{"title":"Active Analysis for Beginning Acting Students: A Class Blueprint","authors":"Joelle Ré Arp-Dunham","doi":"10.1080/20567790.2023.2279314","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/20567790.2023.2279314","url":null,"abstract":"Stanislavsky’s latter practice known today as Active Analysis is a powerful tool for quickly integrating the givens of a script into an actor’s body. Learning the tool can be anxiety-inducing for b...","PeriodicalId":40821,"journal":{"name":"Stanislavski Studies","volume":"169 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2023-11-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138505186","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"“Grand little lady of the stage and screen” <sup>1</sup> : The role of Maria Ouspenskaya in the dissemination of the Stanislavsky system in the US","authors":"Ewa Danuta Godziszewska","doi":"10.1080/20567790.2023.2259920","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/20567790.2023.2259920","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACTMaria Ouspenskaya’s (1876-1949) classwork on acting development and Richard Boleslavsky’s lectures and class demonstrations formed the pedagogical core of the American Laboratory Theatre. The training they provided paralleled very closely to their experience at the Moscow Art Theatre and laid the foundations for the systematic study of Stanislavsky’s approach in the United States. Although Boleslavsky was the main inspirational force for the young students, Ouspenskaya provided with her pedagogical work stable regularity necessary at the Lab and guided her students through rigorous training techniques and exercises. After the Lab closed, she opened her own acting studios (initially in New York, later in Los Angeles). All this time, she accepted acting engagements and soon became a Hollywood celebrity, recognized as “the living theatrical legend” and one of the finest and most respected American acting teachers that played a vital role in disseminating Stanislavsky’s ideas. The study analyzes Ouspenskaya’s teaching techniques, using the descriptions of her work abstracted from her students’ interviews or the notes they took during her class. It also investigates her on-screen appearances, providing lasting visual evidence of her performing skills and giving us a direct sense of the potential quality of early System inspired acting.KEYWORDS: Maria OuspenskayaRichard Boleslavskythe Stanislavsky Systemthe American Laboratory Theatreactor training Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1. Flanders, “Maria Ouspenskaya,” 44.2. Clurman, Fervent Years, 11.3. Willis, “The American Lab Theatre,” 113.4. Willis, The American Laboratory Theatre, 1923–1930, 22.5. According to Ronald A. Willis, Stanislavski valued Ouspenskaya’s “talents as a teacher and reportedly called her one of the very best teachers of his system.” Ibid.6. Ibid., 319.7. See: Heilman, The American Career of Maria Ouspenskaya. This is the only research paper, a doctoral dissertation, on Ouspenskaya that I found – nevertheless, it has not been published nor exists in an academic discussion.8. See Carnicke, Dynamic Acting Through Active Analysis and “Belief through Knowledge.”9. Whyman, “Serafima Birman.”10. Ignatieva, “Stanislavsky and Female Actors.”11. Dickens, “Maria Ouspenskaya.”12. Hanifin, “Love Affair is Film of Captivating Charm.”13. Franchey, “Meet the Madame,” 6.14. Schmidt, “Maria Ouspenskaya: Pin-Up Grandmother.”15. Franchey, “Meet the Madame,” 6.16. Ouspenskaya, Letter to George Pierce Baker.17. Pratt, “Notes on Acting with Maria Ouspenskaya.”18. As Jean Benedetti wrote, Stanislavsky recognized cinema’s limited potential since it lacked a live actor’s presence. Therefore, the transfer of spiritual energy between the audience and the actor within the theatre remains unattainable in the realm of cinema. See Benedetti, Stanislavski: His Life and Art, 203.19. Roberts, Richard Boleslavsky, 52.20. Wilson, “Noted Actress Reveals P","PeriodicalId":40821,"journal":{"name":"Stanislavski Studies","volume":"3 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136295260","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Active Analysis in the beginning acting classroom","authors":"Michael Shipley","doi":"10.1080/20567790.2023.2258146","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/20567790.2023.2258146","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACTOften, the exercises in the acting classroom can feel at odds with the processes used in the rehearsal room. I believe Konstantin Stanislavsky’s rehearsal method of Active Analysis provides tools and perspectives for dealing with these challenges. At The S Word Symposium in November 2022, I outlined a process I developed for teaching beginning acting using principles of Active Analysis as a tool to bridge the gap between training and rehearsing. This article expands on that presentation, including the experiences and thought processes that went into creating this class structure, and reviews the benefits for students. Applied in this way, Stanislavsky’s impulse to place embodied action before intellectual analysis yields valuable results in the classroom as well as the rehearsal hall.KEYWORDS: StanislavskyActive Analysisactingtrainingbeginning actors Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1. The definition of acting as “living truthfully in imaginary circumstances” is generallyattributed to noted acting teacher Sanford Meisner.2. Stanislavski, My Life in Art, 346.3. Hagen, Respect for Acting, 79. In addition to this text, other typical examples of introductorytexts might include Acting One by R. Cohen and Acting is Believing by K. Stilson.4. The graduate acting programme at New York University – one of the top training programs in the country – offers courses of study in the Lee Strasberg Institute, the Stella Adler School, and the Meisner Studio.5. Carnicke, “Stanislavsky’s System,” 23. For an in-depth analysis regarding actor training in the US and Stanislavsky’s influence, see Zazzali, Acting in the Academy, including 27, 29, 41, 43, and 47.6. Carnicke, “Belief through Knowledge,” 19–31.7. Stanislavski, An Actor’s Work on a Role, 149.8. Stanislavski, An Actor Prepares, 134.9. Ibid., 126 and 277.10. Ibid., 132.11. Knebel, Active Analysis, 106.12. Hagen, Respect for Acting, 82.13. Stanislavski, An Actor’s Work, 148.14. Carnicke, Stanislavsky in Focus, 226.15. Stanislavski, An Actor’s Work, 135 and Shevtsova, “Music, singing, word, action,” 16.16. Stanislavski, An Actor’s Work on a Role, 138.17. Ibid., 45–46.18. Quoted in Carnicke, Stanislavsky in Focus, 154.19. Shevtsova, “Music, singing, word, action,” 8.20. In Thomas, A Director’s Guide, 83.21. Merlin, “Stanislavski (1863–1938),” 27.22. Merlin, “Here, Today, Now,” 325.23. Gillett, Acting Stanislavski, xii-xiv.24. Ibid., xv.25. Stanislavski, Building a Character, 279.26. Knebel, Active Analysis, 53.27. See note 12 above.28. Gillett, Acting Stanislavski, 56.29. Carnicke, Stanislavsky in Focus, 142.30. See note 10 above.31. Merlin, “Facing the Fear,” 185.32. Christie, “The What Happened of Experience,” 1.Additional informationNotes on contributorsMichael ShipleyMichael Shipley is an Assistant Professor of Theatre who teaches acting, voice, speech, and accents. His research focuses on the intersection between acting methodology and vocal te","PeriodicalId":40821,"journal":{"name":"Stanislavski Studies","volume":"121 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135481947","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Stanislavsky and Race","authors":"Siiri Scott, Jay Paul Skelton","doi":"10.1080/20567790.2023.2259712","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/20567790.2023.2259712","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":40821,"journal":{"name":"Stanislavski Studies","volume":"75 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136135863","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The secret of action: a cognitive exploration of eyewitness accounts of Stanislavsky’s Active Analysis","authors":"Richard J. Kemp","doi":"10.1080/20567790.2023.2255603","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/20567790.2023.2255603","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACTThis article approaches eyewitness accounts of Stanislavsky’s late practice through the lens of cognitive science. Findings from this field identify relevant and robust theoretical reasons for statements by Vasili Toporkov and Maria Knebel that describe mental and emotional phenomena arising from physical actions. Cognitive neuroscience provides us with theory that is both grounded in phenomenological experience and also moves beyond it to allow us to better understand how Stanislavsky’s Active Analysis stimulates these responses.KEYWORDS: Active AnalysisEmbodied CognitionMaria KnebelVasili Toporkovaction-based theory of languagesituational self Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1. Toporkov, Stanislavski in Rehearsal, 50.2. Knebel, Active Analysis, 30.3. These include works by Bruce McConachie, Rhonda Blair, Amy Cook, John Lutterbie, John Sutton, Evelyn Tribble, Rick Kemp, Tomasz Kubikowski, Naomi Rokotnitz, Maiya Murphy, Nicola Shaughnessy, Melissa Trimingham, Joelle Ré Arp-Dunham, Ysabel Clare, Vladimir Mirodan, Scott Illingworth, and Dan Leberg, among many others. For an extensive list see the Bibliography.4. Carnicke, “Stanislavsky’s Prescience,” 15. In the quotation Carnicke is referring to her chapter in the collection The Routledge Companion to Theatre, Performance and Cognitive Science (see biblio for details).5. Blair, The Actor, Image, and Action, 6.6. Ibid., 5.7. Pitches, Science and the Stanislavsky Tradition of Acting, 2.8. Merlin, “This Side of Reality,” 60.9. Knebel, Active Analysis, 93.10. Ibid.11. Ibid., 95.12. Varela et al¸ The Embodied Mind, 173.13. Gallese, “Mirror Neurons and the Neural Exploitation Hypothesis,” 317.14. Pulvermüller and Fadiga, “Active Perception,” 355.15. Glenberg and Gallese, “Action Based Language.”16. McNeill, https://mcneilllab.uchicago.edu/writing/topics.html17. McNeill, Language and Gesture, 130.18. Ibid., 19.19. Ibid.20. Knebel, Active Analysis, 9621. Carnicke, “Stanislavsky’s system: pathways for the actor,” 24–29; Carnicke, Stanislavsky in Focus, 189–202; Merlin, Beyond Stanislavsky, 151–65; Merlin, The Complete Stanislavsky Toolkit, 177–216.22. Blair, The Actor, Image, and Action, 111.23. Toporkov, Stanislavski in Rehearsal, 49–50.24. Ibid., 17.25. Ibid.26. Ibid., 85. Emphasis added.27. Delafield-Butt and Gangopadhyay, “Sensorimotor Intentionality,” 399.28. Delafield-Butt and Colwyn, “The ontogenesis of narrative,” electronic resource, no page numbers.29. Carnicke, “Stanislavsky’s system: pathways for the actor,” 32.30. Kemp, Embodied Acting, 123–4.31. Gallese and Lakoff, “The Brain’s Concepts,” 456.32. Aziz-Zadeh et al, “Congruent embodied representations.”33. Iacoboni, Mirroring People, 94–5.34. Ibid., 91.35. Donald, “Art and Cognitive Evolution,” 15.36. Grush, “The Emulation Theory of Representation;” Simons Wang and Rodenberry, “Object Recognition is Mediated by Extraretinal Information;” Wexler Kosslyn and Berthoz, “Motor Processes","PeriodicalId":40821,"journal":{"name":"Stanislavski Studies","volume":"71 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136135756","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Routledge Companion to Vsevolod Meyerhold <i> <b>The Routledge Companion to Vsevolod Meyerhold</b> </i> , edited by Jonathan Pitches and Stefan Aquilina, Oxford and New York, Routledge, 2023, 532 pp., £190 GBP (Hardback), ISBN 9780367627843, 34 B/W Illustrations","authors":"Patrick Lonergan","doi":"10.1080/20567790.2023.2259714","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/20567790.2023.2259714","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":40821,"journal":{"name":"Stanislavski Studies","volume":"84 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136135871","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Stanislavsky and the Russian acting and directing tradition in twenty-first century Greece: the work of Stathis Livathinos","authors":"Michaela Antoniou","doi":"10.1080/20567790.2023.2258515","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/20567790.2023.2258515","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACTIn this article, the author explores the direct links of the Russian acting and directing tradition to the Greek field as they were introduced through the Experimental Stage of the National Theatre of Greece (2001–07) and the Acting and Directing Workshop of the National Theatre (2001–2004). Both endeavours were under the auspices of the National Theatre, and were inspired, structured, and managed by Stathis Livathinos, who had studied at GITIS and aspired to create an ensemble that worked and experimented together. In this framework, Livathinos gathered a group of approximately 24 actors and 14 actors who aspired to become directors and introduced to them anew Stanislavsky’s ideas and teaching as well as to the recent developments of the Russian directing and acting tradition. The Experimental Stage, during those 3 years, produced more than 10 productions, including a production of Medea in the theatre of Epidaurus. From the Workshop, which was, essentially, an MA educational programme, graduated around 15 actors and six directors – three of whom were women. This Workshop was the preamble of the National Theatre School of Directing established in 2018 by Livathinos, when he was General and Artistic Director of the National Theatre of Greece.KEYWORDS: StanislavskyGITISactor trainingdirector trainingproposed circumstancesetudespoetic/fantastic realismStathis Livathinos Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1. Livathinos, Τρεις Εποχές, 57.2. Ibid., 70–71 and 80–85.3. Sideris, «Θωμάς Οικονόμου», 595.4. For the impact Oikonomou’s specific choice had on the development of Greek acting, see Antoniou, Acting Tragedy, 40–41, with an extensive bibliography. Also see Gaitanidi, “Moments of Transitions,” 125–27. Stefan Aquilina, while investigating Stanislavsky’s reception in Malta, notes that Stanislavsky used this type of improvisations to approach a part in his early years but also during his maturity; see Aquilina, “An Amateur Processing of the System,” 115.5. For an overview of Oikonomou’s work at the Royal Theatre, see Antoniou, Acting Tragedy, 36–46.6. Antoniou, Acting Tragedy, 55–58, 78, 81, 85–86.7. Antoniou, “Performing Ancient Greek Tragedy,” 31–38.8. For the Kotopouli-Koun collaboration, see ibid., 105–18.9. Stanislavski, My life in Art, 163.10. Antoniou, Konstantin Stanislavski, 125–27; Koun, Κάνουμε θέατρο, 11–28.11. See Carnicke, “An Actor Prepares,” 481–94; Carnicke, Stanislavsky in Focus.12. Antoniou, Acting Tragedy, 205–09.13. Sideris, Ιστορία του Νέου Ελληνικού Θεάτρου, vol. 1, 188; Antoniou, Acting Tragedy, 23.14. Sideris, Ιστορία του Νεου Ελληνικού Θεάτρου, vol. 2, 106.15. For Livathinos’ full biography and his productions, see https://stathislivathinos.com/.16. Student of Nikolai Gorchakov, Head of the Mayakovsky Theatre (1967–87), Secretary of the Russian Theatre Union, and chairman of the Moscow Art Awards Committee. Livathinos describes him in his autobiography; see Livathin","PeriodicalId":40821,"journal":{"name":"Stanislavski Studies","volume":"182 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136313436","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Dynamic Acting through Active Analysis: Konstantin Stanislavsky, Maria Knebel, and Their Legacy <b>Dynamic Acting through Active Analysis: Konstantin Stanislavsky, Maria Knebel, and Their Legacy</b> , by Sharon Marie Carnicke, London, Methuen Drama, 2023, £24.99 (paperback)","authors":"Jay Paul Skelton","doi":"10.1080/20567790.2023.2259715","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/20567790.2023.2259715","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":40821,"journal":{"name":"Stanislavski Studies","volume":"27 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135154260","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Radovan Lukavský and the <i>Stanislavsky’s method of an actor’s work</i>","authors":"Zuzana Sílová","doi":"10.1080/20567790.2023.2257716","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/20567790.2023.2257716","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACTRadovan Lukavský (1919–2008) was an important representative of modern Czech acting, a long-time National Theatre drama ensemble member in Prague, and a teacher at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (AMU). As a teacher, he persistently espoused the legacy of Konstantin Sergeyevich Stanislavsky. Lukavský made considerable efforts to defend the latter’s ideas against the “vulgarization” that had infested Czech theatre and the Theatre faculty of AMU at the beginning of the 1950s, as a clash took place between the socialist-realist ideologisation and the creative interpretation of the Stanislavsky “System.” In this essay, the author draws attention to Lukavský’s approach to Stanislavsky’s methods and the basic principles Lukavský addressed in other professional publications and studies.KEYWORDS: Radovan LukavskýAcademy of Performing Arts in PragueStanislavskyCzech theatre of the 20th centuryacting pedagogy Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1. In Czech, the terms “system” and “method,” in relation to Stanislavsky, are used without differentiation.2. Czech universities were closed for three years from 17 November 1939, based on the decree of Reich Protector Konstantin von Neurath – we are in the Nazi-occupied “Protectorate of Böhmen und Mähren.” The pretext was that student demonstrations connected with nationwide protests, which took place from 15 March 1939 and culminated on the anniversary of the founding of the Czechoslovak Republic on 28 October 1939. The last student demonstration took place during the funeral of the student Jan Opletal on 15 November. On the night of 16–17 November there were mass arrests of students and teachers by the German Ordnungspolizei and SS units; 9 students were shot in the military barracks in Prague-Ruzyně, while in the following days 1,200 students were transported to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. More than 15,000 students lost the opportunity to study, and more than 1,300 teachers found themselves without work.3. The Czech Directorate of State Railways organized an action to rescue university students, who were exposed to possible persecution for participating in the demonstrations, and immediately called them into “state service” at their place of residence.4. After avant-garde beginnings on small studio stages, Jiří Frejka (1904–52) joined the Drama ensemble of the National Theatre in Prague in 1930, with Karel Hugo Hilar (1885–1935), the most important representative of the modern theatre. In the years 1945‒50, he was director of the Municipal Theatre, which had two stages – the Vinohrady Theatre and the Chamber Theatre. In his directing work, Frejka combined the tradition of comedy and dramatic theatre, which became a starting point even for Lukavský’s generation and which he reflected on in his articles.5. Jaromír Pleskot (1922–2009), actor and director, was an outstanding personality of the generation entering Czech theatre after Wor","PeriodicalId":40821,"journal":{"name":"Stanislavski Studies","volume":"7 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135149745","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}