Stanislavski Acting Technique : Memory Exercises

Article by Alison Roskopp

Constantin Sergeyevich Stanislavski was a 20th century Russian actor and director. He created an acting method that has been used and transformed by many greats within the acting industry. His methods and techniques have trained a plethora of modern celebrities and stage actors. His goal when creating the Stanislavski system was to create realism in acting. He is the father and creator of Method acting.

Stanislavski believed in the power of imagination in creating real emotions. He taught his students to use “If” questions: “What if this happened to me?” Also he told them to ask questions about who the character was and used the answers to create the realism of emotions.

The Stanislavski method trains actors to use what is called a super-objective. How it would work is first the actor finds the driving force or theme of the script. Next the actor must find the objectives within that script, such as what the character wishes to achieve, obstacles and actions. The point of using the subject-objective is to focus on the action instead of the emotion.

Students studying the Stanislavsky acting technique are taught concentration and relaxation. The actor is taught to relax his or her muscles and prevent using unnecessary muscles that are not needed in an action. Then they must work on concentration and learning the ability to find “solitude in public.” This solitude will help the actor with any tension that may come from performing. For example, the actor would concentrate on a small area, and then increase the size of the area until it encompasses all of the stage.

For the emotions, Stanislavsky taught emotional memory. Emotional memory is where actors recall past memories to achieve the needed emotion for a role or scene.Character building is also a major focus for Stanislavsky. Actors are taught to learn how to build their character with different techniques. This is achieved by using “from the outside in” approach. This “outside in” builds the character’s physicality and voice.A class starts will relaxation and concentration. A beginner actor first works on doing concentration exercises and a more skilled actor works on emotional memory exercises. Homework is abundant, as students must create a complete and full biography for their characters. In addition to the bio, the student must create additional scenes outside of the script.

Within the script itself student must also write down super-objectives to break scenes into units, then creating action verbs for each unit. Improvising is also expected from actors studying the Stanislavsky technique. Then lastly is physical and vocal training. In this part of the class, actors go through exercises and learn about costumes and makeup. Rhythm and tempo are also taught as well. Speech, singing and dance classes are often times strongly encouraged by a Stanislavsky teacher.

Exercises to sharpen your memory, increase coordination, quickness and timing.
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