When we came to our first class in September of 1992, to the Russian Academy of Dramatic Arts we all expected to get texts and start performing big heroes from plays of Shakespeare, Strindberg, Chekhov, and Moliere. That didn't happen. Instead, we were challenged to go on stage without a partner and do small études (i.e., a quick study, exercise). We had only a few minutes to prepare. What a crap, we all thought. It took me months to understand that my acting godfather, Professor Vladimir Davidovich Tarasenko wanted to teach us the Stanislavsky's famous silence. He said, "The best études are without words."