Building A Character (Bloomsbury Revelations) - Softcover

Constantin Stanislavski

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1780935676 ISBN 13: 9781780935676

Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic, 2013

Synopsis

In this follow up to his most famous book, An Actor Prepares, Stanislavski develop his influential 'system' of acting by exploring the imaginative processes at the heart of the actor's craft. Building a Character deals with the physical realisation of character on the stage through such tools as expressions, movement and speech. It is a book in which every theory is inextricably bound up with practice - a perfect handbook to the physical art of acting. The work of Stanislavski has inspired generations of actors and trainers and - available now in the Bloomsbury Revelations series to mark the 150th anniversary of Stanislavski's birth - it remains an essential read for actors and directors at all stages of their careers.

About this title

Review

"Indispensable for the actor, stimulating for the layman."
-"The Nation
"Anyone who attempts to train actors or to direct plays will find here a great mine of practical wisdom, all informed by Stanislavski's grasp of the art itself."
-Francis Fergusson, "Educational Theatre Journal
"In (this book) Stanislavski, assuming the reader's familiarity with the 'inner technique', proceeds to study costume and the wearing of costume, bodily movement, voice, speech and the use of language, and tempo and rhythm-- the more external but essential techniques whereby the actor learns to use his physical instrument . . . and he expounds them as only a master can; i.e., with the insight and authority of talent plus expeirence. Anyone who attempts to train actors or to direct plays will find here a great mine of practical wisdom."
-Francis Fergusson, "Education Theatre Journal
"The chapter on Diction and Singing offers an analysis of basic problems of singing that is unrivaled."
-"Musical America

About the Author

Constantin Stanislavski (1863-1938) was a Russian director who sought 'inner realism' by insisting that his actors find the truth within themselves and 'become' the characters they portrayed. His work brought international fame to the Moscow Art Theatre, which he had co-founded with Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko in 1897. During his early years at the Moscow Art Theatre, he directed the first productions of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya (1899), Three Sisters (1901) and The Cherry Orchard (1904) as well as a series of celebrated versions of Shakespeare. Stanislavski toured America with the company in 1923. After World War II, the US edition of Stanislavski's treatise An Actor Prepares (1926) became a bible of the Method school of acting.

Edition details

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1780935676
• ISBN 13: 9781780935676
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 272