Konstantin Stanislaysky
Konstantin Stanislaysky, stage name of Konstantin Alexeyev (1863-1938). Russian actor and theatre producer. In 1898 he founded the Moscow Art Theatre and introduced a new naturalistic style of acting. His productions included classics such a Shakespeare and plays by Chekhov and Gorky. His ideas had a big influence on actors and directors in the West. Modern `Method’ acting, in which actors explore the personality and background of the characters they are playing in order to give a more realistic portrayal, is derived from Stanislaysky’s ideas, which are discussed in his book An Actor Prepares (1926).
