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The customs, archetypes, social structure and politics belong to your Russia of 1904; but to stop at mere period and nationality would be to shortchange you.
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The Cherry Orchard By Anton Chekhov Translated by Richard Nelson, Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky Directed by Andy Thornton This Study Guide was written by Kacey Roye and edited by Kate Jones-Waddell. It contains selected excerpts from public domain.
3 A Note From the Director 4 Cast & Production Crew 5 Synopsis 6 About the Playwright 7 Facts About The Cherry Orchard 8 Analysis of Major Themes 10 Pre-Play Activities 11 Post-Play Activities 12 Theatre Etiquette 13 Student Programs at The Classic Theatre 14 Season 11 Upcoming Productions MISSION: The Classic Theatre creates excellent theatre that is relevant, diverse, entertaining, and transformative. VISION: We seek to achieve our mission by creating connections and conversations through compelling classic works. The Classic Theatre of San Antonio is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501 (c) 3, non-profit corporation
Kelly Roush Executive & Artistic Director Kacey Roye Education Director Florence Bunten Box Office Manager Olivia Tober Bookkeeper Zach Lewis, Chelsea Steele House Managers
Kathy Couser Lyubov Ranyevskaya Samantha Harkiewicz Anya Sarah Fisch Varya Charles Michael Howard* Gayev Kevin Majors Lopakhin Sam Mandelbaum Trofimov Gloria Sanchez-Molina Pishchik Linda Ford Charlotta Steven Starr Yepikhodov Makenzie Jené Dunyasha George Burnette Firs Dorian Arriaga** Yasha Julio Sepulveda Traveler Cleon Ony** Stationmaster *This actor appears through the courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States. **These actors appear as AIM High interns in our production
Andy Thornton Director Allison Cornwell Stage Manager Chuck Drew Technical Director Alfy Valdez Set Designer Chuck Drew Lighting Designer Les Johnson Prop Designer Andy Thornton & Chuck Drew Sound Designer Jodi Karjala Costume Design
One Spring morning, after a long absence in Paris, the widow Madame Ranevsky returns home to her family estate to find that it has been mortgaged to pay for her extravagances and that it will be auctioned off. Anya (her daughter) and Charlotta (Anya’s Governess) arrive. They are greeted by Varya (Ranevsky’s adopted daughter), Gayev (Ranevsky’s brother), Lopakhin (a former peasant who has become a wealthy merchant), and other neighbors, staff and friends. Madame Ranevsky is reminded that the estate will be sold to clear their debts in August, unless the family can raise enough funds. Ranevsky seems incapable of recognizing and acting on her desperate situation. Lopakhin offers to lend Ranevsky 50,000 rubles to cover the debts and save the estate--if she will permit the land to be divided into lots for summer tourist homes. This, however, involves cutting down the estate’s famous cherry orchard, which Ranevsky loves dearly; and the plan is rejected as sacrilege. Several other ideas to save the estate also arise: Gayev will try to secure a loan, or maybe Anya will be able to marry rich, but there is no final resolution. Later in the summer, courtship seems to be more important than business. The new servant, Yasha, competes with the estate clerk, Yepikhodov, for the attentions of Dunyasha the maid. Varya tries to prevent a union between Anya and the perpetual student, Trofimov and everybody assumes that Varya will marry Lopakhin, although there has been no proposal and little interest on his part. Meanwhile, Lopakhin tries desperately to urge the family to be more practical, but Ranevsky confesses that she squandered her fortune on her unfaithful lover in Paris and is probably not capable of practically dealing with the problem. Firs, an aged servant, longs for “the good old days” before the serfs were emancipated, but Trofimov dreams of progress. He is glad the estate will be sold, for to him, every leaf in the cherry orchard tells of a serf’s complaints and sufferings. August arrives, and the estate must be auctioned to meet the mortgage payments. Gayev attends the sale, hopeful that the great-aunt’s money will be enough to satisfy the creditors. At the mansion, a farewell party is underway even though there are no funds for the orchestra. The household members dance and quarrel until Lopakhin returns with Gayev from the auction to announce that he has bought the estate where his father and other family members once were serfs, and he intends to carry out his plan for cutting down the orchard. Seeing Ranevsky’s sorrow, Lopakhin remorsefully wishes that “this miserable disjointed life could somehow be changed.” Anya comforts her mother, promising that together they will build a new, happy life. In the fall with the estate and orchard now gone, Ranevsky readies for her departure to Paris, where she will live on the money from the great-aunt. Anya will accompany her and attend school. Gayev has a job as a bank clerk and Trofimov, as a translator. Lopakhin has failed to propose to Varya, so she will become a housekeeper for others. However, Lopakhin does hire Yepikhodov to work for him and promises to find a new position for Charlotta. Ranevsky is worried about the old and ailing Firs, but is told that he is in the hospital. Once the family leaves, however, Firs finds himself alone, locked in the deserted house. Axe strokes resound outside, as the woodsmen begin at last to cut down the beloved cherry orchard.
The Cherry Orchard was first produced at the Moscow Art Theater on January 30, 1904 under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavsky. Though Chekhov insisted that the play was “a comedy, in places even a farce,” playgoers and readers often find a touch of tragedy in the decline of the charming Ranevskaya family. Photo of Diane Lane in Broadway’s production of The Cherry Orchard in 2016. Chekhov's Gun' is a concept that describes how every element of a story should contribute to the whole. It comes from Anton Chekhov's famous book writing advice: 'If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired.
The Struggle Over Memory Because The Cherry Orchard depicts a changing society, the characters spend a lot of time thinking about how now compares to then. How characters relate to the past determines their investment in the play's major question: will the cherry orchard be saved? As a symbol of the past of the Russian empire, the orchard evokes longing, regret, or disgust – sometimes a combination of all three. Despite the painful resistance of most characters, in the end, a cord to the past is snipped. The cherry orchard is sold, the house is shuttered, and the old servant is left to die. The cast of The Cherry Orchard at The Classic Theatre of San Antonio. Photo by Siggi Ragnar In The Cherry Orchard, memory is seen both as source of personal identity and as a burden preventing the attainment of happiness. Each character is involved in a struggle to remember, but more importantly in a struggle to forget, certain aspects of their past. Ranevsky wants to seek refuge in the past from the despair of her present life; she wants to remember the past and forget the present. But the estate itself contains awful memories of the death of her son, memories she is reminded of as soon as she arrives and sees Trofimov, her son's tutor. For Lopakhin, memories are oppressive, for they are memories of a brutal, uncultured peasant upbringing. They conflict with his identity as a well-heeled businessman that he tries to cultivate with his fancy clothes and his allusions to Shakespeare, so they are a source of self- doubt and confusion; it is these memories that he wishes to forget. Trofimov is concerned more with Russia's historical memory of its past, a past which he views as oppressive and needing an explicit renunciation if Russia is to move forward. He elucidates this view in a series of speeches at the end of Act Two. What Trofimov wishes Russia to forget are the beautiful and redeeming
In small groups, discuss the idea of modernity today. What new technologies have come about in the past 10 years? Do you think that people of the older generations are having a more difficult time adapting to the new, modern world? What does it mean to be a millennial today? What do you think are some struggles millennials have vs. non-millennials? Where have you seen conflicts of interest in your own life? Do you think that this new technology will help or hinder us? LITERARY ACTIVITY! With your class, make a chart of freedoms we have today. Rank these freedoms in order of importance. Why have you chosen these freedoms over others? Do you think that freedoms vary depending on who you are? Why is this so? Does freedom make us independent? Discuss these questions as a class. Try to relate your answers to your own life. PERFORMANCE ACTIVITY! Distribute scenes from this adaptation of The Cherry Orchard (link on page 1 1 of this study guide) to students.
How does a playwright use word choice to set a story in a different context? DISCUSS!
