Stanislavsky

Paper Summary:

Constantin Stanislavsky is the father of modern acting theory. His theories which he extols in his four books, "My Life in Art" (1924), "An Actor Prepares" (1936), "Building a Character" (1941) and "Creating a Role" (1961) have had an unparalleled effect on actors and acting instructors throughout the world. Acting theorists such as Vsevelod Meyerhold, Uta Hagen and Bertold Brecht have all taken his theories into account while developing their own. Indeed, entire movements in world drama have been in part inspired by the work of Stanislavsky.
This paper focuses on Stanislavsky's influence on Russia. During his life and his career, Russia went through many changes. Two major events in Russian history would determine the fate of theatre and as a result Stanislavsky. The first was the failed revolution in 1905, or ?The Great Rehearsal,? as Lenin called it. The second major event which affected Stanislavsky (which in turn affected Russian theater) was the 1917 revolution.

From the Paper:

"Konstantin Stanislavsky developed the Moscow Art Theatre in 1898. The creation of this particular theatre was important in that it differed from many of the other theatres of the time. It was a fully professional theatre organization and it emphasized new plays as opposed to older work. Stanislavsky believed that new plays would bring the theatre to life. His theatrical philosophy was that the actor was an educator and that plays were tools of education. As a result the initial work produced at the theatre was not successful. It wasn't until Stanislavsky partnered with a young playwright named Anton Chekhov that the theatre attained any commercial success."

More papers on Stanislavsky:

• Essay # 23916 : "Constantin Stanislavski"
• Term Paper # 94176 : "Constantin Stanislavski"
• Essay # 18858 : "Konstantin Stanislavski"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: