Stella Adler Acting Technique
The main aim of Stella Adler’s teachings is to enable actors to convey the truth and ideas of a play through their performance. She emphasises that actors should not only reproduce their own emotions, but bring the characters and their social situations to life through imagination and action. Adler’s approach emphasises the importance of actions and the need for actors to immerse themselves deeply in the circumstances and social backgrounds of the characters in order to perform authentically and convincingly.
Summary of Stella Adler’s approach (based on the book Stella Adler by Howard Kissel) to acting, highlighting key points and memorable quotes:
Summary of Stella Adler’s Approach to Acting
1. Emphasis on Imagination:
Adler believed that the actor’s imagination is crucial. She emphasized that actors should use their imagination to create the world of the character, rather than relying solely on personal emotional experiences.
Quote: “The imagination is the ignition key. Without it, nothing else works.”
2. Importance of Actions:
Actions are central to Adler’s technique. She taught that emotions are a result of actions, not the other way around. By focusing on what the character does, actors can find the truth in their performance.
Quote: “Acting is doing. It’s not about you. It’s about what you do.”
3. Understanding the Text:
Adler stressed the importance of deeply understanding the text, including the social, historical, and political context of the play. This helps actors to fully inhabit their characters.
Quote: “The play is not in the words. It’s behind the words.”
4. Building a Character’s Background:
She encouraged actors to create a detailed background for their characters, including their profession, social status, and personal history. This helps in making the character’s actions and motivations believable.
Quote: “You must have a fully realized past for that character.”
5. Physicalization of the Character:
Adler believed that the physical aspects of a character, such as posture, movement, and costume, are essential in bringing the character to life.
Quote: “Character is physicalization—with truth.”
6. The Actor’s Responsibility:
She viewed acting as a noble profession with a responsibility to convey truth and elevate the audience’s understanding of the human condition.
Quote: “The theatre was created to tell people the truth about life and the social situation.”
7. Avoiding Emotional Memory:
Unlike some of her contemporaries, Adler did not emphasize emotional memory. She believed that relying too much on personal emotions could limit an actor’s range and authenticity.
Quote: “Your experience is not the same as Hamlet’s.”
8. The Role of the Actor:
Adler saw actors as artists who must constantly grow and challenge themselves. She believed that actors should strive for independence and not rely on external validation.
Quote: “My aim is to be independent from Miss Adler or anybody else.”
Memorable Quotes:
“The imagination is the ignition key. Without it, nothing else works.”
“Acting is doing. It’s not about you. It’s about what you do.”
“The play is not in the words. It’s behind the words.”
“You must have a fully realized past for that character.”
“Character is physicalization—with truth.”
“The theatre was created to tell people the truth about life and the social situation.”
“Your experience is not the same as Hamlet’s.”
“My aim is to be independent from Miss Adler or anybody else.”
Stella Adler’s approach to acting is a comprehensive technique that combines imagination, deep understanding of the text, and physical embodiment of the character to create truthful and compelling performances.
In Stella Adler’s technique, imagination holds a central and transformative role. Here are the key points highlighting its significance:
Key Points on the Significance of Imagination in Adler’s Technique
1. Foundation of Character Creation:
Imagination is the primary tool for actors to create and inhabit the world of their characters. It allows actors to go beyond their personal experiences and explore the vast possibilities of human behavior and emotions.
Quote: “The imagination is the ignition key. Without it, nothing else works.”
2. Avoiding Emotional Memory:
Adler emphasized imagination over emotional memory, which she believed could limit an actor’s range. By using imagination, actors can authentically portray characters whose experiences and emotions differ vastly from their own.
Quote: “Your experience is not the same as Hamlet’s.”
3. Building Detailed Backgrounds:
Imagination helps actors construct detailed backgrounds for their characters, including their history, profession, and social context. This depth of understanding makes the character’s actions and motivations more believable.
Quote: “You must have a fully realized past for that character.”
4. Enhancing Actions and Physicalization:
Through imagination, actors can vividly visualize and physicalize their character’s actions and reactions, making their performance more dynamic and truthful.
Quote: “Character is physicalization—with truth.”
5. Creating the World of the Play:
Imagination enables actors to fully immerse themselves in the world of the play, understanding its social, historical, and political context. This immersion helps actors deliver more authentic and compelling performances.
Quote: “The play is not in the words. It’s behind the words.”
6. Stimulating Creativity and Growth:
Imagination stimulates creativity, allowing actors to explore new ideas and perspectives. This continuous exploration fosters artistic growth and independence.
Quote: “My aim is to be independent from Miss Adler or anybody else.”
Summary: Imagination is crucial in Stella Adler’s technique as it empowers actors to transcend their personal experiences, deeply understand their characters, and bring the world of the play to life. It is the key to unlocking creativity, authenticity, and artistic growth in acting.
Stella Adler recommended several exercises to help actors sharpen their imagination. These exercises are designed to enhance an actor’s ability to visualize, create detailed backgrounds, and fully immerse themselves in the world of their characters. Here are some key exercises:
Key Exercises for Sharpening Imagination
1. Visualizing Detailed Scenarios:
Exercise: Imagine walking along a country road. Visualize the sky, the sun, the shadows, the road’s texture, the surrounding trees, and any animals you might see. Describe these details vividly.
Purpose: This exercise helps actors develop the ability to see and describe their surroundings in detail, making their imagined world more real and specific.
2. Creating Backgrounds for Characters:
Exercise: Build a detailed background for a character, including their profession, social status, family history, and personal relationships. Imagine their daily routines and significant life events.
Purpose: This exercise helps actors create a fully realized past for their characters, making their actions and motivations more believable.
3. Describing Objects in Detail:
Exercise: Bring in an object from nature, such as a flower or a stone. Describe its shape, color, texture, and any other specific details. Explain its significance and how it fits into a larger context.
Purpose: This exercise sharpens the actor’s observational skills and ability to describe objects vividly, enhancing their ability to create detailed and specific imagery.
4. Paraphrasing Texts:
Exercise: Take a passage from a text, such as Kahlil Gibran’s “The Prophet,” and paraphrase it in your own words. Then, stand on stage and deliver the paraphrased version.
Purpose: This exercise helps actors internalize the ideas behind the text, making it more personal and meaningful. It also encourages them to think deeply about the text’s underlying themes.
5. Building Imaginary Worlds:
Exercise: Imagine and describe a garden in detail, such as the garden of the French embassy in Washington, D.C., or a rundown yard in Mexico. Include specific elements like plants, paths, and structures.
Purpose: This exercise helps actors create and inhabit detailed imaginary worlds, enhancing their ability to fully immerse themselves in the setting of a play.
6. Observing and Mimicking Animals:
Exercise: Go to a zoo and study an animal. Observe its movements, sounds, and behavior. Then, try to mimic the animal’s actions and noises.
Purpose: This exercise helps actors break free from their social masks and inhibitions, encouraging spontaneity and a deeper connection to their physicality.
7. Traveling with the Imagination:
Exercise: Choose an object and let your imagination travel. For example, look at a pair of glasses and let your mind wander to different associations, such as stones, amber earrings, or Parisian shops.
Purpose: This exercise encourages free association and helps actors discover unexpected connections and ideas, stimulating their creativity.
Summary: Stella Adler’s exercises for sharpening imagination focus on visualization, creating detailed backgrounds, observing and describing objects, paraphrasing texts, building imaginary worlds, mimicking animals, and free association. These exercises help actors develop their ability to fully immerse themselves in their characters and the world of the play, enhancing their creativity and authenticity.
Stella Adler preferred the use of imagination over relying on personal emotions or affective memory for several key reasons:
1. Broader Range of Emotions and Experiences:
Imagination: Allows actors to access a wider range of emotions and experiences beyond their own personal history. This enables them to portray characters and situations they have never personally encountered.
Affective Memory: Limits actors to their own past experiences, which may not be sufficient or relevant for the diverse roles they need to play.
2. Focus on the Character, Not the Actor:
Imagination: Encourages actors to fully inhabit the character’s world and circumstances, making the performance about the character rather than the actor’s personal life.
Affective Memory: Can make the performance self-referential, focusing more on the actor’s personal emotions rather than the character’s experiences and motivations.
3. Consistency and Reliability:
Imagination: Provides a consistent and reliable method for actors to access the emotions and actions required for a role. Imagination can be trained and controlled, ensuring that actors can deliver consistent performances.
Affective Memory: Can be unpredictable and unreliable. Personal emotions may not always be accessible or appropriate for the scene, leading to inconsistent performances.
4. Avoiding Emotional Exhaustion:
Imagination: Protects actors from emotional exhaustion and potential psychological harm. By using their imagination, actors can create the necessary emotions without reliving traumatic or intense personal experiences.
Affective Memory: Requires actors to tap into their own emotional pain and past traumas, which can be mentally and emotionally draining, and potentially harmful over time.
5. Artistic Creativity and Freedom:
Imagination: Fosters artistic creativity and freedom, allowing actors to explore and create new worlds, characters, and situations. It encourages a more creative and expansive approach to acting.
Affective Memory: Can be restrictive, as it confines the actor to their own life experiences and emotional responses, limiting their creative potential.
6. Alignment with Stanislavski’s Later Teachings:
Imagination: Aligns with Konstantin Stanislavski’s later teachings, which emphasized the importance of imagination and the given circumstances of the play. Adler studied directly with Stanislavski and adopted his evolved approach.
Affective Memory: Was an earlier concept in Stanislavski’s work, which he later moved away from in favor of techniques that relied more on imagination and the actor’s interaction with the play’s circumstances.
Summary: Stella Adler preferred the use of imagination over personal emotions or affective memory because it allows for a broader range of emotions and experiences, focuses on the character rather than the actor, provides consistency and reliability, avoids emotional exhaustion, fosters artistic creativity and freedom, and aligns with Stanislavski’s later teachings. This approach helps actors create more authentic, compelling, and sustainable performances.
Konstantin Stanislavski had a profound influence on Stella Adler’s methods, shaping her approach to acting in several significant ways. Here are the key aspects of Stanislavski’s influence on Adler’s methods:
1. Emphasis on Imagination:
Stanislavski: In his later teachings, Stanislavski emphasized the importance of imagination in creating a character and bringing a performance to life. He believed that actors should use their imagination to fully inhabit the world of the play and the character.
Adler: Stella Adler adopted this emphasis on imagination, encouraging her students to use their creative faculties to explore and develop their characters. She believed that imagination allowed actors to access a broader range of emotions and experiences than their personal memories could provide.
2. Given Circumstances:
Stanislavski: Introduced the concept of “given circumstances,” which refers to the specific details of the character’s world, including the time, place, social environment, and relationships. Understanding these circumstances helps actors ground their performances in the reality of the play.
Adler: Emphasized the importance of thoroughly understanding the given circumstances of a play. She taught her students to delve deeply into the character’s background, environment, and social context to create a truthful and compelling performance.
3. Actions and Objectives:
Stanislavski: Focused on the idea that acting is doing, and that actors should always have clear objectives and actions in mind. He believed that understanding what a character wants (objective) and how they go about getting it (action) is crucial for a truthful performance.
Adler: Adopted this focus on actions and objectives, teaching her students to break down their scenes into specific, actionable tasks. She believed that by concentrating on what the character is doing and why, actors could create more dynamic and believable performances.
4. Physicalization of Emotions:
Stanislavski: Believed that physical actions could lead to genuine emotional responses. By engaging in specific physical activities, actors could evoke the necessary emotions for their characters.
Adler: Emphasized the importance of physicalizing emotions through actions. She taught that by performing specific actions, actors could naturally generate the appropriate emotional responses, making their performances more authentic.
5. Rejection of Affective Memory:
Stanislavski: Initially explored the use of affective memory (using personal emotional memories to evoke emotions on stage) but later moved away from it, finding it unreliable and potentially harmful.
Adler: Strongly rejected the use of affective memory, aligning with Stanislavski’s later teachings. She believed that relying on personal emotional memories was limiting and could be psychologically damaging. Instead, she advocated for the use of imagination and the given circumstances to create emotions.
6. Holistic Approach to Character:
Stanislavski: Advocated for a holistic approach to character development, where actors consider all aspects of the character’s life, including their physicality, psychology, and social environment.
Adler: Embraced this holistic approach, teaching her students to consider every detail of their character’s life and environment. She believed that a deep understanding of the character’s world was essential for a truthful performance.
Summary: Stanislavski’s influence on Stella Adler’s methods is evident in her emphasis on imagination, the importance of given circumstances, the focus on actions and objectives, the physicalization of emotions, the rejection of affective memory, and a holistic approach to character development. By incorporating these principles, Adler developed a comprehensive and practical approach to acting that has had a lasting impact on the field.
Stella Adler Technique Workshop/Regular Classes in Berlin: In-Person: Milton Justice teaches The Stella Adler Technique