Constantin Sergeyevich Stanislavski

In our acting history Stanislavski is one of the most influencial directors, who's acting idea's have changed the world of acting.Constantin Sergeyevich Stanislavski (17 January [O.S. 5 January] 1863 – 7 August 1938), was a Russian actor and theatre director and a pillar of acting history. His innovative contribution to modern European and American realistic acting has remained at the core of mainstream western performance training for much of the last century. Building on the directorially-unified aesthetic and ensemble playing of the Meiningen company and the naturalistic staging of Antoine and the independent theatre movement, Stanislavski organized his realistic techniques into a coherent and usable 'system. Thanks to its promotion and development by acting teachers who were former students and the many translations of his theoretical writings, Stanislavski's 'system' acquired an unprecedented ability to cross cultural boundaries and developed an international reach, dominating debates about acting in the West. That many of the precepts of his system seem to be common sense and self-evident testifies to its success.In theatre-making and acting history Stanislavski treated it as a serious endeavor, requiring dedication, discipline and integrity, and the work of the actor as an artistic undertaking. Throughout his life, he subjected his own acting to a process of rigorous artistic self-analysis and reflection. His system resulted from a persistent struggle to remove the blocks he encountered. His development of a theorized praxis—in which practice is used as a mode of inquiry and theory as a catalyst for creative development—identifies him as the first great theatre practitioner. Stanislavski's work was as important to the development of socialist realism in the USSR as it was to that of psychological realism in the United States. Many actors routinely identify his system with the American Method, although the latter's exclusively psychological techniques contrast sharply with Stanislavski's multivariant, holistic and psychophysical approach, which explores character and action both from the 'inside out' and the 'outside in'. It's no more than natural that as he influenced acting history Stanislavski was influenced by the changes in his own environment.Stanislavski's work draws on a wide range of influences and ideas, including his study of the modernist and avant-garde developments of his time (naturalism, symbolism and Meyerhold's constructivism), Russian formalism, Yoga, Pavlovian behaviourist psychology, James-Lange (via Ribot) psychophysiology and the aesthetics of Pushkin, Gogol, and Tolstoy. He described his approach as 'spiritual Realism'. It was the Maly Theatre, the home of psychological realism within acting history Stanislavski devoted particular attention to. Psychological realism had been developed here by Alexander Pushkin, Nikolai Gogol and Mikhail Shchepkin. In 1823, Pushkin had concluded that what united the diverse classical authors—Shakespeare , Racine, Corneille and Calderón—was their common concern for truth of character and situation, understood as credible behaviour in believable circumstances. Gogol, meanwhile, campaigned against overblown, effect-seeking acting. In an article of 1846, he advises a modest, dignified mode of comic performance in which the actor seeks to grasp "what is dominant in the role" and considers "the character's main concern, which consumes his life, the constant object of his thought, the 'bee in his bonnet.'" This inner desire forms the "heart of the role," to which the "tiny quirks and tiny external details" are added as embellishment. The Maly soon became known as the House of Shchepkin, the father of Russian realistic acting who, in 1848, promoted the idea of an "actor of feeling." This actor would "become the character" and identify with his thoughts and feelings: he would "walk, talk, think, feel, cry, laugh as the author wants him to. When in acting history Stanislavski's system is pointed out as the start of realistic acting, understand that the founding of his system lies here.On 5 July 1889, Stanislavski married Lilina (the stage name of Maria Petrovna Perevostchikova), with whom he had just performed in Intrigue and Love. Their first child, Xenia, died of pneumonia in May 1890 less than two months after she was born. Their second daughter, Kira, was born on 21 July 1891. In January 1893, Stanislavski's father died. Their son Igor was born 14 September 1894.

KONSTANTIN STANISLAVSKY

“THE LANGUAGE OF THE BODY IS THE KEY THAT CAN UNLOCK THE SOUL.” -----KONSTANTIN STANISLAVSKY

As founder of the first acting "System", co-founder of the Moscow Art Theatre (1897-), and an eminent practitioner of the naturalist school of thought, Konstantin Stanislavski unequivocally challenged traditional notions of the dramatic process, establishing himself as one of the most pioneering thinkers in modern theatre. 

Stanislavski coined phrases such as "stage direction", laid the foundations of modern opera and gave instant renown to the works of such talented writers and playwrights as Maksim Gorki and Anton Chekhov. His process of character development, the "Stanislavski Method", was the catalyst for method acting- arguably the most influential acting system on the modern stage and screen. Such renowned schools of acting and directing as the Group Theatre (1931- 1941) and The Actors Studio (1947-) are a legacy of Stanislavski's pioneering vision. 

Like all pioneering thinkers however, Stanislavski stood on the shoulders of giants. Much of the thought and philosophy Stanislavsky applied to the theatre derives from his predecessors. Pushkin, Russia's original literary hero and the father of the native realist tradition, wrote that the goal of the artist is to supply truthful feelings under given circumstances, which Stanislavski adopted as his lifelong artistic motto. - Polyakova, Elena; Stanislavsky 

Stanislavsky was born Konstantin Sergeyevich Alexeyev in Moscow on January 5, 1863, amidst the transition from the feudal serfdom of Czarist Russia under the rule of Peter the Great, to the free enterprise of the Industrial Revolution. More than one hundred years prior, Konstantin's ancestor Alexei Petrov had broken the chains of serfdom that bound the family and gained immediate status and wealth as a merchant. By the time Konstantin was born, the Alexeyev business of gold and silver thread production had made the family name well known throughout the world. 

Silver and gold were not the only interests of the Alexeyev family. While Konstantin was still very young, the family organized a theatre group called the Alexeyev Circle. Throughout his ascent to a major role on the stage, Konstantin maintained obligations to his family business, organizing shareholder meetings and keeping the accounts in order. However, his preoccupation with all aspects of theatrical production eventually made him a leading member of his family's theatre group. 

Reared by a wealthy and generous father, Konstantin was never short of funding in his early stage performances. Ultimately, in order to escape the stereotype of the prodigal son and to be mindful of the reputation of his family, at the age of 25, Konstantin took the stage name Stanislavski. In the same year he established the Society of Art and Literature as an amateaur company at the Maly Theatre, where he gained experience in ethics, aesthetics and stagecraft. As he progressed independently, Stanislavsky began to further challenge the traditional stage approach. In 1898, in cooperation with Vladimir Nemirovich- Danchenko, Stanislavski founded the Moscow Art Theatre, Russia's first ensemble theatre.

"The program for our undertaking was revolutionary. We protested against the old manner of acting and against theatricality, against artificial pathos and declamation, and against affectation on the stage, and inferior conventional productions and decoration, against the star system which had been a bad affect on the cast, against the whole arrangement of plays and against the poor repertoire of the theatres." - Stanislavski

Using the Moscow Art Theatre as his conduit, Stanislavski developed his own unique system of training wherein actors would research the situation created by the script, break down the text according to their character's motivations and recall their own experiences, thereby causing actions and reactions according to these motivations. The actor would ideally make his motivations for acting identical to those of the character in the script. He could then replay these emotions and experiences in the role of the character in order to achieve a more genuine performance. The 17th Century melodrama Tsar Fyodor was the first production in which these techniques were showcased.

"How does an actor act? ... How can the actor learn to inspire himself? What can he do to impel himself toward that necessary yet maddeningly elusive creative mood? These were the simple, awesome riddles Stanislavksi dedicated his life to exploring. Where and how to 'seek those roads into the secret sources of inspiration must serve as the fundamental life problem of every true actor' ... If the ability to receive the creative mood in its full measure is given to the genius by nature", Stanislavski wondered, "then perhaps ordinary people may reach a like state after a great deal of hard work with themselves - not in its full measure, but at least in part." - A Method to Their Madness: The History of the Actors Studio

Using this system, Stanislavski succeeded like no producer or director before him in translating the works of such renowned playwrights as Chekov and Gorki, whose writings were aptly suited to his method. With their social consciousness and emphasis on the importance of imagery and theme rather than plot, they were blank canvasses on which Stanislavski could exercise his artful hand. 

Stanislavski clearly could not separate the theatre from its social context. He viewed theatre as a medium with great social and educational significance. During the civil unrest leading up to the first Russian revolution in 1905, Stanislavski courageously reflected social issues on the stage. Twelve years later, during the Red October of 1917, Bolshevism had swept through Russia and the Soviet Union was established. In the violence of revolution, Lenin's personal protection saved Stanislavski from being eliminated along with the Czardom. The USSR maintained allegiance to Stanislavski and his socially conscious method of production and his theatre began to produce plays containing Soviet propoganda.

"The revolution thundered in and made its demands on us. There began a period of new explorations, of reappraisal of the old and the search for new ways. At a time when the new for the sake of the new and the negation of everything that had come before held sway in the theatre, we could not reject out of hand all that was fine in the past ... This link with the past and the eagerness to move to an unknown future, the searching quests of the new theatre - all this helped to keep us from succumbing to the dangerous 'charms' of formalism ... We did not succumb; instead we began our quest for new ways, cautiously but doggedly." - Stanislavski

In 1918 Stanislakski established the First Studio as a school for young actors and in his later years wrote two books, My Life in Art and The Actor and His Work. Both have been translated into over 20 languages. Through his earnest professional and educational leadership, Stanislavksi spread his knowledge to numerous understudies, leaving a legacy that cannot be overstated.

"It was with a feeling of deep emotion and joy that we entered Stanislavski's house: a tall old man with snow white hair rose from the arm chair to greet us. It was enough for us to converse with Stanislavski just 5- 10 minutes to come away feeling like a new born person, cleansed of all that might be 'bad' in art." - Khmelyov

In 1938, just before World War II, Stanislavski died holding on to the ideal of a peaceful, socially responsible world. A world completely engulfed in the experiences and interchange of works of art that people of every nation would identify with and cherish.

Theatre Journal

For six decades, Theatre Journal's broad array of scholarly articles and reviews has earned it an international reputation as one of the most authoritative and useful publications of theatre studies available today. Drawing contributions from noted practitioners and scholars,Theatre Journal features social and historical studies, production reviews, and theoretical inquiries that analyze dramatic texts and production. Theatre Journal is an official publication of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE).

THEATRE VOCABULARY

Actor/Actress:  A male or female person who performs a role in a play, work of theatre, or movie.

Antagonist:  A person or a situation that opposes another character’s goals or desires.

Articulation:  The clear and precise pronunciation of words.

Blocking:  The planning and working out of the movements of actors on stage.

Catharsis: The purification or purgation of the emotions (such as pity, fear, grief, etc.) affected in a work of tragedy.

Concentration: The ability of the actor/actress to be “in” character - that is, to be like the character s/he is portraying – in dialog, attitude, carriage, gait, etc.

Center stage: The center of the area defined as the stage.

Character:  A personality or role an actor/actress re-creates.

Characterization: The development and portrayal of a personality through thought, action, dialogue, costuming, and makeup.

Climax:  The point of greatest dramatic tension or transition in a theatrical work.

Cold reading:  A reading of a script done by actors who have not previously reviewed the play.

Collaboration:  Two or more people working together in a joint intellectual effort.

Commedia dell’arte: A professional form of theatrical improvisation, developed in Italy in the 1500’s, featuring stock characters and standardized plots.

Comedy:  A theatrical work that is intentionally humorous.

Conflict:  Opposition of persons or forces giving rise to dramatic action.

Context: Interrelated conditions in which a play exists or occurs.

Costume:  Clothing worn by an actor on stage during a performance.

Creative drama:  An improvisational, process-centered form of theatre in which participants are guided by a leader to imagine, enact, and reflect on human experiences.

Crisis:  A decisive point in the plot of a play on which the outcome of the remaining action depends.

Critique: Opinions and comments based on predetermined criteria that may be used for self- evaluation or the evaluation of the actors or the production itself.

Cue:  A signal, either verbal or physical, that indicates something else, such as a line of dialogue or an entrance, is to happen.

Denouement:  The final resolution of the conflict in a plot.

Design:  The creative process of developing and executing aesthetic or functional designs in a production, such as costumes, lighting, sets, and makeup.

Dialogue:  The conversation between actors on stage.

Diction: The pronunciation of words, the choice of words, and the manner in which a person expresses himself or herself.

Directing: The art and technique of bringing the elements of theatre together to make a play.

Director:  The person who oversees the entire process of staging a production.

Downstage: The stage area toward the audience.

Dramatic play: Children’s creation of scenes when they play “pretend”.

Dramatic structure: The particular literary structure and style in which plays are written.

Dramaturg: A person who provides specific in-depth knowledge and literary resources to a director, producer, theatre company, or even the audience.

Dress rehearsals: The final few rehearsals just prior to opening night in which the show is run with full technical elements. Full costumes and makeup are worn.

Electronic media: Means of communication characterized by the use of technology (e.g., radio, television, and the Internet).

Elizabethan theatre: The theatre of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and often extended to the close of the theatres in 1640.

Emotional memory: The technique of calling upon your own memories to understand a character’s emotions.

Ensemble: A group of theatrical artists working together to create a theatrical production.

Epic theatre: Theatrical movement of the early 1920’s and 1930 characterized by the use of such artificial devices as cartoons, posters, and film sequences distancing  the audience from theatrical illusion and following focus on the play’s message.

Exposition: Detailed information revealing the facts of a plot.

Farce: A comedy with exaggerated characterizations, abundant physical or visual humor, and, often, an improbable plot.

Form: The overall structure or shape of a work that frequently follows and established design. Forms may refer to a literary type (e.g., narrative form, short-story form, dramatic form) or to pattern of meter, line, and rhymes (e.g., stanza form, verse form).

Formal theatre: Theatre that focuses on public performance in the front of an audience and in which the final production is most important.

Genre: In literary and dramatic studies, genre refers to the main types of literary form, principally tragedy and comedy. The term can also refer to forms that are more specific to a given historical era, such as the revenge tragedy, or to more specific sub-genres of tragedy and comedy, such as the comedy of manners.

Gesture: An expressive movement of the body or limbs.

Greek theatre: Theatrical events in honor of the god Dionysus in Ancient Greece and included play competitions and a chorus of masked actors.

Improvisation: A spontaneous style of theatre through which scenes are created without advance rehearsal or a script.

Informal theatre:  A theatrical performance that focuses on small presentations, such as one taking place in a classroom setting. Usually, it is not intended for public view.

Kabuki:  One of the traditional forms of Japanese theatre, originating in the 1600’s and combining stylized acting, costumes, makeup, and musical accompaniment.

Level: The height of an actor’s head actor as determined by his or her body position (e.g., sitting, lying, standing, or elevated by an artificial means).

Make-up: Cosmetics and sometimes hairstyles that an actor wears on stage to emphasize facial features, historical periods, characterizations, and so forth.

Masks: Coverings worn over the face or part of the face of an actor to emphasize or neutralize facial characteristics.

Melodrama: A dramatic form popular in the 1800s and characterized by an emphasis on plot and physical action (versus characterization), cliff-hanging events, heart tugging emotional appeals, the celebration of virtue, and a strongly  moralistic tone.

Mime: An incident art form based on pantomime in which conventionalized gestures are used to express ideas rather than represent actions; also, a performer of mime.

Monologue: A long speech by a single character.

Motivation:  A character’s reason for doing or saying things in a play.

Musical theatre:  A type of entertainment containing music, songs, and, usually, dance.

Noh:  One of the traditional forms of Japanese theatre in which masked male actors use highly stylized dance and poetry to tell stories.

Objective: A character’s goal or intention

Pacing: The tempo of an entire theatrical performance.

Pantomime:  Acting without words through facial expression, gesture, and movement.

Pitch: The highness or lowness of voice

Play: The stage representation of an action or a story; a dramatic composition.

Playwright:  A person who writes plays.

Position: The orientation of the actor to the audience (e.g., full front, right profile, left profile).

Projection: The placement and delivery of volume, clarity, and distinctness of voice for communicating to an audience.

Props (properties): Items carried on stage by an actor; small items on the set used by the actors.

Proscenium: The view of the stage for the audience; also called a proscenium arch. The archway is in a sense the frame for stage as defined by the boundaries of the stage beyond which a viewer cannot see.

Protagonist: The main character of a play and the character with whom the audience identifies most strongly.

Puppetry:  Almost anything brought to life by human hands to create a performance. Types of puppets include rod, hand, and marionette.

Rehearsal:  Practice sessions in which the actors and technicians prepare for public performance through repetition.

Rising action: The part of a plot consisting of complications and discoveries that create conflict.

Run-through: A rehearsal moving from start to finish without stopping for corrections or notes.

Script: The written text of a play.

Sense memory: Memories of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures. It is used to help define a character in a certain situation.

Stage: The area where actors perform.

Stage crew: The backstage technical crew responsible for running the show. In small theatre companies the same persons build the set and handle the load-in. Then, during performances, they change the scenery and handle the curtain.

Stage manager:  The director’s liaison backstage during rehearsal and performance. The stage manager is responsible for the running of each performance.

Stage left:  The left side of the stage from the perspective of an actor facing the audience.

Stage right: The right side of the stage from the perspective of an actor facing the audience.

Stock characters: Established characters, such as young lovers, neighborhood busybodies, sneaky villains, and overprotective fathers, who are immediately recognizable by an audience.

Style: The distinctive and unique manner in which a writer arranges words to achieve particular effects. Style essentially combines the idea to be expressed with the individuality of the author. These arrangements include individual word choices as well as such matters as the length and structure of sentences, tone, and use of irony.

Subtext:  Information that is implied by a character but not stated by a character in dialogue, including actions and thoughts.

Tableau : A silent and motionless depiction of a scene created by actors, often from a picture (plural tableaux).

Text: Printed words, including dialogue and the stage directions for a script.

Theatre: To imitate or represent life in performance for other people; the performance of dramatic literature; drama, the milieu of actors, technicians, and playwrights; the place where dramatic performances take place.

Theatre of the absurd:  Theatrical movement beginning in the 1950s in which playwrights created works representing the universe as unknowable and humankind’s existence as meaningless.

Theatrical conventions: The established techniques, practices, and devices unique to theatrical productions.

Theatrical experiences: Events, activities, and productions associated with theatre, film/video, and electronic media.

Theatre games: Noncompetitive games designed to develop acting skills and popularized by Viola Spolin.

Tragedy: Used as a noun, the stage area away from the audience; used as a verb, to steal the focus of a scene.

Vocal quality: The characteristics of a voice, such as shrill, nasal, raspy, breathy, booming, and so forth.

Volume: The degree of loudness or intensity of a voice.

Theatrical style

Theatrical style
There are five basic theatrical forms either defined, implied, or derived by or from Aristotle: Tragedy; Comedy; Melodrama; and Drame. Any number of styles can be used to convey these forms.
A good working definition of, "Style", is how something is done. Theatrical styles are influenced by their time and place, artistic and other social structures, as well as the individual style of the particular artist or artists. As theater is a mongrel art form, a production may or may not have stylistic integrity with regard to script, acting, direction, design, music, and venue.
There are a variety of theatrical styles used in theater/drama. These include
Naturalism: Portraying life on stage with a close attention to detail, based on observation of real life. Cause and effect are central to the script's structure, with the subjects focused on conflicts of "nature vs. nurture", the natural order of things, survival, notions of evolution. The production style is one of everyday reality. Emil Zola's works may be regarded as naturalism, as would be early works from Strindberg such as Miss Julie.
Realism: Portraying characters on stage that are close to real life, with realistic settings and staging. Realism is an effort to satisfy all the theatrical conventions necessary to the production, but to do so in a way that seems to be "normal" life.
Expressionism: Anti-realistic in seeing appearance as distorted and the truth lying within man. The outward appearance on stage can be distorted and unrealistic to portray an eternal truth.
Absurdity: Presents a perspective that all human attempts at significance are illogical. Ultimate truth is chaos with little certainty. There is no necessity that need drive us.
Modernism: A broad concept that sees art, including theater, as detached from life in a pure way and able to reflect on life critically.
Postmodernism: There are multiple meanings, and meaning is what you create, not what is. This approach often uses other media and breaks accepted conventions and practices.
Classical: A type of theater which relies upon imagination (and therefore limited props) to convey the setting and atmosphere of the play. Classical theatre usually contains lofty, grand prose or free verse dialogue. Good examples are the Elizabethan dramatists William Shakespeare
Epic Theatre: As devised by Bertolt Brecht, epic theatre forces audience members to constantly return to rational observation, rather that emotional immersion. Sudden bursts of song, elements of absurdity and breaches of the fourth wall are all prime examples of how this rational observation is constantly revitalized; this idea is known as Verfremdung.

Plays and Genres of Plays

A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. Plays are performed at a variety of levels, from Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional theater, to Community theatre, as well a University or school productions. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed or read. The term "play" can refer to both the written works of playwrights and to their complete theatrical performance.

Genres of Plays
1. Comedy
Comedies are plays which are designed to be humorous. Comedies are often filled with witty remarks, unusual characters, and strange circumstances. Certain comedies are geared toward different age groups. Comedies were one of the two original play types of Ancient Greece, along with tragedies. An example of a comedy would be William Shakespeare's play "A Midsummer Night Dream," or for a more modern example the skits from "Saturday Night Live".
2. Farce
A generally nonsensical genre of play, farces are often overacted and often involve slapstick humour. An example of a farce includes William Shakespeare's play "The Comedy of Errors," or Mark Twain's play "Is He Dead?"
3. Satirical
A satire play takes a comic look at current events people while at the same time attempting to make a political or social statement, for example pointing out corruption. An example of a satire would be Nikolai Gogol's The Government Inspector and Aristophanes' Lysistrata.
4. Tragedy
These plays often involve death and are designed to cause the reader or viewer to feel sadness. Tragic plays convey all emotions, and have extremely dramatic conflicts. Tragedy was one of the two original play types of Ancient Greece. Some examples of tragedies include William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, and also John Webster's play The Duchess of Malfi.
5. Historical
These plays focus on actual historical events. They can be tragedies or comedies, but are often neither of these. History as a separate genre was popularized by William Shakespeare. Examples of historical plays include Friedrich Schiller's Demetrius and William Shakespeare's King John.
Terminology
The term "play" can be either a general term, or more specifically refer to a non-musical play. Sometimes the term "straight play" is used in contrast to "musical", which refers to a play based on music, dance, and songs sung by the play's characters. For a short play, the term "playlet" is sometimes used.

Warner Theatre – Washington, DC, USA

The Warner Theatre, located in the heart of downtown Washington, DC, is a 1,847-seat theater that features a variety of professional performances including comedies, dramas, musicals and more. The historic theater was built in 1924 and was remodeled in the 1990s. It is currently operated by Live Nation. Event space is available for special events, concerts, receptions, private events, and corporate meetings.
Warner Theatre Tickets

A $5 service charge is added to all tickets purchased at the Warner Theatre Box Office.

Most tickets are available through Ticketmaster.com
You may also find premium seating at TicketsNow.com
Location

513 13th Street NW
Washington, DC
Closest Metro Station: Metro Center

The Warner Theatre is located in the heart of Washington, DC, just three blocks from The White House. Many restaurants, hotels and shops are located in the neighborhood surrounding the theater. Find restaurants in Washington, DC’s theater district.
Parking Lots Near the Warner Theatre

PMI - 1220 E Street, NW
PMI -1325 G Street, NW
QUICK PARK I - 1301 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
QUICK PARK II - 1331 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
COLONIAL PARKING - 1201 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
CARRPARK - 1450 F Street, NW

Official Website
www.warnertheatredc.com