TCG Books Presents to Host Conversation with Authors of Classic Russian Drama Series

Theatre Communications Group has announced the eighth iteration of TCG Books Presents, featuring Richard Nelson, Richard Pevear, and Larissa Volokhonsky in conversation with Gregory Mosher on YouTube Live, Friday, October 28, 2022 at 1:00pm ET. TCG Books Presents, formerly known as TCG Books' First Fridays, features authors from TCG Books' roster in conversation about their work. These conversations are livestreamed on TCG's YouTube channel. This latest event will focus on the newly released translation of Anton Chekov's Ivanov, as well as the Classic Russian Drama series translated by Nelson, Pevear, and Volokhonsky, and published by TCG Books.

"At a time when Russia's horrific war on Ukraine is quite rightly dominating the news, it's helpful to remember that Russian culture is not defined by such aggression, and that theatre artists so often bridge cultural divides," said Teresa Eyring, executive director and CEO, TCG. "The beautiful collaboration between Richard Nelson, Richard Pevear, and Larissa Volokhonsky is an example of that, and has already yielded many revelatory translations of classic Russian works, including Chekhov's Ivanov."

Ivanov, written by Anton Chekhov and translated by Richard Nelson, Richard Pevear, and Larissa Volokhonsky, is the eighth title in TCG's Classic Russian Drama series. Nikolai Ivanov, approaching middle-age, has lost all passion for life. No longer in love with his wife, riddled with debt, and in danger of losing his estate, Ivanov finds himself trapped in a stasis he cannot shake--dragging all of those in his orbit down with him. While his family and friends rally around him trying to help, Ivanov only seems to sink further into the darkness that threatens to consume him. Ivanov is a new translation of Chekhov's character study of a man undone by his own spiritual malaise.

Richard Nelson's many plays include Illyria; The Gabriels: Election Year in the Life of One Family (Hungry, What Did You Expect?, Women of a Certain Age); The Apple Family: Scenes from Life in the Country (That Hopey Changey Thing, Sweet and Sad, Sorry, Regular Singing); Nikolai and the Others; Goodnight Children Everywhere (Olivier Award for Best Play); Franny's Way; Some Americans Abroad; Frank's Home; Two Shakespearean Actors; and James Joyce's The Dead (with Shaun Davey; Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical).

Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky have translated the works of Leo Tolstoy, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Nikolai Gogol, Anton Chekhov, Boris Pasternak, and Mikhail Bulgakov. Their translations of The Brothers Karamazov and Anna Karenina won the PEN Translation Prize in 1991 and 2002, respectively. Pevear, a native of Boston, and Volokhonsky, of St. Petersburg, are married and live in France.

Gregory Mosher has directed and/or produced over 200 plays, many of them world or American premieres, on Broadway, at the Royal National Theatre, in London's West End and at Lincoln Center Theatre and The Goodman Theatre, both of which he led. Colleagues have included writers Edward Albee, Samuel Beckett, Leonard Bernstein, Spalding Gray, David Mamet, Emily Mann, Elaine May, Arthur Miller, Mbongeni Ngema, Wole Soyinka, Derek Walcott, Tennessee Williams, and Richard Nelson, with whom he has collaborated on numerous productions stretching over four decades, most recently What Happened?: The Michaels Abroad for Hunter Theater Project. He is currently the Senior Associate Dean for the Arts and Patty and Jay Baker Professor of Theatre at Hunter College.

Past TCG Books Presents events include: Michael R. Jackson, Dael Orlandersmith, Heidi Schrek, Larissa Fasthorse, and Daniel Alexander Jones. TCG Books is the largest independent trade publisher of dramatic literature in North America, with 19 winners of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama on its book list. The book program commits to the life-long career of its playwrights, keeping all of their plays in print. TCG Books' authors include: Annie Baker, Nilo Cruz, Jackie Sibblies Drury, Larissa Fasthorse, Athol Fugard, Quiara Alegría Hudes, David Henry Hwang, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Tony Kushner, Young Jean Lee, Lynn Nottage, Suzan-Lori Parks, Sarah Ruhl, Heidi Schreck, Stephen Sondheim, Paula Vogel, and August Wilson.

The TCG Books Presents program is supported in part by: Fisher Dachs Associates; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature; along with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

Theatre Communications Group

(TCG), the national organization for theatre, leads for a just and thriving theatre ecology. Since its founding in 1961, TCG's constituency has grown from a handful of groundbreaking theatres to over 700 Member Theatres and affiliate organizations and over 7,000 Individual Members. Through its programs and services, TCG reaches over one million students, audience members, and theatre professionals each year. TCG offers networking and knowledge-building opportunities through research, communications, and events, including the annual TCG National Conference, one of the largest nationwide gatherings of theatre people; awards grants and scholarships to theatre companies and individual artists; advocates on the federal level; and through the Global Theater Initiative, TCG's partnership with the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics, serves as the U.S. Center of the International Theatre Institute. TCG is North America's largest independent trade publisher of dramatic literature, with 19 Pulitzer Prizes for Drama on the TCG booklist. It also publishes the award-winning American Theatre magazine and ARTSEARCH®, the essential source for a career in the arts. TCG believes its vision of "a better world for theatre, and a better world because of theatre" can be achieved through individual and collective action, adaptive and responsive leadership, and equitable representation in all areas of practice. TCG is led by executive director and CEO Teresa Eyring. tcg.org