Nephew of Anton Chekhov and a disciple of Konstantin Stanislavskii Russian migr actor Michael Chekhov 18911955 created one of the most challenging and inspiring acting theories of the 20th century. This book is a reinterpretation of Chekhovs theory both in the context of the cultural and political milieu of his time and in the light of theatre semiotics from Prague Structuralism to French Poststructuralism and contemporary performance theory. This work presents Chekhovs understanding of the actors stage product stage mask as a psychological psychophysical and cultural construct engaged with the mysteries of the actorcharacter or what Mikhail Bakhtin describes as the authorhero dialectical relationships. It offers new horizons in interdisciplinary and intercultural visions on theatre acting described by Chekhov as a most liberating and cathartic process.