Stanislavski Acting Techniques

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It is always important to remember that characters are just as important as the plot in all forms, not just restricted to the theatre. As an actor it is our job to present a character that is true to the play by transforming words on a page to full-bodied animate characters that drive the plot. Being tasked with such an important job it is necessary to study and put to practice the acting techniques of Stanislavski as well as the techniques brought forward by Grotowski. Claire is an underrated character, one who could easily be categorised as a typical villain, however, through the application of Stanislavski and Grotowski an actor learns that not everything is what it seems, and that it is important to read between the lines. In creating…show more content…
Highlighting Benedetti (2009) exploration of Stanislavski’s view of action, where he highlights Stanislavski’s disdain for over-emotional and exaggerated acting, which Stanislavski found as an overshadow to the true meaning of the play, leading to his ideology that “…everything an actor does in a performance has to be justified by the character’s internal need” (Benedetti, 2009). Wholeheartedly agreeing with Stanislavski’s point I attempted to present Claire as the caring person she truly is. Every action I made as Claire was with the mindset that Claire wants to protect and help Catherine, which made Claire present as more human, and avoid, or rather question the label that she is a manipulative and villainous older sister. I further applied Stanislavski’s belief that an actor must “cut eighty percent” (Benedetti, pg 39 TS100) and the idea that every action must be “as if for the first time and without adding anything superfluous” (Benedetti pg 40 TS100), which again helped in presenting Claire in a way that did justice to her character, without categorising her as an archetypal villain. In attempting to understand Claire’s mentality throughout the play I referred back to a class exercise, where I explored the internal monologue at each beat…show more content…
Claire is treated like an outsider; particularly when she is in a conversation between Claire, Catherine and Hal, as demonstrated in Act 4, Scene 4, page 46, as she is ignored by Hal and Catherine when she attempts to understand what is happening; “What’s going on?”, “What is it?”. This scene in particular shows that Claire, unbeknownst to those around her is a sensitive person who wishes to be included; and on a more personal level, her secret desire is to be finally accepted by the people she values most, her family. This familial strain is further explored in the flashbacks, where Robert comments that “Claire’s done well for herself. I’m satisfied with her” (72) which lacks emotion and pride for his daughter, indicating that Claire was an outsider in her family, and never experienced the same love from Robert that he gave
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