Great Acting Teachers

Resource: Marcus and Marcus. Theater As Life, 2011.

Constantin StanislavskiLife

• 1863 – 1938, Moscow, Russia

• Actor, singer, performer since age 6

• Raised by aristocratic theater family

• Founded Moscow Art Theater (1898)

• Created First Studio (1912)

Theory• Developed “System” of

actor preparation to create realistic characters• Given Circumstances• Public Solitude• Subtext• Communion• Emotion Memory• Physical Action

• Illusion of the first time

“Love Art in Yourselves, Not Yourselves in Art.”

Richard BolaslavskiLife

• 1889 - 1937, Poland• Studied under Stanislavski

at the First Studio of the Moscow Art Theatre.

• Served with Russian military during WWI.

• Founder of American Laboratory Theatre (1923)

• Acting: The First Six Lessons (1933)

Theory• Dialectic of Artistic Truth

• Concentration• Memory of Emotion• Dramatic Action• Characterization• Observation• Rhythm

“To imitate is wrong. To create is right.”

Michael ChekhovLife

• 1891 – 1955, Russia• Original member of the

Moscow Art Theatre’s First Studio

• Fled Russia in 1928• Chekhov Theatre Studio

(1938)• Hollywood acting coach

(1942)• On the Technique of Acting

(1912)• To the Actor (1953)

Theory• Psycho-physical approach

to acting:• Creative Individuality• Psychological Gesture• Visualization

• The body is a sensitive instrument to express ideas and emotions.

• Actors should be “experts” of theater, understanding production elements, music, and writing.

“An actor has a thousand eyes”

Bertolt BrechtLife

• 1898 – 1956, Germany• The Modern Theater is the

Epic Theater(1930)• Fled Nazi Germany (1933)• Screenwriter in Hollywood

(1943)• Founder of the Berliner

Ensemble (1949)

Theory• Sought to bring about social

change by challenging audiences’ conventions and norms• Dialectic Materialism• Epic Theater• The V-effect• Gestus or gest

• Actors were expected to be educated, politically informed, observers of the external world

Pair Work Exercise

“The actor’s job is to give a reading of a character rather than become it.”

Lee StrasbergLife

• 1901 – 1982, Austrian born, immigrant to New York

• Co-founder The Group Theatre (1931)

• Artistic Director of The Actors Studio (1951)

• A Dream of Passion: The Development of the Method (1988)

Theory• Created a “Method” of

acting, based on the work of Stanislavski• Relaxation• Improvisation• Concentration• Affective memory• Justification• Substitution

• Used the actor’s past experiences and emotions to create believable characters

“Talent alone isn't enough. What makes for greatness in the actor?

Greatness needs that extra effort, which is commitment.”

Stella AdlerLife

• 1901 – 1992, New York• Actress of vaudeville,

stage, and screen• Member of American

Laboratory Theater (1925)• Founding member of The

Group Theater (1951)• Stella Adler Acting Studio

(1949)• The Technique of Acting

(1988)

Theory• Technique based on humanist

approach of service to others • Circumstances• Imagination• Action• Justification• Characterization

• Acting requires great vulnerability and the elimination of human barriers

Adler vs. Strasberg

“Your talent is in your choice.”

Sanford MeisnerLife

• 1905 – 1997• Founding member of The

Group Theater (1951)• Director of New Talent

Division, 20th Century Fox (1958)

• Head of the Drama Department at NYC’s Neighborhood Playhouse (1964 – 1990)

• Sanford Meisner on Acting (1987)

Theory• “Meisner Technique”

focuses on instinct, “inner impulses” and simplicity• Being in the Moment• Reality of Doing• Word Repetition Game• Living truthfully under

imaginary circumstances• Preparation

“An ounce of behavior is worth a pound of words.”

Bobby LewisLife

• 1909 – 1997, New York• Founding member of The

Group Theatre (1931)• Co-Founder, Actors Studio

(1947)• Robert Lewis Theater

Workshop (1952)• Advice to the Players (1980)• Head of the Yale School of

Drama Acting and Directing Departments

Theory• “Total Acting” incorporates

Stanislavski, Boleslavski and Michael Chekhov• Inner Action• Intention• Sensory Perception

“To help bridge the gap from the classroom to the stage,

it’s a good idea to perform.”

Viola SpolinLife

• 1906 – 1994, Chicago, IL• Drama Supervisor for the

Chicago branch of the WPA’s Recreational Project (1939-1941)

• Founded the Young Actors Company in Hollywood, CA (1946)

• Workshop Director for Second City Company (1960 – 1965)

• Improvisation for the Theater(1963)

Theory• “Theater Games” system of

actor training:• Cultivate playfulness • Develop interpersonal trust• Increase spontaneity• Creativity• Organic response• Physicalization

Single File Activity“Everyone can act. Everyone can improvise…

"Talent" or "lack of talent" have very little to do with it."

Uta HagenLife

• 1919 – 2004, German-born• Immigrated to Madison, WI

(1924)• Three-time Tony Award

Winner• Cofounder of Herbert

Berghof Studio in New York City

• Respect for Acting (1973)• A Challenge for the Actor

(1991)

Theory• Approach advocates

realistic acting• Identification• Immediacy• Endowment• Object Exercises

Video Clip

“We must overcome the notion that we must be regular... it robs you of the chance to be extraordinary

and leads you to the mediocre.”

Michael ShurtleffLife

• 1920 – 2007, Chicago, IL.• Leading Broadway

casting director• Established Casting

Consultants independent casting service(1962)

• Established workshop in Los Angeles (1978)

• Audition: Everything an Actor Needs to Know to Get the Part (1978)

Theory• The 12 Guideposts:

1. Relationship2. Conflict3. The Moment Before4. Humor5. Opposites6. Discoveries7. Communication and

Competition8. Importance9. Find the Events10.Place11.Game Playing & Role Playing12.Mystery and Secrets

“Creating relationship is the heart of acting. It is basic. It is essential.”

Jerzy GrotowskiLife

• 1933 – 1999, Poland• Teatr Laboratorium in

Wroclaw, Poland (1965)• Paratheatrical Phase (1969-

1975)• Theatre of Sources (1976 -

1982)• Objective Drama (1983 -

1986)• Pontedera WorkCenter

established (1986)• Towards a Poor Theatre (1968)

Theory• “Poor Theatre”

• Simplicity of Production• Communion between actors

and audience• Via Negativa• Organicity• Psychophysical Exercises

Video Clip

“One must give oneself totally…with confidence, as when one gives oneself in love”

Augusto BoalLife

• 1931 – 2009, Brazil• Director of Arena Theatre

in Sao Paulo, Brazil• Exiled to Argentina

(1971)• Theatre of the Oppressed

(1979)

Theory• “Theatre of the Oppressed”

uses theatre to promote social and political change.• Image Theatre• Forum Theatre• Invisible Theatre• Facilitators• Spect-actors

• Uses theatre to establish a dialogue among opposing viewpoints.

“Theatre is the passionate combat of two human beings on a platform.”

Eric MorrisLife

• 1931 - • Graduate of

Northwestern University• Currently an acting

coach in Los Angeles• No Acting Please (1977)• Being & Doing (1998)

Theory• “The Eric Morris System”• Involves intense emotional work

that some consider inappropriate to a classroom environment.• Obligations to the Material• Being State• Ultimate Consciousness • Choice Approaches

• Focuses on the actor’s instrument

Video ClipPrezi – Sarah Newstrom

“There is more to learn about acting than being a heart surgeon”

Robert BenedettiLife

• 1939 - ??, Chicago, IL.• Film producer, writer, teacher,

artist• Artistic Director of the Court

Theatre, Chicago, IL• Professor at the University of

Nevada, Las Vegas• Artistic Director of the Nevada

Conservatory Theatre• The Actor at Work (1968)• Seeming, being, and

becoming: Acting in our century (1976)

Theory• Focuses on the major skills

required of all actors:• Creativity• Movement• Voice/Speech• Analysis• Characterization

Tadashi SuzukiLife

• 1939 - , Japan• Founder of SCOT, Suzuki

Company of Toga (1976)• Co-founder of SITI,

Saratoga International Theater Institute, Saratoga Springs, NY (1992)

• The Way of Acting (1986)

Theory• Suzuki Actor Training

Method• Stamping• Physicality• Repetition• Sacred Spaces

Video Clip

“The value of my training can be said to begin and end with the feet.”

David MametLife

• 1947 - , Chicago, IL• Pulitzer Prize-winning

playwright, essayist, screenwriter, and film director

• Co-founder of the Atlantic Theater Company, New York City (1985)

• True and False: Heresy and Common Sense for the Actor (1997)

Theory• “Practical Aesthetics”

provides principle of the craft, that focuses on commitment to truth, not talent.• Simplicity of Action• Pursuit of an Objective• Compelling Storytelling• Physical Action versus Emotion

• Believed in a deep connection between actor’s personal identity and his effectiveness onstage.

“A life in the theater is a life spent giving things away…

An act of selfless spirit.”