Alexander Artyom member of the Art and Litearture Society where he had met Konstantin Stanislavski a year earlier. In 1898 Artemyev became a member of the original Moscow Art Theatre troupe and in its first season made himself quite a name, having appeared in "Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich" (Bogdan Kryukov), "Men Above the Law" (Devochkin), "The Seagull" (Shamrayev, all 1898), as well as "Uncle Vanya" (Telegin, 1899). Anton Chekhov referred to Artyom as his favourite MAT actor and wrote the part of Firs in "The Cherry Orchard" especially for him. The master of episode, he was, according to Stanislavsky, "the epitome of modesty
The Cherry Orchard of the past (often reliving memories about her son's death, etc.). The speeches by the student Trofimov, attacking intellectuals were later seen as early manifestations of Bolshevik ideas and his lines were often censored by the Tsarist officials. Cherry trees themselves are often seen as symbols of sadness or regret at the passing away of a certain situation or of the times in general. The theme of identity, and the subversion of expectations of such, is one that can be seen in "The Cherry Orchard"; indeed, the cast itself can be divided up into three distinct parts: the Gayev family