Stanislavsky: A Practical Introduction

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Ages 18+

Course Dates & Times

Wednesday evenings on 25 September, 01, 08, 15, 22 February and 01 March 2023
7pm-9pm, weekly

About Stanislavsky: A Practical Introduction 

This six-week evening course will equip you with acting techniques set out by Konstantin Stanislavsky, considered the father of modern acting. The course, which will encourage you to build and develop character through exercises created by Stanislavsky, is designed to take the fear out of what can sometimes come across as a daunting system.

You will be encouraged to have fun through play and imagination and will leave at the end of the six-weeks with a new-found confidence for how to approach a character from scratch.

Who is the course for?

Anyone who wants to learn about Stanislavsky’s acting techniques and how to put them into practice.

Professional actors and passionate amateurs are equally welcome. Your level of acting is not as important as a willingness to participate and try out the exercises.

What can I expect?

This will be a very practical class and acting will be required in the room, whilst discussions will be strongly encouraged. Scenes will be set in advance.

You can expect to:

• Apply Stanislavsky exercises to selected scenes
• Learn about the different aspect of Stanislavsky’s approach to acting
• Learn about the historical context of Stanislavsky and his theatre
• Learn to analyse and break down a scene using actions and events
• Clarify the key differences between Stanislavsky’s system and method acting.
• Gain additional tools to help you build a character from the ground up
• Deepen your textual analyses of plays
• Exercise your imagination and your ability to play when it comes to creating a role
• Build confidence in using Stanislavsky’s techniques and create exercises that work for you

Attendance of all six sessions is strongly recommended to allow progression of learning and for the benefit of the group as a whole.

Do I need anything for the course?

We will be using The Seagull by Anya Reiss as a set text. You will need to source your own physical copy or an electronic format of the play to participate in the course.

Course Fee

£275

This course has now started. Join our mailing list to hear about future dates and new courses.

Eligibility

• For everyone aged 18+
• Participants must have sufficient English language skills to cope with course demands.

About the Course Tutor

The course is taught by Polina Kalinina and Emma Jude Harris.

Polina Kalinina is an English/Russian freelance theatre director. She trained at LAMDA and made her professional debut at the Orange Tree Theatre with Dutchman starring Paapa Essiedu and Sally Oliver. 

She has directed and taught at East 15, Guildhall, Central, Mountview, the Oxford School of Drama, and the Ekaterinburg State Theatre Institute. New plays, operatic visuals, precise anarchy and large-scale ensembles are at the core of her practice.

Directing projects include: The Cherry Orchard (Guildhall School), Shakespeare in Love (Clifftown Theatre), Julius Caesar (Globe Neuss, Germany), Anna Karenina (Clifftown Theatre), Islanders (Soho Theatre), Playboy of the Western World (Southwark Playhouse), Flashes (Soho Theatre), Romeo and Juliet (Tobacco Factory & tour), Dutchman (Orange Tree Theatre).

Emma Jude Harris (she/her) is a Jewish American director, dramaturg and researcher. She works across forms in opera, early modern theatre, new writing, and music theatre to develop new work, dismantle notions of genre, and interrogate the canon. She has directed and taught at drama schools including RADA, Rose Bruford, Oxford School of Drama, Central School of Speech and Drama, and LAMDA. Emma is co-director of Global Origins, a network and platform for international, multicultural, and diasporic artists.

Directing projects include The Awakening of Cheerful Feelings Upon the Arrival Of Single Men of Good Fortune (CSSD), Love's Labour's Lost (Rose Bruford), The Rover (Oxford School of Drama), Cabildo (Wilton’s Music Hall and Arcola Theatre),  The Basset Table (RADA), The Agency (Tête à Tête), The Telephone (livestreamed opera), sorry did I wake you (Tristan Bates), and Ares (VAULT Festival).