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Quest for a Spiritually & Scientifically based Acting System
Born Konstantine Sergeevich Alexeev, 1863, in Moscow, the young Stanislavski made his
theatrical debut on his family's home stage on September 5, 1877. He adopted the pseudonym "Stanislavski" after his
father disapproved of his appearance in a burlesque performance where he was dressed as a "dandy." He co-founded the
Society of Art and Literature in 1888 and created an amateur acting company.
In 1891, he earned a reputation as one of Moscow's most talented young actors and directors
with Leo Tolstoi's The Fruits of Enlightenment.
His famous meeting with Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko in 1897 led to the formation of a theatre
company composed from the most talented members of the Society of Art and Literature and Danchenko's graduate students in
the Drama School of the Moscow Philharmonic Society. The company became the Moscow Art and Popular Theatre, and later
simplified its name to the Moscow Art Theatre.
The Art Theatre opened its doors on October 14,1898 with an historical Russian tragedy written
by Alexei Tolstoi entitled, Csar Feodor Ivanovich. Overcoming many obstacles the Art Theatre closed its first
season with Chekhov's The Seagul. The play was a triumphant success, and ushered in both the births of a great
theatre company and a great playwright.
In 1906 Stanislavski began to formulate his search for a system of acting. He
explored all possibilities including Buddhism, Hatha Yoga's exercises in balance, relaxation, breath control; and Raja Yoga's exercises in concentration, visualization and meditation. Never satisfied, his quest and experiments
covered a period of forty-two years. During that time he gradually formulated the world's first spiritually and scientifically
based acting technique.
In the 1930's, disappointed with his earlier thinking about direct emotional recall
he realized that emotions could be recalled through the truthful fulfillment of physical actions. The new technique also provided
a new means for training actors and directing plays of different genres and periods. He called the new approach
The Method of Physical Actions, also know as Active Analysis Through Physical Actions.
Stanislavski's work with Yoga and Meditation was censored, and he was subsequently sequestered
in his home by Marxist revisionists during the last years of his life. He passed away quietly in his home in Moscow
on August 7, 1938.
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