Theatre

Stanislavski developed a series of exercises and techniques for performers.
1) Must always maintain a state of physical and vocal relaxation: this means that unwanted tension has

to be eliminated and that the performer must all times attain a state of physical and vocal relaxation
2) Find the character’s inner truth: means their thought and emotions
3) Perfect their ability to play within an Ensemble: means that performers do not act alone; they

interact with other people. Stanislavsky was aware that many performers tend to stop acting, or lose

their concentration, when they are not the main characters in a scene or when someone is talking. This

tendency destroys the through line and causes the performers to move into and out of a role. That, in

turn, weakens the scene of ensemble-the playing together of all the performers
4) Develop their own importance of specific/express specific emotions terms of specific details: this

means that a performer should never try to act in general, he said, and should never try to convey

feeling such as fear or love in some vague, amorphous way. In life, Stanislavsky said, we express

emotions in terms of specifics, performers must find similar concrete activities. The performer must

also conceive of the situation in which a character exists-what Stanislavsky referred to as the given

circumstance-in terms of specific
5) Discover their character’s given circumstances. Must explore the What? Why? How? Any scene: this

means that the performer’s attention must always be focused on a series of physical actions linked by

the circumstances pf the play
Which of these excercises/techniques do you think is most important for the actor? Why?