Stanislavski & Brecht : Performance Theory

Konstantin Stanislavski and Vsevolod Meyerhold are seminal figures within performance theory of the modern theatre, most notably for their individual development of systematic approaches to actor training during the turbulent period in Russia between 1898 and 1940. In a superficial comparison of Stanislavski and Meyerhold’s performance techniques they appear to be polarized opposites. Stanislavski established himself as a prominent figure in the modern theatre through his revolutionary investigations into psychology and its capacity to unite an actor with his character in order to produce psychological realism and emotional authenticity within performance; in contrast, Meyerhold approached performance from a more physiological perspective and was fundamentally concerned with symbolism and social commentary rather than emotional realism. Although different in their stylistic concerns Stanislavski and Meyerhold share similarities in their practical methods of actor training. Both practitioners based their approaches to acting on the premise that mind and body actively engage in a psychophysical continuum, which they viewed as fundamental in the development of a performer. In the following paragraphs I will compare and contrast Stanislavski and Meyerhold’s varying approaches to the hybrid relationship between psychology and physiology within theatrical performance while acknowledging the social, philosophical and cultural movements which influenced their approaches. I will begin with an introduction to Stanislavski’s advocation for a psychological approach to performance through a discussion of his psychoanalytical approach to characterization and its capacity to inform physical action. I will then compare Stanislavski’s method to Meyerhold’s physiological approach to performance through an investigation into his use of biomechanics and objective psychology.

Konstantin Stanislavski was the first modern practitioner to investigate the hybrid relationship