Professor Malaev-Babel is the Head of Acting at the Florida State University/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training. He serves on many boards and expert committees for artistic institutions worldwide. He is a published scholar, and a leading expert on the history of Russian Theatre and acting techniques. He is the Head of the International Demidov Association, and he curates Demidov Studios in London, Moscow, Athena and Chicago.
Starting in 2008, he has begun to recreate the Demidov School of Acting in practice at his graduate FSU/Asolo acting studio. Since 2013, he has been singlehandedly introducing the world to the practical aspects of the Demidov School of Acting through numerous master-classes, workshops, lectures and courses. In 2016, he introduced the English-speaking world to Demidov's writings, thus opening a new chapter in the history of actor training in the West. Since 2010, he has been practicing the Demidov approach to rehearsal and performance, staging over 12 Demidov-based productions, including a year-long laboratory exploration of THE CHERRY ORCHARD that premiered at the Stanislavsky House-Museum in 2018.
Professor Malaev-Babel is speaking regularly on theatre-related topics.
Today, we would like to ask him some broader questions.
Q: What world event(s) have you been considering lately?
A: Two world events that, in my option, has made our world what it is today are the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the Second World War.
Q: What will save the word? Beauty, as Dostoyevsky would have it, Kindness or Love?
A: These three as as related as Faith, Hope, Love and their mother Sophia. It will take all of them to save the world.
Q: Which question would you ask Fyodor Dostoyevsky?
A: Why haven’t you written a single play?
Q: What, in your opinion, is the major resource in life?
A: Creativity.
Q: If you needed to attract a stranger, but could only quote one single fact to describe your entire life, what would it be?
A: I would tell them that I was born famous. Most people are attracted by celebrity and fame.
Q: If you needed to scare that person away, what would you tell them?
A: I would mention that one day, like everyone, I will have to die… People are mostly scared of death.
Thank you, Andrei!