The Technique of Acting

by Stella Adler, Marlon Brando (foreword)

Take a Master Class from the Woman Who Taught America's Greatest Actors"Acting is stubborn work, necessitating constant attention and a rigorous schedule. It is not for geniuses. It is for people who work step-by-step. While there is no recipe for acting, it does follow a sequence of principles. The ideas and exercises that follow can work for you and give you the courage to fight for your development and craft. . . . More than anything, it is an actor's job to penetrate the playwright's creations-the subtleties and mysteries that the playwright's ideas contain."

-from Stella Adler's introduction to The Technique of Acting.

As a seminal American acting teacher of the 20th century, Stella Adler shaped the work of such acclaimed actors as Marlon Brando, Selma Hayek, Harvey Keitel, Melanie Griffith, Robert DeNiro, Benicio Del Toro, and Warren Beatty, as well as choreographers Alvin Ailey and Jerome Robbins, among others. As Brando states in his foreword, "Ms Adler presents us with an analysis of the technique of acting that is incisive, intelligent, and long overdue."

The Technique of Acting is an introduction to Adler's unique approach to acting, addressing such key elements as imagination, circumstances, actions, working with text, and developing a character, and is replete with examples and exercises that concretely build skills. The book finishes with her compelling narrative of how she came to study intensively with Konstantin Stanislavski.

If you love theater and love acting, this work will provide you with invaluable insight and education to both.

This book is also available from Echo Point Books as a hardcover (ISBN 1648374417).

Genres: Theatre, Nonfiction, Film, Art

156 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Stella Adler was an American actress and celebrated acting teacher.

Reviews

[EJ Paras · Rating 5 out of 5]

“In this life, most people are forced to use only one side of themselves. All those other selves create a unique unquiet in the actor’s soul; and that is what provokes the actor’s talent to be heard."

Yeah. This is kind of a Bible for an actor, or I’d go as far as to say any creative. To the few of you who follow me here, I’ve been a broken record talking about my recent start at acting school (specifically the Stella Adler Studio of Acting).

We were encouraged to seek this book out for more context before starting at the conservatory. And this was such a succinct, easy read, with many insights and quick, intuitive examples that really helped reframe my mind when it comes to acting and using my imagination. Seeking the truth.

It’s a book I could probably reread once a year, or whenever there’s an intense role I need to prepare for and I just need to go back and learn the essentials again. It’s like a musician still needing to do scales before a performance, like an athlete who warms up before a game; it’s all applicable.

“These set standards of behavior, or the Norm, are obstacles for the growing artist. This middle-class way of thinking (Norm) becomes a straitjacket for the imagination.”

Organically in my life I’ve already referenced this book that applied to scenarios or conversations outside the context of acting. Specifically the idea that actors only really have two different motivations when it comes to a scene, when you really break it down:

“1. His destructiveness when he deals solely with the appetites he was born with.
2. His dissatisfied struggle to attain something higher in life than his instincts.”

There are pearls of wisdom like these that kept popping up. Sure, it’s a book about the technique of acting, but acting is representative of a life itself, even if heightened, exaggerated, or fictional. Within the context of its scene or play, it’s truth. Playing characters with real problems, we can, if managed correctly, merge parts of ourselves with the character. My voice & speech teacher said my Edmund will be different than other people’s Edmund because I approach the role, written in classic Shakespearean old English, differently than how someone else would.

“An actor is the person who understands that words carry ideas.”

And damn, they do. Thank you, Stella. Excited to keep moving forward and growing. Apologies in advance, to anyone that cares, that all the books I’ll be reading are probably plays or relating to craft. Back in #school.

[Meaghan O'Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book for actors just starting out or for pros who are open to more learning!

[Marley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is worth the time for any actor to read, as Adler was a master of her craft - after all, if you taught Marlon Brando how to act, you must know something. That being said, it’s not for anyone else really. It’s got acting lessons and exercises and reasonings that are all very useful for an actor, a director or other people in the entertainment business - but not for anyone else.
It’s quite good, but not for everyone.

[Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stella Adler is one of the early founders of Actors Studio (NY, USA)! Many theatre and movie actors and actresses have beenin her classes for a while ... Maybe Stella Adler is a bit old these days but her methods which is influenced by Stanislavski’s Method Acting, was very popular for 3-4 decades (1940-1970s)...

[Amhs Performing · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best acting books of all time. Easy to follow, Stella builds on her fundamental techniques with practical activities. ER

[Hayden Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been wanting to learn about Stella Alder’s techniques for quite some time now especially after reading “The Method” by Isaac Butler. This book did not disappoint. It was everything I thought it would be plus more. Every actor needs to get their hands on this book.

[Morteza1041489 · Rating 5 out of 5]

best

[Jordan Ferreira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Masterpiece of modern acting guidance.

[Katherine Bloom · Rating 4 out of 5]

کتاب عالی بود و در زمینه بازیگری خیلی چیزا مهمی بهم یاد داد و علاقم با این کتاب به بازیگری بیشتر شد بشدت 😍

[keaton · Rating 5 out of 5]

queen and she knew it too

[groggy · Rating 1 out of 5]

i was so bored the whole time i read this. hated this, learnt a little but it was like the worst time of my life. i spent a weekend reading this where i couldve been having fun

[Inge · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked it. It was very interesting.
Brought me back when I was studying acting in middle school. Some of the basic principals are well described here.

[Ameeliiaeelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved the exercise where Adler calls on the actor to denounce oil companies and bankers... the subtext was don't stop at the teachings of stanislavski, include Marx, Lenin and Trotsky too

[Rohit]

just started, yet to know more about it

[Vicky Singh]

Learn technique of acting

[Himanshu Singh]

I want to read it.