THE STANISLAVSKI METHOD

The most famous interpretation method revealed

Konstantin Stanislavski (1863-1938) created the well-known method in a very

natural way. It was during his training as an actor that he began to observe and
wonder. He observed the teachings of his teachers and took note of them. Through
them he began to realize where the impediments that both he and his professional
colleagues had in the day-to-day rehearsals came from, in their path as actors.

It took him a lifetime to make “the manual,” as an actor and as a director. In it he

exposes the elements that he considered key: relaxation, concentration, emotional
memory, units, objectives and super-objectives. He came to it after a lifetime of
research and searching from practice.

It is curious how over time this research method, this proposal for an acting
process, has influenced and is still valid in so many schools around the world.

When he started doing it at the end of the 19th century, he could not imagine that it
would have such an influence. In his own words, after years of research, the author
stated: “My system is the result of lifelong searches…I have tried to find a working
method for actors that allows them to create the image of a character, breathing life
into it.” interior of a human spirit, and through natural means, embody it on stage in
a beautiful artistic form.”

Not only believe that what you are doing is real, but make it so in a natural way,
with the entire instrument. It is the basis of the method. The physical, the emotional
and the intellectual, the trio of aces that can lead the actor towards truthfulness...
which is what is ultimately sought when interpreting. And may that truthfulness
make the public travel. The system created by Stanislavski is radically different
from all the old theatrical systems, due to the fact that it is structured on the
clarification of the internal causes that originate this or that result and not on the
final result.
The Moscow Art Theater, created and directed by Stanislavski, traveled to New
York in 1923. The components of this company had been trained under the new
system of the Russian director. Richard Boleslavski and María Ouspenskaya,
actors from the Moscow Art Theater and students of Stanislavski, decided to stay
in New York and created the American Laboratory Theater school, this is where
Lee Strasberg received his first knowledge of the System. He is impressed
because all the actors, whether better or worse in their execution, managed to be
believable. They moved away from clichés.

Later, a disoriented Starasberg created the Actor's Studio, and made History.

Stanislavski raised questions such as what a great performance was, or whether

there was a grammar for it that could also be taught and learned. The most
complex points are those that referred to inspiration, since these are not
immovable rules or dogmas. Rather, it was a group of variables that, with practice,
one learned to manage at the right time.

Nothing was negligible for the author in the investigation of the process, neither the
physical nor the emotional nor the mental... but what is clear, when reading his
works, is that Stanislavski gave great importance to relaxation to create
truthfulness.

That is why he created a system that would serve as a door to creativity... a door
that each artist must open for himself, of course... a technique that attempted to
master the natural laws of human creativity, with the ability to influence and control
it; He proposed studying this organic system and not his own personal discoveries
as an unavoidable rule... he also wrote and said that the profession entails
continuous movement, continuous research... that is why, since then, it is known
that this profession is just beginning. continuous... like life itself?

María Concepción Orgaz Conesa

 The Stanislavsky Method (Theater)

THE STANISLAVSKY METHOD

Constantin Stanislavsky, a Russian actor and director, was the first to

systematically articulate a realistic method of acting. This theatrical movement, like
any other, arises as a consequence or reaction to previous movements such as the
romantic, melodramatic, larmoyante styles, or the classic itself, which are more
identified with an artificial performance sustained by a studied use of the voice. and
gestures but that had nothing to do with the way human beings behave socially.
Like any movement, the method arises in close relationship with advances in
technological, political, social, and scientific matters. For example, its direct
connection with new advances in Freudian psychology has made it the most
important method of action since its creation in the 19th century, and it has
prevailed to this day as such. It is worth clarifying that very specific theories
emerged and even today continue to appear that invalidate or transform
Stanislavsky's Method into other resources available to actors and directors; or
simply new acting techniques that may or may not be linked to the Method.

Author of “An Actor Prepares”, “Building a Character”, “Creating a Character” and

“My Life in Art”, Stanislavski developed his technique in order to make the
characters look “alive” on stage. To achieve this, I spent a lot of time in rehearsals
focusing on the inner lives of the characters. These acting techniques have been
known as “The Method”, which we summarize below

The Stanislavsky Method (Theater)

THE PREVIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES

What happened before the actor entered the scene? This information is provided
by the playwright and the actor must delve deeper into the analysis of the text to
make up as many references as possible surrounding the character, including his
contact with the environment, his relationships with the other characters, etc.

THE GOAL / SUPERGOAL

Two of the most used words in theatrical slang today but which regularly lead to
confusion. Both techniques define what the character's goal is in each scene by
establishing action verbs. Be careful with this, not all verbs are “actable”; There are
emotional, physical, intellectual verbs, etc. Making the best choice of an action
verb is the most important guide or fundamental force of acting performance. This
is the technique that makes the difference when it is said that an actor “does not
know what he is doing on stage” or is only “saying the text.” This technique goes
hand in hand with insistent questions: why does the character do such a thing?
What does the character want from this other person? The sum of the objectives
leads to the Superobjective which becomes the general goal of the character
throughout the work.

THE MAGICAL "YES"

What if…? It is the hypothetical question that every actor must ask himself to seek
his internal motivation. It makes the actor put himself in the character's situation.

RELAXATION

It is one of the fundamental elements in the Stanislavakian Method. Through a

series of relaxation exercises, the actor must achieve a state of complete mental
and physical freedom. Once this is established, the creation of the character
should arise without further effort.

CONCENTRATION

Also known as “active listening.” How to hear and see the stage action as if it had
never happened before?

EMOTIONAL MEMORY/AFFECTIVE MEMORY

An extremely delicate exercise because it aims to connect events in the actor's life
parallel to the emotional situation in the play in order to interpret realistically. This
technique should be used only in very specific cases and should be directed by
professionals in the field since there have been cases of some abuse that has led
young actors to situations that require psychiatric help.

Theater and method

“The Method” was the term given by Lee Strasberg to a style of acting based on
the teachings of Stanislavski that he developed and promoted for many years at
the Actors Studio in New York. He was the focus for a generation of young actors
committed to a new experimental style of performing their art - surely influenced by
the Freudian fad that was in its heyday at the time, and seasoned with a bit of Zen
for flavour. The idea was to place the actor in the role guided by his emotional
interpretation in response to the character and the situation, rather than being
faithful to the given text. Brando and his companions came out of this school, as
did Al Pacino and De Niro and even Marilyn Monroe gave it a try.

http://www.teatropanama.com/teatropedia/index_junio.htm

Main Schools and Methods of Acting Interpretation

15/03/2011 18:05 0 Comments Reading: 16 min (4264 words)

Throughout history, theater schools have allowed the construction of a long

corridor of searches, encounters and disagreements.

Throughout history, theater schools have allowed the construction of a long

corridor of searches, encounters and disagreements. This article aims to make an
account of the most important schools, methods and characters within
interpretation in recent times.

THE STANISLAVSKI METHOD

Constantin Stanislavski, Russian actor and director, was the first to systematically
modulate an acting method with a realistic approach. This theatrical movement,
like any other, arises as a consequence or reaction to previous movements, such
as the romantic, melodramatic, or classical styles, which are more identified with
an artificial performance supported by a studied use of voice and gestures but that
had nothing to do with the way human beings behave socially. Like any movement,
the method arises in close relationship with advances in technological, political,
social, and scientific matters. For example, its direct connection with new advances
in Freudian psychology has made it the most important method of action since its
creation in the 19th century, and it has prevailed to this day as such.

Stanislavsky developed his technique in order to make the characters look “alive”
on stage. To achieve this, I spent a lot of time in rehearsals focusing on the inner
lives of the characters. The system is structured in two parts: the actor's work on
himself (in the creative process of experiences and in the process of incarnation)
and the actor's work on his role. In the first part, the fundamental principles are
established in relation to the inner sphere of the actor (experiences) and the
external design of the character (incarnation); while the second addresses the work
on the dramatic text.

The Method offers the actor tools based on psychology to build characters
attached to individual and social reality. Stanislavsky raises the consideration of
the following points as a fundamental part of the actor's continuous work:
The previous circumstances

What happened before the actor entered the scene? This information is provided
by the playwright and the actor must delve deeper into the analysis of the text to
make up as many references as possible surrounding the character, including his
contact with the environment, his relationships with the other characters, etc.

The objective / super objective

Two of the most used words in theatrical slang today but which regularly lead to
confusion. Both techniques define what the character's goal is in each scene by
establishing action verbs. Be careful with this, not all verbs are “actable”; There are
emotional, physical, intellectual verbs, etc. Making the best choice of an action
verb is the most important guide or fundamental force of acting performance. This
is the technique that makes the difference when it is said that an actor “does not
know what he is doing on stage” or is only “saying the text.” This technique goes
hand in hand with insistent questions: why does the character do such a thing?
What does the character want from this other person? The sum of the objectives
leads to the Superobjective which becomes the general goal of the character
throughout the work.

The magical "yes"

What if…? It is the hypothetical question that every actor must ask himself to seek
his internal motivation. It makes the actor put himself in the character's situation.

Relaxation

It is one of the fundamental elements in the Stanislavakian Method. Through a

series of relaxation exercises, the actor must achieve a state of complete mental
and physical freedom. Once this is established, the creation of the character
should arise without further effort.

Concentration

Also known as “active listening.” How to hear and see the stage action as if it had
never happened before?

emotional memory

An extremely delicate exercise as it aims to connect events in the actor's life

parallel to the emotional situation in the play in order to interpret realities. This
technique should be used only in very specific cases and should be directed by
professionals in the field since there have been cases of some abuse that has led
young actors to situations that require psychiatric help.
Investigation
Stanislavski taught actors that the more they knew about their characters'
backgrounds - the way they dressed, what they ate, how they were raised, etc. -
the more fully they would realize their characterization. If they were playing a
historical figure, this meant researching that person's life in depth, including their
speech and movement patterns if recordings or videos were available. To interpret
fictional characters, or those who existed in unknown places or times, research into
their historical or foreign culture was necessary. Characters subjected to special
circumstances, such as blindness, illness, etc., required special investigation into
how these situations manifested themselves in the character.

The character of the target

Stanislavski taught the actors to focus on what their characters most wanted to
achieve—their specific goals—at every moment throughout the play. Each scene is
divided into "hits" or "units." The overall goal of the play, for example, might be for
a character to win the love of the young woman, while the goal of a hit in a scene
might be to get a kiss from the girl.

emotional memory
Stanislavski believed that all actors had within them the emotional qualities
necessary to reproduce any character, but all actors did not necessarily share the
same emotional experiences and qualities. Two actors playing the character of
Hamlet, for example, draw on different personal and emotional experiences from
their own lives that they feel are related to the character and therefore offer two
very different versions of the character in their performances. separate. “Emotional
memory” is a tool an actor uses to tap into what is available to them emotionally.
Actors draw on their emotional memories by reliving the experience of an important
event from their past or by exposing their “sensory memory” to smells, sounds, or
images that trigger an emotional connection to the feelings they feel about
themselves. similarly the character in the work.

Truth in acting
Stanislavski believed that truth in acting was not the same as simply recreating
everyday life. Truthful performance on stage had to be convincing to the audience
and, as such, rarely corresponded to the mundane behavior common in everyday
life. The power, urgency, and intensifying "stakes" of a fictional character's
circumstances must be realized, leading the actor to compelling characterization.
Stanislavski was clear in pointing out that an actor's job is not to believe that he is,
in fact, really Hamlet. The actor, rather, must immerse himself in the imaginary
circumstances that he has created through his research, his work on objectives,
and his use of emotional and sensory memory to create Hamlet's "truth" for himself
in reality. the acting.