
Science and the Stanislavsky Tradition of Acting
Jonathan Pitches(Author)
Routledge (Publisher)
1st Edition
Published on 30. September 2009
Book
Paperback/Softback
236 pages
978-0-415-54403-0 (ISBN)
Description
Providing new insight into the well-known tradition of acting, Science and the Stanislavsky Tradition of Acting is the first book to contextualise the Stanislavsky tradition with reference to parallel developments in science. Rooted in practice, it presents an alternative perspective based on philosophy, physics, romantic science and theories of industrial management.
Working from historical and archive material, as well as practical sources, Jonathan Pitches traces an evolutionary journey of actor training from the roots of the Russian tradition, Konstantin Stanislavsky, to the contemporary Muscovite director, Anatoly Vasiliev. The book explores two key developments that emerge from Stanislavsky's system - one linear, rational and empirical, while the other is fluid,organic and intuitive. The otherwise highly contrasting acting theories of Vsevolod Meyerhold (biomechanics) and Lee Strasberg (the Method) are dealt with under the banner of the rational or Newtonian paradigm; Michael Chekov's acting technique and the little known ideas of Anatoly Vasiliev form the centrepiece of the other Romantic, organic strain of practice.
Science and the Stanislavsky Tradition of Acting opens up the theatre laboratories of five major practitioners in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and scrutinises their acting methodologies from a scientific perspective.
Working from historical and archive material, as well as practical sources, Jonathan Pitches traces an evolutionary journey of actor training from the roots of the Russian tradition, Konstantin Stanislavsky, to the contemporary Muscovite director, Anatoly Vasiliev. The book explores two key developments that emerge from Stanislavsky's system - one linear, rational and empirical, while the other is fluid,organic and intuitive. The otherwise highly contrasting acting theories of Vsevolod Meyerhold (biomechanics) and Lee Strasberg (the Method) are dealt with under the banner of the rational or Newtonian paradigm; Michael Chekov's acting technique and the little known ideas of Anatoly Vasiliev form the centrepiece of the other Romantic, organic strain of practice.
Science and the Stanislavsky Tradition of Acting opens up the theatre laboratories of five major practitioners in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and scrutinises their acting methodologies from a scientific perspective.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Postgraduate and Professional
Illustrations
2 s/w Abbildungen, 8 s/w Zeichnungen, 2 s/w Tabellen
2 Tables, black and white; 8 Line drawings, black and white; 2 Illustrations, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Weight
365 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-415-54403-0 (9780415544030)
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Schweitzer Classification
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Jonathan Pitches
Science and the Stanislavsky Tradition of Acting
Book
09/2005
1st Edition
Routledge
€206.30
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Jonathan Pitches
Science and the Stanislavsky Tradition of Acting
E-Book
09/2005
Routledge
€76.49
Available for download

Jonathan Pitches
Science and the Stanislavsky Tradition of Acting
E-Book
09/2005
Routledge
€76.49
Available for download
Person
Jonathan Pitches is Professor of Theatre and Performance at the University of Leeds in the School of Performance and Cultural Industries. He specialises in the study of performer training and has wider interests in intercultural performance, environmental performance and blended learning. He is founding co-editor of the journal of Theatre, Dance and Performance Training and has published several books in this area: Vsevolod Meyerhold (2003), Science and the Stanislavsky Tradition of Acting (2006/9) Russians in Britain (2012) and Stanislavsky in the World (with Dr Stefan Aquilina 2017). He is currently working on two new book projects, Great Stage Directors Vol 3: Komisarjevsky, Copeau, Guthrie (2017) and Performing Landscapes: Mountains (2018), supported by the AHRC.
Content
Introduction: Science and the Stanislavsky Tradition of Acting Part 1. 1. A System for the World? Newtonianism in Stanislavsky's Science of Acting Part 2. 2. The Theatricality Reflex: The Place of Pavlov and Taylor in Meyerhold's Biomechanics 3. The System, Psychology and the US: Richard Boleslavsky and Lee Strasberg Part 3. 4. A Delicate Empiricism: Romantic Science and the Michael Chekhov Technique 5. The Laboratory as Sanctuary: The Theatre of Anatoly Vasiliev Epilogue: Genetic Modification and the Backbone of Tradition Bibliography. Index