Building A Character

by Constantin Stanislavski, Elizabeth Reynolds Hapgood (Translator)

Building a Character is one of the three volumes that make up Stanislavski’s The Acting Trilogy. An Actor Prepares explores the inner preparation an actor must undergo in order to explore a role to the full. In this volume, Sir John Gielgud said, this great director “found time to explain a thousand things that have always troubled actors and fascinated students.” Building a Character discusses the external techniques of acting: the use of the body, movement, diction, singing, expression, and control. Creating a Role describes the preparation that precedes actual performance, with extensive discussions of Gogol’s The Inspector General and Shakespeare’s Othello. Sir Paul Scofield called Creating a Role “immeasurably important” for the actor. These three volumes belong on any actor’s short shelf of essential books.

Genres: Theatre, Nonfiction, Film, Drama, Art, Education, Russia

207 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1949

About the author

Constantin Sergeyevich Stanislavski (russian:Константин Сергеевич Станиславский) was a Russian actor and theatre director.

Stanislavski's innovative contribution to modern European and American realistic acting has remained at the core of mainstream western performance training for much of the last century. Building on the directorially-unified aesthetic and ensemble playing of the Meiningen company and the naturalistic staging of Antoine and the independent theatre movement, Stanislavski organized his realistic techniques into a coherent and usable 'system'. Thanks to its promotion and development by acting teachers who were former students and the many translations of his theoretical writings, Stanislavski's system acquired an unprecedented ability to cross cultural boundaries and developed an international reach, dominating debates about acting in the West. That many of the precepts of his 'system' seem to be common sense and self-evident testifies to its hegemonic success. Actors frequently employ his basic concepts without knowing they do so.

Stanislavski treated theatre-making as a serious endeavour, requiring dedication, discipline and integrity, and the work of the actor as an artistic undertaking. Throughout his life, he subjected his own acting to a process of rigorous artistic self-analysis and reflection. His 'system' resulted from a persistent struggle to remove the blocks he encountered. His development of a theorized praxis—in which practice is used as a mode of inquiry and theory as a catalyst for creative development—identifies him as the first great theatre practitioner. Stanislavski believed that after seeing young actors at Aquinas College in Moscow he could see why theatre needed to change to a more disciplined endeavour.

Stanislavski's work was as important to the development of socialist realism in the USSR as it was to that of psychological realism in the United States. Many actors routinely identify his 'system' with the American Method, although the latter's exclusively psychological techniques contrast sharply with Stanislavski's multivariant, holistic and psychophysical approach, which explores character and action both from the 'inside out' and the 'outside in'. Stanislavski's work draws on a wide range of influences and ideas, including his study of the modernist and avant-garde developments of his time (naturalism, symbolism and Meyerhold's constructivism), Russian formalism, Yoga, Pavlovian behaviourist psychology, James-Lange (via Ribot) psychophysiology and the aesthetics of Pushkin, Gogol, and Tolstoy. He described his approach as 'spiritual Realism'.

Associated Names:
Konstantin Stanislavski (Alternative spelling)
Константин Станиславский (Russian)
斯坦尼斯拉夫斯基 (Chinese)

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

There comes a point about halfway through "Building a Character" when Stanislavski's earnest young protagonist, Kostya, complains to his mentor, Torstov, that this batch of lessons all seem rather technical and not nearly as much fun as all the creativity and inspiration that was the foundation of the last batch of lessons (found in Stanislavski's first volume, "An Actor Prepares"). As a reader, you're bound to feel the same way.

Torstov's response is to tell Kostya (and presumable you, the reader) to stop whining and points out that the theater is not all getting in touch with your inner feelings and being artsy and creative. There's a lot of tedious and difficult work that lies in the preparation of your body and voice. This preparation is the canvas on which you can use your creativity and artsiness to paint successful characterizations. Without the strong foundation all this preparation creates, your acting will be a hollow imitation of real life, the worst sin imaginable by Stanislavksi.

As Kostya shuts his trap and does as he's told, you begin to understand that whether or not you can bear with the instruction offered in the pages of "Building a Character" will indicate clearly how serious you are about acting.

It is no great effort to be creative. It is something that inherently artistic people can do with almost no thought at all. But Stanislavski argues that concocting interesting ideas and clever interpretations can only take a performer so far. It is sharing those ideas with your audience in such a way as to make them believe the reality you are creating that is important, and without a finely tuned instrument (i.e. your body), your efforts will always fail.

To that end, the author spends most of these pages outlining in great detail strategies and exercises to develop the physicality of your body, the versatility of your voice and vocal patters, and your sense of timing and rhythm. And like Kostya, you will likely feel like skipping over some of the tedious instructions Torstov delivers. But if you make yourself read every word on every page, you'll find that every single thing Torstov says is indeed quite useful.

"Building a Character" is not as fun or inspiration a read as "An Actor Prepares", but it is certaingly every bit as useful.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

really insightful tools and analyzations of theatre. would recommend to people who really enjoy acting and the theatre.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say that I really struggled with some parts of this book. Some chapters are really technical and very detailed and that is tiring after awhile. But you have to push through because it is totally worth it. The chapters in the end are very interesting and I couldn't put the book down! I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is interested in acting. It contains the basics of Stanislavski's method (along with "An actor prepares"). Some concepts of the method are really hard to grasp by reading and only through practice you can really understand them. I will definitely read it again in the future.

[AskHistorians]

This and An Actor Prepares and Creating a Role are not academic books on theatre history. But they are far too important and influential to ignore. In the Actor Prepares Trilogy, Stanislavski defines acting as a very serious activity requiring immense discipline and integrity. He lays out a system for acting that demands a kind of psychological realism that was rarely seen in pre-19th Century acting styles. It is common for teachers of acting to regard the works of Stanislavski as the beginning of the modern era in terms of how young theatre artists are trained.

[Nidhi Sehgal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I took around 6 months to complete this book,read it in bits and pieces,second book of Stanislavsky's "An actor Prepares" trilogy .I found this book very technical, many concepts related to speech,diction,Theater ethics I found very relatable but grasped few concepts like Tempo rhythms with a very poor understanding.Last few chapters in the book were really interesting.I recommend this book to the people who are interested in Pursing theater,It will surely be of great help :)

[Víctor Galán · Rating 3 out of 5]

"La construcción del personaje" fue la obra póstuma de su célebre autor. Considerada la segunda parte de "Un actor se prepara", en este libro se analizan las técnicas necesarias para construir un personaje de manera creíble, natural y expresivo como marca el "sistema Stanislavski". Se trata de un manual interesante pero cuyo campo de acción es limitado por el propio formato escrito y por estar orientado a los lectores rusos, esto provoca que se haga pesado de leer en ciertas partes y redundante en otras, alcanzando solo un cierto nivel de interés (más filosófico que práctico) al principio y al final del libro. El propio autor reconoce que sin un "ojo experto" no se puede resolver realmente las objeciones que surjan en el desarrollo interpretativo del actor amateur por lo que este libro tiene que ser intercalado con verdaderas clases de teatro (preferiblemente las que sigan este sistema) para que pueda ser verdaderamente eficiente y práctico. Afortunadamente tengo la suerte de poder asistir a clases de teatro, que aunque no sigan este sistema, te permite contrastar el conocimiento adquirido e incorporar matices de actitud y desarrollo físico y psicológico tanto en las clases como en el día a día. Por ello recomiendo a todo el mundo que lea esto que se apunten a clases de teatro. Es pura vida.

[violeta · Rating 3 out of 5]

El libro es muy pesado y la verdad es que me da la sensación que en las cosas más "sencillas" se explaya en demasía y deja la vitales un poco a la pata coja. Lo mejor del libro son sin duda los últimos capítulos, los más interesantes y ricos. Creo que es una lectura obligada para todo aquel que quiera ser actor y la verdad es que me alegro de haber profundizado en una de las lecturas complementarias de una de las próximas asignaturas que cursaré en la Universidad.
¡Ya puedo decir que he leído (algo de) el sistema Stanislavski! (Algún día podré escribir el apellido de este hombre sin tener que mirar la portada del libro...)

[Regan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stanislavski's theory of method acting requires actors to dip into their personal emotional wells to achieve verisimilitude in their roles. As such, actors are expected to exercise self-reflection regularly as part of their technique. Stanislavski's techniques for building a character are as useful to the lay person as to the actor--they are practical lessons in self-control. If practiced habitually, such technical awareness will expand one's moral perception as well as one's emotional depth, making one a more sensitively attuned actor in the world.

[Alexandra]

I know Stanislavski's approach to acting is highly revered. But for me at least, this book was just confusing. I was expecting a how-to manual, but it was more of a collection of anecdotes that I had no idea how to apply to my own life. (Even the exercises are presented in a way that made them generally feel to me more like stories than instructions.)

[ЧІТАЮГУМІЛЬОВА ЧІТАЮГУМІЛЬОВА · Rating 5 out of 5]

После этой книги женщины меня полюбили

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't as interesting as An Actor Prepares, there's a lot weirder stuff here that's harder to relate to. Like rhythm work with a metronome, different beats and how every play has an underlying beat and other beats layered on top of it and you can screw it up by not being on the right beat with your fellow actors. I know this is kinda true, but it's hard to make it compelling to write about. It's kind of something that you just have to experience and play around with in rehearsal I think. All I know is, reading about it is boring. There's a lot of detail in here about movement exercises too, and complicated word exercises that break everything down into vowels and consonants and everything. I know that this stuff is also important for acting, but it's just not as easy to think about and apply to the work. I think a lot of the stuff in this book almost has to be experienced in person. My review could basically be: you had to be there.

[Lorenzo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stanislavski may have written this for actors, but as a writer, i found it unique and very helpful in writing a screenplay. It was a whole new picture of purpose and method. It was given me by mentor and friend, John Brascia, a screenwriter, producer, who was also the primary dancer in "White Christmas." He said the book will add to your depth and push you to work harder as a writer to present a character as Stanislavski creates.

[Christina knox · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is instrumental to my instrument.

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Building a Character, Stanislavski outlines the work an actor needs to do to develop himself to have a sharp vocal, physical, and emotionally expressive instrument. Again a brilliant book.

[Fallon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did not like this as much as the first. Found it tedious to read and everything was a bit too repetitive.

[Vadim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Не буквально "учебник", но поучительное чтение с изложением "системы Станиславского".

[Sinan Öner]

Russian Theatre Director (the Founder of Moscow Art Theatre) Konstantin Stanislavski's "Building a Character" is one of the main sourcebooks for writing play in the modern dramaturgy. Konstantin Stanislavski's "Building a Character" is a scientific work about an old art: Theatre. What is a play? Who is a play character? How can a playwright create a play character, how can an actor play a character on the stage? What are the stages, the rules, the structures of a theatre play, of "building a character" on the stage? Which concepts can we use for understanding the modern playwriting? Konstantin Stanislavski writes the principles of modern dramaturgy; Stanislavski suggests concepts, categories, techniques of modern playwriting! Konstantin Stanislavski's "Building a Character" keeps its power one century later, when we study for playwriting, plays role the strongest source!

[Rodrigo G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Libro bien narrado con lecciones útiles sobre la dicción, manejo corporal y tono de voz que debería tener un actor. Lo más interesante es, sin duda, cuando explica el motor creador de la actuación, que es la imagen mental. Ahí eres capaz de entender el arte de la actuación y, si eres escritor, encontrarán un nuevo punto de apoyo para tu desarrollo artístico.
Lo importante no es mover la cara y el cuerpo, sino saber que lo que dices es coherente con el momento y el lugar.

[David Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

From probably the most famous of all acting teachers, this fictional tale of a Russian acting troupe and its charismatic leader serves to teach the secrets of the method actor and all that goes into creating and being the character you are portraying. The language is not the easiest to follow but the science and thought is fascinating.

[Eduardo Fort · Rating 5 out of 5]

Konstantin Sergeievich Stanislavski (1863-1938) es uno de los nombres fundamentales del arte dramático. Su método, desarrollado a lo largo de décadas, es la columna vertebral de este gran libro. Infaltable en las bibliotecas de los amantes del Teatro.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really thorough & fascinating examination of steps he believed were involved in Building a Character for an authentic presentation on stage! Enjoyed even more than the 1st book, which I liked, as I continue to learn & build my new career!! ☺️🗣️🎙️🎭

[S Sekhar Mishra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great material

Covers precisely the aspects of character building. Though many aspects cannot be learned, only it can be improvised through sequential practice.

[iitu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joitain mainioita hetkiä ja mielenkiintoisia pohdintoja taiteesta. Osa kuvatuista harjoituksista ei luettuna täysin auennut ja jaksanut kiinnostaa.

[alfred · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am just a vehicle for my subconscious, abundant creative nature to make its way into the world
Cheers Konstantin

[G · Rating 4 out of 5]

An essential read for new actors

[Omkar Kulkarni · Rating 2 out of 5]

Only last few pages are good

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this original more than most of the other translations based on it.

[smbrady15 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really think this book series has helped me really grow as an actor

[Celine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Por momentos es difícil de leer y un poco pesado pero es bastante interesante

[Christopher Seewah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very insightful follow-up to a masterpiece of a first book!