Konstantin Stanislavsky:
- theatre practitioner
- developed an influential system of teaching dramatic arts
- Russian
- 1863 - 1938
- Actor/theatre director
- developed "The System" - not the method
- "The System" - a rehearsal system used to create believable characters
- (Background - back then, Russian theatre was highly censored by the police. Standards and punctuality were messy and practically nonexistent. Movements were mechanical and lines were simply delivered from downstage center front. Only stock characters - such as the ones used in Commedia del Arte, were used. There was no exploration of the characters.)
- Stanislavsky was wealthy, so he could dabble in theatre without being worried about supporting himself.
- He wrote three books on theatre:
- An Actor Prepares
- Building a Character
- Creating a Role
- Taught at the Moscow Arts Theatre
- Had four main ideals on what a performance should be:
- clear
- sensitive
- detailed
- truthful
- Quoted as saying:
- "There are no formulas...on how to become a great actor, or how to play a part...it is made up of steps towards the true creative state of an actor on the stage." (An Actor Prepares)
- Four rules when it comes to a performance; an actor must be:
- physically free; in control of free muscles
- alert; at attention
- able to listen/observe onstage as in real life - be in contact with the person playing opposite him/her
- believe in everything that is happening onstage that is related to the play
