Editing Konstantin Stanislavski (section)

==MAT tours in Europe and the United States==
In the wake of the temporary withdrawal of the state [[subsidy]] to the MAT that came with the [[New Economic Policy]] in 1921, Stanislavski and Nemirovich planned a tour to Europe and the US to augment the company's finances.<ref>Benedetti (1999a, 273–274) and Carnicke (2000, 14). The subsidy to the "academic" theatres was restored in November 1921.</ref> The tour began in [[Berlin]], where Stanislavski arrived on 18 September 1922, and proceeded to [[Prague]], [[Zagreb]], and Paris, where he was welcomed at the station by Jacques Hébertot, [[Aurélien Lugné-Poë]], and [[Jacques Copeau]].<ref name="ReferenceA">Benedetti (1999a, 275–282) and Magarshack (1950, 357–9).</ref> In Paris, he also met [[André Antoine]], [[Louis Jouvet]], [[Isadora Duncan]], Firmin Gémier, and [[Harley Granville-Barker]].<ref name="ReferenceA"/> He discussed with Copeau the possibility of establishing an international theatre studio and attended performances by [[Ermete Zacconi]], whose control of his performance, economic expressivity, and ability both to "experience" and "[[Art of representation|represent]]" the role impressed him.<ref>Benedetti (1999a, 282, 326).</ref>

[[File:Moskvin, Stanislavsky, Chaliapin, Kachaloc, Sorine 1923.jpg|thumb|left|300px|From left to right: [[Ivan Moskvin]], Stanislavski, [[Feodor Chaliapin]], [[Vasili Kachalov]], Saveli Sorine, in the US in 1923.]]

The company sailed to New York City and arrived on 4 January 1923.<ref>Benedetti (1999a, 283) and Magarshack (1950, 360–362). Magarshack gives their arrival as late on Wednesday 3 January, disembarking the following day.</ref> When reporters asked about their repertoire, Stanislavski explained that "America wants to see what Europe already knows."<ref>Quoted by Benedetti (1999a, 283).</ref> [[David Belasco]], [[Sergei Rachmaninoff]], and [[Feodor Chaliapin]] attended the opening night performance.<ref>Benedetti (1999a, 284) and Magarshack (1950, 364). The opening night was 8 January 1923.</ref> Thanks in part to a vigorous publicity campaign that the American producer, [[Morris Gest]], orchestrated, the tour garnered substantial critical praise, although it was not a financial success.<ref>Benedetti (199a, 284–287), Carnicke (2000, 14), and Milling and Ley (2001, 13–14). Benedetti suggests that the financial difficulties were caused by Gest's decision to set ticket prices too high.</ref>

As actors (among whom was the young [[Lee Strasberg]]) flocked to the performances to learn from the company, the tour made a substantial contribution to the development of American acting.<ref>Benedetti (1999a, 286), Carnicke (1998, 3), Gordon (2000, 45), Gordon (2006, 71). In a letter to Nemirovich, Stanislavski wrote: "No one here seems to have had any idea what our theatre and our actors were capable of. I am writing all this not in self-glorification, for we are not showing anything new here, but just to give you an idea at what an embryonic stage art is here and how eagerly they snatch up everything good that is brought to America. Actors, managers, all sorts of celebrities join in a chorus of the most extravagant praise. Some of the famous actors and actresses seize my hand and kiss it as though in a state of ecstacy"; quoted by Magarshack (1950, 364).</ref> [[Richard Boleslavsky]] presented a series of lectures on [[Stanislavski's system]] (which were eventually published as ''Acting: The First Six Lessons'' in 1933).<ref>Benedetti (1999a, 283, 286) and Gordon (2006, 71–72). [[Richard Boleslavsky|Boleslavsky]] had been able to extend his visa thanks to an invitation from Stanislavski to act as an assistant director to the company. The interest generated led to Boleslavsky's decision to establish the [[American Laboratory Theatre]].</ref> A performance of ''[[Three Sisters (play)|Three Sisters]]'' on 31 March 1923 concluded the season in New York, after which they travelled to Chicago, [[Philadelphia]], and [[Boston]].<ref>Benedetti (1999a, 287) and Magarshack (1950, 367).</ref>

At the request of a US publisher, Stanislavski reluctantly agreed to write his autobiography, ''[[My Life in Art]]'', since his proposals for an account of the system or a history of the MAT and its approach had been rejected.<ref>Benedetti (1999a, 288), Carnicke (1998, 76), and Magarshack (1950, 367).</ref> He returned to Europe during the summer where he worked on the book and, in September, began rehearsals for a second tour.<ref>Benedetti (1999a, 289–291) and Magarshack (1950, 367).</ref> The company returned to New York on 7 November and went on to perform in Philadelphia, Boston, [[New Haven, Connecticut|New Haven]], [[Hartford, Connecticut|Hartford]], Washington, D.C., [[Brooklyn]], [[Newark, New Jersey|Newark]], [[Pittsburgh]], Chicago, and Detroit.<ref>Benedetti (1999a, 291–94) and Magarshack (1950, 368).</ref> On 20 March 1924, Stanislavski met President [[Calvin Coolidge]] at the White House.<ref>Benedetti (1999a, 294) and Magarshack (1950, 368).</ref> They were introduced by a translator, Elizabeth Hapgood, with whom he would later collaborate on ''[[An Actor Prepares]]''.<ref>Benedetti (1999a, 294) and Carnicke (1998, 75).</ref> The company left the US on 17 May 1924.<ref>Benedetti (1999a, 295).</ref>