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Stanislavsky on the Art of the Stage
Konstantin Stanislavsky is one of the colossi not simply of Russian, but American and European theatre. His reputation is based mainly on his famous theory of acting and its application in practice. This volume contains his posthumous work, "The System and Methods of Creative Art," together with an introductory essay giving a careful exposition and a critical analysis of his 'system', and two appendices dealing with his views on stage ethics and melodrama. It provides an excellent opportunity for the study of 'the essential Stanislavsky' in a comprehensive and compact form.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1961
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About the author
Constantin Stanislavski
108 books351 followersConstantin Sergeyevich Stanislavski (russian:Константин Сергеевич Станиславский) was a Russian actor and theatre director.
Stanislavski's innovative contribution to modern European and American realistic acting has remained at the core of mainstream western performance training for much of the last century. Building on the directorially-unified aesthetic and ensemble playing of the Meiningen company and the naturalistic staging of Antoine and the independent theatre movement, Stanislavski organized his realistic techniques into a coherent and usable 'system'. Thanks to its promotion and development by acting teachers who were former students and the many translations of his theoretical writings, Stanislavski's system acquired an unprecedented ability to cross cultural boundaries and developed an international reach, dominating debates about acting in the West. That many of the precepts of his 'system' seem to be common sense and self-evident testifies to its hegemonic success. Actors frequently employ his basic concepts without knowing they do so.
Stanislavski treated theatre-making as a serious endeavour, requiring dedication, discipline and integrity, and the work of the actor as an artistic undertaking. Throughout his life, he subjected his own acting to a process of rigorous artistic self-analysis and reflection. His 'system' resulted from a persistent struggle to remove the blocks he encountered. His development of a theorized praxis—in which practice is used as a mode of inquiry and theory as a catalyst for creative development—identifies him as the first great theatre practitioner. Stanislavski believed that after seeing young actors at Aquinas College in Moscow he could see why theatre needed to change to a more disciplined endeavour.
Stanislavski's work was as important to the development of socialist realism in the USSR as it was to that of psychological realism in the United States. Many actors routinely identify his 'system' with the American Method, although the latter's exclusively psychological techniques contrast sharply with Stanislavski's multivariant, holistic and psychophysical approach, which explores character and action both from the 'inside out' and the 'outside in'. Stanislavski's work draws on a wide range of influences and ideas, including his study of the modernist and avant-garde developments of his time (naturalism, symbolism and Meyerhold's constructivism), Russian formalism, Yoga, Pavlovian behaviourist psychology, James-Lange (via Ribot) psychophysiology and the aesthetics of Pushkin, Gogol, and Tolstoy. He described his approach as 'spiritual Realism'.
Associated Names:
Konstantin Stanislavski (Alternative spelling)
Константин Станиславский (Russian)
斯坦尼斯拉夫斯基 (Chinese)
Stanislavski's innovative contribution to modern European and American realistic acting has remained at the core of mainstream western performance training for much of the last century. Building on the directorially-unified aesthetic and ensemble playing of the Meiningen company and the naturalistic staging of Antoine and the independent theatre movement, Stanislavski organized his realistic techniques into a coherent and usable 'system'. Thanks to its promotion and development by acting teachers who were former students and the many translations of his theoretical writings, Stanislavski's system acquired an unprecedented ability to cross cultural boundaries and developed an international reach, dominating debates about acting in the West. That many of the precepts of his 'system' seem to be common sense and self-evident testifies to its hegemonic success. Actors frequently employ his basic concepts without knowing they do so.
Stanislavski treated theatre-making as a serious endeavour, requiring dedication, discipline and integrity, and the work of the actor as an artistic undertaking. Throughout his life, he subjected his own acting to a process of rigorous artistic self-analysis and reflection. His 'system' resulted from a persistent struggle to remove the blocks he encountered. His development of a theorized praxis—in which practice is used as a mode of inquiry and theory as a catalyst for creative development—identifies him as the first great theatre practitioner. Stanislavski believed that after seeing young actors at Aquinas College in Moscow he could see why theatre needed to change to a more disciplined endeavour.
Stanislavski's work was as important to the development of socialist realism in the USSR as it was to that of psychological realism in the United States. Many actors routinely identify his 'system' with the American Method, although the latter's exclusively psychological techniques contrast sharply with Stanislavski's multivariant, holistic and psychophysical approach, which explores character and action both from the 'inside out' and the 'outside in'. Stanislavski's work draws on a wide range of influences and ideas, including his study of the modernist and avant-garde developments of his time (naturalism, symbolism and Meyerhold's constructivism), Russian formalism, Yoga, Pavlovian behaviourist psychology, James-Lange (via Ribot) psychophysiology and the aesthetics of Pushkin, Gogol, and Tolstoy. He described his approach as 'spiritual Realism'.
Associated Names:
Konstantin Stanislavski (Alternative spelling)
Константин Станиславский (Russian)
斯坦尼斯拉夫斯基 (Chinese)
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 13, 2011
This book was pretty dense, but useful. More than anything, it read like a self help book. Be yourself! Your humanity is the most important thing about you; let it show! It’s what makes you different and beautiful and to squelch it isn’t productive for anyone! Don’t gossip! Be passionate about art for art’s sake! Operate under the flag of glad for everything done in happiness and curiosity and passion is positive for you and the world around you! Yay. High five, Stanislavsky. It was good for me to go back to the man from whence so much theory splintered. He was one of the first to actually attempt to articulate what the hell it means to be an actor. Thanks for trying, sir. It still doesn’t make much sense, but I have a lot of respect for the man for paving the way. Glad flag!
December 16, 2019
The first part of this book is a brilliant introduction to ideas behind method acting. Rather than going into practical details, Stanislavsky familiarizes the reader with an underlying philosophy that was enlightening to me. The second part of the book is less accessible and interesting to those who do not live on the stage.
January 11, 2008
I know I am a theater guy and obsessively read heady theater books, but this one gets into the real passion of theater practitioners and what "serious" dedication to the craft is like. I have read this twice and am just about to reread it for the third time!
August 5, 2007
از دورانی که روش و نظریه های استانیسلاوسکی در تیاتر مطرح شد، بیش از صد سالی می گذرد. دورانی تا پس از جنگ دوم، این نظریه ها "متد اکتینگ" در دنیای غرب هم مطرح بود. اما با ظهور نظریه های برشت، و سپس تیاتر مدرن، و تیاتر بی چیز "یرژی گروتوفسکی" و... از دهه ی شصت قرن بیستم به بعد، روش استانیسلاوسکی از سکه افتاد
January 2, 2012
It's magnificent. Stanislavski is a god, without doubt. The only bad thing about this book is that after reading it you realise what shit you're doing on stage. What dedication and what logic sense you need.
But maybe that leads to progress? Hmmm
But maybe that leads to progress? Hmmm
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews