UNIT TITLE
Acting Methods and Styles
LESSON TITLE
Stanislavski System
CLASS
Drama 4
DURATION
75 Minutes
EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVE
Students will be able to demonstrate their understanding of the given circumstance, objective, and super objective by completing the Stanislavski System assignment.
NATIONAL THEATRE ARTS CORE STANDARDS
CREATING
• TH:Cr1.1.HSIII.a
o Synthesize knowledge from a variety of dramatic forms, theatrical conventions, and technologies to create the visual composition of a drama/theatre work
• TH:Cr3.1.HSIII.b
o Synthesize knowledge from a variety of dramatic forms, theatrical conventions, and technologies to create the visual composition of a drama/theatre work.
PERFORMANCE
• TH:Pr4.1.HSII.b
o Apply a variety of researched acting techniques as an approach to character choices in a drama/theatre work.
• TH:Pr5.1.HSIII.a
o Use and justify a collection of acting exercises from reliable resources to prepare a believable and sustainable performance.
MATERIALS
• Whiteboard
• Dry-Erase Markers
• Given Circumstances, Objective, Super Objective, Adaptations worksheet (1 for each students)
• Open space for students to work in.
• Some random object (plastic animal toy, a doll, something that isn’t normally found in the room)
TEACHING PRESENTATION:
Hook: Set the random object in the front of the room. Students may inquire about it, but just tell them that it’s for later. They will continue to wonder about it until you use it in step 4. After announcements or other class business, ask the students to leave their things in their seats, and to come onto the stage with you.
Step 1 Instruction/Group Practice Have the students find a space on the stage that is their own. They should have enough space to call their own. Then take them through some of the following relaxation exercises.
1. Ask the students to check in with their body. Silently, they should check in with their muscles and body, and locate and discover their tensions.
2. Explain to the students that they should tense their whole body, tighten every muscle. Allow the students to do this for a moment, and then tell them to relax their muscles.
3. Have them repeat it again. Then have them check in again with their bodies.
4. Briefly ask the students if there is a difference in their tensions. Have some released a bit?
5. Then have the students try to tense just one side of their body. They shouldn’t be able to, but that’s the point.
6. Have the students try to tense just one muscle only, leaving the rest of their body tight. Again, they should be able to do it, but that is the point.
7. Ask the students if they are able to do that? Ask them about their experience trying to tighten just one muscle.
Ideally, students should be able to discern that it is not possible. They should be able to discern that even small tension begins to slip into the other muscles. After a few minutes of discussion regarding the tensions, explain that exploring tension and relaxation was another fundamental part of the Stanislavski system. We will talk more about later in the lesson.
Step 2 Review After the relaxation activity, ask the students to help you review what we talked about last time. Be sure to cover the following points:
• Konstantin Stanislavski
o Russian actor and acting theorist, teacher, and director
o Developed the Stanislavski System of acting
This system is designed to be used by actors to develop realistic characters and performances.
Emphasize his contribution to realism in acting.
Prompt students to sum up what we have covered so far, asking for as much specific information from them if possible. Then explain that we are going to add on to what we know about the Stanislavski System today. We aren’t going to cover every facet, however we will the most basic and fundamental parts of the System, starting with relaxation.
Step 3 Instruction/Group Practice Explain that relaxation is one of the most basic parts of the Stanislavski system. Give them the following information:
• In developing the system, Stanislavski observed great actors and noticed that they were completely relaxed, that there was no tension in their body.
• He decided that tension is the greatest enemy to creating a real and free character.
• Stanislavski stresses the importance of actively seeking to relax unwanted tensions, both in preparing to act and in the actual performance.
Step 4 Instruction Then have the students return to their seats. On the whiteboard, write “Relaxation” followed by “The Magic If.” Explain that the Magic If is one of the most fundamental part of the Stanislavski System. Ask the students the following question:
• What do you think I mean by the magic if?
Take some suggestions, then explain that you are going to show them what it means.
Ask for a volunteer. Ask the volunteer to pick up the random object in the front of the room. After she is successful, say this: “What if this weighed 2000 pounds? Pick it up.” They should take the bait and imagine it’s heavy. They won’t be able to life it. Thank them and return them to their seat.
Ask for another volunteer. Ask them to go and walk through the door. They do it. Then say, “Okay, what if that door were the front door to your house, and it was 3 hours past curfew.” They will be a little more ginger about it. There will be more action. Thank them and return them to their seat.
Then explain to the class that the magic “if” is the lever that lifts you out of reality and into the imagined world. As an actor, you use the magic “if” to suspend your disbelief and place yourself in the imaginary world, just as the volunteers did. Ask the students if they need clarification, and then proceed.
Step 6: Instruction Explain that the next fundamental part of the Stanislavski System are the given circumstances. Write “given circumstances” on the white board. Ask the students what they think that means. Take some responses, then give them the following information.
• This is, again, about finding truth in the performance. It’s about portraying realistic performances, through the creation of a specific imagined space.
• After the magic if, it’s the given circumstances that really help develop the truth and realism of a performance.
• The given circumstances are anything and everything from the specific details of the time period, the contexts, details about characters, the place, relationships, family dynamics, etc.
Be sure to explain that for Stanislavski, this was very important. The more specific the information was, the better. The temperature in the room, the humidity, the smells, the way a lampshade feels—all of this is important for the actor to know.
Step 5 Instruction/Group Practice Write on the white board “concentration.” Explain that Stanislavski also places great importance on concentration. Explain to the students that we are going to try some concentration activities.
First have students close their eyes. Explain that they should remain silent and just listen. They should take note of every sound that they hear. They should keep their eyes closed, mouths closed, and their ears open until you tell them to open their eyes again. Let them listen for a few minutes, then conduct a short discussion using the following questions:
• What did you hear?
• Have you heard it before?
• What else did you notice?
Explain that this all feeds back into those given circumstances. Stanislavski believes that it’s so important to be intimately aware of your surroundings, so much so that the actor should really only be aware of themselves, and the immediate space around them. Explain that this is where the idea of the Fourth Wall comes from.
The fourth wall separates the actors form the audience. Stanislavski is a huge fan of it. The actor should be so focused on his character and creating the life that the audience should just fade away. That is why concentration exercises are so important for Stanislavski. Take any questions as they come up, and then continue onto the next step.
Step 6 Instruction Write on the white board “Emotional Memory Recall” and “Sense Memory.” Explain the following information:
• Emotional Recall and Sense Memory involve using your own memories from your own life to recreate the feelings in your acting.
• For example, if your character looses a loved one, you might used the real-life death of your grandmother to create the same feelings of loss in you, so that you might more realistically convey those emotions.
• Sense memory is similar, though it involves the physical sensations surrounding emotional events, to that you can trigger yourself to feel those old emotions.
Answer any questions that come up, then be sure to emphasize the following: this is a dangerous method for acting. In fact, Stanislavski moved away from this in his later years. Think about it: trudging up old buried emotions and feels to better portray them as a character is not healthy. As a result, I won’t be leading anyone through those activities. However, it is important to know about Emotional Recall and Sense memory, as they are foundations of the Stanislavski System.
Answer any other questions, then move on.
Step 7 Instruction Write on the white board “Objective” and “Super objective.” This should be familiar to the class, so it is not necessary to spend so much time on it. Ask the students what the difference between the objective and the super-objective might be. Take several responses, and then offer the following information:
• Stanislavski believed that in every scene, a character had their objective. You are all familiar with objectives.
• He also believed that all those objectives that exist throughout the play all weave into one larger, over-arching super objective.
• That means that a character has one over-arching drive throughout the play.
You can use Romeo as an example. In the Balcony Scene, Romeo’s objective might be to get a kiss. However, that objective feeds into the greater super objective, which might, to spend his life with Juliet. Brainstorm a few other super-objectives as a class using other plays and stories that you all may know.
Step 8 Assignment Hand out the Stanislavski half-sheet and explain that students should complete this worksheet by next class period, using the monologue they should have picked. Explain that this is a sort of mini practice of the Stanislavski technique, so they should be as specific and clear as they can. They should be nitpicky and very descriptive. Remember, that for Stanislavski the more detail, the better. Explain that they have the rest of class to get started on the worksheet, or if they haven’t solidified their monologue, the can continue to look for one.
Allow students the time to work on their homework or to search for monologues. Offer suggestions as you meander through the class.
Assessment:
Students will complete with Stanislavski handout, and will turn it in at the next class. It is worth 20 points.