The influence of Christian Orthodox thought on Stanislavski’s theatrical legacy

Abstract

ABSTRACT Expressed through many possible Orthodox concepts, such as “soul”, “heart”, “love”, “beauty” and “truth”, scattered throughout all his writings, Konstantin Stanislavski’s personal religious feelings seemed constantly to have shaped his life-long sense of an artistic spirituality. Yet, in spite of this presence, the Christian Orthodox connections appear to be neither properly analysed nor fully explained in the literature. Therefore, this paper strives to identify and reflect upon how such generally ignored but key Orthodox ideas might have had a crucial influence on shaping Stanislavski’s “system”.