Acting Secrets

Acting Methods

A new method of acting was developed by Konstantin Stanislavski who opened the Moscow Art Theatre (MKhAT) in 1897. He instructed actors to use their own memories order to portray a character's emotions naturally. He asked actors to think of a time in their own lives when they had experienced the same emotion and perform like that.

He found out that some actors became hysteric when they tried to recall past incidents. Thereafter, he looked for less taxing ways of portraying natural emotions and emphasized upon using imagination rather than bringing back painful memories.

Stanislavki's system of acting was modified throughout the twentieth century and it became one of the leading forms of acting. Focus on natural emotions through physical gestures and facial expression proved very popular with the audience. Both conventional and experimental directors however opposed some of Stanislavski's styles of acting.

Vsevolod Meyerhold and Mikhail Chekhov, who studied under Stanislavski, adopted ways of acting which focused more on physical gestures and imagination rather than psychological stimulation to appear natural. In the 1930s Bertolt Brecht and French theorist Antonin Artaud also opposed Stanislavski's ways of acting.

They though that his methods only put on a façade of naturality and was too internalized. Stanislavki's style did not become popular in England or France where there was already a very strong theatrical tradition.

He became very popular in the USA though. Stanislavski's style came to be called "the method" and was popular with the Group Theater in the 1930s and the Actor's Studio in the 50s. Method acting was the major acting style in post World War 2 Hollywood. American alternative theatre directors in the 60s, especially those influenced by Artaud and Polish director Jerzy Grotowski, emphasized external and physical gesticulations of the actors. Asian theatre styles and modern dance traditions were adopted by many American directors in the late 90s.

Lee Strasberg (1901-1982) was the leading exponent of Stanislavski's 'method' acting. Strasberg was born in Budzanow, Austria-Hungary but came to the United States in 1909 and was granted citizenship in 1936. Strasberg was one of the founders of Group Theater in 1931 and he directed many of their Broadway productions.

Strasberg was appointed the artistic director of Actors Studio in 1951 and founded the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute in 1969. He popularized Stanislavki's 'method'acting among American actors. Anne Bancroft, Dustin Hoffman, Marlon Brando, Maureen Stapleton and Sidney Poitier all studied 'method' acting under Strasberg. Though 'method' acting became popular and was critically acclaimed, some criticized him foe his undisciplined approach to acting. Strasberg made his acting debut in The Godfather Part II in 1974.