Russian department hosts trip to see Three Sisters

Marina Karasik Sunday, May 30th, 2017. 4:27 pm.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. This Friday, the department of Russian at the University of
Maryland hosted a trip to see Anton Chekhov's play Three Sisters at the Kennedy Center for
the Performing Arts. The department sponsored the trip and subsidized ticket costs for students.
In total, the Department of Russian sold more than 70 tickets to students and staff.

Two of the stories main characters share a moment on stage. Picture credited to The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

The performance was directed by Lev Dodin and performed by the Maly Drama Theatre of St.
Petersburg, one of the most highly regarded theatre groups in Russia. The original work Three
Sisters is by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov.

The storyline of the drama focuses on three sisters who are forced to move from Moscow when
their father passes away. The majority of the play shows how they deal with their life in a new
town and grapple with the ideologies of the changing world around them. The play is performed
completely in Russian, with English subtitles.
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Its all about the mood with Chekhov. Not the plot, not the drama. explains Dr. Cynthia Martin,
head of the Department of Russian at the University of Maryland. She explains that much of
Chekhov's work is very introspective, focusing on ideals and philosophy rather than plot
devices.

Chekhov was born in 1860 in Taganrog, Russia to a lower middle- class family. His father owned
a grocery store and constantly struggled with money. In 1875, the family relocated to Moscow
so Chekhovs father could look for work: however, Chekhov himself stayed behind to finish
school. He later joined his family in Moscow and began medical school, while doing freelance
writing in order to support his family. Many of his works included short fictional stories.

When he became more successful, Chekhov started to write longer works such as full- length
plays. Many of his works focused heavily on mood and character development rather than plot.
Many of Chekhovs characters are lonely, desperate and depressed. In his writing, Chekhov
focuses on human nature and how ordinary events can carry deeper meaning. Most of his
works aim to describe the struggles of pre- revolutionary Russia to their audiences.

It had a lot of aspects of Russian culture, military culture as well. says freshman Agnieszka
Bieganowska, a Russian and German double major. It had a very interesting plot, but at times it
was hard to follow.

Chekhov died in Badenweiler, Germany in 1904 at the age of 44. His works are considered
timeless classics even today.
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