Stanislavsky in Focus

by Sharon Marie Carnicke

The author takes advantage of new primary materials that have broken through strict censorship, to dispel the prevailing myths about Stanislavsky and his "Method." By examining the history behind the lore and spotlighting the premises of the "System," this book sets the scene for newly revitalized readings of the seminal Russian playwright, director, and theorist.
Western actors routinely identify his "System" with Strasberg's "Method" and psychological realism. In Russia, Soviet Marxism limited Stanislavsky to the physical world and Socialist Realism. These assumptions have blurred other aspects of Stanislavsky drawn from Yoga, Symbolism, and formalist attitudes towards texts.

Genres: Theatre

235 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1998

Reviews

[Bobby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant analysis of some of Stanislavski's key concepts. The author also explains how these concepts have become distorted in the United States by inadequate translations and by teachers imposing their own neo-Freudian agendas, and in the Soviet union by Stalinist censorship. Some of the ideas were discussed in less detail than I would have liked, but the book provides an excellent foundation for further exploration.

[Stephan P Zacharias]

Comes sometime this week...looking forward to this totally new approach to Stanislavsky then I have ever been taught before. Finally someone who translates his ideas the right way as my new acting coach has been teaching us...amazing new fact that I haven't known in all the years I have been learning this technique (going back to 1994) apparently Stanislavsky thought sense-memory was BS too!! How cool is that??

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply outstanding, not only laying out a clear image of how Stanislavsky saw his System and clarifying its differences from modern interpretations, but tracing the history of the System and its transmission. Carnicke's writing style is engaging and keeps the material compelling at all times.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent third-person account of Stanislavsky. It gets right to the heart of what he was trying to teach without wasting any time.