Konstantin Stanislavski

Konstantin (Constantin) Stanislavski (?????????? ????????? ????????????? / ?????é??) (January 5, 1863–August 7, 1938) was a Russian theatre and acting innovator.

Related Topics:
January 5 - 1863 - August 7 - 1938 - Russia - Theatre

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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 Stanislavsky".

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1898 he co-founded the Moscow Art Theatre (MKhAT) with Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko. The company's first production 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 and Sanford Meisner in the United States. Stanislavski's System focused on the development of realistic characters and stage worlds. Actors were instructed to utilise their "emotion 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.

Related Topics:
1898 - Moscow Art Theatre - Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko - Anton Chekhov - The Seagull - Aleksandr Pushkin - Method acting - Lee Strasberg - Stella Adler - Sanford Meisner

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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 was 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.

Related Topics:
Maxim Gorki - 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.

Related Topics:
Russian Revolution of 1905 - Russian Revolution of 1917 - Lenin - 1918 - An Actor Prepares - My Life in Art

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~