Theatre Practitioners: Konstantin Stanislavski

Theatre Practitioner 1:
Konstantin Sergeivich Alexeiev Stanislavski
Born: January 17th 1863

Died: August 7th 1938
Influenced by: Anton Chekhov, Alexander Pushkin, Nikolai Gogol, etc


Pre-Lesson Brainstorming:

Context:
Russian theatre had been controlled by heavy censorship and was placed under the jurisdiction of the police. In the provinces theatre was little regarded or barely known. Stanislavski was inspired by Gogol and Shchepkin who begun the change, when a few dramatists, who delivered scathing attacks on authority disguised as social comedies. Such plays portrayed corrupt, small-town lives in which amusement and entertainment continued over a century and a half later. Stanislavski took interest in their works because of the complementary attitudes to prevailing methods and he then moved towards a soundly based practice.

The Moscow Art Theatre:
Stanislavski was predominantly responsible for artistic matters, such as devising the production plans and some directing and would continue as an actor. His legacy was a system of approaching the inexact science of acting and therefore it took some time to acquire suitable premises. Stanislavski tried systematic ways to lay down ground rules for approaching a character and for how an actor may employ his or her body, voice and mind in such a creating. Furthermore, the actor had to go no further in his quest for truth than to base his art on his cumulative experience of the world around him, mediated and enhanced by the director's interpretation and the rehearsal process. However, it wasn't until their fifth season that they moved into what became the Moscow Art Theatre. The stage was to be functional, the orchestra pit abolished and the most up-to-date technical and lighting equipment installed. 

Realism and Naturalism:
Realism was a 19th century theatrical movement, seeking to portray real life on stage. Naturalism is often used to refer to the same things but it can also mean the belief that a human character is formed by what they've inherited from their family and environment. Stanislavski's key approach to the theatre was experimentation. He was committed to realism and naturalism throughout his career and came to stand out against the scientific idea of naturalism. Many of his works had emphasis on subtext, which can be identified under the text. It is the unspoken nuance that we as an audience recognise and which gives a character more depth or psychological realism.


Realism in Theatre:
The fourth wall is where the performers present the action realistically, without using techniques such as addressing the audience or a tableau, which immediately shatters any illusion of real life being played out and is most often presented in a proscenium theatre.

Stanislavski's Techniques:
"The System" is a term that refers to the methods used by Stanislavski to foster a good performance in his actors. It focuses mainly on helping an actor recall the emotions needed for a role.

MORE DETAIL:
This should not be confused with "Method Acting"
The actions should be meaningful and purposeful, his objective with this technique was to demonstrate that there is never a point when the actor is not engaged in a process of enactment. "Always act with a purpose"
Furthermore, his technique also includes the "magic if" Which opens the act to possibilities for the actor to create new circumstances. Therefore, the "magic if" can only be sustained within the context of the theme, which leads onto Stanislavski's other aspect called "The Given Circumstances" which are the basics for an actor and his role. Created by the playwright, the given circumstances form the context in which the actor can ask "what if"

Since actions need purpose we decided to do an activity where we all had to leave and enter the stage due to a purpose. So if I started at point A, offstage, and had to walk to point B, upstage left and then to point C, downstage right  I would need the context or a purpose as to why I am moving. When I was offstage and had to move to point B with Melissa we decided to pretend we were in an office and point B would be our "break room" area. Therefore the purpose for us to move to point C would be to attend a meeting taking place there. Much like the aspect called "Units and Objectives" Where the units are dominated and controlled by the objectives within them. Therefore, once an objective ends, the unit ends with it. There is also the "Super-objective and Through-Line Of Action" which can be described as the main and current unit of the play.

The key circumstances Stanislavski lists are:

• The story of the play 
• It's facts, events, epoch, time and place of action
• Conditions of life
• The actor's and director's interpretation 
• The production, the sets, the costumes, the properties 
• Lighting and sounds effects 

With all of these, the actor must believe in the circumstances in order for the act to be able to function at a high level of involvement. 

Stanislavski's teaching relies very much on visual stimulus for the development of this faculty and so his techniques include "imagination" Where the character undergoes a visualised journey.

Another aspect of "The System" Stanislavski uses is the "Circles of Attention" This is due to his concern during his early career with the perceived inability to relax onstage and he therefore examined ways to help actors relax and focus. The "circle of attention"'s main purpose is to create solitude in public, which is done by increasing the focus on other objects which creates gradual concentration for the actor who can then relax more on the imagined world which is brought into focus with this technique. 

One of the most controversial aspects of "The System" is the "Emotion Memory"
This is because it was adopted from the American practitioners in the last 1940's and 1950's where Stanislavski's practice nearly lead to introspection and self-reflective performances that failed to communicate the intended objectives. 

Stanislavski's later preoccupation included the aspect of "Tempo-Rhythm In Movement" by setting a number of metronomes ticking at the same time, but with different beats, Stanislavski was able to show an actor how to find their inner rhythm and towards the end of his life he increasingly placed emphasis on physical expression as a way of training called "The Method of Physical Action"

Stanislavski's practises are to this day being taught and his legacy of "The System" has sought a present methodical approach in the art of acting and directing. With a series of documents, his books demand our attention for the personal and passionate ways in which they seek to support and challenge an actor through training, rehearsal and performing.