On the technique of acting

by Michael Chekhov

Michael Chekhov, nephew to the Russian playwright and student of Stanislavski, left Russia and his mentor behind to pursue a career as an actor, director, and teacher in Europe and America. While he was an early advocate of Stanislavski, Chekhov differed from the great teacher in important respects, particularly in his insistence on the use of imagination as opposed to memory in creating a role. (In a famous anecdote, Chekhov once performed a "sense memory" exercise in which he broke down over the tragic death of his aunt. When complimented on the truthfulness of his emotion, he admitted that his "aunt" was entirely imaginary.) One of Chekhov's innovations of technique is the "psychological gesture," in which a repeated external action leads to an internal revelation. Due to his insistence on the importance of the physical rather than the simply intellectual, Chekhov's book is as focused on following its series of exercises as it is in study; acting, he would remind us, is always fundamentally a verb. For actors who feel "hemmed in" by an overinsistence on "feeling" a part or in drawing from their own experiences to feed a role, Chekhov's focus on the primal and limitless nature of imagination is tremendously liberating. --John Longenbaugh

Genres: Theatre, Nonfiction, Art, Film, Drama, Russia, Read For School

179 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1953

About the author

His uncles Anton Chekhov, Mikhail Chekhov

Mikhail Aleksandrovich "Michael" Chekhov was a Russian-American actor, director, author and theatre practitioner. He was a nephew of the playwright Anton Chekhov and a student of Konstantin Stanislavski. Stanislavski referred to him as his most brilliant student.

Reviews

[Natasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy Shit. Seriously, holy shit.

I picked up this book on a whim, because I sortof recognized the name and thought, why not, its been a while since I read an acting text.

This book relates the craft of acting in such a way that it rediscovers it as an artform, at least for me. It draws parallels with every other type of art, and relies on the actor's existing talent and imagination as the basis for a successful acting experience, rather than just saying "remember how you felt when your dog died, and feel like that here." It describes the unconcious process I have been using since I was a child, but with ways to deepen and enrich the experience and actually understand each step of what you are doing. Fucking life changing!

[Sofia 🧚🏻‍♀️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Michael Chekhov is clearly a very talented acting teacher, and this book should best be used as a sort of textbook. I’m sure the exercises when done in practice are very helpful. But since I’m doing zoom university and not in a studio, it didn’t really affect me. This book failed to capture my interest, but I will of course keep it on my shelf in case one day I’m back in the acting studio and long for Chekhov’s help.

[Aly Zhang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible. Absolutely elucidating, motivating and technically inspiring. The best book on acting I've read, full of actual usable exercises and explanations.

[Olivia Buchanan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really interesting points were brought up about the importance of atmosphere when creating characters but other than that the whole book was a blur of pretentious jargon. Hard read. Exercises are helpful and straightforward but the explanations bored me. I was not inspired.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The BEST acting book I have ever read!

[Nicole Fairbairn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not resonate. Very technical.

[Charlie Froy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really mixed. Many things going on, few of them substantiated, justified or contextual within script.
Good ideas about presence and atmosphere.

[Danny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the best book I ever read on acting. This book avoids overthinking, avoids trying to bring down the actor, and avoids being unrealistic . The book gives many exercises to help clear up what it talks about, and it gives very clear details of its techniques. It is unlike any other acting book I've ever read. If someone's a theatre actor doing it for fun or as a career, please give this book a read. It is a very underrated book that teaches an acting method that is very under appreciated.

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most creative and innovative alternatives to pure Stanislavski technique. Perhaps not the best place to delve into acting theory, but certainly one of the most mind-broadening experiences you can have in the area -- like diving into the deep end after dipping your toes.

[Viktoras Mic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Turbūt geriausia mano skaityta knyga apie aktorinį meistriškumą. Pradžioje ji gali pasirodyti kiek ezoteriška, bet vis tik joje aprašyta vaizduote paremta prieitis prie niuansuoto, gyvybe pulsuojančio vaidmens nustebina mane kaskart, kai vėl paskaitau šią knygą. Labai rekomenduoju.

[Ned · Rating 2 out of 5]

didn't help me much

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

You really need a teacher trained in Chekhov's style of acting to work with you to get the most out of this book.

[Dave Wagner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Infinitely superior acting technique to Meisner and Method, in my opinion. Well worth investigating.

[Evans]

Can go wrong with the classics. Everything he taught then is still applicable today. I recommend this as a great start for anyone serious about their career.

[Monty Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Albeit the actors acclaim to being an outstanding student of Stanislavski;
This book barely emphasizes the methodologies for acting by inferring the metaphysical aspects of human psychology and imagination.
I found several chapters Insightful, with the majority of context depicting examples for improv, as well as anecdotes from specific plays of the era.
These may have been useful in an antiquated setting, such as the Actors Studio of the golden era. Nonetheless, an informative aggregate to the many aspects of the art of theatrical acting.

[Liquidlasagna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Books used by the Acting Studio of Chicago

1. Audition - Shurtleff
4. Actions: The Actors Thesaurus - Calderone/Loyd-Williams
5. Freeing The Natural Voice - Linklater
6. The Art Of Acting - Stella Adler
7. The Actor And The Target - Donnellan
8. The Intent To Live: Achieving Your True Potential As An Actor - Moss
9. A Practical Handbook For the Actor - Bruder
10. On The Technique of Acting - Chekhov

[Will Schmitt]

If you have never studied Chekhov technique, like myself, reading this book is a great way to understand what it is in the first place! You don’t leave being able to put on your resume that you’ve studied this technique, but at least you can now follow along in conversations where Michael Chekhov is brought up. This book makes me excited to one day get into the classroom and really see what this technique is like.

[Shathu Entayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me encanta Chéjov, me he leído el libro varias veces y aún encuentro cosas. Es maravilloso el libro, aunque es verdad que no es para todo el mundo, y si nunca has hecho nada de su técnica podrías estar muy muy perdid@ xD.

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cannot wait to implement some new tricks of the trade!

[Serge Mandeville · Rating 5 out of 5]

wonderfull!

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Method acting??? Don’t need it. I’ll just use my imagination now lol. Thanks Chekhov, you’ve truly enlightened me xx

[Hanter Raiyhan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it

[temo rekhviashvili · Rating 5 out of 5]

BEST!

[Julija · Rating 5 out of 5]

favorite book on acting I have read so far <3

[Kendall Hurley · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars is being generous

[Irene P. O. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A ver, esta muy bien y es súper interesante, pero como me lo he leído en un día por un trabajo de clase sinceramente no me he enterado ni de la mitad

[Artem Artemenko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bible of acting, from very experienced Michael Chekhov.

[Louis Chadburn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good as acting books go. I loved the dive into King Lear and Death of a Salesman. Made the techniques applicable to texts I know very well.

Must go back to do these exercises!

[Християн Добрев · Rating 5 out of 5]

the book is so good, filled with useful tips and information and if u wanna be an actor u should read it