(NORTH ADAMS, Mass.) – It’s often forgotten or overlooked that throughout his life, Anton Chekhov, best known as a writer and dramatist, practiced medicine. In his work-in-progress The Russian Doctor, performed live in the Hunter Center at MASS MoCA on Friday, May 9, 2014, at 8pm, Andrew Dawson teams up with a neuroscientist and a medical historian to explore an oft-forgotten element of Anton Chekhov’s legacy: an extraordinary journey across the frozen tundra to the island of Sakhalin and his ensuing contribution to the field of epidemiology.
Dawson’s work-in-progress residency at MASS MoCA of The Russian Doctor is a theatrical tour de force crafted around the astounding, singular exploration made by a literary giant. Battling his own infectious illness, Chekhov took great risk in his 11-week travel to the penal colony on the island of Sakhalin, to document the disease and living conditions in one of the most extensive epidemiological studies of the 19th century in his only literary work of non-fiction. Together with neurophysiologist Jonathan Cole, Dawson reveals the alchemy ignited by Chekhov’s keen observations in a performance requiring dramatic mastery to stage.
As an internationally acclaimed teacher, director, and choreographer, Dawson has enlightened audiences and critics in theaters and playhouses the world over for three decades. He created and directed a stage show of Wallace and Gromit in 1995 and Fabrik Potsdam’s award-winning Pandora 88 in 2003. In 2011, Dawson earned the US premiere at the World Science Festival New York for The Articulate Hand. He received the Wellcome Trust award three times, most recently to develop his story of Chekhov’s journey. He is also a prominent hand model.
A full bar, and dinner and snacks from Lickety Split, are available before and during the show. Tickets are $15 general and $10 for students. Members receive a 10% discount. Tickets are available through the MASS MoCA box office, located on Marshall Street in North Adams, from 11am to 5pm (open every day except Tuesdays). Tickets can also be charged by phone by calling 413.662.2111 x1 during box office hours or purchased online at MASS MoCA
MASS MoCA is one of the world’s liveliest (and largest!) centers for making and enjoying the best new art of our time, across all media: music, art, dance, theater, film, and video. Hundreds of works of visual and performing art have been created on its 19th-century factory campus during fabrication and rehearsal residencies in North Adams, making MASS MoCA among the most productive sites in the country for the creation and presentation of new art. More platform than box, MASS MoCA strives to bring to its audiences art and shared learning experiences that are fresh, engaging, and transformative.
MASS MoCA’s galleries are open from 11am to 5pm every day except Tuesdays. During the week of school vacation, April 21-27, the galleries will be open daily 11am to 5pm. In July and August, MASS MoCA’s galleries are open from10am to 6pm every day. Gallery hours are often extended on evenings featuring performing arts events. Gallery admission is $15 for adults, $10 for students, $5 for children 6 to 16, and free for children 5 and under. Members are admitted free year-round. For additional information, call 413.662.2111 x1 or visit MASS MoCA.