"This first and now largely forgotten work was handwritten in German and in it Michael Chekhov lays the groundwork for the canon of exercises and practices that, a century later, actors generally know as the Michael Chekhov Technique. Although never completed, the text affords a rare fly-on-the-wall insight into the raw material of Chekhov's vision. This extensively revised and abridged text is presented with an introduction and a series of contemporary short essays, which offer practical suggestions to have come out of exploring Michael Chekhov Technique in the studio"--