I
have lived a variegated life, during the course of which I have
been forced more than once to change my most fundamental ideas,
(Konstantin
Stanislavsky, 'My life in Art' 1924)
In
the creative process there is the father, the author of the plays;
the mother, the actor pregnant with the part; and the child, the
role to be born.
Remember:
there are no small parts, only small actors..
Introduction
-
Stanislavsky
was born in 1863 two years after the abolition of serfdom
in Russia. He was born Konstantin Alexeyev but later adopted
the name Stanislavsky.
-
Although
his family owned extensive land and manufacturing, they
were in fact descended from serfs.
-
Raised
by a peasant nanny and educated by a university trained
governess
-
Early
interest in the arts particularly puppetry and his family
later opened their own amateur theatre group in 1877 (first
non professional theatre company in Moscow)
-
Forged
his way into professional acting circles after adapting
his new name (his family considered performing on the commercial
vaudeville stage as a 'disreputable and unthinkable occupation,
a form of cultural prostitution and social suicide.' (p.11)
(Gordon, M. 1987. N.Y: Applause theatre Pub)
-
In
1897 he joined with Danchenko to form Russia's first ensemble
professional theatre which was supported by private patronage
and general subscription.
(Reference:
'Stanislavsky, Konstantin,' Microsoft. Encarta. Online Encyclopedia
2000, http//encarta.msn.com)
- Whilst
performing on stage in 1928 he suffered a heart attack and
then concentrated only on directing until his death in 1938
The
method
-
Stanislavski
and his partner Vladimir Danchenko were to revolutionize
realistic acting with Stanislavski's new technique of acting
(influenced by the work of actor Mikhail Shchepkin who discovered
that a natural speaking tone resulted in realistic characterization.
-
Careful
attention to detail in scenic design and realistic characterization
essential
-
Dedicated
to photographic duplication - on stage activity was to represent
the natural and real
Voice:
-
Vocal
training for intonation, inflection, use of pause and tempo-rhythm
-
Believed
an actor should study singing to improve the vocal range
-
Believed
that words the should be treated as the physical side of
action and images - characters say words for a reason and
the actor must make the author's words their own
-
He
often said 'Treasure the spoken word' and was against simply
memorizing words without any real understanding lead to
mechanical and meaningless performances.
Movement:
-
An
important part of the training actors worked form graceful
and complete control of their character movements.
-
Opposed
false and mechanical stage movements: every movement must
relate to inner motivation.
-
Costume
must complement character and allow for free and natural
movement and advocated dance training for all actors.
-
Believed
'Great art hides art'.
Character
and emotion
-
Urged
actors to personalize and display character motivation and
emotion simply and naturally.
-
Demanded
actors seek the truth of the inner life of the character:
awakening the subconscious to allow flow to the outer image.
One
of the first steps in Stanislavski's process of using the actor's
person as the foundation of the role creation is the technique
known as the 'Magic If'.
-
The
actor must believe in the possibility of the event in their
own life before they could believe it on stage.
-
Always
on stage, you must be you, your persona is at the base of
all characterization
Stanislavski
believed the next step was to examine the given circumstances
of a play including time and place of action, director's interpretation,
setting, lighting, and sound effects. He also stressed the importance
of concentration as the key to dynamic, believable performance
onstage
- The
actor must overcome all obstacles to make the role real and
adapt what is necessary to do so
The
actor must focus on tempo-rhythm in execution of all aspects of
a role
- Correct
speed and intensity of movement and speech on stage is essential
for realistic role portrayal.
Stanislavski
knew that the foremost method of expressing the truthful emotional
life of the character was through observation, imagination, and
use of the senses.
-
An
actor needs to recall encountered objects and experiences
to discover in truth: this is called 'affective memory or
emotion memory'..
-
This
leads to inspiration for the actor to make the role real
on stage. (Interestingly enough, Stanislavski turned away
from this technique in later stages of his work)
Stanislavski
believed in thorough role analysis prior to onstage performance.
- The
actor must pay attention to the 'Super-objective' (the main
idea or final goal of each performance: the 'spine' of the
role) and the 'Through Line of Actions' (the logical mental
line running through a role which the actor can trace in his
mind).
(Reference:
Crawford, J. 1984, Dubuque, IA:Wm.C.Brown Pub. Pgs:258-262)
Consider
the following to help make it all a little clearer:
PHYSICAL
ACTIVITY: Waiting in an audition line.
OBJECTIVE:
Finding work in the theatre
ACTION:
Preparing mentally to audition
SUPER-OBJECTIVE:
Becoming famous as an actor
(Reference:
Gordon, M. 1988. 'The Stanislavsky Technique: Russia', N..Y. Applause
Theatre Pub)
