Stanislavsky The System

Relaxation Tension is our greatest enemy It can be hard to relax, so we can approach it through tension The goal is to be able to recognize and reduce tension during performance The actor and the character must remain separate to accomplish this

Mind, Will and Emotion 3 separate parts of the actor When all 3 are engaged, the acting is alive and captivating The System is meant to occupy the mind, motivate the will, and release the emotional life of the actor The emotion cannot be forced or even directly accessed, it must be coaxed out of hiding.

Concentration We can access our emotions by concentrating on something that occupies our mind and motivates our will We are always concentrating on something Circle of attention should be the stage, other actors, goal, etc. in order to release the appropriate emotions The idea is to Almost forget about the audience

Two More Elements Public Solitude Being so focused on something that you forget about your surroundings. Some people thought that the American Method schools took this too far. Even though you may forget about the audience, you MUST BE HEARD AND UNDERSTOOD! Voice lessons Sensory Recall Part of Concentration Recall of what you sensed (see, hear, smell, taste, touch) during some past experience Feelings and Judgements: Include how you reacted emotionally to each part of the experience, how you FELT in addition to the five physical senses and you are preparing the ground for emotional arousal.

Imagination The Magic “IF” We must imagine how we would feel and react “if” … this is the key to opening the door of our imagination This is what allows us to enter the world of the play Limitless and one of our most powerful tools Provides instant access to feelings without trying to force them directly Given Circumstances The information that is in the script, provided by the playwright Our imagination allows us to place ourselves in the situation of our characters An actor must be relaxed and must be able to concentrate on the given circumstances, using their imagination and the magic “if” to enter the world of the play

Action Objectives (Goals) The Object of your desire What motivates your character, and therefore you, during a scene What you are trying to accomplish Your actions should support your objective Your goal should activate your will to take action Super-Objective The character’s ultimate goal The theme of the play Stay focused on this, and everything else will fall into place All the smaller actions and objectives are contained within the super-objective

Emotion Memory Using your own personal experiences to access an emotion on stage during a performance. Use Sense Memory to put yourself back in that place and time and the emotion should come It can be something you personally experienced, or saw happen to someone else, or read about One of the most controversial aspects of Stanislavski’s system, main cause of the split of the early American students of Stanislavski Stanislavski himself stopped using this technique towards the end of his life

Communion: The relationship between the actors in a scene or the relationship between the actors and the audience Reaction Actors cannot simply say their lines and move through their blocking. They must REACT in real time to the other actors on stage with them Often, the words are unimportant, and we react to the subtext, the way the words are said or the way the person is acting Adaptation Changing strategies to get your goal Responding to the other actors and the circumstances of the scene and trying new methods Be Determined! Don’t give up so easily and don’t keep trying the same old thing or the scene gets boring.