Lake Shore of Bohemia

http://www.jstor.org/stable/3206220?&Search=yes&term=Seagull&list=hide&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3DSeagull%26x%3D0%26y%3D0%26wc%3Don&item=22&ttl=1104&returnArticleService=showArticle

The article is titled "The Lake Shore of Bohemia: The Seagull's Theatrical Context," by Laurence Senelick published by the Johns Hopkins University Press, 1977. Senelick goes into detail about the aesthetic climate during Chekhov's time and names a few, actual real-life actresses, writers, and directors that may have been the basis for the characters of Arkadina, Trigorin, Konstantin, and Nina. Senelick explores the theaters that were burgeoning all across Russia in the 1880s and 90s and the varying aesthetic theories that made up this tension between "new forms" and tradition that figures in the play. This really contextualizes the play and offers perspective.