Act 1 Summary

Seagull is Anton Chekhov's four-act play about the search for love and the personal tragedies that occur, when love remains unrequited.

As the play opens, it is just past sunset on the Russian estate of Peter Sorin, whose sister is the famous Russian actress, Madame Irina Arkadina. The evening is fair, and the setting includes an impromptu stage on which a new style of drama will be enacted for a few guests. The sound of workers is heard behind the stage's curtain.

Two of the guests, Masha, a daughter of a retired lieutenant and now the caretaker of the Sorin estate, and Simon Medvedenko, a teacher, stroll the grounds, awaiting the start of the play. Simon is frustrated, because Masha does not return his love for her. Masha is perpetually sad, even though she is not poor. This is a good indicator of...