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Stanislavski(1863 – 1938)
1863 Born 5 January to possibly the richest family in Russia.
1877 When he was 14 his father transformed a wing of their
country house into a theatre for the entertainment of family and
friends. They later built a theatre in their family home too.
1884 He adopted the name Stanislavski in order to keep his activities secret from
his family (real name Konstantin Sergeievich Alexeiev).
1885 At 22 he enrolled at the Moscow Theatre School but left after 3 wks,
dissatisfied with the training.
1887 After staging a successful performance of the Russian premiere of The
Mikado at his family’s home and gaining a professional review, Stanislavski is given
permission by his father to continue his career as an actor.
1888 – 1898 He travels extensively, learning from companies around the world and
having considerable success as an actor e.g. as Othello.
1898 9 April he assumes the role of Principal Director of what becomes the Moscow
Art Theatre.
1904 Chekhov dies.
1917 The Russian Revolution.
1922 – 1923 The Moscow Art Theatre tour Berlin,
Paris and the United States to universal acclaim.
1937 He dies.
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Characteristics:
He believed that theatre was to be a
moral instrument to ennoble the mind and
uplift the spirit. It should civilize, increase
sensitivity and heighten perception.
‘Seek your examples in life’.
In choosing actors Stanislavski was heard to say: ‘She is a good actress but not for us…She does not love art, but herself in art.’Chose plays from the classical repertoire, but also encouraged new writing.
Treated actors with respect, but expected dedication and self-discipline.
Previously, many actors lacked punctuality and were often drunk. Experienced
actors spoke out front; old sets, props and costumes were merely reused.
Stanislavski’s legacy is a system of approaching the inexact
science of acting.
He tried in a systematic way to lay down ground rules for
approaching a character and for how an actor might employ
his/her body, voice and mind in such a creation. His own acting
was often too full of personal mannerisms or overblown
extravagance and his directors would then resort to ‘imitation’ as
a form of direction which removed the process.
Realism: a selection and distillation of the detailed
observation of life, not the life itself.
Subtext: What can be identified under the text – the
unspoken nuance that we as the audience
recognize and which gives a character more
depth or psychological realism. This gives us
insights into the character’s motivations often
denied to those characters themselves. The
subtext must, however, be acknowledged and
understood by the actor.
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STANISLAVSKI'S SYSTEM is a progression of techniques
used to train actors and actresses to draw believable emotions to their performances.
The method that was originally created and used by Constantin Stanislavski from
1911 to 1916 was based on the concept of emotional memory for which an actor
focuses internally to portray a character's emotions onstage.
Later, between 1934 and 1938, this technique evolved to a method of physical
actions in which emotions are produced through the use of these actions. The latter
technique is referred to as Stanislavski's system. The system is the result of
Stanislavski's many years of efforts to determine how someone can control in
performance the most intangible and uncontrollable aspects of human behaviour,
such as emotions and art inspiration.
The most influential acting teachers, including Richard Boleslavsky, Vsevolod
Meyerhold, Michael Chekhov, Lee Strasberg, Stella Adler, Harold Clurman, Robert
Lewis, Sanford Meisner, Uta Hagen, Ion Cojar, Andrey Vasilyev and Ivana Chubbuck
all traced their pedigrees to Stanislavski, his theories and/or his disciples.
1. ACTION – concerned with the meaningful and purposeful activity on stage.
This includes concentrated stillness or inner
intensity. Always act with a purpose.In other words it must have a ‘why?’
E.g. Why am I coming through that door, sitting
down, moving forward?
Activity: Enter a room for various reasons
Sit on a chair for various reasons
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The
2. IF – The ‘magic if’ opens up possibilities for the actor of creating a whole new life
for the character and stimulating new emotions. What would happen if…?- this was a real place
- the actor next to me was my mother/sister/brother.
Activity: Improvise – what would you do if the lights went out, a
murderer was behind the door, you found you were
adopted, you were saddled with someone else’s baby?
You or your girlfriend was pregnant? You had AIDS?
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3. THE GIVEN CIRCUMSTANCE – These are the basis for an actor and his/her
role. They are created by the playwright, director and designer.
E.g. *the story of the play
*facts, events, time and place of action
*conditions of life
*actor’s and director’s interpretation
*the production, sets, costumes, props
*lighting and sound effects
Activity: Develop a scenario using the above as a guide. Decide how best to
communicate the circumstances e.g. a family funeral; packing to leave
(holiday, emigration, bigger/better home; smaller poorer home). Create
an environment and act out a moment from the scenario.
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4. THE IMAGINATION – The actor must believe in the
given circumstances using the imagination –
suspend disbelief, function at a high degree of
involvement.
When you begin to study each role, you first gather
all the material that will have a bearing on it and
then supplement with your imagination.
Actors often rely on visual stimulus: who you are,
where you came from, why, what you want, where you are going and what will you do when you get there.
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Activity: After preparing your characters, get the cast to question each other as
above in character. [‘Hot seat’] By research, find out what the character says about him/herself and
what other characters say about that person. Finally analyse actions of
the character.
Use photographs, paintings, music to come to terms with the character.
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5. CIRCLES OF ATTENTION – This leads the actor to relax and focus on stage
(called ‘solitude in public’). Slowly, like ripples in a pond, it radiates
outwards until it embraces the entire stage.
Activity: Draw the audience’s attention by the intensity of your own focus.
(Stillness or action can do this.) How do you extend it – looking at
someone/something else?
Or use a hoop, then remove it.
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6. UNITS AND OBJECTIVES
Units of action, dominated and controlled by the objectives within
them. A unit ends with the end of the objective.
Likened to buoys in a channel, guides for an actor on his voyage
(helps with learning lines too!).
Describe with verbs: “I wish to…” e.g. obtain power over,
apologise, impress, learn, find out ...
Activity: Do this for the plays we have studied this year
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7. SUPER-OBJECTIVE AND THROUGH-LINE OF ACTION
What is the overarching objective in the play? (In explanation, often used for
Hamlet.)
Through line – the main current that galvanizes all the small units and objectives
(‘what is my motivation?’)
Activity: For the three texts you have studied this year find the super-objective
of the play and for each character. Find out how they create a through-
line for themselves that drives their character forward.
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8. EMOTION MEMORY – Just as your visual memory can reconstruct an inner
image of some forgotten thing, place or person, your emotion memory can
bring back feelings you have already
experienced. This can be triggered by a sound,
smell or touch.
Actors were encouraged to create a reservoir of
memory/stored experiences from which to draw
and on which to build to help create a character.
Activity: Use a picture/photograph; a piece of music; a smell to trigger a
memory. Devise an improvisation to express your feelings from that
time. Try and link that to a text.
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9. TEMPO-RHYTHM IN MOVEMENT – Each character has his/her own
rhythm/tempo according to his/her circumstances and personality. The inner
rhythm may differ from the outer rhythm that conforms to
the tempo of the overall scene as influenced by the other
characters.
Wherever there is life there is action; wherever action,
movement; where movement, tempo; and where there is
tempo there is rhythm.
An inner turmoil could be identified through its outer manifestation, or
concealed by a show of calm. Two rhythms are created, the one contradicting
the other, leading to interesting dramatic tensions within the performance.
It is important that rhythms are kept distinct. All too easily a group of actors
can pick up each other’s rhythms, creating a generalised beat, which all too
often is the slowest.
Activity: Work out a rhythm for the characters in the
plays you have studied or the scenes you are presenting
for your prac exam. Who is still, who is faster, and how
does the tempo of the overall scene increase or drop?
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Nephew of Anton Chekhov
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10. THE METHOD OF PHYSICAL ACTION – Towards the end of his life, with An
Actor Prepares all but published, Stanislavski increasingly placed emphasis on
physical expression as a way of training. There was more emphasis on
improvisation as a way of unlocking aspects of both the text and the role.
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“THE METHOD”When the Moscow Art Theatre toured America in 1923-24 they left behind two
actors: Richard Boleslavski and Maria Ouspenskaya who formed a school called the
American Laboratory Theatre.
Among their students were Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg who later formed The Actor’s Studio which relied on Stanislavski’s ideas to create The Method. This
relied heavily on Emotion Memory. Method actors analysed and utilised their own
personalities extensively and produced very emotionally based performances.
The Method has provided a sound training for actors in the American theatre and film
industry, where value is placed on intense psychological realism in the construction
of character.
Notable actors who used the Method to great acclaim are Marlon Brando, Marilyn
Monroe, James Dean, Jane Fonda, Daniel Day-Lewis and Al Pacino.
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