 Acting Techniques

Konstantin Stanislavski  His series of techniques is called the Stanislavski System  Most common chunk is “the method”  This technique asks the actor, “What would I do if I were in the character’s situation?”  This created objectives  What would you do and why?  produce visible action on stage  Recall different emotional experiences  Example: If your character's grandfather has just died, and you the actor have ever known the feeling of losing your own grandfather (or any family member, for that matter), recall the experience. How did you feel? What did you do? What did you want at the time it happened?  All of these can be used to fuel your character's own choices and objectives.

Uta Hagen  Advised actors to learn as much as possible about the character and everything related to their world  Had actors answer questions about their characters  Who am I? Where am I? What do I want? What is in my way of getting what I want?  Stressed the importance of doing rather than just standing around

Sandy Meisner  Meisner Technique: find a motivation for every moment whether it’s silence, action, or dialogue  Always have a visible indication of the character  “Live truthfully under fictional circumstances”  The subtext of the lines and the emotions of the objectives guide the actor into their next movement  Memorize lines without vocal inflection or gestures  The delivery on stage would be more natural instead of pre-prepared  Embrace spontaneity by not knowing what will happen until the moment actually occurs on stage

Stella Adler  Stressed the importance of being BIG, not boring  Encouraged a lot of practice to take in more and more minor details each time  Immerse yourself into the environment, the character, and the situation

Lee Strasburg  Advised actors to fully research every aspect of his or her character, especially the backstory and their personal life  Goal was to have actors become so familiar with their characters' lives, the characters would be just as constant as the actors' own lives  Asked actors to try and remember as many reactions, thoughts, and feelings as possible through everyday living and try to apply them to a character going through the same experiences