What Stanislavski Taught

Constantin Stanislavski's "Method of Physical Actions" involves the ability of the conscious mind to determine subconscious action. Stanislavski knew that every inner experience has an external physical expression. The science of the period confirmed this knowledge. Researcher I. M. Sechenov found that our bodies express thoughts before we are aware of them. Stanislavsky came to realize that the actor can program the subconscious to feel and express the emotions appropriate to his character by first mechanically executing the main physical actions of the character. Eventually the appropriate emotions join in and the finer nuances of physical action which lend realism occur along with them.

The Nine Elements of Action

1. "Magic If" addresses the actor's question "What would I do if I were this character?" In attempting to answer this question the most natural performance will result as per the actor's ability to immerse himself in the character's circumstances and actually pursue the character's goals onstage.

2. "Given Circumstances" include everything about the play which is beyond the actor's control. The actor must study the script thoroughly so that he can truly accept the given environment of the play.

3. "Imagination" is something the actor should develop to the ultimate degree. It will enable him to project into the circumstances of the play and to develop unique, tasteful, impressive tactics in pursuit of the character's goals.

4. "Concentration of Attention" involves the actor's focusing on anything within the play which will eliminate being distracted by anything offstage. A small circle of attention is easier to sustain than a large one. The actor can achieve a feeling of "public solitude" by concentrating upon the physical action within the stage environment. The actor should truly see, hear, and think within the context of the play. If he does this, the audience will experience the same things he experiences.

5. "Truth and Belief" does not require surrendering to unreality or hallucination, but simply developing the ability to convey scenic truth. This involves executing physical actions with logical consecutiveness according to the "Magic If" within the constraints of the play's given circumstances. This is especially important in tragic scenes to avoid overacting through the exaggeration of emotion. Truthful execution of even small physical actions helps the actor to believe in the play. Actions should be imaginative and unique, but also simple and not involve irrelevant detail which could distract from the actor's goals or intentions.

6. "Communion" is a sustained emotional interaction between those onstage, and draws the audience into the circumstances of the play. The actor must commune with his acting partner, not just with the imaginary character. Successful communion means seeing, hearing, and understanding your partner and making sure that they see, hear, and understand you.

7. "Adaptation" involves overcoming obstacles in achieving a goals. The proper adaptation for execution of an action comes with the answers to the questions of "What, Why, How do I do this?"

8. "Tempo-rhythm" is important to truthfulness in acting in that it must be appropriate to the circumstances. Tempo is the speed, and rhythm is the varying intensity with which events are experienced and actions executed. These will vary greatly depending on circumstances. (e.g. Seeing cows grazing in a field vs. meeting a grizzly bear in the woods).

9. "Emotional Memory" in acting best involves drawing upon the cumulatively imprinted knowledge we all possess about the emotional states appropriate to various circumstances. Stanislavsky came to feel that this is preferable to replaying remembered emotional reactions to specific events in our own lives.

Peterson Commentary

Using the Conscious Mind to Determine Subconscious Action ~

The conscious mind is the boss. The subconscious mind is a skilled and capable executive assistant whose abilities are superior in many ways to those of the boss. Essentially the actor states his main blocking to the subconscious with the admonition - "Take care of the details. I don't want to be bothered with them". A specific example. The role calls for anger, so the actor decides to walk briskly across the stage and confront the encroaching enemy. He farms out the details of vocal intonation, facial expression, and hand gestures to the subconscious. The proof here is that when the actor does the scene well he usually doesn't remember very much about how he did it.

Understanding the Character ~

There is a little bit of everybody in everybody else. No matter who the character, there is some small part of the actor which mirrors that person. The key is to explore this common ground unashamedly, keep your findings to yourself, and then skillfully portray the character as per your understanding. Backstory undiclosed by the script can imbue the actor's performance with far greater authority, but only if he is familiar with it, as in reading the novel version of the story, or a good biography if the character is historical. Should it happen that you despise the character too much to want your name associated with him him, then don't take the role. You can always do it later in life when you come to see it as a challenge rather than a moral compromise.

Emotional Memory ~

Archetypal knowledge of emotion is innate in all normal humans, and along with later imprinted knowledge, will come into play for the actor. A new baby knows how to cry and laugh in the human way even though at birth neuronal imprinting is only at an invertebrate level. Concentrating on events from our past to summon emotion for acting is a misuse of our treasured memories and will eventually cause our feelings to burn out.  

Roy C. Peterson / Heroic Destiny Productions