Season Select: Anton's Shorts

For this week's Season Select, we're getting better acquainted with Anton's Shorts, a collection of some of Chekhov's most endearing comedies, adapted by Aaron Posner.

Anton's Shorts

Brief Plays & Vaudevilles by the Young Anton Chekhov

Freely adapted by Aaron Posner.

Directed by Jake Penner

Fast Facts:

Playing: Touchstone Theatre | August 4 - October 6
Featuring: Tracy Michelle Arnold, Kelsey Brennan, Nate Burger, David Daniel, Sarah Day, Brian Mani, James Ridge, Marcus Truschinski
Genre: Period Comedy
Last Time at APT: Never in quite this form.
Go if You Liked: The Rivals (2022); Chekhov One-Act Plays (Virtual, 2020); The Seagull (2014)

Once upon a time, there was a young Russian playwright who wanted to make his audience laugh. Of course, in true Chekhovian fashion, all five of the stories in this collection harbor the full spectrum of human emotions and foibles – life and legacy; marriage and moving on. Each with its own unique rating on the comedic Richter scale, from thoughtful to gleeful to full-on funny. Each with an eye for the bright pieces of humanity that live within us all. Five exquisite stories tied together by Anton Chekhov himself (a character created by the inimitable Aaron Posner), and featuring a full cast of Core Company actors. There are just north of a dozen opportunities to see this captivating collection of tales, and we expect the demand to be high. Plan ahead, and don’t delay.

Before we talk Chekhov, it feels like we should address the Siberian elephant in the room - that sometimes Russian "comedies" are not always what you would call "funny." But we are here to assure you, that is not always the case. If you happened to catch APT's Zoom reading of three of these one-acts shared by PBS Wisconsin during the year-that-must-not-be-named, you'll know that Chekhovian comedy can be not only funny, but endearing and hilarious. Especially in the hands of these actors. First off (in a little casting change-up), Nate Burger will be playing the part of Anton Chekhov, a character created by Aaron Posner specifically for this play. Tracy Michelle Arnold and Brian Mani go head to head in The Bear. Catch Kelsey Brennan and Marcus Truschinski falling into...something? in The Proposal. James Ridge playing a renowned actor reflecting on his life in Swan Song, and David Daniel ruminating on the dangers of smoking (and also maybe marriage) in On the Harmfulness of Tobacco. And Marcus Truschinski is back again in I Am a Moscow Hamlet. It is, and we can't stress this enough, going to be a delight.

Now, onto the playwright in question. Chekhov - funny or not - is a master of human nature, and documenting people's inner lives. His plays delve into the very heart of humankind, and does not pull punches. His characters are real, flawed, funny, cruel, loving, obsessed, depressed and kind. Like we all are, at times. Some of his plays - The Cherry Orchard, Three Sisters - have connections to Chekhov's own life.

His early "low-brow" comedies and vaudevilles, like the ones in Anton's Shorts, were written and sold largely to make money for his family after his father was forced to declare bankruptcy. It wasn't until a visit to 1887/1888 visit to Steppe that he came into his literary adulthood, writing ever more serious short stories about people feeling trapped in their lives, and finally plays like the ones we still produce today. While Chekhov was often pegged as having a fairly pessimistic view of people, he disagreed, saying: "I wanted to tell people honestly: “Look at yourselves. See how badly you live and how tiresome you are.” The main thing is that people should understand this. When they do, they will surely create a new and better life for themselves."

Artistic Director Brenda DeVita Says

You are probably familiar with Aaron Posner’s work as a director at APT. Most recently he directed The Rivals last year, and well, he’s just brilliant. You may also know that he’s an award-winning playwright. And he loves Anton Chekhov. He understands Chekhov’s writing in a way that few people do. When I asked him to help us figure out how to share some of Chekhov’s earlier one acts he, being the generous and curious soul he is, said 'Yes!'

He has collected and adapted this series of Chekhov’s one-act comedies, and also created the character of Anton Chekhov, played by Nate Burger, who is kind of our tour guide through the stories, and also has his own story arc. One idea being who was Chekhov before he was Chekhov? What might he have been musing on? The stories themselves are thoroughly entertaining. There’s comedy and there’s 'Russian comedy,' so some of these short plays are truly funny and ridiculous, and some are much more thoughtful. Which makes this collection a perfect vehicle for core company actors. Tracy Arnold, Brian Mani, Kelsey Brennan, Marcus Truschinski, James Ridge, David Daniel, Nate Burger and Sarah Day. What more can I say about that?

And it’s directed by Jake Penner, who has acted on our stage, and was most recently at APT in the role of Artistic Associate, AND he’s a wonderful director, so we’re excited to have him move into this role of director with APT for the first time. There are only 14 performances, and I think it’s going to be one of those under-the-radar hits.

For further reading on Anton Chekhov's fascinating (and presumably not boring) life, check out this article where we found his above quote. Or see what The New York Times had to say about another production of some of Chekhov's one-acts.