3.3 Stanislavski's System and its impact on acting

Stanislavski's System revolutionized acting by emphasizing emotional truth and believable performances. It introduced techniques like the "magic if," emotional memory, and physical actions to help actors fully embody their characters.

The System's impact on modern acting can't be overstated. It laid the foundation for most contemporary actor training and inspired other influential techniques like Method Acting and the Meisner Technique.

Stanislavski's System Principles

Psycho-Physical Approach to Acting

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• Stanislavski's System is a psycho-physical approach to acting training that emphasizes truth, realism and believable performances rooted in emotional memory
• Focuses on an actor's ability to realistically portray a character through psychological and physical embodiment of their given circumstances, emotional life, motivations and relationships
• Trains actors to achieve a creative state and eliminate personal habits or tensions that inhibit full embodiment of the character through relaxation, concentration and imagination techniques

Key Concepts and Techniques

• Key concepts of the System include the "magic if", emotional memory, the method of physical actions, subtext, objectives, and the superobjective (the character's primary goal)
• The "magic if" involves imaginatively exploring how the character would authentically react, physically and emotionally, in their given circumstances by asking, "What would I do if I was in this situation?"
• Emotional memory draws upon personal memories and sensory details to empathize with and truthfully convey the character's inner emotional life
• The method of physical actions trains actors to create a repeatable physical score of purposeful actions that generate authentic emotions, rather than indicating or forcing a feeling
• Actors explore subtext, the underlying meaning beneath a character's words and actions, to create specific intentions that inform how each line is delivered

Script Analysis and Character Development

• The System trains actors to break down a script through round-the-table analysis to understand a character's journey and the logical sequence of their actions and emotions in relation to their scene partners and given circumstances
• Actors identify a character's objectives (goals) and superobjective in each scene, using active verbs, to determine the logical sequence of actions they will play to overcome obstacles and achieve their objectives
• Script analysis using Stanislavski's techniques involves breaking down the given circumstances (the who, what, where, when and why) and how they influence a character's actions and emotions

Stanislavski's Impact on Modern Acting

Foundation of Modern Acting Training

• Stanislavski's System was groundbreaking in establishing a structured, realistic approach to character development and has become the primary foundation of modern acting training and rehearsal techniques
• The System's emphasis on emotional truth, believable behavior, action-based character analysis and ensemble work continues to heavily influence actor training in both theatre and film
• The System's techniques for script analysis, character development and truthful moment-to-moment responses continue to be the foundation of actor training and the rehearsal process in professional theatre

Influence on Other Acting Techniques

• Practitioners expanded upon Stanislavski's System to develop other influential acting techniques, such as Method Acting (Lee Strasberg) which emphasized use of affective memory to create emotional truth
• The Meisner Technique (Sanford Meisner) focused on living truthfully in imaginary circumstances through listening and responding, building upon Stanislavski's concepts
• The System's impact can be seen across various international acting techniques and schools, such as Stella Adler, Uta Hagen, Michael Chekhov, and even Bertolt Brecht's contrasting Epic Theatre

Character Analysis with Stanislavski

Given Circumstances and Objectives

• Script analysis using Stanislavski's techniques involves breaking down the given circumstances (the who, what, where, when and why) and how they influence a character's actions and emotions
• Actors identify a character's objectives (goals) and superobjective in each scene, using active verbs, to determine the logical sequence of actions they will play to overcome obstacles and achieve their objectives
• The "magic if" is used to imaginatively explore how the character would authentically react, physically and emotionally, in their given circumstances (What would I do if I was in this situation?)

Emotional Memory and Physical Actions

• Affective memory is used to draw upon personal memories and sensory details (sights, sounds, smells, tastes, textures) to empathize with and truthfully convey the character's inner emotional life
• The method of physical actions trains actors to create a repeatable physical score of purposeful actions (gestures, movements, facial expressions) that generate authentic emotions, rather than indicating or forcing a feeling
• Actors explore subtext, the underlying meaning beneath a character's words and actions, to create specific intentions (to threaten, to flirt, to comfort) that inform how each line is delivered

Stanislavski's System in Contemporary Theatre

Applicability to Realism

• Stanislavski's emphasis on ensemble work, emotional truth, and psychologically grounded performances are still highly applicable to realistic plays and films today
• Modern plays that emphasize psychological realism and authentic human behavior benefit from actors who have trained in Stanislavski's techniques to create three-dimensional, emotionally truthful performances
• Stanislavski's techniques of imagination, given circumstances and action-based analysis can be adapted to create truthful performances within the realistic world of plays and films

Adaptation to Non-Realism

• Some argue the System is less applicable to non-realistic, stylized, or avant-garde theatre that does not aim to create lifelike performances, as it was created in response to the melodramatic acting styles of the late 19th century
• However, many contemporary theatre practitioners argue that Stanislavski's techniques can be adapted to any theatrical style (Epic Theatre, physical theatre, absurdism) to create truthful performances within the world of the play
• Modern actors must be versatile and able to adapt Stanislavski's techniques across diverse genres and mediums, from psychological realism to motion capture for video games and animation