Konstantin Stanislavski

Konstantin Stanislavski at a young age

Konstantin (Constantin) Sergejevitch Stanislavski (Stanislavsky) (Russian: Константин Сергеевич Станиславский; January 5, 1863–August 7, 1938) was a Russian theatre and acting innovator.

Biography

Born Constantin Sergeievich Alexeyev in Moscow to a wealthy family, he made his first acting appearance at the age of seven. He took the stage-name Stanislavski early in his career (possibly to preserve the reputation of his family.) In some translations his name is written "Konstantin Stanislavski".

In 1888, Stanislavski established the Society of Art and Literature at the Maly Theatre, where he gained experience in aesthetics and stagecraft.

In 1897 he co-founded the Moscow Art Theatre (MKhAT) with Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko. One of the company's first productions was Anton Chekhov's The Seagull. It was at MKhAT that Stanislavski began developing, based on the realist tradition of Aleksandr Pushkin, his famous "System" (often called the "Method", though this is an inaccuracy; method acting was developed from it). "The System" would later be adapted by Lee Strasberg, Stella Adler, Robert Lewis, Sanford Meisner, and many others in the United States. Stanislavski's System focused on the development of realistic characters and stage worlds. Actors were instructed to utilise their "Affective Memory" in order to naturally portray a character's emotions. In order to do this actors were required to think of a moment in their own lives when they had felt the desired emotion and then replay the emotion in role in order to achieve a more genuine performance.

Stanislavski's System is a complex method for producing realistic characters; most of today's actors, on stage, television, and film, owe much to it. Using "The System", an actor is required to deeply analyse his or her character's motivations. The actor must discover the character's Objective in each scene, and Super Objective for the entire play.

One way of doing this was using Stanislavski's "magic if". Actors were required to ask many questions of their characters and themselves. For example, one of the first questions they had to ask was, "What if I were in the same situation as my character?"

Stanislavski also had an impact on modern opera and boosted the works of writers such as Maxim Gorki and Anton Chekhov.

Stanislavski survived both the Russian Revolution of 1905 and the Russian Revolution of 1917, with Lenin apparently intervening to protect him. In 1918, Stanislavski established the First Studio as a school for young actors and wrote several works: those available in English translation include: An Actor Prepares, Building a Character, Creating a Role, and the biography My Life in Art.

Fictional references

Mikhail Bulgakov satirized Stanislavski through the character Ivan Vasilievich in his novel Black Snow (also called "The Theatrical Novel"). (It is probably no coincidence that Ivan Vasilievich was the name and patronymic of the notorious sixteenth-century tsar Ivan the Terrible.) In Bulgakov's novel, Ivan Vasilievich is portrayed as a great actor, but his famous acting "method" is held up as a farce, in fact often hindering actors' performances through ridiculous exercises. Bulgakov's cutting portrait of Ivan Vasilievich likely reflects his frustrating experiences with Stanislavski during the latter's eventually aborted production of Bulgakov's play A Cabal of Hypocrites in 1930-1936. While this depiction of Stanislavsky is in stark contrast to most other descriptions, including those of Westerners who had met him, it should be noted that Bulgakov and Stanislavski were otherwise good friends.

Differences between Stanislavski's System and Lee Strasberg's Method

Stanislavski's System can also be called the Method of Physical Action which differs from Lee Strasberg's Method which is heavy influenced by "Affective Memory". Stanislavski had different pupils during each of the phases of discovering and experimenting with a Universal Method of acting. One such student, Richard Boleslavsky founded the American Laboratory Theatre in 1925. It had a tremendous impact on American acting, with Lee Strasberg as its head. Boleslavsky had been in Stanislavsky's phase when experimenting with Affective Memory. Stanislavski theory later evolved to rely on Physical Action inducing feelings and emotions. Affective Memory is applied in Stanislavski's System but not as much so as in Lee Strasberg's Method.

Stella Adler, the only American to study with Stanislavski, was taught the Method of Physical Action in Paris for 5 weeks in 1934. With this new knowledge she came to Strasberg and introduced to him the new System/Method of Physical Action. Lee Strasberg understood the differences but rejected the Method of Physical Action. He believed that acting was recollection of emotion. Hence Adler stated about Strasberg "He got it all wrong."

Stanislavski died in 1938 so between 1934 when he met Stella Adler and 1938 he still discovered and reinforced new things to his System.

Legacy

The long winding road starting with Stanislavski's system leads to such actors as Jack Nicholson, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, Harvey Keitel, Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, Warren Beatty, Geraldine Page, Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Jane Fonda, and many more. More recently it's Benicio Del Toro, Mark Ruffalo, Johnny Depp, and Sean Penn.

Charlie Chaplin said this about Stanislavski "Stanislavki's book, An Actor Prepares, helps all people to reach out for big dramatic art. It tells what an actor to rouse the inspiration he requires for expressing profund emotions." Comments on An Actors Prepares.

Sir John Gielgud said "this director found time to explain a thousand things that have always troubled actors and fascinated students." Another quote by Gielgud "Stanislavski's now famous book is a contribution to the theatre and its students all over the world."

Stanislavski's goal was to find a Universal Method/System that could help the actors. To sum everything up Stanislavsky said this about his System. "Create your own method. Don't depend slavishly on mine. Make up something that will work for you! But keep breaking traditions, I beg you."

External Links

• Biography of Konstantin Stanislavski

See also

• Stanislavski System
• Group Theater