Stanislavski's Theory Of Acting

Constantin Stanislavski's primary, overarching belief is that one’s acting should be as realistic and natural as possible. In order to develop and present a realistic character onstage, an actor must bring their own experiences into the role and expand their imagination. A character must be approached from the inside, meaning that an actor must draw from their real inside life and memories. In crafting a real character an actor must also create an inside life form their character, such as the character’s inner-thoughts, backstory, beliefs, etc. Stanislavski has developed a method of acting, known as The System, which allows actors to develop their character’s inner-life. This involves concepts such as given circumstances, objectives, magic if, and emotional memory. These processes are detailed in Stanislavski’s first novel, An Actor Prepares; however, Building a Character is a continued description of the acting process which details with the physical realization of a character onstage through movement and speech, the tools of expression. Therefore, in order to express the inner-life of the character onstage, and thus portray a realistic character, an actor must develop and practice proper movement and

Stanislavski advocates that actors should utilize gymnastics and ballet to develop and control their use of the body, exercising both the physical being and the mind. He then goes on to propose that actors should develop external plasticity, or a flexibility of movement. This can be developed from creating, or improving, one’s inner sense of the movement of energy. A final major remark Stanislavski makes on the process of developing the movement of the physical character is an actor should eliminate all superfluous gestures. Only a few, simple touches are needed, and they truly polish up the realism of the