Best known for his fundamental work on acting, Stanislavski was deeply drawn to the challenges of opera. His brilliant chapters here on Russian classics--BorisGudonov and The Queen of Spades among them--as well as LaBoheme will amaze and delight lovers of opera. Also includes 12 musical examples.

First Published in 1999. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor and Francis, an informa company.

Best known for his fundamental work on acting, Stanislavski was deeply drawn to the challenges of opera. His brilliant chapters here on Russian classics--"Boris Gudonov" and "The Queen of Spades" among them--as well as "La Boheme" will amaze and delight lovers of opera. Also includes 12 musical examples.

"An Actor Prepares" is the first volume of Stanislavski's enduring trilogy on the art of acting. Fusing psychological realism and expressionism, his exploratory exercises teach actors to evoke past emotions that draw out their vulnerability. Stanislavski here introduces such concepts as the "magic if," "emotion memory," the "unbroken line" and many more now famous rehearsal aids. This classic manual is written from the viewpoint of fictional actors taking lessons from a director (based on Stanislavski). Through the student's mistakes, questions, revelations, and struggles, Stanislavski teaches the actor about the stage, truth, and life itself.

An Actor Prepares is the most famous acting training book ever to have been written and the work of Stanislavski has inspired generations of actors and trainers. This translation was the first to introduce Stanislavski's 'system' to the English speaking world and has stood the test of time in acting classes to this day. Stanislavski here deals with the inward preparation an actor must undergo in order to explore a role to the full. He introduces the concepts of the 'magic if' units and objectives, of emotion memory, of the super-objective and many more now famous rehearsal aids. Now available in the Bloomsbury Revelations series to mark the 150th anniversary of Stanislavski's birth, this is an essential read for actors, directors and anyone interested in the art of drama.

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

In this follow up to his most famous book, An Actor Prepares, Stanislavski develop his influential 'system' of acting by exploring the imaginative processes at the heart of the actor's craft. Building a Character deals with the physical realisation of character on the stage through such tools as expressions, movement and speech. It is a book in which every theory is inextricably bound up with practice - a perfect handbook to the physical art of acting. The work of Stanislavski has inspired generations of actors and trainers and - available now in the Bloomsbury Revelations series to mark the 150th anniversary of Stanislavski's birth - it remains an essential read for actors and directors at all stages of their careers.

Creating A Role is the third book - alongside the international bestseller An Actor Prepares and Building A Character - in the series of influential translations that introduced Stanislavski's acting 'system' to the English-speaking world. Here Stanislavski describes the elaborate preparation that an actor must undergo before the actual performance itself. Now published in the Bloomsbury Revelations series to mark the 150th anniversary of Stanislavski's birth, the book includes the director's analysis of such works as Othello and Gogol's Inspector General.

No one has had a greater influence on acting as we know it than Stanislavski. His 'method' - or interpretations of it - has become the central force determining almost every performance we see on stage or screen. In My Life in Art Stanislavski recalls his theatrical career, from his early experiences in Rubinstein's Russian Musical Society to his final triumphs with Chekhov at the Moscow Art Theatre. His vivid accounts of his own most famous productions including 'The Seagul' and 'Uncle Vanya' are interspersed with anecdotes of the famous - of Kommisarjevksy, Tolstoy, Gorky, and of the Moscow visit of Isadora Duncan and Gordon Craig.