Constantin Stanislavski
Constantin Serdeevich Stanislavski was born in Moscow on January 17, 1863. He began his acting career with an amateur group at the young age of fifteen. In 1898 Stanislavski, along with the dramatist Vladimir Ivanovich Nemirovich-Danchenko, he founded the Moscow Art Theatre, with which Stanislavski worked for the rest of his life.
Constantin Stanislavski is considered to be the “Father of the Acting System.” This Russian actor, director, and teacher spent the majority of his life working out a system, that would help in organizing and strengthening the creative process known as acting.
Stanislavski described in great detail his theories in his autobiography, MY LIFE IN ART (1924) and in his book AN ACTOR PREPARES (1933). After his death in 1938, his complete works, which fill eight volumes, were published.
Stanislavski believed that an actor could call on past experiences in order to make the emotions expressed in a particular scene more real, for both the actors and the audience alike.
Constantin Stanislavski died in Moscow on August 7, 1938. His major contributions to the development of acting and theatre are still being felt today.
Below are some links to some useful websites on Stanislavski:
http://www.acting-school-stop.com/Stanislavski.html
http://www.cothespians.com/ConstantineStanislavski.htm
