Lecture 1
Truth on stage is what the actor construes is real, what the actor believed in.
Stanislavsky
--Acknowledge a constructed world and decide that it does not impede you, then 'make truth'.
--Recreate those articifial as it seem real. If it is real to the actor, it will be real to audience.
--"Anybody can imitate an image but only a true talent can BECOME an image."
Comparing Greek, Shakespearean and modern time -- Scripts/Texts
:Greek
- Paint pictures with their words.
- Extreme long dialogues and speech of how the environment is like, what had happened and their thoughts.
:Shakespeare
- More conversation, action and reaction.
- Still similar to Greek--detailed.
- Specific in how they should deal with each other.
- Act in terms of strategies (explicit in words).
- Conflict in drama and countering.
- Lots of clues given in the text unlike now(Modern-subtext)
: Modern
- Speech is reduced a lot, much more conversation reacting with characters.
- Need to analyse where the character is coming from--subtext.
- Their strategy: What they are trying to do with each other.
- Still putting on an act, still need to be natural.
Concept of actor's self -- ME
- The way you do things
VS the actor character
- Character that I'm playing.
In Brecht: Actor's self and actor character coexist, commenting on each other in performance.
In Stanislavsky: Transfer actor's self into character. You become the character.
Reading 1: Realism in Russia: Nemirovich-Danchenko, Stanislavsky and the Moscow Art Theatre
Answer to practical challenges of new realism found in Moscow Art Theatre- MAT
-How actor should match his art to the new dialogue, and how the writer should adapt his writing to the new techniques of the stage.
-Naturalistic movement and psychological depth
Danchenko's talent as playwright, novelist, director and manager helped..in planning of the world's leading repertory theatre, one which set such standards in professional discipline that it became the envy of every director.
Danchenko's
-Actor's "sincerity of experience" => "Law of inner justification"
- Single will -> "intuition" tt infect everyone connected with performance = unity of style and atmosphere.
Like Stanislavsky
Stanislavsky
-Inspired by realistic production standards by Chronegk and the Meiningen Company and applied in productions
- Eg: Othello, Hauptmann's Hannele and Tolstoy's The Fruits of Enlightment
MAT started in evolutionary way.
- Meeting of Danchenko and Stanislavsky
- Set of rules drawn, discard what was bad.
- One must love art, and not oneself in art
- Actor's were to be chosen for their devotion to work
- There are no small parts; there are only small actors'
- Dedication
With support of Designer Victor A Simov, Stanislavsky aimed at an historical authenticity on the stage never known before.
Press saw it as a joke.
First Project - Tsar Fyodor
- 1898
- Test of new ideals
- Research for authentic reproduction of life in old Russia eg clothing and manners etc.
Success -> established new theatre overnight--period plays in realistic manner became a common feature.
Objection such as by Stark Young
- Only certain features of the new style might survive.
- "Almost no interest in history taken...as contemporaneous human life."
- "Loss of great style"--old style
Yet, MAT's dedication to embrace subtleties of contemporary realism in all aspect,
- encouraged psychology in playing
- success of productions: The Seagull, The Lower Depths made possible.
Seagull
- Chekhov's failure of past acting technique--unable to meet psychological demands, inadequately prepared and trusted inspiration that did not come on performance night.
- Danchenko's mission for direction and perfect acting technique to render characters convincing.
-the kind of play the new company needed to give it direction
Chekhov's detailed touch and action of character in script + Stanislavsky's time devoted to perfecting detail of speech and gesture to capture tone of scene==success.
Set design contribution by Simov and Stanislavsky's score--detailed..too contributed to success.
What kind of detail?
- Some old stage trickery still was used as well.
= doubt.
Who won the applause of audience? Chenkhov or Stanislavsky?
The Lower Depth- Gorky's
- Less demanding play than The seagull.
- Still political and commented on social conditions.
Gorky's need to preach VS Stanislavsky's simplicity and sincerity in speaking.
Success of Lower Depth and yet unusual objection from Stark Young
Every character playing the part for all he is worth.
Stanislavsky's excesses in surface realism especially sound effects.
--crikets, frogs, birds and dogs..
Stanislavsky initial thought:
- enthusiastic director likely to impose his own ideas at the expense of the very actors who must discover their own answer..
Later realisation:
for greater psychological realism of character, need for director and actor to 'grow together'
The method/ System
- came about through Stanislavsky's record and analysis of everything he did.
- Intended to be natural and organic, based essentially on intuition
1. Super Objective
- Ruling idea
- often interprets main direction of plot
- Other dramatic elements subserve super objective = help actor with perspective of role to relate his work to the whole.
2. Belief in the truth of life on the stage in its given circumstances.
- What if--seeks inner truth "logic of emotions"
- derived from coming up and studying character's psychology in pretext with circumstances.
3. Sense of inner truth of character can motivate speech, gesture and movement
- With help of imaginative exercise
-Psycho-technique-memory of emotion: process "the conscious stimulation of unconscious"
- Personal effort of will and memory.
4. Objectives..leads to another, strung through actor's line of action
- that retains sincerity of emotional state.
- while exercising detached contorl to achieve teamwork and unity of play's performance
Hard and slow preparation
genuine emotion result from quality of effort of understanding or feeling.
To ask "If I were.." instead of believing totally that you are the character.
Journal: Practical
Walking (explore actor's self and actor's character)
- Feel the moment.
- Imitate Sharm's way of walking..and fel and see how he is like and the way he thinks
- Mind think of 'why you-(character) are doing it' and then back to the body and feel
Circumstance that dictate character
- Exercise - 5 tennis balls as points with 4 space of transistion to getting to say hello to someoneyou knew but have not seen for a long time.
- Spoting a person, considering if it is the one you know, confirm that you know, thinking if you should say hi to him/her, decided that you want to say hi to him/her, say hi to him or her.
- When you cut stages, you change the story.
- React and explore and be open to each stage of emotion.
- Getting into the role: set who is the person you are meeting to you, specific details.
- Focus and be centered.
- Use your imagination
- Rhythm, example in the way you walk, if it is steady, the audience too will go along with the character in a comfortable way.
- Follow through each stage --> impetus --> Driving compulsion --> to your action( in this case is to say hi that makes sense).
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