1. The Beginnings of Modern Realism (Konstantin Stanislavsky & His System)
Stanislavsky is best remembered for his attempts to perfect an approach to acting.
He became aware of the need in 1906 and made his first outline of ideas in 1909.
In 1911 he founded the First Studio to train students and work out problems as they arose.
He first published his ideas in 1924.
The overall plan was not revealed outside of Russia until he published Building a Character in and then Creating A Role in 1961.
Konstantin Stanislavsky
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2. The Beginnings of Modern Realism (Konstantin Stanislavsky & His System)
Unfortunately, none of the publications of Stanislavsky’s writings are reliable.
The USSR did not subscribe to the International Copyright Agreement, so the rights of translations were given to the American translator Elizabeth Reynolds Hapgood.
Her versions considerably distorted Stanislavsky’s ideas through mistranslations and cutting/rearrangements.
The Soviet versions contain altered texts to make them conform to official ideology
Only recently have new and “accurate” translations been published.
Elizabeth Reynolds Hapgood.
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3. The Beginnings of Modern Realism (Konstantin Stanislavsky & His System)
Various aspects of the method have been emphasized by different interpreters.
As a whole, the system is an attempt to analyze each phase of the actor’s work.
The goal is to make the actor’s work as efficient as possible.
Stanislavsky was never fully satisfied wit his system and continued to refine it until his death.
He also cautioned others against adopting it without making changes required by different artistic needs and cultural backgrounds.
A diagram of Stanislavsky’s system.
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4. The Beginnings of Modern Realism (Konstantin Stanislavsky & His System)
Actors’ bodies and voices should be thoroughly trained so they may respond efficiently to all demands.
Actors should be schooled in stage techniques so they can project characterization to an audience without any sense of contrivance.
Actors should be skilled observers of reality as a basis for building their roles.
Actors should seek inner justification for everything done on stage using “the magic ‘if;” and “emotion memory,” relating the unfamiliar to some analogous emotional situation in their own lives. (**Stanislavsky eventually rejected this part of the approach.**)
A modern translation of Stanislavsky’s work.
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5. The Beginnings of Modern Realism (Konstantin Stanislavsky & His System)
Actors must make a thorough analysis of the script and work within the “given circumstances” found there to avoid merely playing themselves.
Actors must define the character’s primary “objective” or the “through line” of the role, by understanding the character’s motivations in each scene.
Actors must focus attention upon the action as it unfolds moment by moment on stage, giving the “illusion of the first time.”
Actors must continually strive to perfect understanding and proficiency, subordinating their own egos to the artistic demands of the production. 5
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