An Actor Prepares

This is quite a remarkable book. A lot of foundational texts can feel quaint and dated, even as they layout important ideas that many others take up and expound upon in future generations. Not so with "An Actor Prepares", which manages to be a thorough omnibus of everything you need to know about ac......more

I have to be careful in reviewing this seeing as I'm an acting student. While Stanislavksi is the founder of naturalism acting and his work is highly praised I find this book to be a very difficult read because I don't fully agree on his ideas in acting such as emotional memory. I'll use this extrac......more

"All acting is hustling and all persons are actors."---Marlon Brando. Since Brando studied The Method under Stella Adler, whose father introduced Stanislavsky to the U.S. theater, I wholeheartedly concur. Acting is not the sublimation of one's feelings but the desire for power. Take Napoleon:"If, in......more

Todas as vezes que o leio descubro alguma coisa nova. Leio este livro todos os anos desde que o tenho; na primeira vez que o li, só me foi útil para aí até meio. Tenho vindo a compreendê-lo melhor a cada leitura, porque com o progredir do meu trabalho deparo-me com dificuldades novas, mas o stanisla......more

This is the first of three books describing Stanislavski’s method of acting, known even to us non-actors as “the method.” I read it for research, but the ideal reader is actually practicing these exercises while reading the book; it’s not meant to be a purely intellectual exercise. Still, I learned......more