The Russian Arts Theater and Studio

About

An award-winning not-for-profit 501 (c) theater company specializing in the staging of Russian plays and adaptations for New York City theater-goers.

Story

ABOUT US
Since its founding, The Russian Arts Theater and Studio has gone on to stage numerous productions throughout stages in Manhattan and around the world, providing many critically-acclaimed shows including adaptations, new translations, short stories and plays---including works by Hans Christian Andersen, Mikhail Bulgakov, Anton Chekhov, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Nikolai Gogol, Maxim Gorky, Alexander Pushkin, Tennessee Williams and more.

Headed by internationally renowned stage director and master teacher Aleksey Burago, TRATS is currently based in the Upper West Side in Manhattan, where it regularly features both beloved and lesser-known works by Russian playwrights and authors. Additionally, TRATS has on-going acting training workshops open to professional and budding actors in its weekly Russian Theater Lab series, comprised of students from around the world.

TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
The Russian Arts Theater and Studio offers on-going workshops open to both professional actors and serious students looking to expand their artistry and craft on stage and film/TV. Our teaching philosophy is based in the principles of Konstantin Stanislavsky, whose work passes on tools that allow for a truthful, spontaneous and complex performance. Sadly, as Stanislavsky’s most useful discoveries were developed at the end of his life, his most progressive methods never made its way to America. The Stanislavsky “System” as taught in most American drama schools is often out-of-date and misunderstood, at times leading to harmful approaches that ultimately destroy the mental health of the actor. In actuality, Stanislavsky’s approaches to script analysis, character work, and rehearsals are constantly shifting and improving, thanks to the developments and research of Michael Chekhov, Jerzy Growtoski, Anatoly Vassiliev and many others. Therefore, it is the goal of our studio to develop a contemporary, ethical and virtuosic actor—an artist with the sufficient amount of technique to re-create powerful life, free from imitations, performance after performance.

CASTING
As part of our mission of training a new generation of artists, exemplary students from the studio will be invited to perform in The Russian Arts Theater & Studio’s productions each season. While TRATS auditions actors for upcoming roles, preferences are given to current students who show professionalism, commitment and promise.