Stanislavski's system is a systematic approach to training actors that
the Russian theatre practitioner Konstantin Stanislavski developed in
the first half of the twentieth century. His system cultivates what he
calls the "art of experiencing" (with which he contrasts the "art of
representation"). It mobilises the actor's conscious thought and will
in order to activate other, less-controllable psychological
processesâ€"such as emotional experience and subconscious
behaviourâ€"sympathetically and indirectly. In rehearsal, the actor
searches for inner motives to justify action and the definition of
what the character seeks to achieve at any given moment (a
"task").Later, Stanislavski further elaborated the system with a more
physically grounded rehearsal process that came to be known as the
"Method of Physical Action". Minimising at-the-table discussions, he
now encouraged an "active representative", in which the sequence of
dramatic situations are improvised. "The best analysis of a play",
Stanislavski argued, "is to take action in the given
circumstances."Thanks to its promotion and development by acting
teachers who were former students and the many translations of
Stanislavski's theoretical writings, his system acquired an
unprecedented ability to cross cultural boundaries and developed a
reach, dominating debates about acting in the West. Stanislavski’s
ideas have become accepted as common sense so that actors may use them
without knowing that they do.
the Russian theatre practitioner Konstantin Stanislavski developed in
the first half of the twentieth century. His system cultivates what he
calls the "art of experiencing" (with which he contrasts the "art of
representation"). It mobilises the actor's conscious thought and will
in order to activate other, less-controllable psychological
processesâ€"such as emotional experience and subconscious
behaviourâ€"sympathetically and indirectly. In rehearsal, the actor
searches for inner motives to justify action and the definition of
what the character seeks to achieve at any given moment (a
"task").Later, Stanislavski further elaborated the system with a more
physically grounded rehearsal process that came to be known as the
"Method of Physical Action". Minimising at-the-table discussions, he
now encouraged an "active representative", in which the sequence of
dramatic situations are improvised. "The best analysis of a play",
Stanislavski argued, "is to take action in the given
circumstances."Thanks to its promotion and development by acting
teachers who were former students and the many translations of
Stanislavski's theoretical writings, his system acquired an
unprecedented ability to cross cultural boundaries and developed a
reach, dominating debates about acting in the West. Stanislavski’s
ideas have become accepted as common sense so that actors may use them
without knowing that they do.
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