Greek Theatre

Over the past term we have worked on Greek Theatre, Chekhov and Stanislavski. We drew spider diagrams to sum what we have learnt and had 1-1s with each other to point out what skills we think we have developed.

Personally I feel I've developed and others feel I've developed:

• Spatial Awareness

The reason being I feel I have developed spacial awareness is because the more I step foot on an acting space I naturally sometimes fall around the whole of the space and I am beginning to realise this, I also remind myself a lot to use that space without blocking out the audience.

• Self Confidence

Being face to face with a crowd or even in front of an examiner is a big test but the more I do it the more I feel comfortable and learn to just go with the flow, it's becoming a lot easier to open up and pour my emotion into my acting pieces as I progress.

• Communication Skills

In acting there are many types of communication skills but I feel the main one I think I've learnt is reaction off of others reaction/emotion, this is key to acting because it helps to bring the true emotion out or even express the characters feelings.

• Articulation

As a child I had a slight lisp and my (th's) were and still are difficult to pronounce but as i surround myself with more educated plays and being taught by people with more experience I am beginning to catch on and pronounce my words correctly. Articulation in acting is key because you don't want the audience to not be able to understand you and end up taking a feel out of the play or ruining the performance

• Thick Skin

Being able to take criticism is very important because depending on how you let it affect you, criticism can be a very good way of developing as a person and improving on your weaknesses or even strengths.

Constantin Stanislavski

Stanislavski was a Russian Actor and Director also known for his naturalistic performance technique known as "Stanislavski Method" also known as Method Acting.

Constantin Stanislavski was born in 1863 in Moscow, Russia. He started working in the whole theatre industry since he was a teenager and became an acclaimed director of stage productions. He then co-founded The Moscow Arts Theatre in 1897 and created the technique Method Acting.

During the Moscow Art Theatre's early years, Stanislavski worked on providing a guiding structure for actors to consistently achieve deep, meaningful and disciplined performances. He believed that actors needed to inhabit authentic emotion while on stage and, to do so, they could draw upon feelings they'd experienced in their own lives. Stanislavski also developed exercises that encouraged actors to explore character motivations, giving performances depth and an unassuming realism while still paying attention to the parameters of the production. This technique would come to be known as the "Stanislavski method" or "the Method." 

Anton Chekhov and The Three Sisters

The reason I am specifically talking about The Three Sisters is because this is the play i studied and performed.

Anton Chekov, born on January 29, 1860, in Taganrog, Russia. Through stories such as "The Steppe" and "The Lady with the Dog," and plays such as The Seagull and Uncle Vayna, Chekhov emphasized the depths of human nature, the hidden significance of everyday events and the fine line between comedy and tragedy. Chekhov died of tuberculosis on July 15, 1904, in Badenweiler, Germany.

During the mid-1880s, Chekhov practiced as a physician and began to publish serious works of fiction under his own name. His pieces appeared in the newspaper New Times and then as part of collections such as Motley Stories (1886). His story “The Steppe” was an important success, earning its author the Pushkin Prize in 1888. Like most of Chekhov’s early work, it showed the influence of the major Russian realists of the 19th century, such as Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

Chekhov also wrote works for the theater during this period. His earliest plays were short farces; however, he soon developed his signature style, which was a unique mix of comedy and tragedy. Plays such as Ivanov (1887) and The Wood Demon (1889) told stories about educated men of the upper classes coping with debt, disease and inevitable disappointment in life. 

The action takes place in the house of the Prozorov, it is a sunny day in the hall the table is laid waiting for the guests. Irina, the youngest of the sisters is celebrating twenty years, they all are full of hopes and expectations of change for the better. In the autumn family plans to move to Moscow, Andrei's sisters predict him a great future, they are confident that he will go to university and become a scientist. Olga dreams of moving from a provincial city to Moscow, because she is tired of the work at school and dreams of marriage.