Dab solver - Method acting

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Strasberg's students included many of the best known American actors of the latter half of the 20th century, including [[Marlon Brando]], [[Paul Newman]], [[Robert De Niro]], [[Al Pacino]], [[James Dean]], [[George Peppard]], [[Dustin Hoffman]], [[Marilyn Monroe]], [[Jane Fonda]], [[Jack Nicholson]], [[Mickey Rourke]], and many others.^ref

Using the Method, the actor also recalls emotions or reactions from his or her own life and uses them to identify with the character being portrayed.{{Citation needed|date=December 2012}}

== Technique ==

"The Method" refers to the teachings of [[Lee Strasberg]], but the term "method acting" is sometimes applied to the teachings of his  colleagues, including [[Stella Adler]], [[Robert Lewis (actor)|]], and [[Sanford Meisner]], and to other schools of acting derived from [[Stanislavski's system]], each of which takes a slightly different approach.  [[Constantin Stanislavski]] himself has been noted saying that certain techniques that are considered to be "method" are not true to his original system, with an undue emphasis on the exercises of affective memory.  However there is no one correct way of method acting, for each different method technique is simply a different teachers' understanding of the Stanislavski System.

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'''Method acting''' is any of a family of techniques used by actors to create in themselves the thoughts and feelings of their characters, so as to develop lifelike performances. Though not all method actors use the same approach, the "method" in method acting usually refers to the practice, influenced by [[Constantin Stanislavski]] and created by [[Lee Strasberg]], in which actors draw upon their own emotions and memories in their portrayals, aided by a set of exercises and practices including sense memory and [[affective memory]]. Method acting shares similarities with [[Stanislavski's system]].

Method actors are often characterised as immersing themselves in their characters to the extent that they continue to portray them even offstage or off-camera for the duration of a project. However, this is a popular misconception. While some actors have employed this approach, it is generally not taught as part of the Method{{Citation needed|date=June 2012}}.

Method acting has been described as having "revolutionized [[Theater in the United States|American theater]]." While [[classical acting]] instruction "had focused on developing external talents," the Method was "the first systematized training that also developed internal abilities (sensory, psychological, emotional)."<ref name=stel>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE0DD1E31F931A15751C1A964958260 Stella Adler, 91, an Actress and Teacher of the Method] ''[[New York Times]]'', December 22, 1992.</ref>

Method acting continues to evolve, with many contemporary acting teachers, schools, and colleges teaching an integrated approach that draws from several different schools of thought about acting.

==Origins==
{{Main|Stanislavski's system}}
"The Method" was first popularized by the [[Group Theatre (New York)|Group Theatre]] in [[New York City]] in the 1930s and subsequently advanced by [[Lee Strasberg]] and others at the [[Actors Studio]] in the 1940s and 1950s. It was derived from the  [[Stanislavski's system|'system']] created by [[Constantin Stanislavski]], who pioneered similar ideas in his quest for "theatrical truth." This was done through his friendships with [[Russia]]'s leading actors, his collaborations with playwright [[Anton Chekhov]], and his own teaching, writing, and acting at the [[Moscow Art Theatre]] (founded in 1897).

Strasberg's students included many of the best known American actors of the latter half of the 20th century, including [[Marlon Brando]], [[Paul Newman]], [[Robert De Niro]], [[Al Pacino]], [[James Dean]], [[George Peppard]], [[Dustin Hoffman]], [[Marilyn Monroe]], [[Jane Fonda]], [[Jack Nicholson]], [[Mickey Rourke]], and many others.<ref name="nytstrasberg">[http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/1117.html Lee Strasberg of Actors Studio Dead] The New York Times, February 18, 1982</ref>

Using the Method, the actor also recalls emotions or reactions from his or her own life and uses them to identify with the character being portrayed.{{Citation needed|date=December 2012}}

==Technique==
"The Method" refers to the teachings of [[Lee Strasberg]], but the term "method acting" is sometimes applied to the teachings of his <<link:0>> colleagues, including [[Stella Adler]], [[Robert Lewis (actor)|Robert Lewis]], and [[Sanford Meisner]], and to other schools of acting derived from [[Stanislavski's system]], each of which takes a slightly different approach.  [[Constantin Stanislavski]] himself has been noted saying that certain techniques that are considered to be "method" are not true to his original system, with an undue emphasis on the exercises of affective memory.  However there is no one correct way of method acting, for each different method technique is simply a different teachers' understanding of the Stanislavski System.

Generally, Method acting combines the actor's careful consideration of the character's psychological motives and personal identification with the character, possibly including a reproduction of the character's emotional state by recalling emotions or sensations from the actor's own life. It is often contrasted with acting in which thoughts and emotions are indicated, or presented in a clichéd, unrealistic way. Among the concepts and techniques of Method acting are [[substitution (theatre)|substitution]], "as if," sense memory, [[affective memory]], animal work, and archetype work.  Strasberg uses the question, "What would motivate me, the actor, to behave in the way the character does?" Strasberg asks the actor to replace the play's circumstances with his or her own, the substitution.<ref>Carnicke, Sharon. Stanislavsky in Focus: An Acting Master for the Twenty-First Century. Routledge Theatre Classics, 2008, p. 221</ref>

[[Sanford Meisner]], another Group Theatre pioneer, championed a closely related version of the Method, which came to be called the [[Meisner technique]]. Meisner broke from Strasberg on the subjects of sense memory and affective memory, basic techniques espoused by Strasberg through which actors access their own personal experiences in order to identify with and portray the emotional lives of their characters. Meisner believed that this approach caused actors to focus on themselves and not fully tell the story. He advocated fully immersing oneself "in the moment" and concentrating on one's partner. Meisner taught actors to achieve spontaneity by understanding the [[given circumstances]] of the scene (as did Strasberg) and through interpersonal exercises he designed to help actors invest emotionally in the scene, freeing them to react "honestly" as the character. Meisner described acting as "living truthfully under imaginary circumstances."<ref>Meisner, Sanford. ''Sanford Meisner on Acting'', Vintage,
1987</ref>

[[Robert Lewis (actor)|Robert Lewis]] also broke with Strasberg. In his books ''Method&mdash;or Madness?'' and the more autobiographical ''Slings and Arrows,'' Lewis disagreed with the idea that vocal training should be separated from pure emotional training.<ref name="books.google.com">[[Robert Lewis (actor)|Robert Lewis]] (2003), ''Slings and Arrows: Theater in My Life'', [[Hal Leonard Corporation]], ISBN 1-55783-244-7, p.193.</ref> Lewis felt that more emphasis should be placed on formal voice and body training, such as teaching actors how to speak verse and enunciate clearly, rather than on pure raw emotion, which he felt was the focus of Method training.<ref name="books.google.com"/>

[[Stella Adler]], an actress and acting teacher whose fame was cemented by the success of her students [[Marlon Brando]], [[Warren Beatty]], and [[Robert De Niro]], also broke with Strasberg after she studied with Stanislavski himself, the only Group Theatre teacher to do so, after he had modified many of his early ideas about acting. Her version of the Method is based on the idea that actors should conjure up emotion not by using their own personal memories, but by using the scene's given circumstances. Like Strasberg's, Adler's technique relies on carrying through tasks, wants, needs, and objectives. It also seeks to stimulate the actor's imagination through the use of "as ifs." Adler often taught that "drawing on personal experience alone was too limited." Therefore, she urged performers to draw on their imaginations and utilize "emotional memory" to the fullest.<ref>"Stella Adler." [[Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]], 2011. 27 October  2011.</ref>

==Contemporary approaches==

Contemporary Method acting teachers and schools often synthesize the work of their predecessors into an integrated approach. They reject the notion that any one of the major Method teachers of the 20th century was completely correct or incorrect, and they continue to develop new acting tools and techniques.

Some modern acting theorists and teachers have noted that Lee Strasberg, Sanford Meisner, Stella Adler, and others often misunderstood each other's work, and that their criticisms were based on this misunderstanding. For example, they all taught actors to use their imagination, to connect with each other in performance, to analyze the script for wants, needs, and objectives. Meisner often said that Strasberg actors were too focused on themselves, but Strasberg trained many of the most respected actors of the 20th century.

In addition to taking an integrated approach, contemporary actors sometimes seek help from psychologists<ref>Larina Kase (2011), ''Clients, Clients, and More Clients!: Create an Endless Stream of New Business with the Power of Psychology'', [[McGraw–Hill]], ISBN 0-07-177100-X, p.125.</ref><ref>S. Loraine Hull (1985), ''Strasberg's method as taught by Lorrie Hull: A practical guide for actors, teachers, and directors'', Oxbow Books, ISBN 0-918024-38-2, p.10.</ref> or use imaginative tools such as dream work or archetype work to remove emotional blocks. Techniques have also been developed to prevent the world of the performance from spilling over into an actor's personal life in destructive ways.

==Teachers==
[[Constantin Stanislavski|Stanislavski]] described his acting system in a trilogy of books set in a fictional acting school: ''An Actor Prepares,'' ''Building a Character,'' and ''Creating a Role.'' He also wrote an autobiography, ''My Life in Art.'' Acting teachers whose work was inspired by Stanislavski include:
* [[Richard Boleslawski]], actor, film director, and founder of the [[American Laboratory Theatre]] in New York.
* [[Michael Chekhov]], an actor, director, and author (and nephew of [[Anton Chekhov]]) whose technique, largely an outside-in approach and somewhat more metaphysical, diverged from and returned to Stanislavski's over the course of his career.
* [[Maria Ouspenskaya]], an actress who taught at the American Laboratory Theatre. Her students included [[John Garfield]], [[Stella Adler]], and [[Lee Strasberg]].
* [[Lee Strasberg]], a director, actor, and producer whose teachings are most closely associated with the term Method acting.
* [[Stella Adler]], an actress and founder of the [[Stella Adler Conservatory]] in New York City.
* [[Herbert Berghof]], founder of [[HB Studio]] in New York City.
* [[Uta Hagen]], an actress and the author of ''Respect for Acting'' and ''A Challenge for the Actor,'' who emphasized the techniques of identity and substitution.
* [[Robert Lewis (actor)|Robert Lewis]], an actor, director, co-founder of the [[Actors Studio]], and author of ''Method&mdash;or Madness?''
In fact, most post-1930 acting philosophies have been strongly influenced by Method acting, and it continues to be taught at schools around the world, including the [[Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute]] in New York and Los Angeles, the [[The Actors Studio#The Actors Studio Drama School|Actors Studio Drama School]] in New York, the [[Stella Adler Conservatory|Stella Adler Studio of Acting]] in New York and Los Angeles, the [[Edgemar Center for the Arts]] in Santa Monica, Calif., [[HB Studio]] in New York, Le Studio [[Jack Garfein]] in Paris and [[American Conservatory Theater]] in San Francisco.

==Practitioners==
*[[Daniel Day-Lewis]]
*[[Tom Hanks]]
*[[Richard Armitage (actor)|Richard Armitage]]
*Marlon Brando
*[[Christian Bale]]
*[[Adrien Brody]]
*[[Kamal Haasan]]
*[[Michael Caine]]<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/6451936/Michael-Caine-uses-painful-secret-to-cry-on-set.html Michael Caine 'uses painful secret to cry on set'] The Telegraph</ref>
*[[Nicolas Cage]]<ref>[http://www.empireonline.com/interviews/interview.asp?IID=1444/ The Ghost Rider himself answers your questions] Empire</ref>
*[[Jessica Chastain]]
*[[Bradley Cooper]]
*[[Gary Oldman]]
*[[Bryan Cranston]]
*[[Mammootty]]
*[[James Dean]]<ref name="nytstrasberg" />
*[[Robert De Niro]]<ref name="nytstrasberg" />
*[[Johnny Depp]]
*[[Leonardo DiCaprio]]
*[[Jane Fonda]]<ref>[http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kbolAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2_IFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1054,1011277&dq=&hl=en Jane Fonda Is Actress with a Character] AP, Gettysburg Times – Jun 14, 1962</ref>
*[[Walton Goggins]]
*[[Ryan Gosling]]
*[[Ed Harris]]
*[[Dustin Hoffman]]
*[[Matthew Mcconaughey]]
*[[Michael Ironside]]
*[[Anne Hathaway]]
*[[Val Kilmer]]
*[[Heath Ledger]]
*[[Mohanlal]]
*[[Marilyn Monroe]]<ref name="nytstrasberg" />
*[[Jack Nicholson]]<ref>[http://www.esquire.com/features/what-ive-learned/ESQ0104-JAN_JACK What I've Learned: Jack Nicholson] Esquire</ref>
*[[Al Pacino]]<ref name="nytstrasberg" />
*[[Joaquin Phoenix]]
*[[Suzanne Pleshette]]<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/21/arts/21cnd-pleshette.html?_r=0 Suzanne Pleshette, 70, ‘Newhart’ Actress, Dies] The New York Times, January 21, 2008</ref>
*[[Aamir Khan]]
*[[Gena Rowlands]]
*[[Peter Sellers]]
*[[James Stewart (actor)|James Stewart]]
*[[Meryl Streep]]
*[[Forest Whitaker]]
*[[Michelle Williams (actress)|Michelle Williams]]
*[[Reese Witherspoon]]
*[[Shelley Winters]]<ref>[http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/shelley-winters-outspoken-oscar-winning-actress-who-had-a-string-of-famous-lovers-1.31808 Shelley Winters Outspoken Oscar-winning actress who had a string of famous lovers] 16 January 2006 Herald Scotland</ref>
*[[Bill Pendergast]]
*[[Dilip Kumar]] <ref>http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20100627/spectrum/main7.htm</ref>

==Controversy==
{{controversy section|date=April 2013}}
British biographer Jean Benedetti, who was a scholar and translator of nearly all of [[Constantin Stanislavski]]'s works, spent most of his later years trying to correct what he felt were gross misunderstandings of Stanislavski's works, including the "over-limited reliance on psychological approaches that led to the American conception of method acting."<ref>{{cite web|title=Jean Benedetti obituary|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2012/apr/20/jean-benedetti|date=20 April 2012|accessdate=09 June 2012|publisher=The Guardian}}</ref>

==Further reading==
===Articles===
* Mel Gussow: [http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/14/arts/the-method-still-disputed-but-now-ubiquitous.html "The Method, Still Disputed But Now Ubiquitous,"] ''The New York Times'' (April 14, 1987)
===Major books on Method acting===
* ''The Technique of Acting'' by [[Stella Adler]]
* ''Acting—The First Six Lessons'' by [[Richard Boleslavsky]]
* ''To the Actor'' by [[Michael Chekhov]]
* ''A Dream of Passion'' by [[Lee Strasberg]]
* ''Sanford Meisner on Acting'' by [[Sanford Meisner]]
* ''Method&mdash;or Madness?'' by [[Robert Lewis (actor)|Robert Lewis]]
* ''Advice to the Players'' by [[Robert Lewis (actor)|Robert Lewis]]
* ''[[Respect for Acting]]'' by [[Uta Hagen]]
* ''No Acting Please'' by [[Eric Morris (actor)|Eric Morris]] and [[Joan Hotchkis]]
* ''Strasberg's Method: As Taught by Lorrie Hull'' by S. Loraine Hull
* ''Life and Acting: Techniques for the Actor'' by [[Jack Garfein]]
* The Power of the Actor by Ivana Chubbuck

===Books on contemporary approaches to Method acting===
* ''The Intent to Live'' by Larry Moss
* ''Dreamwork for Actors'' by Janet Sonenberg
* ''O poetică a artei actorului (Poetics of the actor's art)'' by [[Ion Cojar]]
* Rosemary Malague: ''An Actress Prepares: Women and "the Method"'', London & New York: Routledge, 2011

==See also==
* [[List of acting techniques]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Method Acting}}
[[Category:Acting techniques]]
[[Category:Theatre]]

[[he:שיטת המשחק]]
[[pl:Metoda Stanisławskiego]]

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