Stanislavsky Secret: Not a System, Not a Method, But a Way of Thinking

Everyone in theatre associates Stanislavsky's name with character preparation, but few realize that he never wrote down the final formulation of his 'system.' In a final effort to pass on his ideas in the last years of his life, Stanislavsky gathered a small group of students and put them through an intensive training course. He thereby created a living tradition which has been handed down, generation by generation, from master to student. Igor and Irina Levin are among the inheritors of that tradition. This theatre book summarizes these last concepts in an orderly fashion for teachers and serious theatre students. In six comprehensive chapters the authors reveal Stanislavsky's method to help actors transform themselves into believable and fascinating stage characters: The Development of the Stanislavsky System, Stage Action, Elements of Acting Technique, Structuring the Play, Work on a Monologue, and The Actor's Training. Each chapter is embellished with details and examples.

Irina Levin was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, where she worked for thirteen years as an actress in repertory theatres, performed solo dramatic reading concert programs and worked as a drama teacher and director at a theatre-studio. Since her emigration to the United States in 1976, she has conducted an audition class in New York, taught acting courses at Catholic University and directed a number of plays. She is married to Igor Levin.