Stanislavski

Drama Notes: Stanislavski * Realistic theatre has been dominant for the past 100 years, on cinema and stage. * The idea is to create believable characters and situations and t=give the illusion of real life * It makes the audience believe what they see/hear and become involved in the play * This style evolved during the twentieth century, moving to selective realism (focus on particular characters and events) and magical realism (similar to realism but with magical/supernatural elements involved). * The movement of realism in theatre began in the 19th century to move away from melodrama. Stanislavski started this through he creation of his own theatre company. * Born in Moscow 17th Jan 1863 * Well educated as a child and often went to the opera and theatre. Took his name as Stanislavski in a amateur theatre in 1885 * Joined a group and directed/acted in plays, did not enjoy melodrama as much * He met with a successful playwright to discuss ways of changing theatre and as a result the Moscow arts theatre was created. * Its production were famous and a success. * In 1906, Stanislavski also began to develop a system to train actors, in 1912 set up a studio to experiment with these techniques and continued this for the rest of his life. * The Moscow arts theatre toured Europe and Stanislavski work was known worldwide. * He suffered a heart attack while acting and gave up acting, instead focusing on training actors and writing books on his techniques. * He died in Moscow on 7th august 1938. Most influential director developed a whole style of staging and acting that worked. * He experimented with himself and actors to develop his work and performers. Teaching them to observe and exercise their creativity. * “Theatre of living experience”- actors had to believe everything happening on stage and what they were doing. Actors needed to have self-control and intensive