Mission Statement
The Michael Chekhov Association (MICHA) is dedicated to preserving, advancing, and disseminating the Michael Chekhov Acting Technique through rigorous, practice-based training and community building.
Our core mission is to:
Provide world-class actor training based on the principles of Michael Chekhov, empowering artists to develop highly expressive, imaginative, and transformational performances.
Share and safeguard a comprehensive teacher training and certification program, ensuring the integrity and depth of the Chekhov Technique is passed on by qualified, deeply knowledgeable educators.
Serve as a central resource for Chekhov practitioners, fostering an inclusive community of artists and teachers, committed to the practical exploration and creative spirit of this approach to the imagination and the performing arts.
Vision Statement
MICHA aspires to be the heart of the International Michael Chekhov community — connecting, supporting, and championing the flow of ideas and training around the world. Dedicated to upholding the legacy and technique of Michael Chekhov, MICHA trains actors, directors, teachers, scholars, and artists in the Michael Chekhov Technique. We foster cross-community collaboration and creative spaces, and produce publications and programming, all in support of artistic exploration and the cultivation of a performance-based practice with future generations.
Meet Our Team
Staff
Head of Teacher Training
Jessica Cerullo​
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Social Media Manager & Photographer
Jess Maynard
Board of Directors
Founder and President Emeritus
(1999-2023)
Joanna Merlin
Board President
Craig Mathers
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Vice President
Jess Maynard
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Secretary
Scott Burrell
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Treasurer
Liz Stanton
Directors
Phelim McDermott, Margaret Kemp, Ulrich Meyer-Horsch, Suzana Nikolić, Peter B. Josephson, Sol Garre, Patrick Porter, and Hugh O'Gorman
Committees and Councils
Advisory Board
Anne Bogart, Jessica Cerullo, Martha Clarke, Michael Meyer, Pierre du Prey, Floyd Rumohr, Tom Schumacher, Jimmy Smits, Julie Taymor
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Council
Youness Bouzinab, Hannah Gold, Chuk Obasi, Julian Stetkevych
Faculty Council
Jessica Cerullo, Margaret Kemp, Marjo Riikka Mäkelä, Suzana Nikolić, Ulrich Meyer-Horsch
Teacher Training Cohort Rep: Daniel Lendzian
OUR HISTORY
Incorporated in 1999 as a not-for-profit, MICHA brought together a faculty that included individuals taught at the Michael Chekhov Studio in New York by teachers certified by Michael Chekhov himself – Beatrice Straight, Deirdre Hurst du Prey and Blair Cutting. One of MICHA’s founders, Joanna Merlin, was a member of Michael Chekhov’s Drama Society in California where she studied with him for five years. MICHA’s associations and roots date back to the beginnings of Chekhov’s work in America and to Dartington Hall in England. Since its founding, MICHA has been committed to training a new generation of performers and teachers to share this remarkable work as it has been passed down from Michael Chekhov himself.
