Meyerhold`s Seat or the Eye of the Beholder
Wsewolod Meyerhold, a student and later (as it often goes) artistic opponent of K.S. Stanislavsky, one of the theatre geniuses of the 20th century, a convinced fighter for the communist idea who was finally shot in the neck by Stalin`s people in the year 1940, was a big explorer not only of the rules of human movement and the affordances of a serious education of the actor but also of the perceptional relationship between what was going on on stage and its effect on the audience.
He was known for, during rehearsals, often sitting with his back towards the stage and instead of observing what was going on on stage, closely examining the reactions of the few people who were sitting in the audience attending the rehearsal. He knew that what was going on on stage was not equal to what was going on in the eyes and minds of the beholders.
He also staged Elvis Presley`s “Jailhouse Rock”, see here:
