Vera Komissarzhevskaya

Vera Fyodorovna Komissarzhevskaya (Russian: Ве́ра Фёдоровна Комиссарже́вская; 8 November [O.S. 27 October] 1864 – 23 February [O.S. 10 February] 1910) was a Russian actress and theatre manager.

She made her professional debut in 1893, after having acted as an amateur at Konstantin Stanislavski's Society of Art and Literature. She is probably best known today for originating the role of Nina in the ill-fated premiere of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull, at the Alexandrinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg in 1896. Though the production was deemed an utter failure, Komissarzhevskaya's performance was highly praised.

Later in her career, Komissarzhevskaya became notable for her patronage of the up-and-coming theatre artist, Vsevolod Meyerhold. Following Meyerhold's unsuccessful attempts to stage symbolist plays at Stanislavsky's Moscow Art Theatre, Komissarzhevskaya invited him to try his experiments at her new Dramatic Theatre in Saint Petersburg. During their short-lived collaboration, the two managed to develop Meyerhold's symbolist aesthetic and Komissarzhevskaya herself starred in two of the most critically and commercially successful productions.