An Actor Prepares  (English, Paperback, Stanislavski Constantin)

Learn what goes into the mind of an actor from one of the best in Constantin Stanislavski's book on acting, An Actor Prepares.

Summary of the Book

Constantin Stanislavski's voice rings out of the pages of the book like the words of an ethereal guardian, a playwrights's Phantom perhaps, to guide actors in the art. The book teaches would-be actors about the art that has become known as method acting and how the preparation for acting out a role needs to come from within. Actors need to memorize not just lines but emotions, and only then can they translate a script into a play fit for an audience. Their faces need to contort with rage as they scream their lines and when they romance the heroine, they must reflect every ounce of passion and desire in their eyes, eyes that the audience may never see perhaps, but which form an inevitable role in the portrayal of the play. The stage awaits those who respect it, Constantin reveals, and she is an impatient mistress. His advise and teachings have gone on to form a part of rehearsal training around the world, and this book brings the English world his work like it never has been before. An authoritative book on acting, it exemplifies how the powerful play goes on, and actors must prepare to contribute their verse.

About Constantin Stanislavski

Konstantin Sergeievich Stanislavski was a Russian actor, theatre director, writer and artist of what he called spiritual realism. Considered one of the most important theatre practitioners to have ever lived, Constantin wrote several works which have gone on to become part of acting schools everywhere. His other works are: An Actor's Work on a Role, My Life in Art, Building A Character and Creating A Role.

Constantin was pivotal to the serious treatment of theatre in Russia and helped develop Socialist Realism and Psychological Realism. He drew inspiration for his work and psychology from the aesthetics of Pushkin, Gogol, and Tolstoy, and was considered a revolutionary theatre-person for his work. Stanislavski's system has become the definitive way of training actors across the world.