Constantin Stanislavski Quotes - Page 2

Every person who is really an artist desires to create inside of himself another, deeper, more interesting life than the one that actually surrounds him.

Of course, if you have thought up to now that an actor relies merely on inspiration you will have to change your mind. Talent without work is nothing more than raw unfinished material.

The character has to have some kind of arch. The character has to go through an event, and be changed by the human event.

It is only when an actor feels that his inner and outer life on the stage is flowing naturally and normally, in the circumstances that surround him, that the deeper sources of his subconscious gently open, and from them come feelings we cannot always analyse.

The greatest wisdom is to realize one's lack of it.

It is through you, actors, that the forces which are understood by millions and that tell of everything that is beautiful on earth, find expression. The forces which reveal to people the happiness of living in a widened consciousness and in the joy of creative work for the whole world. You, the actors of a theatre, which is one of the centres of human culture, will never be understood by the people if you are unable to reflect the spiritual needs of your time, the now in which you are living.

Unless the theatre can ennoble you, make you a better person, you should flee from it.

All art is autobiographical - if it's not, it's not going to quicken on-stage, and it's not going to come alive.

Stage charm guarantees in advance an actor's hold on the audience, it helps him to carry over to large numbers of people his creative purposes. It enhances his roles and his art. Yet it is of utmost importance that he use this precious gift with prudence, wisdom, and modesty. It is a great shame when he does not realize this and goes on to exploit, to play on his ability to charm.

In the given circumstances you must be rooted in the play. Do not depart from the play. Don't cut yourself off from your partner in the scene, or partners.

The theatre infects the audience with its noble ecstasy.

Talent is nothing but a prolonged period of attention and a shortened period of mental assimilation.

At times of great stress it is especially necessary to achieve a complete freeing of the muscles

I was born an ordinary actor. I will die an ordinary actor. But I've persisted.

Our demands are simple, normal, and therefore they are difficult to satisfy. All we ask is that an actor on the stage live in accordance with natural laws.

In the creative process there is the father, the author of the play; the mother, the actor pregnant with the part; and the child, the role to be born.

In life we listen to other people. Listen with varying degrees of concentration and attention, right? Actors must learn to listen in a different way.

Fear your admirers! Learn in time to hear, understand, and love the cruel truth about yourselves!

In the circle of light on the state in the midst of darkness, you have the sensation of being entirely alone... This is called solitude in public... During a performance, before an audience of thousands, you can always enclose yourself in this circle, like a snail in its shell... You can carry it wherever you go.

Don't go so deep in yourself that you no longer exist for your partner and for the character and for the play.

A true priest is aware of the presence of the altar during every moment that he is conducting a service. It is exactly the same way that a true artist should react to the stage all the time he is in the theater. An actor who is incapable of this feeling will never be a true artist.

In spite of my great admiration for individual splendid talents I do not accept the star system. Collective creative effort is the root of our kind of art. That requires ensemble acting and whoever mars that ensemble is committing a crime not only against his comrades but also against the very art of which he is the servant.

Success is transient, evanescent. The real passion lies in the poignant acquisition of knowledge about all the shading and subtleties of the creative secrets.

Young actors, fear your admirers! Learn in time, from your first steps, to hear, understand and love the cruel truth about yourselves. Find out who can tell you that truth and talk of your art only with those who can tell you the truth.

In talking about a genius, you would not say that he lies; he sees realities with different eyes from ours.