About
Arlekin’s Zero Gravity (zero-G) Lab & The Cherry Orchard Festival Foundation present
chekhovOS /an experimental game/
LIVE | VIRTUAL | INTERACTIVE
May-June 2021 Dates Announced | Limited Space | Book Early
Tickets are free; Donations encouraged
Inspired by The Cherry Orchard
by Anton Chekhov
Conceived & Directed by Igor Golyak
Produced by Igor Golyak & Sara Stackhouse
Starring Jessica Hecht
And Anna Baryshnikov, Anna Bortnik, Darya Denisova, Jeffrey Hayenga, Melanie Moore, Nael Nacer & Mark Nelson
With Mikhail Baryshnikov as Anton Chekhov
RESERVE TICKETS BELOW!
Sunday, May 16 at 8:00pm ET – RESERVE TICKETS
Co-presented by BostonFIG & Snowrunner Productions
Followed by live talkback with members of the cast & creative team
Moderated by Tom Abernathy, Studio Narrative Director at ArenaNet
Sunday, May 23 at 5:00pm PT/8:00pm ET – Los Angeles – RESERVE TICKETS
Co-presented by UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance (CAP UCLA) and
Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA)
Followed by a live talkback with CAP UCLA Executive & Artistic Director Kristy Edmunds, Jessica Hecht, Igor Golyak (Director) and Sara Stackhouse (co-Producer)
Moderated by Sara Stackhouse, chekhovOS Co-Producer
Thursday, May 27 1:00pm ET | 7:00pm BST | 6:00pm CEST – Europe | RESERVE TICKETS
Co-presented by Gift of Life (UK and Europe)
Followed by live talkback with members of the cast & creative team
Moderated by Sara Stackhouse, chekhovOS Co-Producer
Sunday, May 30 at 11:00am ET | 5:00pm CEST – Europe – RESERVE TICKETS
Co-presented by International Online Theater Festival/Theatre Times
Followed by live talkback with members of the cast & creative team
Moderated by Magda Romanska, Editor-in-Chief, TheTheatreTimes.com
Sunday, June 6 at 8:00pm ET – Boston – RESERVE TICKETS
Co-presented by ArtsEmerson
Followed by live talkback with members of the cast and creative team
Moderated by Rob Orchard, Founder & Creative Consultant, ArtsEmerson
Sunday, June 13 at 8:00pm ET – US – RESERVE TICKETS
Co-presented by Podari.Life US
Followed by live talkback with members of the cast & creative team
Moderated by Joyce Kulhawik, President of the Boston Theater Critics Association
Sunday, June 20 at 8:00pm ET – New York | Canada – RESERVE TICKETS
Co-presented by Cherry Orchard Festival Foundation & ShowOne Productions
Followed by live talkback with members of the cast & creative team
Thursday, June 24 – 8:00pm ET – New York | Canada – RESERVE TICKETS
Co-presented by Cherry Orchard Festival Foundation & ShowOne Productions
Followed by live talkback with members of the cast & creative team
ChekhovOS is made possible with generous support from producing sponsor .ART, ArtsEmerson,Baryshnikov Arts Center,BroadBand Collaborative, Cherry Orchard Festival Foundation, Fooksman Family Foundation, Meghan Coleman, Robin Hanley,ZiphyCare, gifts from Arlekin’s Zero Gravity Kickstarter Campaign and Aximmetry Technologies Ltd., the official software provider for Arlekin’s Zero Gravity (zero-G) Lab.
Digital Program
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Gallery
Artistic Team
ARTISTIC TEAM
chekhovOS /an experimental game/
Based on The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov
Conceived & Directed by Igor Golyak
Produced by Igor Golyak & Sara Stackhouse
Featuring Jessica Hecht and Mikhail Baryshnikov as Anton Chekhov
Virtual Performance Technical Director: Vladimir Gusev
Game Engine & Interaction Design: Will Brierly, Snowrunner Productions
Narrative Writer: Tom Abernathy
Assistant Director: Blair Cadden
Virtual Set & Environment Designer: Anna Fedorova
Web developer: Anatoly Krivonos
Composer: Jakov Jakoulov
Properties Assistant: Irina Vilenchik
Live Production Technicians: Anton Nikolaev and Igor Golyak
Platform: The Soft Layer by Snowrunner Productions
CAST
Jessica Hecht
Mark Nelson
Anna Baryshnikov
Melanie Moore
Nael Nacer
Jeffrey Hayenga
Darya Denisova
Anna Bortnick
And Mikhail Baryshnikov as Anton Chekhov
FILM CREW
Director of Photography: Guillermo Cameo
Associate Producer: Joshua A. Friedman
2nd Camera / Editor: Anton Nikolaev
Sound: Sebastian Holst
Gaffer: Sashank Sana
Assistant Editor: Anna Gruman
Production Assistant: Violet de Besche
Special thanks to Arlekin’s Official Software Provider
Press Release
For Immediate Release
April 29, 2021
Media Contact: Mark W. Soucy
mark@arlekinplayers.com 978-289-9887
Arlekin Players Theatre Announces Spring Dates for
chekhovOS /an experimental game/
A Live and Interactive Virtual Theater Experience
Hosted on ZeroGravity.ART through a New Partnership with .ART
Starring Jessica Hecht
And Anna Baryshnikov, Anna Bortnick, Darya Denisova, Jeffrey Hayenga,
Melanie Moore, Nael Nacer & Mark Nelson
With Mikhail Baryshnikov as Anton Chekhov
April 26, 2021 – Needham, MA – Arlekin Players Theatre today announces spring dates for sharings of chekhovOS /an experimental game/, the latest workshop from (zero-G). The project will be co-presented from May to June by local, national, and international partners from the worlds of theater and gaming, including ArtsEmerson, BostonFIG, UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance (CAP UCLA), Cherry Orchard Festival Foundation, International Online Theatre Festival (IOTF)/Theatre Times, ShowOne Productions (Canada), Snowrunner Productions, with special charity screenings in Europe and the US in partnership with the charity founded by Russian actress Chulpan Khamatova, Gift of Life in the UK and Podari.Life in the US, all hosted on ZeroGravity.ART.
chekhovOS /an experimental game/, is a performance experiment in development by Arlekin Players Theatre’s founder and director Igor Golyak, who has been a leading innovator of virtual theater since the start of the pandemic. His recent State vs. Natasha Banina was a Critic’s Pick in The New York Times by Maya Phillips who declared “The verdict is in: the virtual can, in fact, be an effective new stage for theater.” Golyak’s latest work fuses film, theater, and video game technology to create a new medium where viewers are able to interact with the performers. Inspired by Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard and drawing from recordings of Chekhov’s letters and dreams, this interactive online theater experience accesses the operating system behind both Chekhov’s computer and the world in which his characters live, searching for happiness.
“The Post-pandemic theater has to reexamine and reimagine itself. Through this experiment we are finding out how humankind can find each other in the virtual while continuing to treasure the in-person encounter, which makes for a new kind of site-specific theater,” says Golyak. “And I find myself in constant dialogue with The Cherry Orchard—during a time of loss and recovery, it helps us explore connection, transition, loss, and the human yearning for happiness. We are grateful to our co-presenters for sharing this internationally with a broader audience and for the opportunity to do so on the incredible .ART platform. It is thrilling to be developing work in this new genre with these visionary partners.”
“We are proud to continue our partnership with Igor Golyak and Arlekin Players Theatre over the past year as they quickly reinvented themselves with imaginative, timely online theater projects like State vs. Natasha Banina, which we presented last August, and now chekhovOS /an experimental game/. They are doing important work using traditional Russian theater approaches while exploring technologies to create a new form of theater in their new (zero-G) Virtual Theater Lab, and we are delighted to have the opportunity to share this latest project with our audiences.” says David C. Howse, Executive Director, ArtsEmerson.
Arlekin is also thrilled to announce a new partnership between .ART, the Art World’s Digital Domain, and Arlekin’s Zero Gravity (zero-G) Virtual Theater Lab. Beginning with chekhovOS /an experimental game/, (zero-G)’s virtual theatre productions will be hosted on .ART at the address ZeroGravity.ART as the two companies work together to cultivate an international hub for virtual theater performance.
“We are pleased today to announce our new partnership with Arlekin’s Zero Gravity (zero-G) Lab. As the world shut down a year ago in the midst of the global pandemic, artists and the creative community, especially the ones in the live arts such as theatre, dance and music, had to reinvent themselves. Arlekin Players Theater didn’t shy away from the occasion. Instead, they converted their black box into the Zero Gravity (zero-G) Virtual Theater Lab and they are now a world leader in digital theater innovation. We are excited to invent and innovate with them as this new genre continues to develop.” says Ulvi Kasimov, Founder of .ART and nominee ART POWER 50 by Observer.
The cast of chekhovOS /an experimental game/ comprises a cadre of well-known stage, television, and film actors including Tony-Nominee Jessica Hecht. Hecht says, “I have been longing to explore The Cherry Orchard with Igor and our company in a way that gives us the most intimate and relatable portrait of a family in crisis. I believe we can create something raw and modern, without losing an authenticity to Chekhov’s vision.”
The presentation also features other celebrated performers, including Anna Baryshnikov (Apple TV+’s Dickinson); Arlekin’s Darya Denisova; Boston’s Anna Bortnick, Jeffrey Hayenga (The Elephant Man); Melanie Moore (Finding Neverland, So You Think You Can Dance); Mark Nelson (Angels in America, The Invention of Love); and acclaimed Boston-based actor Nael Nacer. Baryshnikov Arts Center Founder and Artistic Director Mikhail Baryshnikov makes a special appearance in the role of Anton Chekhov. The work was developed and filmed, in part, at Baryshnikov Arts Center in January with strict adherence to COVID health and safety protocols.
chekhovOS /an experimental game/ is a work-in-progress created during the pandemic, a way for artists to work through the themes of the play, the encroaching virus, and a moment of change in the world around us. The project was developed in the new and emerging genre of virtual theater at Arlekin’s (zero-G) from a small but mighty group of collaborators, helmed by Igor Golyak. This international team of designers and technical engineers collaborated with Golyak both virtually and onsite in Arlekin’s new Zero Gravity (zero-G) Virtual Performance Lab in Needham, MA for several months to create the functionality and online environment for this project, which includes software support from Aximmetry Technologies Ltd., the official software provider for Arlekin’s Zero Gravity Lab and a new platform called “The Soft Layer” from Will Brierly of Snowrunner Productions, with back-end/design work from Vladimir Gusev, Anna Fedorova, and Anton Nikolaev.
This experimental sharing constitutes Phase One of a larger hybrid (live/virtual) chekhovOS project in development for 2022, and is made possible with generous support from producing sponsor .ART, ArtsEmerson, Baryshnikov Arts Center, BroadBand Collaborative, Cherry Orchard Festival Foundation, Fooksman Family Foundation, Meghan Coleman, Robin Hanley, ZiphyCare, gifts from Arlekin’s Zero Gravity Kickstarter Campaign and Aximmetry Technologies Ltd., the official software provider for Arlekin’s Zero Gravity (zero-G) Lab.
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AT A GLANCE:
Arlekin’s Zero Gravity (zero-G) Lab & The Cherry Orchard Festival Foundation present
chekhovOS /an experimental game/
Inspired by The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov
Conceived & Directed by Igor Golyak
Produced by Igor Golyak & Sara Stackhouse
Featuring Jessica Hecht and Mikhail Baryshnikov as Anton Chekhov
Hosted on ZeroGravity.ART
SCHEDULE
Sunday, May 16 at 8:00pm ET –
Co-presented by BostonFIG & Snowrunner Productions
Followed by live talkback with members of the cast & creative team
Moderated by Tom Abernathy, Studio Narrative Director at ArenaNet
Sunday, May 23 at 5:00pm PT/8:00pm ET – Los Angeles
Co-presented by UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance (CAP UCLA)
Followed by live talkback with Jessica Hecht & Igor Golyak (Director)
Moderated by Sara Stackhouse, chekhovOS Co-Producer
Thursday, May 27 1:00pm ET | 7:00pm BST | 6:00pm CEST – Europe | UK
Co-presented by Gift of Life (UK and Europe)
Followed by live talkback with members of the cast & creative team
Moderated by Sara Stackhouse, chekhovOS Co-Producer
Sunday, May 30 at 11:00am ET | 5:00pm CEST – Europe
Co-presented by International Online Theater Festival/Theatre Times
Followed by live talkback with members of the cast & creative team
Moderated by Magda Romanska, Editor-in-Chief, TheTheatreTimes.com
Sunday, June 6 at 8:00pm ET – Boston
Co-presented by ArtsEmerson
Followed by live talkback with members of the cast and creative team
Moderated by Rob Orchard, Founder & Creative Consultant, ArtsEmerson
Sunday, June 13 at 8:00pm ET – US
Co-presented by Podari.Life US
Followed by live talkback with members of the cast & creative team
Moderated by Joyce Kulhawik, President of the Boston Theater Critics Association
Sunday, June 20 at 8:00pm ET – New York | Canada
Co-presented by Cherry Orchard Festival Foundation & ShowOne Productions
Followed by live talkback with members of the cast & creative team
Thursday, June 24 – 8:00pm ET – New York | Canada
Co-presented by Cherry Orchard Festival Foundation & ShowOne Productions
Followed by live talkback with members of the cast & creative team
Creative Team
Conceived & Directed by Igor Golyak
Producers: Igor Golyak and Sara Stackhouse
Virtual Performance Technical Director: Vladimir Gusev
Game Engine & Interaction Design: Will Brierly, Snowrunner Productions
Narrative Writer: Tom Abernathy
Assistant Director: Blair Cadden
Virtual Set & Environment Designer: Anna Fedorova
Web Developer: Anatoly Krivonos
Composer: Jakov Jakoulov
Properties Assistant: Irina Vilenchik
Live Production Technicians: Anton Nikolaev and Igor Golyak
Platform: The Soft Layer by Snowrunner Productions
Cast
Jessica Hecht
Mark Nelson
Anna Baryshnikov
Melanie Moore
Nael Nacer
Jeffrey Hayenga
Darya Denisova
Anna Bortnick
With Mikhail Baryshnikov as Anton Chekhov
Film Crew
Director of Photography: Guillermo Cameo
Associate Producer: Joshua A. Friedman
2nd Camera and Editor: Anton Nikolaev
Sound: Sebastian Holst
Gaffer: Sashank Sana
Assistant Editor: Anna Gruman
Production Assistant: Violet de Besche
Arlekin Players Theatre, founded by Artistic Director Igor Golyak, was created in Boston in 2009 and has since toured to New York, Chicago, and Hartford, as well as to international festivals in Russia, Armenia, Ukraine, and Monaco. It’s production of State vs Natasha Banina has received world-wide acclaim, including the New York Times Critics’ Pick. Arlekin has received multiple awards for its work including four 2020 Elliot Norton Awards from the Boston Theater Critics Association for its recent productions of The Stone and The Seagull. Arlekin takes strong pride in their emphasis on self-identity; they are a company of immigrants performing works that play on the ideas of cross-culture, home, and traditions, challenging the idea of nationality, and finding common themes that unite us all. In 2020, Arlekin launched it’s Zero Gravity (zero-G) Virtual Theater Lab to explore new theater possibilities for a new time. The company makes its home in Needham, MA. For more information, visit www.arlekinplayers.com and ZeroGravity.ART.
.ART is the art world’s digital domain of choice. Not bound by geographical location or industrial constraints it aims to support, empower and generate value for the creative community. It is also intending to be an innovation activator with its own solutions as well as promoting the ones of others creative community members. .ART is a space where artists, institutions, professionals and creative can register a clear and concise website address that reflects their passion, occupation and belonging to the art world.
Cherry Orchard Festival Foundation (www.CherryOrchardFestival.org), a registered 501c) (3) arts organization, is a leading independent international arts organization with a solid reputation for presenting musical performances, theatrical productions, multidisciplinary performing and visual arts attractions by a stunning array of global artists to audiences in the US. Founded by executive producer Maria Shclover and artistic director Irina Shabshis in 2012, the festival has presented over 60 unique world class events, concerts, and theatrical performances to over 150,000 audience members across the US. The presentation of “Cherry Orchard” at the Baryshnikov Arts Center will be the second collaboration between the Festival and Arlekin Theatre, after the successful online run of The State vs. Natasha Banina in 2020. The ongoing mission of the Cherry Orchard Festival is to introduce and promote global cultural activity and exchange of ideas, aiming to enlighten and engage audiences through educational entertainment programs and events. For more information about the festival, please visit cherryorchardfestival.org.
Arlekin Players Theatre Press Contact: Mark Soucy, mark@arlekinplayers.com, 978-289-9887
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Press
The New York Times – ‘chekhovOS /an experimental game/’ Review: Life on a Merry-Go-Round
Below is a link to and a quote from Elisabeth Vincentelli’s review of chekhovOS /an experimental game/ in The New York Times. “Critics Pick! An ingenious interactive show… a leap…
The New Yorker Review
Mikhail Baryshnikov, at seventy-four years old, isn’t done experimenting. At the midtown venue that bears his name, Baryshnikov Arts Center, he stars in “The Orchard”, a four-dimensional adaptation of Chekhov’s “The Cherry Orchard,” conceived by the Ukrainian-born director Igor Golyak.
Jessica Hecht stars in off-Broadway play “The Orchard”
You’ve probably seen Jessica Hecht on the small screen, big screen, Broadway or off-Broadway. You might recognize her as Ross’ ex-wife’s wife Susan from “Friends” or her role on “Breaking Bad” or turn on Broadway in “Fiddler on the Roof.” And now she’s starring in the off-Broadway play, “The Orchard.”
Continue Reading Jessica Hecht stars in off-Broadway play “The Orchard”
Broadway Girl 1st Preview
The Orchard is an unlikely adaptation of The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov. I say “unlikely” because it is super high tech and one of the main characters is a robot?!! (A non-binary robot with it’s own Instagram handle, I might add: follow instagram.com/ronintherobot for quality content!)
Broadway Girl Embedded at The Orchard
The Orchard invites us into the fragile world of a family yearning for connection and struggling with the end of their world as they know it. Threatened with foreclosure and the loss of their beloved orchard, they face unstoppable, destructive forces that dismantle their lives like the breaking of a string.
South End News, Witness, chekhosOS/an experimental game/
Boston area theater staged a welcome comeback in 2021—even if initially in zoom and live stream productions.
Continue Reading South End News, Witness, chekhosOS/an experimental game/