Stanislavsky is the father of today's style of acting. Constantine Stanislavsky (1863-1938) was the innovator for method acting. He changed the process of acting in which actors immerse themselves into their characters as much as possible. He wanted acting to change to a realistic art. Stanislavsky wanted his actors to avoid habitual mannerisms on stage (Worthen, 33). He used a method that includes five techniques to help an actor submerge into their characters. The magic if, re-education, observation, motivation and emotional memory are all techniques Stanislavsky used to help mold his actors (Bradford).
The first technique requires the actor to use their imagination. The magic if requires the actor to ask themselves what my character would do in this situation. The next technique used is reeducation. Whether it’s being onstage to a live audience or on film, actors need to find a way to display true human life movement. When figuring out body movement or body language actors must think of every action as part of their character. Stanislavsky encouraged his students to observe people whenever possible. He encouraged them to study their physical traits as well as their personality. Stanislavsky reminded his students that every person is unique and therefore each unique trait should be exhibited. The technique is a very valuable tool because actors often find inspiration by observing others. Actors often ask themselves what is my motivation? This process entails a lot of why questions. For example why does my character say this or why does my character show this emotion? The actor must evaluate each motivation through the characters words and actions. To use the final technique, the actor must actually feel emotions on a personal le...
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...35, No. 1, Aporia: Revision, Representation and Intertextual Theatre (Mar., 1983) , pp. 32-40. Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3206699
Bradford, Wade. The Stanislavsky Method- Acting Lessons from the Russian Master. 2014. Website. http://plays.about.com/od/actingessentials/a/The-Stanislavsky-Method.htm
"Constantine Stanislavski." 2014. The Biography Channel website. Mar 02 2014. http://www.biography.com/people/constantin-stanislavski-9492018.
Ferris, Kerry O. "Building Characters: The Work Of Celebrity Impersonators." Journal Of Popular Culture 44.6 (2011): 1191-1208. Academic Search Elite. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.
Gray, Danielle. “Fifteen Actor Who Took Their Roles Too Far.” (2012). Web. 13 March 2014. http://styleblazer.com/62139/9-actors-who-took-their-roles-too-far-from-starving-themselves-to-breaking-bones/15/
When Mary Zimmerman adapts a play from an ancient text her directing process and the way she engages with text are woven together, both dependent on the other. She writes these adaptations from nondramatic text, writing each evening while working through the pre-production rehearsals and improvisations during the day with the cast. The rehearsal process influences the text, and the text enriches the rehearsal process, so that one cannot exist without the other. Every rehearsal is structured the same but each production is unique because as Zimmerman states in “The Archaeology of Performance”, she is always “open to the possibilities”. The piece is open to everything happening in the world and to the people involved, so the possibilities are honest and endless.
Butler, Judith. "Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory." Theatre Journal 40.4 (1988): 519-31. The Johns Hopkins University Press. Web. 11 May 2011.
Marshall P. David (1997). Celebrity Power; Fame in Contemporary Culture. May 16, 2010. Electronically retrieved from
A celebrity is not a person known for his/her talent or achievement, but an individual recognized for his/her reputation created by the media. The phase of stardom is slippery, and media may choose to represent celebrities varying from exaggerated admiration to mockery. The three texts chosen, movie "Sunset Boulevard", feature article "Over the Hilton" and television show "Celebrity Uncensored Six" are texts presenting different perception of celebrities than their usual images - either corrupted by the encircling media, overloads oneself with self-indulgence, or just mocks celebrity in a broad spectrum. Such media items empower and impresses the audience by perceiving celebrities as people who pay the price of privacy to gain well knowness, signifying the vanity of stardom from the commonly accepted images.
Theatre Journal 37.4 (1985): 426-439. Print. Wheeler, Kip. " Literary Terms and Definitions M." Literary Terms and Definitions "M" Carson-Newman University, n.d. Web. 12 May 2014.
Filmmaking and cinematography are art forms completely open to interpretation in a myriad ways: frame composition, lighting, casting, camera angles, shot length, etc. The truly talented filmmaker employs every tool available to make a film communicate to the viewer on different levels, including social and emotional. When a filmmaker chooses to undertake an adaptation of a literary classic, the choices become somewhat more limited. In order to be true to the integrity of the piece of literature, the artistic team making the adaptation must be careful to communicate what is believed was intended by the writer. When the literature being adapted is a play originally intended for the stage, the task is perhaps simplified. Playwrights, unlike novelists, include some stage direction and other instructions regarding the visual aspect of the story. In this sense, the filmmaker has a strong basis for adapting a play to the big screen.
...t ways. Once this part of the rehearsal process is complete the actor will know which emotions and feelings work best in the scene and will begin to incorporate emotional memory and the inner monologue.
have to act well so as to show audience with out seeming as if they
After I began to learn to dance ballet, I found out that these elegant movements actually require a lot of strength, flexibility of the bodies and brain’s participation to make it looked elegant. The dancers’ movements in the performance were so fluent and elegant and it is not hard to imagine how hard they had practiced, stretched and use the strengths to do all the ballet poses with their bodies look longer and longer. Their expressions also impressed me a lot. By looking at their expressions, the audience can easily understand the scenes and blend into the story. The performers actually not only are required to have good dancing skills but also are required to have some talents to be actors. Moreover, they also have to be good at expressing their feelings on the
Havrilesky, Heather. “Stalking Celebrities.” Remix: Reading and Composing Culture. Ed. Catherine G. Latterell. 2nd ed. Boston/New York: Bedford/St. martin’s, 2010. 446-450. Print.
Kernodle, George R. "The Theater Of Exaltation: Modern Tragedy And Poetic Drama." Kernodle, George R. Invitation to the Theatre. New Yory: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1967. 217-223.
Al pacino said, "The actor becomes an emotional athlete. The process is painful - my personal life suffers". In other words, "Acting is simply more than walking out on the stage" as Dr. Stevenson would put it. It is more than just reading the lines. To be a true actor, I believe it takes inner capabilities such as learning life. In all the books I have read, all the chapters we have reviewed in class, and in all honesty…Al Pacino is an actor I cannot forget.
Wilson, E., & Goldfarb, A. (2008). Theater: the lively art (6th ed.). Boston: McGraw Hill.
celebrities to seem closer to a “real” person. This personality trait of celebrities has the potential
We know everything about them and we know nothing about them; it is this conflicting concept that leaves audiences thirsty for a drink of insight into the lifestyles of the icons that dominate movie theater screens across the nation. This fascination and desire for connection with celebrities whom we have never met stems from a concept elaborated on by Richard Dyer. He speculates about stardom in terms of appearances; those that are representations of reality, and those that are manufactured constructs. Stardom is a result of these appearances—we actually know nothing about them beyond what we see and hear from the information presented to us. The media’s construction of stars encourages us to question these appearances in terms of “really”—what is that actor really like (Dyer, 2)?