Stanislavski’s System for Actors

Konstan'nStanislavski

•  Russiantheatreprac..onerwholivedfrom1863-1938.

•  Originallyanactorwhomovedontobecomeadirectorandteacher.

•  Greatestinfluencewasinthedevelopmentofanewapproachtoac.ng.

•  Ittookyearsofexperimen.ngtogettowhatisnowknownasthe‘StanislavskiSystem’.

Stanislavski'sSystem•  Asanactor,Stanislavskisawa

lotofbadac.ng-whathetermedasar.ficial.

•  Stanislavskiwantedactorstoworkoncharactersfromtheinside(insteadoftheoutside)andthuscreatemoreofa"true"or"real"(i.e.notar.ficial)performance.

•  Stanislavski'sthoughtprocesstowardac.ngdifferedgreatlyfromthewayactorstradi.onallyapproachedtheirroles.

Whatisit?•  TheStanislavskiSystemis

anintensecharacterdevelopmentprocessthatstrivestomakeaperformance"real"andnotar.ficial

•  1.Bringanactor'sexperiencesintotherole.

•  2.Expandanactor'simagina.on.

Cont’…•  Stanislavskibelievedthatinorder

tomakeacharactertrue,thecharactermustbeapproachedfromtheinside.Thatmeansdrawingontherealinsidelifeoftheactor,mostspecificallydrawingonmemories.Theactoralsohastocreatetheinsidelifeofthecharacter:thecharacterhastohaveinnerthought,backstory,beliefs,andsoon,justasarealpersondoes.Whentheactoranswersques.onsaboutthecharacter,theyshouldspeakinthefirstperson."Iam...""Iwant..."

EarlyTeachings:Emo'onalMemory

•  Emo.onalMemoryrequiresthatanactorrecreateaneventfromthedistantpastinordertoregeneratethe‘feelings’experiencedatthat.me

•  Theactormustlivetrueexperiences,buttruestageexperiences.

•  Theactoronstagelivesa“repeated”experience,nota“primary”one

•  Theactorcans.rtheneededemo.oninhim/herselfbyrememberingaparallelsitua.onhavingasimilaremo.on.Thisemo.onwouldthenneedtobebroughtoutattheexactmomentwhencalledforonstage.This‘evoking’ofpastexperiencewascalled‘Emo.onalRecall.’

Limita.onsofEmo.onalMemory

•  Felttobetooexhaus.ngforactors,producingnega.veresultsliketensionandhysteria

•  Stanislavskirealisedthatunconsiousfeelingsneededtobecoaxedratherthanforcedout

•  Hefoundasolu.oninthebody,an‘instrument’thatwouldrespondtotheactor’swisheswithoutthe‘ficklenessofemo.ons’or‘inhibi.onsofintellect’

•  Thisledhimtothe‘MethodofPhysicalAc.ons’–  TheStanislavskiSystem,Sawoski

TheMethodofPhysicalAc.ons•  Thegivencircumstances•  Unitsandobjec.ves•  Throughlineofac.onsandtheSuperobjec.ve•  Analysisoftextthroughac.on•  Truth,beliefandthe‘MagicIf’•  Imagina.on•  Subtext•  Mo.va.on•  Concentra.on•  Relaxa.on•  Communion•  Adapta.on•  Tempo/Rhythm•  ThePhysicalApparatus

GivenCircumstances•  Thesecnginwhichthesceneis

situatediscalledthe‘givencircumstance’.

•  Thisenvironmentcouldbeshownthroughset,propsorotherstagecrad.Itcouldalsobeshownusingthenon-naturalis.celementsofmime.

•  Thegivencircumstancesaredetailsfoundinthescript:–  Whathastheplaywrighttoldus?–  Loca.onoftheplay?–  Time/period/yearitisset?–  Peopleintheplay?

UnitsofAc'on&Objec'ves

•  Breakthescriptdownintounits(sec.ons).

•  Aunit(akaBeat)isapor.onofascenethatcontainsoneobjec'veforanactor.

•  Therecanbemorethanoneunitthatoccursduringascene.

•  Everyunithasanobjec.veforeachcharacter.

•  Anobjec.veisexpressedthroughtheuseofanac.veverb.

•  Notnecessarilywhathappens,butthisiswhatthecharacterisstrivingfor

Objec.ve

•  Objec.ve=Thegoalthatacharacterwantstoachieve

•  Anobjec.veisexpressedthroughtheuseofanac.veandtransi.veverb,e.g.:‘toseduceher’or‘toannoyhim’

•  Askyourself:“WhatdoIwant?”

ThroughLineofAc'on

•  Whenalltheobjec.vesarestrungtogetherinalogicalform,athroughlineofac.oncanbemappedoutforthecharacter.

SuperObjec'veObjec'ves/Beats

SuperObjec've

•  TheSuperObjec.veistheobjec.veforacharacterforthewholeplay

•  EverythingdrivestowardtheSuperObjec.ve.

•  Thinkwhatisthemaingoalfortheen.replay.

•  ‘Inaplaythewholestreamofindividual,minorobjec.ves,alltheimagina.vethoughts,feelingsandac.onsofanactor,shouldconvergetocarryoutthesuperobjec3veoftheplot.Thecommonbondmustbesostrongthateventhemostinsignificantdetail,ifitisnotrelatedtothesuperobjec3ve,willstandoutassuperfluousorwrong’(Stanislavski,AAP:271)

Analysisoftextthroughac'on

•  Thishelpstheactorunderstandtheaimorthemainideaoftheplay.

•  Inanalysinganac.on,theactoranswersthreeques.ons:

•  WhatdoI(thecharacter)do?

•  WhydoI(thecharacter)doit?

•  HowdoI(thecharacter)doit?

It’sallinordertoachieveASenseoftruth

•  Learningtotellthedifferencebetweentheorganicandthear.ficial.Stanislavskibelievedthattherewerenaturallawsofac.ng,whichweretobeobeyed.

TruthandBelief

•  Truthonstageisdifferentfromtruthinlife

•  Beliefmeansthatanactortreatsthingsorpersonsasiftheywerewhathewantstheaudiencetobelievetheyare

•  Theabilityofanactortomakehisaudiencebelievewhathewantsittobelievecreatesscenictruth

MagicIf…•  Inrealismwheretheaimofthe

actoristocreatetheappearanceofrealityor‘truth’onstage.

•  Yourcharacterisinaspecificsitua.on.TheMagicIfanswersthefollowingques.on:"WhatwouldIdoifIwereinthesamesitua.on?“

•  The"If"isveryimportant.Thisaboutyourreallifeexperiences,incombina.onwithyourimagina.on.

•  Thesitua.onisnotreal,andthesystemdoesn'tassumeyouhaveeverbeeninthatsitua.on.Butknowingyourself,whatwouldyoudo?Howwouldyouact?

•  Taketheimaginarysitua.onandmakereallifedecisionsastohowyouwouldbehave.

•  It'scrucialtodeterminethe"do"intheques'on.Whatac'onwouldyoutake?

…MagicIf•  IFIwastobeinthis

situa.onwhatwouldIdo?...Thus,thecharacter'sobjec.vesdrovetheactor’sphysicalac.onchoices.

•  Exercise:Youareinaplaythattakesplaceatabank.Asyourcharacterisfinishingupwiththeteller,abankrobberentersandshootsagunintotheair.

•  Ifyouwereinasimilarsitua3on…

•  Whatwouldyoudo?•  Wouldyoubeacowardora

hero?•  Wouldyouyell?•  Wouldyouhidebehind

someone?•  Wouldyourunout?•  Howwouldthisinforma3on

helpinyourcharacterdevelopment?

Imagina'on•  Themorefer.letheactor’s

imagina.on,themoreinteres.ngwouldbethechoicesmadeintermsofobjec.ves,physicalac.onandcrea.ngthegivencircumstancesaroundthecharacter.

•  ‘There is no such thing as actuality on the stage. Art is a product of the imagination, as the work of a dramatist should be. The aim of the actor should be to use his technique to turn the play into a theatrical reality. In this process the imagination plays by far the greatest part’ (Stanislavski, An Actor Prepares: 54).

Subtext

•  Subtextreferstothemeaninglyingunderneaththetext/dialogue.

•  Thesubtextisnotspoken,butisinterpretedbytheactorthrough,gesture,posture,pausesorchoicesintheac.on.

•  Thereisaclearrela.onshipbetweensubtexts&dialogueandbetweensubtextandobjec.ve…

SubtextCont’

•  “JaneaccidentallyrunsintoTom,whomshefindsextremelyannoying.Socialnecessi3esobligehertobepleasanttohim,whileunderneathshewantstogetasfarawayfromhimaspossible.”

•  What’sthesubtext?•  What’stheobjec.ve?

…Answer

•  Givencircumstance:apoliteandpleasantexchange•  Subtext:Janeisconflictedbyherfeelingsunderneath.

•  Objec.ve:togetawayfromTom.

A)  That’s nice. B)  Do you think so?

Silence A)  Well it’s got a certain…

style Pause

Don’t you think? B) Do you want to know

what I think? A)  God Forbid B)  I think it’s terrible! A) Do you?

whispering and then leaves

B) Oh, I like it

Look at this scene. Can you identify the subtext?

Mo'va'on•  Stanislavskiinsistedthatan

actorwaseitherdrivenbyemo.onsorbythemindtochoosephysicalac.ons.

•  Thisinturnarousedthe‘will’oftheactortoperformthegivenac.ons.Thus,the‘will’becameac.vatedindirectlythrougheitheremo.onsorthemind.

•  The‘will’ormo.va.onisinthesubconscious.

•  Mo.va.onbecameimportantinrealism,itisbasedonthesubtextandanyhiddenmeanings.

Will

FeelingMind

This is the motivation of the character

Motivation or ‘will’, as Stanislavski called it, was part of a triumvirate, the other two members being ‘feelings’ and ‘mind.' In his earlier techniques, he considered these three to be ‘masters’ or ‘impelling movers in our psychic life’ (Stanislavski, AAP 247). Stanislavski insisted that an actor was either driven by emotions or by the mind to choose physical actions. This in turn aroused the ‘will’ of the actor to perform the given actions. Thus, the ‘will’ became activated indirectly through either emotions or the mind. The implication here was that the ‘will’ or motivation was in the subconscious.

Mo.va.onvs.Objec.ve

•  Mo.va.onlooksbackwardsintothepsychologyofacharacterandthepast

•  Objec.velooksforwardtowardsanac.on

Concentra'on•  Stanislavskiwasconcernedwith

actorsgecngdistractedbytheaudiencewhileperformingonstage.

•  Hesoughtwaystocounteractthisdistrac.on.

•  Hedidnotadvocatethattheactorforgettheaudience,becausetheaudiencewasanimportant‘co-creator’oftheperformance.

•  Hefoundawayfortheactor.Headvisedthattheactoristofindinterestinsomething(forexample,anobject)onstageastonotfindthepresenceoftheaudienceacripplingfactor.

Concentra.onTheCirclesofAmen.on

•  Hetaughtthattherewere3circlesofamen.on

•  Small-TheActorandrightaroundhim

•  Medium-TheActorandthestageandtheotheractors

•  Large-Thewholetheaterandtheactor

•  Stanislavskibelievedthatwhenanactor’samen.ondridedtotheaudience,heshouldbringitbacktothesmallestcircleofamen.on.

Relaxa'on

•  Stanislavskithoughtthatrelaxa.onisvitalinordertocontrolbodyandmind.

•  Onlywhentheactorisrelaxed,cantheperformancebeanygood.Butnottotallyrelaxed.

•  Forexample:Ballet-Ahighlydisciplinedartform.Whenballerinasappeartoeffortlesslyglide,leaporpiroueme,theyarenotcompletelyrelaxed,theyareinfactusingmanymuscles.Iftheyweretotallyrelaxed,theywouldloseenergy,couldn’tbalanceetc.

Communion•  Stanislavskicalledforan

unbrokencommunionbetweenactors.

•  Hedifferen.atedbetweencommunica.onwitharealpersonandanimaginaryperson.

•  Witharealperson,oneisawareoftheother’spresenceandwouldcommunicatewiththeminanaturalandrealis.cway.

•  Anactorwouldanswertheques.on;‘Whatif(--)werereallyhere?’

•  Theactorshouldstrivetoobtainadefinitephysicalresultinthepartner,forinstance,alaugh,ashrug,woulds.rimagina.onandcreatestrongcommunica.on.

Adapta'on•  Adapta.onrequiresthe

actortoanswertheques.ons:–  What?(ac.on)–  Why?(aim)–  How?(adapta.on)

Withrespecttoanac.on.•  Thefunc.onofadapta.on

istoallowtheactortotransmit‘invisiblemessages’thatcouldnotbeputintowords.

•  Dependsontheotheractors.

•  Adapta.oncouldbeusedtocommunicatethesubtext.

•  Meansthe‘innerandouterhumanmeansthatpeopleuseinadjus.ngthemselvestooneanotherinavarietyofrela.onshipsandalsoasanaidineffec.nganobject’(Stanislavksi,AnActorPrepares,p225)

Tempo-Rhythm•  Tempo-rhythmcanactasa

powerfulbridgebetweentheinnerexperienceandthephysical.

•  ‘Tempo’referstothespeedofanac.onoranemo.on.Tempocanbeslow,mediumorfast.

•  ‘Rhythm’dealsmainlywiththeinternal,theintensityoftheemo.on.

•  Stanislavskibelievedthatthetempo-rhythmwasextremelyvitalinordertoexecutephysicalac.onsinaconcreteandtruthfulmanner.

ThePhysicalApparatus•  Stanislavskibelievedthatan

actor’sbodyandvoiceisthephysicalapparatusthatisneededinorderfortheactortofullyexpresseverynuanceandsubtleshadeofcharacter.

•  Hesawthebodyandvoiceas‘instruments’thatcouldbetrainedandcouldhelptheactorgiveshapetoanactor.

•  Thebodyneedstobetrained,improvepostureandmakemovementssuppleandgraceful,withpurposeandtruth.

MuscularMemory•  Ishowourbodyremembers

andrefinesbody-movement.Stanislavskibelievedthatourbodycouldrecallspecificac.onplaywhetherwehadthepropsornotandcreatetheac.onbelievablyforouraudience.