Short description:

Stanislavsky’s Use of Improvisation is the first work that brings together material across Stanislavsky’s entire career to survey his use of improvisation. Improvisation was a key concern for Stanislavsky, one that impinged on his acting, directing, and pedagogical work. Consequently, it features in many books on the System, but this study is unique because it focuses explicitly on improvisation and its place in Stanislavsky’s development as a theatre-maker. This allows the reader to see how Stanislavsky treated improvisation as a highly mutable practice that was not bound to one particular interpretation, definition, or application. Improvisation will always relate to the present moment in an actor’s work, to the here and now; it values aliveness and an engagement with the role. Beyond that, however, Stanislavsky’s use of improvisation was a dynamic and expanded one that answered a range of work challenges.

Stefan Aquilina is an Associate Professor of Theatre Studies at the School of Performing Arts at the University of Malta, Co-Director of the Stanislavsky Research Centre (Leeds/Malta), and Editor-in-Chief of the Stanislavski Studies journal. Aquilina's main interest is in modern theatre and performance, especially Stanislavsky and Meyerhold, but he has a wider interest in theatre historiography, actor training, and reflective teaching. Aquilina is the author or editor of six books, including Stanislavsky and Pedagogy, Modern Theatre in Russia: Tradition Building and Transmission Processes, and The Routledge Companion to Vsevolod Meyerhold (with Jonathan Pitches).

Long description:

Stanislavsky’s Use of Improvisation is the first work that brings together material across Stanislavsky’s entire career to survey his use of improvisation. Improvisation was a key concern for Stanislavsky, one that impinged on his acting, directing, and pedagogical work. Consequently, it features in many books on the System, but this study is unique because it focuses explicitly on improvisation and its place in Stanislavsky’s development as a theatre-maker. This allows the reader to see how Stanislavsky treated improvisation as a highly mutable practice that was not bound to one particular interpretation, definition, or application. Improvisation will always relate to the present moment in an actor’s work, to the here and now; it values aliveness and an engagement with the role. Beyond that, however, Stanislavsky’s use of improvisation was a dynamic and expanded one that answered a range of work challenges.

Table of Contents:

Introduction.- First Phase The 1880s and Stanislavsky?s Amateur Years.- Second Phase 1903-08, Placing Improvisation in the Production Process.- Third Phase 1912-16, The First Studio and Stanislavsky?s Offshoots.- Fourth Phase 1924-28 and Stanislavsky?s Final Legacies of the 1930s.- Conclusion.