Dr Anatoly Smeliansky is a leading Russian theatre writer, scholar and critic who joined the Moscow Art Theatre in 1980 as Literary Director. Dean of the Moscow Art Theatre School since 1986, he became Rector of the School in 2000. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the new edition of the Complete Works of Konstantin Stanislavski and The Moscow Art Theatre Encyclopedia; author of the novel Is Comrade Bulgakov Dead?; and the recipient of several national awards for artistic excellence, including Distinguished Artsmaker of Russia. He has been on the Advisory Board of the College’s Stanislavski Centre since 2008, gave the Centre’s inaugural lecture in 2011, and became its Honorary Patron in 2012. http://www.mxat.ru/english/