Stanilavski

1. What is the actor's function?

To turn the dramatic character developed by the playwright into a living breathing human being.
Acting is "impersonating a character in a dramatic presentation before an audience." (Wilson and
Goldfarb, page 3!
2. What is the difference between the actor and the character he is creating?
The actor is the artist, the character is the wor" of art. The problem is that they inhabit the same
body. Acting, according to #eremy $are"en ("are"en%&idt.net! is " infusing a play's character
with the life of the actor( it's offering up the soul of personality."
3. What is the mechanical external approach to acting and how does it differ from the
ps!chological internal approach?
)n the external approach, the actor re*creates (without becoming emotionally involved! the
e+ternal signs of the character's emotions.
)n the internal approach, the character grows from within the actor.The actor is personally
involved with the character.
". What was the #elsarte S!stem?
,rench actor, opera singer, and teacher, ,ran-ois .elsarte (///*/0/! believed that a character's
emotional state could be pro%ected to the audience through a formal set of gestures, postures, and
physical attitudes. This became the basis of the Delsarte System of Expression published in /1
by Genevieve 2tebbins. This system was used in the actor training programs, such as the
American Academy of .ramatic Arts and 3merson's 2chool of 4ratory, developed during the last
fifteen years of the /5th century. Although the this approach was replaced by the 2tanislavs"i
method in the 67th centry, the influence of .elsarte can still be seen in American 8odern .ance.
3+amples of this formal, conventional approach to acting can be seen in silent films such as .W
Griffith's The Birth of a Nation (/5/1! and The Phantom of the Opera (/561! starring 9on
:haney. 9in"s are to the )nternet 8ovie .atabase.
$. Who was %onstantin Stanislavski &1'(3)1*3'+?
A ;ussian actor and director who developed a "method" to train his fellow actors at the 8oscow
Art Theatre. <e wanted his actors to discover, and pro%ect, the "inner truth" of the character, so
the performance would be real to the audience.
With which approach is he associated?
=sychological internal. As >orman ?. 2chwart@ (ilprof@thegrid.net! has posted to the Theatre
.iscussion 9ist
$2 A2tanislavs"iB felt that when an actor truly e+perienced what the character was living
under imaginary circumstances, the many layers of meaning in the play would be
revealed in a way that would rid it of clichCs. <e contended that his method of acting was
more effective than illustration or indication of emotion by calculated poses and tric"s of
voice and gesture. )f the actor believed in the imaginary circumstances, revealing the
subtleties of the te+t by truthful action rather than rhetoric, the audience would see things
in the play that had been hidden previously by poor or la@y acting. $2 insisted upon more
AfromB the actor, and particularly AfromB an ensemble of actors, than many directors who
preceded him.
2000 y Norman B. S!h"art#
(. When did he live?
The 2tanislavs"i method was developed during the first two decades of the 67th century. <e
wrote four boo"sD $y %ife in &rt (/56E!, &n &!tor Prepares (/53F!, B'ilding a (hara!ter (/5E5!,
and (reating a )ole (/5F/!.
Where?
8oscow.
,. What was the -merican home of the Stanislavski method?
The American home of "The 8ethod" is the Actor's 2tudio, founded in /5E0 by 3lia $a@an (the
director of Street!ar Named Desire!, ;obert 9ewis and :heryl :rawford. 4nly about 77 artists
have been admitted to 2tudio membership. :ollectively, they have received more than /17 4scar,
Tony and 3mmy awards. )n /551 the Actor's 2tudio became the Actors 2tudio .rama 2chool, a
division of the >ew 2chool Gniversity (originally the >ew 2chool for 2ocial ;esearch! in >ew
Hor" :ity.
Who was its master teacher?
9ee 2trasburg (/57/*/56!. )n /505 he %oined George ?urns and Art :arney in a film comedy
about three retired men who were *oing in Style.
'. Who was its first celebrated pupil?
8arlon ?rando (/56E* !. 4ther actors who are part of the studio include Alec ?aldwin, ;obert
.e>iro, 2ally ,ield, Gene <ac"man, .ustin <offman, .ennis <opper, Walter 8atthau, #ac"
>icholson, Al =acino, and Gene Wilder.
What was his &.arlon /rando's+ first ma0or 1ew 2ork success?
Tennessee William's Street!ar Named Desire (/5E! which was directed by 3li $a@an, one of the
founders of the Actor's 2tudio.
*. /riefl! outline the six steps of the Stanislavskian approach &or method+ to acting?
The actor needs a trained body and voice.
<e must "now "stage techniIue."
<e must be a s"illed observer of life, and be able to re*call what he observes.
<e must analy@e the script to determine his character's motivation.
<e should become emotionally involved with the character he is creating while he is on stage.
<e must concentrate on the character he is creating, pushing everything else out of his mind.
<e must continually wor" on perfecting his art and craft.
13. 4ow can an actor prepare his bod! and voice for the stage?
An actor can prepare his voice by ta"ing voice (singing! lessons and his body by ta"ing fencing
(sword fighting! lessons. <e must learn to sensiti@e his physical instrument, his body, to respond
appropriately to the emotional or attitudinal changes within his character.
11. What is stage techni5ue?
The s"ill necessary to adapt everyday life to the conventions of the stage. There are techniIues
for wal"ing, tal"ing on the phone, opening a door, sitting in a chair, firing a gun, eating food, etc.
12. Wh! must an actor be a skilled observer of life?
?ecause it is one of his primary research tools. <e builds his character from these observations.
13. What is emotional recall?
The actor's ability to recall an e+perience from his past, and re*live that e+perience on stage.
6he magic if?
The actor, as"ing himself, ")f ) was this character, what would ) doJ"
1". What is the difference between a character's text and his sub)text?
The text is the lines written by the playwright. The sub)text is the meaning behind those lines. )t
is the "action" which is implied instead of stated. The cast should have a shared immersion in the
playwright's te+t. >ot an immersion that provides all the answers, but one that offers multiple
possibilities. 2uch an immersion does two thingsD
/. )t forces the actor to ma"e choices, rather than respond in a way predetermined either by
themselves or by their director, and
6. )t ma"es them respectful of the choices made by the other actors in the ensemble.
1$. Wh! must the actor concentrate on the character he is creating?
)t is the actor's concentration which ma"es it possible for the actor to ignore everything else that
is happening around him.
1(. What is an actor's most difficult problem?
To ma"e each performance new and fresh. To ma"e the audience believe that this is the first time
that this "happening" is occuring. The secret to "eeping a perfomance fresh is listening. As
?roadway director Warren 3nters has said "Acting is about listening and responding honestly. )f
you really are listening you will be able to react honestly to what you are hearing. )t is about
being absolutely present in the moment and listening."
1,. /riefl! discuss 78iewpoint 6heor!.7
"Kiewpoint Theory" is a contemporary approach to actor training. :odified in the mid*'04s by
choreographer 8ary 4verlie and first taught in /500, it combines elements of dance and stage
movement with concepts of time and space. The basic components of the theory, as e+panded by
director Ann ?ogart, are space, time (tempo, duration, "inesthetic response, repetition!, shape
(gesture, architecture, relationship, topography!, movement, story, and emotion. ,or more
information on Kiewpoints, lin" to .anielle 8c:lelland's =oints of .eparture column in the
&'stin (hroni!le (8ay, //, /55!.
1'. What is the economic realit! of the acting profession?
An actor spends much of his time out of wor". There may be two or three months between shows.
,or every fifteen auditions, he is luc"y to be cast in one show. )n /553 the minimum wee"ly
salary (or "scale"! for an 3Iuity actor ranged from L 3E7 (for a small off*?roadway house! to L
517 (for a first class ?roadway production!. +Note: E,'ity s!ale- ad.'sted for inflation- "o'ld
no" e et"een / 000 and / 1100.2 2i+ty percent had no income that year, and only 5/
performers made more than L 31,777 (/ 01- 020 in 2000 dollars.! The average earnings for a
union actor was L 1,677. (/ 3- 140 in 2000 dollars.! An actor's income is very unstable. <e may
ma"e less than a thousand dollars one season, and ten thousand the ne+t. 8ost actors have other
%obs (as a waiter, secretary, salesman, teacher, model, etc! that they rely on for their bread and
butter.
1*. Wh! is an actor 7alwa!s on the road?7
A professional actor is usually unable to find enough shows in one community to ma"e a living.
2o he will perform for four wee"s in 2eattle, then do si+ wee"s in Atlanta, five wee"s in
8inneapolis, etc.