Stanislavsky method

Stanislavsky method

Influential system of dramatic training developed by the Russian actor, producer, and theoretician Konstantin Stanislavsky.

The method was developed over years of trial and error, beginning с 1898. It requires that an actor use his emotion memory (i.e., his recall of past experiences and emotions) to identify with the character's inner motivation. The technique was developed in reaction to the histrionic acting styles of the 19th century. Noted American practitioners began using the method in the 1920s; they have included Lee Strasberg, Marlon Brando, Dustin Hoffman, and Eli Wallach.

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acting
also called  The Method, or Stanislavsky System,  

      highly influential system of dramatic training developed over years of trial and error by the Russian actor, producer, and theoretician Konstantin Stanislavsky. He began with attempts to find a style of acting more appropriate to the greater realism of 20th-century drama than the histrionic acting styles of the 19th century. He never intended, however, to develop a new style of acting but rather to codify in teaching and performing regimens the ways in which great actors always have achieved success in their work, regardless of prevailing acting styles.

      The method requires that an actor utilize, among other things, his emotional memory (i.e., his recall of past experiences and emotions). The actor's entrance onto the stage is not considered to be a beginning of the action or of his life as the character but a continuation of the set of preceding circumstances. The actor has trained his concentration and his senses so that he may respond freely to the total stage environment. Through empathic observation of people in many different situations, he attempts to develop a wide emotional range so that his onstage actions and reactions appear as if they were a part of the real world rather than a make-believe one.

      A risk in the Stanislavsky method is that, when role interpretation is based on the inner impulses of the performer, a scene may unexpectedly take on new directions. (This temptation was opposed by Stanislavsky himself, who demanded that the actor subordinate himself to the play.) Some directors are disposed against the method, seeing in it a threat to their control of a production. Many, however, find it especially useful during rehearsals in uncovering unsuspected nuances of character or of dramatic action.

      The method was widely practiced in the Soviet Union and in the United States, where experiments in its use began in the 1920s and continued in many schools and professional workshops, such as the prestigious Actors Studio in New York City.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Stanislavsky Method — /stænəsˈlavski mɛθəd/ (say stanuhs lahvskee methuhd) noun Theatre, Film a way of acting in which the actor first explores the inner motivation of the character to be portrayed and builds the character study outwards; the actor s external… …  

  • Stanislavsky Method — Stanislav′sky Meth od n. sbz method 4) Also called Stanislav′sky Sys tem. • Etymology: 1940–45; after K. Stanislavsky …   From formal English to slang

  • Stanislavsky System — Method Meth od, n. [F. m[ e]thode, L. methodus, fr. Gr. meqodos method, investigation following after; meta after + odo s way.] 1. An orderly procedure or process; regular manner of doing anything; hence, manner; way; mode; as, a method of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Method — Meth od, n. [F. m[ e]thode, L. methodus, fr. Gr. meqodos method, investigation following after; meta after + odo s way.] 1. An orderly procedure or process; regular manner of doing anything; hence, manner; way; mode; as, a method of teaching… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • method acting — Method Meth od, n. [F. m[ e]thode, L. methodus, fr. Gr. meqodos method, investigation following after; meta after + odo s way.] 1. An orderly procedure or process; regular manner of doing anything; hence, manner; way; mode; as, a method of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Stanislavsky, Konstantin Sergeyevich — ▪ Russian actor and director Introduction Stanislavsky also spelled  Stanislavski , original name  Konstantin Sergeyevich Alekseyev  born January 5 [January 17, New Style], 1863, Moscow, Russia died August 7, 1938, Moscow       Russian actor,… …   Universalium

  • Stanislavsky, Konstantin (Sergeyevich) — orig. Konstantin Sergeyevich Alekseyev born Jan. 17, 1863, Moscow, Russia died Aug. 7, 1938, Moscow Russian director and actor. From age 14 he acted with his family s amateur dramatic group, and in 1888 he cofounded a permanent dramatic company.… …   Universalium

  • method — methodless, adj. /meth euhd/, n. 1. a procedure, technique, or way of doing something, esp. in accordance with a definite plan: There are three possible methods of repairing this motor. 2. a manner or mode of procedure, esp. an orderly, logical,… …   Universalium

  • method — /ˈmɛθəd / (say methuhd) noun 1. a mode of procedure, especially an orderly or systematic mode: a method of instruction. 2. a way of doing something, especially in accordance with a definite plan. 3. order or system in doing anything: to work with …  

  • method — meth•od [[t]ˈmɛθ əd[/t]] n. 1) a procedure, technique, or planned way of doing something 2) order or system in doing anything: to work with method[/ex] 3) orderly or systematic arrangement, sequence, or the like 4) sbz the Method. Also called… …   From formal English to slang

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