Constantine Stanislavsky Essay
Constantine Stanislavsky, defined by many as the father of psychological realism in acting, was born in 17 January 1863. He was an actor and theatre director who put forth the idea of realism in acting and eventually developed the form known as the Stanislavsky System, or more commonly known as “method acting”.
Stanislavsky was born as Konstantin Sergeyevich Alekseyev in Moscow, Russia. Unlike the familiar stories of many creative personalities, Stanislavsky was not born into a troubled home or into poverty. In fact, he was born into a wealthy Russian family, the Alekseyevs. His family was involved in manufacturing gold and silver braids for military uniforms. Being part of a Russian wealthy clan that enjoyed theatre as spectators, it was …show more content…
unimaginable that someone from that clan would ever go into acting. He started acting from the age of 14, and since at that time the thought of an heir going into acting was more of a taboo, Konstantin took on the stage name ‘Stanislavsky’ to hide the fact that he was an actor from his parents.
Being born into a wealthy family, Stanislavsky was exposed to the rich culture of his family from a very young age. He was interested in the circus, ballet and puppetry. However, he kept having urges of going into acting and performing for which his father ultimately decided to build him a fully equipped theatre at their estate in Liubimovka. It was the first time Stanislavsky got on a stage and from the very first performance he started taking notes about his performance filled with ideas of improvements and critique. From that very moment “the actor” Stanislavsky was born and those notes turned into notebooks and from this habit of self-analysis and critique emerged the idea of the Stanislavsky System.
Over the years he kept developing his ideas and skills as an actor by performing with other groups all the while working in his family’s manufacturing business. In 1885, he adopted the Stanislavsky name, taking the name of a fellow actor he had met. He preferred not to attend university as he wanted to keep working in his family’s manufacturing business. He, however, did attend the Moscow Theatre School at the age of 22. The students there were encouraged to follow their tutor’s ways and principles, an approach that disappointed him. As a result, after a little more than two weeks in the school, he decided to leave. His mentor and tutor was a lady named Maria Perevoshchikova, who was also his co-performer in Intrigue and Love a famous play he acted in, who helped him with his work along the way. At the age of 25, he married Maria and together they set forth on his journey to discover more about theatre and acting.
In the history of acting and directing, Stanislavsky is undoubtedly one of the most notable and influential names. His ideas on acting and character treatments have completely changed the world of arts and theatre. In 1888, he founded the Society of Art and Literature. He performed with this society for almost a decade. Nine years after founding the Society of Arts and Literature, he joined hands with playwright/director Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko and dreamed of opening the Moscow Art Theatre, a realistic theatre of international renown, which would challenge all the normal aesthetics of theatre and would be an alternative to standard theatrical aesthetics of that time.
In October 1898, the Moscow Art Theatre was opened commercially with the production of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich a historical drama by Aleksey K. Tolstoy, it was a great success. However, the biggest achievement for the company was the subsequent production of The Seagull by Anton Chekhov, which not only rocketed the company to be one of the best but also breathed new life into the career of Anton Chekhov who is also a renowned theatre practitioner, who ultimately became an exclusive playwright for the company. Over the following decades the Moscow Art Theatre developed an outstanding reputation locally and internationally.
During his work on the historical play Men Above the Law by Aleksey Pisemsky, Stanislavsky discovered something amazing. He realized that it was not enough for an actor to just play a role. It is then that he discovered the principles of opposites and then advised the actor, by saying “When you play a good man, try to find out where he is bad, and when you play a villain, try to find where he is good.” He insisted on the actors to learn the character thoroughly and as a result almost entirely removed the use of prompters from his productions.
It is from this thought of the principle of opposites that he put forth a system.
A guideline of sorts for the actors and directors, and it was called the Stanislavsky’s System. Derived from books published from his notebooks and articles, it is a system based on three premises. Preparation of the actor, where the actor has to prepare psychologically and emotionally to play a role. Once prepared the actor must develop the character until it becomes comfortable to live that character by putting oneself in that character’s shoes. The second premise is called Building a Character where it focuses on the external training. An actor must endure to be able to express all the different aspects of the role. The main focus lies on the physical and vocal aspects trying to figure out the range of how much they can change while remaining in character. The third and final premise of his system was Creating a Role, where the actor is tasked with the job of making the character fit the script. This means he asked the actors to develop a strong emotional connection with every line on the script in a manner that it seemed like the lines were not created but rather spoken at that very moment. These three premises focused on the fact the Stanislavsky demanded that the whole idea of the production should not be mere lines that actors spoke but rather the actors would display
realism.
Theatre has always been a huge part of who I am. I have always been a fan and I was always involved with theatre one way or the other growing up. I was part of many huge productions for my school where I often played significant roles. I studied Theatre at Higher Level for International Baccalaureate in high school. Learning about theatre and different theatre practitioners made me more aware of who I am as an actor and as a performer. In my eyes Stanislavsky’s biggest contribution to the world of theatre was realism. His system is based on emotional memory which means the actor visits a part of his life filled with emotions similar to that of the role. Those emotions are therefore channelled into to the portrayal of the character, which in turn makes the performance real and believable. I can relate to this immensely because when on stage I feel immortal and I am someone who studies people and tries to understand their state of mind by trying to visit memories in my life that can help me relate to them better. I am someone who always tries to stay true to my emotions and feelings and that is what Stanislavsky has tried to do all his life, making people believe that through an emotional memory an actor can project true feeling on stage.
Stanislavsky is all about being real. That is what I believe in. His system was all about making an actor be real on stage and make the characters come to life through acting so that people could connect to them. I can connect to his method because I feel staying true to your beliefs and being real is very important in every aspect of life. All my life I was bullied in school and that turned me into a person who can feel more than people around me which enables me as a performer to get into character in the way Stanislavsky wanted his actors to portray characters on stage. His approach to theatre and life has inspired me a lot to be the way that I am today. I ran workshops at my school teaching younger theatre students exercises and methods from Stanislavsky’s system to help them connect with roles and themselves at a greater depth.
Stanislavsky’s beliefs and methods are truly inspiring not only to the world of theatre but also generally to people as it is quite amazing to see an actor who tried to stay true to himself rather than lose himself into the world of fantasy when playing a role and instead connect each and every aspect of that role to reality.
Bibliography:
"Constantin Stanislavski." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2014. Web. 25 Oct. 2014.
"Prominent Russians: Konstantin Stanislavsky." Konstantin Stanislavsky – Russiapedia Cinema and Theater Prominent Russians. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.
Acting History Stanislavski 's Influence." Acting History Stanislavski 's Influence. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.
"Constantin Stanislavsky." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2014.
Stanislavsky was born as Konstantin Sergeyevich Alekseyev in Moscow, Russia. Unlike the familiar stories of many creative personalities, Stanislavsky was not born into a troubled home or into poverty. In fact, he was born into a wealthy Russian family, the Alekseyevs. His family was involved in manufacturing gold and silver braids for military uniforms. Being part of a Russian wealthy clan that enjoyed theatre as spectators, it was …show more content…
unimaginable that someone from that clan would ever go into acting. He started acting from the age of 14, and since at that time the thought of an heir going into acting was more of a taboo, Konstantin took on the stage name ‘Stanislavsky’ to hide the fact that he was an actor from his parents.
Being born into a wealthy family, Stanislavsky was exposed to the rich culture of his family from a very young age. He was interested in the circus, ballet and puppetry. However, he kept having urges of going into acting and performing for which his father ultimately decided to build him a fully equipped theatre at their estate in Liubimovka. It was the first time Stanislavsky got on a stage and from the very first performance he started taking notes about his performance filled with ideas of improvements and critique. From that very moment “the actor” Stanislavsky was born and those notes turned into notebooks and from this habit of self-analysis and critique emerged the idea of the Stanislavsky System.
Over the years he kept developing his ideas and skills as an actor by performing with other groups all the while working in his family’s manufacturing business. In 1885, he adopted the Stanislavsky name, taking the name of a fellow actor he had met. He preferred not to attend university as he wanted to keep working in his family’s manufacturing business. He, however, did attend the Moscow Theatre School at the age of 22. The students there were encouraged to follow their tutor’s ways and principles, an approach that disappointed him. As a result, after a little more than two weeks in the school, he decided to leave. His mentor and tutor was a lady named Maria Perevoshchikova, who was also his co-performer in Intrigue and Love a famous play he acted in, who helped him with his work along the way. At the age of 25, he married Maria and together they set forth on his journey to discover more about theatre and acting.
In the history of acting and directing, Stanislavsky is undoubtedly one of the most notable and influential names. His ideas on acting and character treatments have completely changed the world of arts and theatre. In 1888, he founded the Society of Art and Literature. He performed with this society for almost a decade. Nine years after founding the Society of Arts and Literature, he joined hands with playwright/director Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko and dreamed of opening the Moscow Art Theatre, a realistic theatre of international renown, which would challenge all the normal aesthetics of theatre and would be an alternative to standard theatrical aesthetics of that time.
In October 1898, the Moscow Art Theatre was opened commercially with the production of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich a historical drama by Aleksey K. Tolstoy, it was a great success. However, the biggest achievement for the company was the subsequent production of The Seagull by Anton Chekhov, which not only rocketed the company to be one of the best but also breathed new life into the career of Anton Chekhov who is also a renowned theatre practitioner, who ultimately became an exclusive playwright for the company. Over the following decades the Moscow Art Theatre developed an outstanding reputation locally and internationally.
During his work on the historical play Men Above the Law by Aleksey Pisemsky, Stanislavsky discovered something amazing. He realized that it was not enough for an actor to just play a role. It is then that he discovered the principles of opposites and then advised the actor, by saying “When you play a good man, try to find out where he is bad, and when you play a villain, try to find where he is good.” He insisted on the actors to learn the character thoroughly and as a result almost entirely removed the use of prompters from his productions.
It is from this thought of the principle of opposites that he put forth a system.
A guideline of sorts for the actors and directors, and it was called the Stanislavsky’s System. Derived from books published from his notebooks and articles, it is a system based on three premises. Preparation of the actor, where the actor has to prepare psychologically and emotionally to play a role. Once prepared the actor must develop the character until it becomes comfortable to live that character by putting oneself in that character’s shoes. The second premise is called Building a Character where it focuses on the external training. An actor must endure to be able to express all the different aspects of the role. The main focus lies on the physical and vocal aspects trying to figure out the range of how much they can change while remaining in character. The third and final premise of his system was Creating a Role, where the actor is tasked with the job of making the character fit the script. This means he asked the actors to develop a strong emotional connection with every line on the script in a manner that it seemed like the lines were not created but rather spoken at that very moment. These three premises focused on the fact the Stanislavsky demanded that the whole idea of the production should not be mere lines that actors spoke but rather the actors would display
realism.
Theatre has always been a huge part of who I am. I have always been a fan and I was always involved with theatre one way or the other growing up. I was part of many huge productions for my school where I often played significant roles. I studied Theatre at Higher Level for International Baccalaureate in high school. Learning about theatre and different theatre practitioners made me more aware of who I am as an actor and as a performer. In my eyes Stanislavsky’s biggest contribution to the world of theatre was realism. His system is based on emotional memory which means the actor visits a part of his life filled with emotions similar to that of the role. Those emotions are therefore channelled into to the portrayal of the character, which in turn makes the performance real and believable. I can relate to this immensely because when on stage I feel immortal and I am someone who studies people and tries to understand their state of mind by trying to visit memories in my life that can help me relate to them better. I am someone who always tries to stay true to my emotions and feelings and that is what Stanislavsky has tried to do all his life, making people believe that through an emotional memory an actor can project true feeling on stage.
Stanislavsky is all about being real. That is what I believe in. His system was all about making an actor be real on stage and make the characters come to life through acting so that people could connect to them. I can connect to his method because I feel staying true to your beliefs and being real is very important in every aspect of life. All my life I was bullied in school and that turned me into a person who can feel more than people around me which enables me as a performer to get into character in the way Stanislavsky wanted his actors to portray characters on stage. His approach to theatre and life has inspired me a lot to be the way that I am today. I ran workshops at my school teaching younger theatre students exercises and methods from Stanislavsky’s system to help them connect with roles and themselves at a greater depth.
Stanislavsky’s beliefs and methods are truly inspiring not only to the world of theatre but also generally to people as it is quite amazing to see an actor who tried to stay true to himself rather than lose himself into the world of fantasy when playing a role and instead connect each and every aspect of that role to reality.
Bibliography:
"Constantin Stanislavski." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2014. Web. 25 Oct. 2014.
"Prominent Russians: Konstantin Stanislavsky." Konstantin Stanislavsky – Russiapedia Cinema and Theater Prominent Russians. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.
Acting History Stanislavski 's Influence." Acting History Stanislavski 's Influence. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.
"Constantin Stanislavsky." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2014.