“Learning is the art of utilizing knowledge”
– Alfred North Whitehead

Some concepts of “Method Acting” are either based on having viewed a particular actor in a particular role (Marlon Brando in “A Streetcar named Desire”) and assume that it teaches you to walk around in a “pseudo-naturalistic state,” scratching yourself, picking your nose and mumbling, or, it is some newly developed, secret form of acting, based on psychotherapy and self-hypnosis that teaches you to walk around in a “schizophrenic state” trying to be a TREE!

These misconceptions arise from the confusion between “Naturalism” which is a style of acting prevalent in most theater and film today, and what we teach, the creation of “Reality” which is indigenous to every style of theater from “Comedia del Arte” to “Kabuki.”

Nor is there anything “new” or “secret” in the principles applied in Method; good actors have used them for centuries. It’s just that Stanislavski was the first to formalize them into a training, called “The System,” about (at this writing) 100 years ago.

Lee Strasberg, after studying “The System” with members of the Moscow Art Theater adapted and modernized these concepts and exercises, into what was then dubbed “The Method.”

Indeed, some of Stanislavski’s work is as archaic as the theater he was revolting against. If it wasn’t for Strasberg, Michael Chekov, Vakthangov, Stella Adler, Sandy Meisner, and a score of others, it might have fallen into disuse years ago.

“We are like dwarfs on the shoulders of giants, so that we can see more than they.” – Bernard of Chartres, 12th century

I’m sure that Mr. Strasberg expects those of us that have been trained by him to continue discovering, adapting and integrating the expanding knowledge of psychiatry, behavioral psychology and kinetics into the work, but the basic principles remain the same.

Stanislavski asked, “Why, is one actor considered “good”? What makes him so? He recognized that the “good” actors shared certain traits: · They seemed very relaxed and easy (Just as we speak of a good athlete) · They seemed to respond emotionally with the same fullness, publicly, as they did in life privately. · They were able to easily access these emotions. · They could logically carry out the needs of the character in the given situation. In other words, the good actor was able to “live” on the stage.

He then devised a system of exercises to train actors to “purposefully” relax, get in touch with their emotions at will, eliminate self-conciousness and sharpen their concentration and observation.

He discovered (along with Pavlov and others) that the “senses” had a memory. We do not need to re-taste a food to know if we liked it. We remember the taste. We know the difference between fabrics because we remember the touch, and that often accompanying these “sense memories” are emotional recollections. We could remember an argument we had a week ago with someone, and get just as angry today, when we recall the sound of their voice, the words that were said and the look on their face (some of you may recognize one of the staples of “Transactional Analysis).

We put the actors through a series of exercises, to discover how they respond to different stimuli. What makes them happy, sad, angry etc? This is highly personal, because people will react differently to the same stimuli, some will get “sleepy” in the sun, some will get “sensual,” and some will get “annoyed.”

We then teach them how to use these reactions in the creation of a role through what I term “Non-Literal Substitution” (but for further explanation see: chapters on “EXERCISES,” GIBBERISH and ANTICIPATION).

“Most of us are about as eager to be changed as we were to be born, and go through change in a similar state of shock.” - James Baldwin (Author)

.( This is one chapter from Mr. Kovens book “THE METHOD MANUAL”. Contact us for more information about purchasing the whole book or a DVD .)