My Resources

My Schemes On Dramawest

For student/teacher help, tips, forum
My MSN Group

A new initiative in Performing Arts
Networking Arts

Ken Taylors group
Subscribe to dramauk


Stanislavsky Resources/Lessons

My Stanislavsky Printable Files

Stan/Artaud & Marat/Sade Scheme,


Handout Stanislavsky
Handout Nat vs Realism
Handout on Marat/Sade


My Stanislavsky Lessons

Relaxation/Imagination

Introduce Stanislavsky work through a series of relaxation techniques; (Mitchell Technique and visualisation-on a beach, or on a cloud.) They are to relax their muscles one at a time by tensing, them releasing from the toes to the head. This is linked to Stanislavsky's IMAGINATION from Stans ‘method’. This could be an extension of the relaxation involving the picturing of images or smells for SENSE MEMORY or the recalling of an emotion or memory for SENSE MEMORY. Students are asked to think of something they don’t like and are told to visualise this down to the last detail; (smell, taste, touch, fear factor, where it is, what it is doing etc). A few pupils are then asked to describe this to the class, who with their eyes closed are asked to picture each detail and then say what it was the person was describing.

Imagination 2

During Stanislavsky's drama classes, students were asked to act out different scenarios. Stanislavsky would watch them acting out mundane tasks such as losing a set of keys or looking for a handbag. He would watch them run aimlessly around the stage, pretending to tear out their hair or feigning worry. He asked one of his students to imagine that the keys were somewhere in the room. The actress then began to actually search for the keys rather than to act searching for the keys. It is only when the imagination believes that the situation is real that the true feelings of the actress are conveyed to the audience. This can also be linked to the what if technique described below.

What If?

A volunteer is to act as though they are walking down the street. The other students then ask... 'What if...' and make a suggestion to the volunteer to act out a situation. This may be, 'What if you were attacked by an old lady'. It may be appropriate that the other student becomes the old lady. The reactions to WHAT IF need to be spontaneous and need to be as realistic and naturalistic as possible. Examples include; 'What if you were hit by a bus?', then 'What if you found out you had broken your leg?' These are rather extreme examples so if you were rehearsing a scene from the Cherry Orchard, a WHAT IF may be something like; What if Ranyevskaya had savings that she had kept a secret or What if Lopakhin only wanted to marry Varya to have a stronghold within the family and for his own gain.

Units and Objectives

Stanislavsky believes that the play should be broken down into bitesized pieces for the audience to digest and that each sub-section should have an objective. So again in The Cherry Orchard, there may be a sub-section where Lopakhin is talking about his background. The objective here would be for the audience to sympathise with him. However, all characters and even the play itself should be given a 'super objective'. Lopakhins would be to buy the estate, whilst an objective for the whole play might be to show the importance of money and power and how this ultimately influences everything.

Given Circumstances

The GIVEN CIRCUMSTANCES are circumstances that an actor is given by a director in order to carry out a scene. I.e; You are at a doctors surgery in a waiting room. At this stage the actor does not know any more information, so finds it difficult to create a charcter. The director then gives more circumstances, such as you are 5 years old. Other characters can then be brought in to see how they interact with one another and to give the scene direction.

Circle of Attention

Listen to the sounds inside the room, then sounds outside the room, then sounds next to or near you, then focus on the sounds you make or inside you. These sounds show your CIRCLE OF ATTENTION, whether it is focused or distanced.


This can be used with the GIVEN CIRCUMSTANCES.
Scene; One girl waiting at a bus stop. (Watch this for 2 mins.)

* What do we notice about the character?

* Where is their circle of attention?

* Does it change if she looks down the imaginary road for the bus or when she is looking at her watch? How?

* Another character is given a circumstance (in secret). This is to stand behind the girl, but distanced and to stare at her.

* How does the person at the bus stop change in their movements and gestures?

* Where is the focus or CIRCLE OF ATTENTION now?

This is all a form of EMOTION MEMORY, the way the character reacts, body language, nerves, it has all been recalled from previous experiences when you play this scene.

It also shows the characters TEMPO/RHYTHM within the action and gesture, showing the internal character rhythm of fidgeting and impatience, leading to fear or anger. Try out these activities in a variety of ways, using text, in particular those of Anton Chekov or experiment with your own situations and scenarios.



(This work is suitable for A Level Drama or Performing Arts students. Notes taken from a workshop of Practioners Unplugged by The Touring Theatre.)

Stanislavski Links

iTheatre Studies
A wonderful multimedia resource and directory for Theatre Studies
students, focusing on Artaud, Stanislavski and Brecht

Stanislavsky & Method Acting
Stanislavsky Theater Studio
Stanislavsky Biography
My Chekov Page (MSN Group)