(Contained within this rare antiquarian book is a fascinat...)
Contained within this rare antiquarian book is a fascinating guide for actors pertaining to the craft of creating and becoming a character, written by the father of method acting: Konstantin Stanislavski. A truly amazing and insightful book on the naturalistic approach to acting, this is a book sure to have been read by many famous actors and constitutes a veritable must-have for aspiring and seasoned actors alike. Konstantin Sergeievich Stanislavski (1863 1938) was a Russian actor and theatre director, famous for being the progenitor of the Stanislavski method. Stanislavski received the Order of Lenin in 1937, the Order of the Red Banner of Labour in 1938, and People's Artist of the USSR in 1936 for his prolific contributions to the arts. Elected for republication due to its immense historical and educational value, this book originally published in 1950 is proudly republished here with a new introductory biography of the author.
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Stanislavskis system has dominated actor-training in...)
Stanislavskis system has dominated actor-training in the West since his writings were first translated into English in the 1920s and 30s. His systematic attempt to outline a psycho-physical technique for acting single-handedly revolutionized standards of acting in the theatre.
Until now, readers and students have had to contend with inaccurate, misleading and difficult-to-read English-language versions. Some of the mistranslations have resulted in profound distortions in the way his system has been interpreted and taught. At last, Jean Benedetti has succeeded in translating Stanislavskis huge manual into a lively, fascinating and accurate text in English. He has remained faithful to the author's original intentions, putting the two books previously known as An Actor Prepares and Building A Character back together into one volume, and in a colloquial and readable style for today's actors.
The result is a major contribution to the theatre, and a service to one of the great innovators of the twentieth century.
(This rare book contains a treatise on the subject of real...)
This rare book contains a treatise on the subject of realism in acting, written by the creator of method acting, Konstantin Sergeievich Stanislavski. A fascinating and thoroughly valuable text written by one of the founding fathers of modern acting technique, this book is the perfect handbook for the aspiring actor or actress and constitutes a must-have for anyone interested in the subject of acting methodology. Chosen for its immense educational and historical value, this book is proudly republished now with a new prefatory biography of the author. Konstantin Sergeievich Stanislavski (1863 - 1938) was a Russian actor and theatre director, famous for his development of the 'Stanislavski method'. Awards received by Stanislavski include the Order of Lenin in 1937, Order of the Red Banner of Labour in 1938, and People's Artist of the USSR in 1936.
(En tiempos en que la actuacion es mucho mas un medio para...)
En tiempos en que la actuacion es mucho mas un medio para obtener fama que un fin en si misma. Creacion De Un Personaje, es una obra del gran maestro del arte escenico Constantin Stanislavsky.
(Written with the same warmth, liveliness and ability to r...)
Written with the same warmth, liveliness and ability to re-create reality that made Stanislavski a great actor, his autobiography tells of his childhood in the world of Moscow's wealthy merchants, his successes and failures as an amateur actor, how he studied human beings, and developed what has come to be known as the "Stanislavski Method," how his group of dedicated amateurs became "perhaps the greatest acting group the world has ever known ("Washington Post")," The Moscow Art Theatre.
Constantin Stanislavsky was a Russian actor and director.
Background
Constantin Stanislavsky was born Constantin Sergeyevich Alexeyev on January 17, 1863, in Moscow, Russia. He was the son of a rich industrialist. As a child, Stanislavski was interested in the circus, the ballet, and puppetry. His stage name, Stanislavsky, was taken from an actor whom he met in amateur theatricals.
Education
Stanislavsky's classical education included singing, ballet, and acting lessons as well as regular visits to the opera and theater. In 1884, he began vocal training under Fyodor Komissarzhevsky, with whom he also explored the coordination of body and voice. A year later, Stanislavski briefly studied at the Moscow Theatre School but, disappointed with its approach, he left after little more than two weeks.
Career
After completing Constantin's formal education, Stanislavsky entered the family business, enthusiastically devoting himself at the same time to a career in semiprofessional theater.
Beginning in 1888 Constantin directed and acted in performances for the Society of Art and Literature, which he had founded, and he continued these productions until 1897 under the sponsorship of the Hunting Club. On June 22, 1897, Stanislavsky met Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, a successful playwright and teacher in the Moscow Philharmonic Society School, at a Moscow restaurant in order to discuss the reform of the Russian stage. Out of their 18-hour meeting came the establishment of the Moscow Art Theater as a protest against the artificial theatrical conventions of the late 19th century.
Constantin's opening production in October 1898 of Alexey Tolstoy's Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich was a tremendous popular success because of its realism, in December Stanislavsky discovered a play ideally suited to his artistic aspirations - Anton Chekhov's The Seagull. In the next 2 decades Stanislavsky worked out his theories by exploring the most difficult problems of acting with his company. An indication of the success of his system was the emergence from his training methods of all the best Russian actors of the early 20th century. His rehearsals, which often resembled acting classes, began with discussions of the "super-objective" and the "through action" of the play, and at the same time the actor examined the previous history of his character, the "pre-text." Opposed to the acrobatics and constructivism of avant-garde directors, Stanislavsky presented his prewar repertory for 5 years after the 1917 Revolution, and then he traveled with his company in western Europe and the United States from August 1922 to September 1924.
My Life in Art, the only book by Stanislavsky to be published in the Soviet Union during his lifetime, appeared in 1924. In response to criticisms that he had never staged contemporary Communist plays, Stanislavsky directed several dramas of revolutionary significance. Even so, he was attacked by proletarian critics for catering to "progressive bourgeois" audiences. Determined to maintain his integrity and the high standards of production upon which the Moscow Art Theater was founded, he resisted pressures to force his company to perform plays unworthy of its distinguished tradition.
Fortunately for Stanislavsky, by the 1930 Communist theoreticians had elected to explain his system in terms of dialectical materialism. The Moscow Art Theater was venerated as the fountain head of "social realism," and Stanislavsky occupied once again a central position in the Russian theater. During his last years he concentrated on giving the final touches to his writings. Stanislavsky died in Moscow on August 7, 1938.
Stanislavsky believed that, through study of the play, analysis of the role, and recall of previous emotions, the actor could arrive at the "inner truth" of a part by actually experiencing the emotions he conveyed to the audience. Furthermore, he thought, that the actor must never lose control of his creation and must have the technical discipline to repeat his previously experienced emotions at every performance. The actor's interpretations must be unified in the same way that the central idea of the play was realized through the unity of direction, acting, and production design.
Quotations:
"All action in theatre must have inner justification, be logical, coherent, and real."
"Never lose yourself on the stage. Always act in your own person, as an artist. The moment you lose yourself on the stage marks the departure from truly living your part and the beginning of exaggerated false acting. Therefore, no matter how much you act, how many parts you take, you should never allow yourself any exception to the rule of using your own feelings. To break that rule is the equivalent of killing the person you are portraying, because you deprive him of a palpitating, living, human soul, which is the real source of life for a part."
"The life of a character should be an unbroken line of events and emotions, but a play only gives us a few moments on that line - we must create the rest to portray a convincing life."
"The person you are is a thousand times more interesting than the best actor you could ever hope to be."
"Remember this practical piece of advice: Never come into the theatre with mud on your feet. Leave your dust and dirt outside. Check your little worries, squabbles, petty difficulties with your outside clothing - all the things that ruin your life and draw your attention away from your art - at the door."
"Never allow yourself externally to portray anything that you have not inwardly experienced and which is not even interesting to you."
"Of course, if you have thought up to now that an actor relies merely on inspiration you will have to change your mind. Talent without work is nothing more than raw unfinished material. "
Connections
On 5 July 1889, Stanislavski married Maria Lilina (the stage name of Maria Petrovna Perevostchikova). Their first child, Xenia, died of pneumonia in May 1890 less than two months after she was born. Their second daughter, Kira, was born on 2 August 1891. Their son Igor was born on 26 September 1894.