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Stanislavsky Method

Stanislavsky Method is taught at Next Actor through scenes and exercises in order to make you, the actor, a superior performer in front of the camera and on-stage. Developed by the Russian actor, director, and producer Konstantin Stanislavsky (and formally called the "Stanislavsky Method" in his honor) in the early decades of the 20th century, the "method" asks that the actor look into himself to find a personal basis for the emotions required in a scene. The audience must believe that the actor actually feels the emotions in order for the performance to have resonance and power. The motivation need not come from experiencing the exact situation as the character, but can come from the "emotional memory" of the actor.

Emphasis is placed on the confusion between the mental understanding, which the actor usually settles for, and totality of mental, physical, and emotional experience of which the actor is capable. The first half of each acting class is devoted to the various exercises that constitute our method of work. This includes the essential element of relaxation and the training of one's sense memory. The purpose of the acting exercises is to train the actor's sensitivity to respond as fully and vividly to imaginary objects as they are already capable of doing to real objects in life. They will, therefore, have the belief, faith, and imagination to create on stage and screen the "living through" that is always at the core of any great acting performance.

In the second part of the class, students present scenes or monologues, learning to apply the proper sensory and emotional experiences to motivate and accompany the behavior of the character.

Stanislavsky worked on honing his theories with the Moscow Art Theatre, and when the group performed in America in the early 1920s, those theories captured the fancy of the theater world. A young Lee Strassberg, whose name has since become synonymous with method acting, was enamored of Stanislavsky's ideas. His work with the Actors Studio brought method acting into prominence.

Next Actor Studio is designed after the venerable Actors Studio in New York.

The venerable Actors Studio, founded in 1947 by directors Cheryl Crawford, Elia Kazan, and Robert Lewis, now has three new leaders: Al Pacino, Ellen Burstyn, and Harvey Keitel. The Studio has a reputation as a forum where established actors can study the acting process in a noncommercial environment. A prime part of that process is "method" acting, an emotional approach to the craft that revolutionized modern-day theater and film. In 1948 Strasberg became artistic director of the fledgling studio, a position he would hold until his death in 1982. His students number some of America's most iconic and intense actors, including Marlon Brando, James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, and Robert DeNiro.

We are now offering the Second Part of Method Acting for which you must have finished the first session.
Next Class : Wed, Sept 10 @ 7 - 9 PM

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