Stanislavski

Synopsis

Born in 1863 in Moscow, Russia, Constantin Stanislavski started working in theatre as a teen, going on to become an acclaimed thespian and director of stage productions. He co-founded the Moscow Art Theatre in 1897 and developed a performance process known as method acting, allowing actors to use their personal histories to express authentic emotion and create rich characters. He died in Moscow in 1938.

 

Early Life and Career

Constantin Stanislavski was born Konstantin Sergeyevich Alekseyev in Moscow, Russia, in January 1863 (sources offer varying information on the exact day of his birth). He was part of a wealthy clan who loved theatre: His maternal grandmother was a French actress and his father constructed a stage on the family's estate.

Alekseyev started acting at the age of 14, joining the family drama circle. He developed his theatrical skills considerably over time, performing with other acting groups while working in his clan's manufacturing business. In 1885, he gave himself the stage name of Stanislavski—the name of a fellow actor he'd met. He married teacher Maria Perevoshchikova three years later, and she would join her husband in the serious study and pursuit of acting.

 

Opening the Moscow Art Theatre

In 1888, Stanislavski founded the Society of Art and Literature, with which he performed and directed productions for almost a decade. Then, in June 1897, he and playwright/director Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko decided to open the Moscow Art Theatre, which would be an alternative to standard theatrical aesthetics of the day.

The company successfully opened in October 1898 with Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich by Aleksey K. Tolstoy. The theatre’s subsequent production of The Seagull was a landmark achievement and reignited the career of its writer Anton Chekhov, who went on to craft plays specifically for the company.

Over the following decades, the Moscow Art Theatre developed a stellar domestic and international reputation with works like The Petty Bourgeois, An Enemy of the People and The Blue Bird. Stanislavski co-directed productions with Nemirovich-Danchenko and had prominent roles in several works, including The Cherry Orchard and The Lower Depths.

In 1912, Stanislavski created First Studio, which served as a training ground for young thespians. A decade later, he directed Eugene Onegin, an opera by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

 

'Stanislavski Method'

During the Moscow Art Theatre's early years, Stanislavski worked on providing a guiding structure for actors to consistently achieve deep, meaningful and disciplined performances. He believed that actors needed to inhabit authentic emotion while on stage and, to do so, they could draw upon feelings they'd experienced in their own lives. Stanislavski also developed exercises that encouraged actors to explore character motivations, giving performances depth and an unassuming naturalism while still paying attention to the parameters of the production. This technique would come to be known as the "Stanislavski method" or "the Method."

 

Later Years and Legacy

The Moscow Art Theatre undertook a world tour between 1922 and 1924; the company travelled to various parts of Europe and the United States. Several members of the theatre decided to stay in the United States after the tour was over, and would go on to instruct performers that included Lee Strasberg and Stella Adler. These actors in turn helped to form the Group Theatre, which would later lead to the creation of the Actors Studio. Method acting became a highly influential, revolutionary technique in theatrical and Hollywood communities during the mid-20th century, as evidenced with actors like Marlon Brando and Maureen Stapleton.

After the 1917 Russian Revolution, Stanislavski faced some criticism for not producing communist works, yet he was able to maintain his company's unique perspective and not contend with an imposed artistic vision. During a performance to commemorate the Moscow Art Theatre's 30th anniversary, Stanislavski suffered a heart attack.

Stanislavski spent his later years focusing on his writing, directing and teaching. He died on August 7, 1938, in the city of his birth.

Open Minds Theatre Company

Open Minds Theatre Company, since being founded in 2003 by Steve Rogers and Katherine Fletcher, has developed into a significant arts organisation delivering workshops, performance and arts projects across a wide variety of art forms.

 

They are passionate about the transformative power of the arts and are firmly committed to the impact that the arts can have upon the regeneration of the region. Whilst Open Minds Theatre Company is firmly embedded in the Rotherham community, they work, predominantly, throughout the North of England.

 

Open Minds Theatre Company work in the community to assist in the developing and equipping of people to lead effective and fulfilled lives by improving their confidence, self-esteem, understanding of others and themselves, communication skills and self-discipline through their exposure to, and involvement in, the arts.

 

They also work with different groups of disadvantaged people in the community and they are committed to using performance drama and other art forms as a means of opening peoples’ minds and combating bigotry and prejudice.

Evaluation

Throughout this performance brief I have explored the work of William Shakespeare and begun to push the boundaries in terms of the skills I have as a performer. 

It is important that the audience can hear and understand what you are saying. Therefore I breathed correctly to avoid losing volume at the end of a speech and I projected my voice to the furthest point of the performance space, even when whispering. Also I used pauses to show uncertainty, indicate thought or heighten mood. The tone and the pitch of my voice showed how my character felt as well as defining age and status.

I think that it is extremely important to reflect on current skills and to explore ways of developing new ones because performers should constantly be learning and developing skills in order for them to become a better performer. Therefore the skills that I want to forces on next time include interpreting a scrip because we were given the task to edit the scripted and I find it channelling since I was not confident with my knowledge and understanding of the play. I find it different to understand the Shakespearean language as I had never read any of his plays or poems. After researching the key themes of the text it help to understand what was going on in our act, which made it easier to edit the sprit.

The task that we were given was to produce an outstanding performance of “Coriolanus” which was written by William Shakespeare. I personally think that we meet the demands of the brief because   the comments that we received in response to the performance are ones that I am proud of. Our audience was full of support, compliments and we received delightful feedback. The result of the group’s ideas, the staging and performance had an amazing effect on the audience. Whites rehearsing and putting our performances together we put in a lot of thought, time and research.

I requested for a villains, anti-hero character. I was given Sicinius a Roman tribune selected by the common people, of Rome to serve as their representative in the government. A clever politician motivated by his thirst for power, he and Brutus make Caius Martius (Coriolanus) hated by class he represents.

With any performance, health and safety is very important because if everything hasn’t been fully checked and made sure that it is safe to perform, it could lead to a risk of people possible injuring themselves or something more serious. Therefore, many things should be checked with regards to the staging area, costumes, hair and makeup, and other things no matter how small they maybe.

I have worked extremely hard throughout this unit. I have shown a clear understanding of the work of William Shakespeare and have been successfully incorporated this in my work through excellent critical awareness and the ability to adapt my work based on feedback. My research around the subject and the wide range of reading that I have done is hopeful clear in all of the work that have produced and was hopeful evident in my final performance. Next time I would like to get into the habit of going into the same amount of depth as I did in your research and begin to discuss my responses to the source material. Through this unit, I personally think that I have developed my confidence.    

Full Day Workshop on Coriolanus

This image shows glory. I think this tableau is decent since it displays glory in a way that is easy to see and simple. I would consider using this tableau in the Shakespeare festival because glory is one of the key themes that run throughout the play and will add to the physicality of the performance.