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He was supposed to become a millionaire, the owner of factories, newspapers, ships … And he became “just” a genius of the theater.
Konstantin Sergeevich Stanislavsky: biography
On January 17, according to the new style, 1863, a frail, sickly boy was born into the family of the Moscow industrialist Sergei Alekseev.
Up to ten years old, the child, who was named Kostya, did not seem to grow up, but was ill. He spoke badly, had rickets …
But parents, people surprisingly intelligent, not only persistently treated their son, but developed. The family was friends with the patrons of art Savva Morozov and the Tretyakovs, was fond of art, adored the theater. The latter, however, is understandable, because the mother of Alekseev’s wife was a famous French actress.
Kostya, like other children, and there were ten of them, was taught music, dancing, fencing … Moreover, there was an amateur theater in the Alekseevs’ house. Little Kostya took an active part in his affairs. At the age of 14, he first “flashed” on the stage – small, but still real.
Study and debut
In addition to a multifaceted home education, Konstantin received a state education, graduating from the gymnasium of oriental languages at the Lazarev Institute. At the age of 18, he joined the management of a family factory that produces gimp. But, as before, he raved about the theater.
Later, Konstantin Sergeevich wrote that in childhood and adolescence, there were more books about the theater on his desk than textbooks. The young man spent every free minute in the family theater. He attended performances every evening, did not miss a single premiere. He was friends with actors, took speech and vocal lessons from the best masters.
Along with this, young Alekseev continues his family patronage activity. He becomes a member of the directorate of the Russian Musical Society in Moscow and, together with Tchaikovsky and Taneyev, heads its conservatory.
Having received the real scene at his disposal, Konstantin proceeds to directing experiments. Since 1891, he has staged six performances. And although this was a period of search, the experiments of the innovative director were enthusiastically noted by the public and critics.
Maturity and career
In 1897, a landmark, according to Konstantin Sergeevich’s definition, his “meeting-sitting” with the critic and teacher Nemirovich-Danchenko took place.
The result of the conversation was the birth of a new, Moscow Art Theater. The first performances to stun the audience were Tsar Fyodor, The Merchant of Venice and Antigone. In 1898 “The Seagull” took off from the stage of the Moscow Art Theater, which opened the era of Chekhov.
In these and other performances, Konstantin Alekseev also appeared in the acting incarnation. To “differentiate” himself as a director and an artist, he acquired a pseudonym.
More precisely, he “borrowed” it from Alexei Markov, an amateur actor, whose game he once admired. The same one performed as Stanislavsky in honor of the famous ballerina, soloist of the Bolshoi Theater. However, soon Konstantin Sergeevich “became akin” to the pseudonym.
Soviet Stanislavsky
He not only stayed in Russia, but in 1918 he tried his hand at cinematography, releasing one of the first film reels.
The Moscow Art Theater, under the leadership of Stanislavsky, worked without looking back at war, hunger, and the dictatorship of the proletariat. On his stage, the plays of Byron, Gogol, Chekhov came to life … And a little later – Ostrovsky, Bulgakov, Kataev.
After a heart attack that overtook Stanislavsky in 1928 right on stage, the director focused on theoretical work. He finally polished the acting system, which became the basis of theatrical art.
In the 30s Stanislavsky published his memoirs, wrote the fundamental “The work of an actor on himself.” But its first volume came out after the author’s funeral. Konstantin Sergeevich died from the consequences of a heart attack in 1938 on August 17.
Personal life of Stanislavsky
When Constantine was only 20, a young peasant woman Avdotya bore him a son. Since the parents believed that Kostya had “the wind in his head,” they adopted this child. Subsequently, Vladimir Alekseev became a prominent historian.
Stanislavsky married at the age of 26 the actress Maria Perevoshchikova-Lilina. From this marriage, a daughter, Kira, appeared, later an artist and curator of the father’s house-museum.
Stanislavsky’s system: basic principles
And yet Stanislavsky’s main “peak” is not the Moscow Art Theater and not a galaxy of outstanding actors. And the system, which has received worldwide recognition as the “bible” of acting.
Its key principles are the authenticity of presentation and experience. They mean that the actor is obliged to experience not imaginary, but real emotions, to believe in the “truth” of the character, to live by his logic. Not acting, but reincarnating – this is what the system teaches.
To achieve this goal, Stanislavsky proposed a detailed methodology that was personally tested. While rehearsing At the Bottom, he himself visited the shelters … He himself possessed “stage freedom”, possessed a deep emotional memory … And he himself learned the art in himself.
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