Stanislavski in Rehearsal

by Vasilii Osipovich Toporkov, Marcia Landy (Editor), Jean Benedetti (Translator)

Vasili Toporkov was one of the rare outsiders ever to be invited to join the Moscow Art Theatre. Although already an experienced and accomplished artist, he was forced to retrain as an actor under Stanislavski's rigorous guidance. This is Toporkov's account of this learning process, offering an insight into Stanislavski's legendary "system" and his method of rehearsal that became known as the method of physical action. Spanning ten years - from 1928 to 1938 - Toporkov charts the last crucial years of Stanislavski's work as a director. Toporkov reveals Stanislavski as a multi-faceted personality - funny, furious, kind, ruthless, encouraging, exacting - waging war against clichés and quick answers, inspiring his actors and driving to despair in his pursuit of artistic perfection.
Jean Benedetti's new translation of Toporkov's invaluable record restores to us the vitality and insight of Stanislavski's mature thoughts on acting.

Genres: Theatre, Film, Nonfiction

184 pages, Paperback

First published January 7, 1987

Reviews

[Daniel P · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating reading and not only for Actors

[Denislav Yanev · Rating 4 out of 5]

A splendid inside view of how Stanislavski's method changed and was used by the great master in the last performances he directed just before his passing. The comparison between the actor's training, and theatre practices in general, that were current at that time and Stanislavski's evolving system, made by leading actor Toporkov ( having the background to support his comparisons with examples), is in my mind one of the most significant assets of the book.