An Evening of Theater and Medical Humanities

On Thursday, Feb. 21, the Enrichment and Student Affairs Offices presented a staged reading of Anton Chekhov’s short story, “A Doctor’s Visit.”

“A Doctor’s Visit” tells the story of a physician and his apprentice as they venture outside Moscow to treat the daughter of a wealthy factory owner. Nothing appears to be the matter, until the family convinces them to stay the night. The short story deals with themes of empathy, doctor-patient relationships and appearance versus reality as Korolyov, the young doctor, visits with an anxious Liza.

The play was adapted for stage by Guy Frederick Glass, and directed by Anna Bortnick (CFA ’18, Medical Humanities Fellow).

“My favorite part of this reading was working with the cast to understand the intentions and emotional lives of the characters they were portraying. For many, this was their first time engaging in a theatrical text this way. I was moved by the students’ generosity and thoughtfulness as storytellers,” said Ms. Bortnick.

The medical student cast included Preston Butler, ’22; Tiffany Chan, ’22; Masis Parunyan, ’22; Tyler Ryan, ’21; Anna Whitham, ’22, and Rebecca Zheng, ’22. Robert M. Beazley, MD, assistant dean for Student Affairs, inspired the students to undertake the production at BUSM.