Who was Konstantin Stanislavski?

Answer 1

Konstantin (Constantin) Stanislavski was a famous Russian actor (1863-1938) who was the co-founder for the Moscow Art Theatre

Konstantin Sergeievich Alexeiev - AKA StanislavkiBorn in Russia in 1863, Konstantin Sergeievich Alexeiev adopted the stage name 'Stanislavski' when he bagan to appear in operatic exerpts. During his younger years, the theatre was fairly dull. Actors simply spoke to the audience and did not interact very well with each other. Actors walked on stage and delivered their lines and no effort was made to make the performances realistic. Sets were simple and unchanging, while costumes were whatever people could find or bring.

Stanislavski beleived that this was not a good approach to performing. Instead of acting mechanically (with no feeling) he beleived that actors should feel the emotion of the play and express it to the audience. In essense, he wanted the theatre to be realistic. Stanislavski worked towards bettering the actor's own skill more than just using shallow acting techniques.

Stanislavski formed the Moscow Musical-Dramatic Amateur Circle (a drama group) in 1887. They produced various plays, including Othello, whichused very realistic costumes and sets. Although unheard of at the time, the production was praised for its realism.

Then, in 1898, Stanislavski formed the Moscow Art Theatre and became its director. The beliefs he held about realistic acting were put into practise here as he rejected the common forms of Drama and Acting at the time. The Seagull, a play by Anton Chekhov was produced at the theatre and was greatly successful due to its overwhelming reality (especially in acting).

Reaching an old age, Stanislavski reflected back on his life and worked out his own 'system'. This system involved the realistic methods of acting which were refined during the rest of his life. Basically, the system involves analysing the script (breaking it down into units and beats), asking the Fundamental Questions (to develop beleivable characters), drawing on life experiences (to aid realistic acting) and applying performance skills (such a working together as a group). In 1912, he established a small building next to the Moscow Art Theatre as a way of studying and teaching his system.

Stanislavski has written a book on his system and an autobiography on his life. He died in 1938 and two more books on his system have been written after his death from his notes.

Konstantin Stanislavski can be credited with the start of the revolution of realism in the theatre.