate. We work to translate not only the words of the plays, but the actions. The actor's voice in relationship to the character's will shape the final text, as well as the contributions of the designers and musicians. This team has a rich and varied experience. Our translations will not only be about Russian and English meeting, but also multiple languages meeting in terms of performance approach, pointing to brand new models for contemporary production of Chekhov. Join us for PETE readings of all four new translations at a Chekhov Symposium produced in partnership with Lewis and Clark College June 27-30. All Symposium events are free and open to the public.

Stepan Simek is a director, translator and a Professor of Theatre, Chair of the Theatre Dept at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, OR. Previously, he was a faculty member at The Evergreen State College in Olympia WA, and Reed College. S?imek has directed over thirty theatre productions in New York, Seattle, San Francisco, and Portland, both professionally and in University settings; translated plays from Czech, German, Russian and French, and adapted several novels, including Michael Bulghakov's Heart of the Dog, and Franz Kafka's Amerika for the stage. He an authorized translator of former Czech Republic President Vaclav Havel's work. His translations received the 2006 PEN America Award.

PORTLAND EXPERIMENTAL THEATRE ENSEMBLE

PETE is a company of artists who make new performance in a collaborative way. We train together and teach our work. We are committed to creative rigor, to the cultivation and enrichment of our local arts ecology, and to connecting with a diverse audience. We challenge established notions with innovative forms of practice, presentation and organization. We do all this to achieve a radical kind of presence shared in the performance event.

Since its inception in 2011, PETE has produced work at CoHo's Summerfest, Risk/Reward, On the Boards, Caldera, and PCS's JAW Festival. PETE is currently working with translator Št?pán Šimek on new translations of Chekhov's four major plays. We are also continuing work on our Deception Unit project, the first part of which was shown at CoHo Summerfest 2017. In 2016/15 PETE produced a constellation of work entitled The Journey Play is the Whole Thing, which included Procedures for Saying No, [or, the whale], All Well and Drowned Horse Tavern. Past major works include: Enter THE NIGHT, with NYC director Alice Reagan (2015); the world premiere of a new English translation of Chekhov's The Three Sisters, with translator/director Stepan Simek (2014); drammy-award winning R3

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