Book Review

Building a Character - Stanislavski

Constantin Sergeyevich Stanislavski (1863-1938) was a Russian actor and innovative Theatre director. He viewed theatre making as a serious endeavour, and the work of an actor as an artistic undertaking. Many of you may have read Stanislavski's first book, An Actor Prepares, which focuses on the inner imaginative process. His next book, Building a Character, concentrates on the physical realization of character on the stage - expressions, movements, tempo-rhythms, accentuation of speech and so on.

Like an actor prepares, he uses fictional characters obviously based on the actors from the Moscow Art Theatre, with the director, Tortstov (think Stanislavski) being the one with all the knowledge. Through the chapters Stanislavski is as detailed as ever in describing precisely how one may come to be human on stage.

He goes on to discuss that one should not lose themselves when performing a "character". It should simply be a division of the self, an alter ego, in order for the actions and physicality to be true. The character should be a creation of the individual not a stereotype, for example; when we think of an old person we may picture a walking stick, a bulge of grey hair, a hunched back, yet one must delve deeper in to their circumstances - imagining the pressure on every joint in the body, the inability to freely bend the knees and back etc.. In order to give examples he often refers to exercises he approached in his first book, such as the Given Circumstance or Magic "IF". Stanislavski believes it to be essential that an actor be able to control his body, to feel the fluidity of his movements like a ball running through the muscular system in order for his motions to be believable and not plastic. Torstov uses rehearsal methods with his actors that allow this ability to develop; an actor could easily mirror these techniques to further develop his skills.

Further on in the book Stanislavski goes on to discuss the diction, pronunciation of the voice, and the use of pauses. He expresses the importance of bringing the text to life - a musical score is not a symphony until it is executed by the orchestra. To an actor a word is not simply a sound but 'the evocation of the images'. 

It is difficult to simply summarize Stanislavski's descriptive methods as his artistic writing is so specific; almost every sentence provides a detailed analysis of the self as an actor. There are many useful exercises throughout the book that if used in the rehearsal process correctly could further develop an actors ability and understanding of how to become true. Above are only a couple of brief explanations regarding his self-reflecting process and the book goes on to subject the actors to a rigorous process of self-analysis. After reading this book one should go on to read his third book, Creating a Role.