Stanslavski

Stanslavski

1. Developement of vocal and physical skills

   • Early Life
     • Konstantin Sergeyevich Alexeyev
     • Born in 1863 to a life of considerable comfort as a member of one of the most affluent families in Russia
     • His family loved the theater and he was able to indulge in amateur dramatics as a boy.
     • The prospect of becoming a professional actor was such a taboo for someone of his social class.
     • Stanislavski was used as a stage name
     • Stanislavski was exposed to the rich cultural life of his family
     • His interests growing up included the circus, the ballet, and puppetry.
   • He began vocal training under Fyodor Petrovich Komissarzhevsky, a professor at the Moscow Conservatory and leading tenor of the Bolshoi,
   • In 1885, Stanislavski very briefly studied at the Moscow Theatre School, where the students were encouraged to mimic the theatrical tricks and conventions of their tutors.

2. Approach to and use of research

   • interpreting and developing character
     • Stanislavski's system
       • Circles of attention
         • A sense of isolation
         • Three circles - completely isolated, semi isolated, fully involved
       • Magic If
         • The actor puts themselves into the character’s situation.
       • Objective, super-objective and the through line
         • An objective is the reason for our actions.
         • super-objective is an over-reaching objective, probably linked to the overall outcome in the play
         • Objectives are likely to be stages in the journey towards the super-objective. If that journey is perceived as a clear path to the super objective, then you have your through line.
       • Emotional memory
         • when the actor finds a real past experience where they felt a similar emotion to that demanded by the role they are playing
       • Given Circumstances
         • The given circumstances are the information about the character that you start off with and the play as a whole.
       • Method of physical action
         • simple illustration of how a physical action can release the necessary emotions.

3. Observation

   • Committed to realism throughout his career and came to stand out against the scientific idea of naturalism.
   • tempo and Rythm were vital if you were to enact movements truthfully and link them to the expression of emotions and feelings.
   • a lifelong series of notebooks filled with critical observations on his acting, aphorisms, and problems.
   • Stanislavski treated theatre-making as a serious endeavour, requiring a great deal of dedication, discipline and integrity

4. Analysis of text

   • Subtext
     • the actual meaning and motivation behind the lines that are spoken and the actions taken
   • Three distinct phases to the analysis of text
     • Phase 1 - Moving your thinking from observing something to being part of it, using a creative subconscious to think and behave like the character, without thinking about it. Just being.
       • Phase 2 - looks at the structure and style of the text, its distinctive features
         • Phase 3 - reconstruct it in a way that gives it artistic shape and texture

5. Experimentation and developing imagination

   • Experimentation was his key approach to theater
   • Explored symbolism
   • Stanislavski experimented with the ability to maintain a characterization in real life, disguising himself as a tramp or drunk and visiting popular places like the railway station, or disguising himself as a fortune-telling gypsy.
   • Experimented with the co-ordination of voice and body

6. Improvisation

   • Stanislavski wanted the actor to reach far into themselves in creating the role.
   • Crucial part of the rehearsal process

7. Production work

   • 1904: The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov.
   • 1905: Children of the Sun by Maxim Gorky.
   • 1904: The Blind, Intruder, and Interior by Maurice Maeterlinck.
   • 1905: Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen