By Humaira
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Full name : Konstantin Sergeyevich Alekseyev
Konstantin Stanislavski (Who was born in moscow in 1863) was a Russian actor, director, playwright, and teacher. He created a new approach to acting, which he called 'The System'. It's now the basis of modern da method acting.Stanislavski wanted to create this system because he saw a lot of ‘artificial’ acting and so he wanted his actors to make believable, realistic performances.
He also created phrases which are very commonly used today, such as ‘stage directions’.
He was brought up in a very wealthy family, who all loved theatre.
When he was 14, Stanislavski started acting and developed his acting skills while he worked with various other acting groups.
In 1885 he gave himself the stage name ‘Stanislavski’ (which was the name of an actor he previously met) The reason he changed his name was solely to keep his acting a secret from his mother and father. (Becoming an actor was a very unthinkable, job for people off a high social status. Actors had a very low social status in Russia, since previously they were used as a source of entertainment for the rich people.
In 1888 he married a teacher called Maria Perevoshchikova, who later helped him in his acting career.
In 1897 he co-founded of the Moscow Art Theater (MAT) with Vladimir Danchenko
Over the years the Art Theatre developed with works like ‘The Petty Bourgeois’, ‘An Enemy of the People’ and ‘Blue Bird’
In 1912, Stanislavski created First Studio, which was a training ground for young aspiring actors
In the mid- 20th century method acting became more influential
In 1917 after the Russian Revolution Stanislavski faced a lot of criticism because his work was not communist but this did not majorly affect his company.
Unfortunately in 1928, during a performance to commemorate the Moscow Art Theatre’s 30th Anniversary, Stanislavski had a major heart attack while on stage.
He then died on August 7 1938 in the city of his birth, due to another heart problem. He was 75 years old at the time of death.
