The Technique of Acting

by Stella Adler, Marlon Brando (Foreword)

A disciple of Konstantin Stanislavski and a member of the Group Theatre in the 1930s, the noted actress and teacher offers advice on acting preparations, the demands of characterization, and dramatic exercises, as well as personal memories

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.

[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

[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.

[Rohit]

just started, yet to know more about it

[Vicky Singh]

Learn technique of acting

[Himanshu Singh]

I want to read it.