Dynamic Acting through Active Analysis: Konstantin Stanislavsky, Maria Knebel, and Their Legacy

In the 21st century, actors face radical changes in plays and performance styles, as they move from stage to screen and grapple with new technologies that present their art to ever-expanding audiences. Active Analysis offers the flexibility of mind, body, and spirit now urgently needed in acting. Dynamic Acting through Active Analysis brings to light this timely legacy, born during the worst era of Soviet repression and hidden for decades from public view. Part I unfolds like a mystery novel through letters, memoirs, and transcripts of Konstantin Stanislavsky's last classes. Far from the authoritarian director of his youth, he reveals himself as a generous mentor, who empowers actors with a brand new collaborative approach to rehearsals. His assistant, Maria Knebel, first bears witness to his forward-looking ideas and then builds the bridge to new plays in new styles through her directing and influential teaching. Part II follows a 21st century company of diverse actors as they experience the joy of applying Active Analysis to their own creative and professional work.

Table of Contents:
List of Illustrations About the Author Acknowledgements Note on Transliteration and Translation List of Abbreviations of Frequently Cited Sources Preface: To My Readers PART I: The People Behind the Legacy Chapter 1: The Mystery on Leontyevsky Lane Chapter 2: Behind Closed Doors Chapter 3: The Truth Will Out! PART II: Six Lessons in Active Analysis Lesson 1: The Dynamic Principles of Performance Lesson 2: Scene Study through Active Analysis-Shakespeare Lesson 3: Scene Study through Active Analysis-Chekhov Lesson 4: Rehearsing a Play through Active Analysis-Johnson Lesson 5: The System in Active Analysis Lesson 6: Working With Active Analysis in the Real World Appendix: The Lie (2020), a ten minute play by Joan Eyles Johnson Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Sharon Marie Carnicke has authored a number of books on drama and acting, including the groundbreaking Stanislavsky in Focus, Checking Out Chekhov, and the co-authored Reframing Screen Performance. Her widely produced translations include her Kennedy Center award-winning The Seagull and are published in Chekhov: 4 Plays and 3 Jokes. Her work is distinguished by her fluency in Russian and her experience as an actor and director. She is fluent in Russian, has worked as an actor and director, and has taught and directed in the US, UK, France, Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Norway, Finland, Russia, Italy, and Australia.

Review :
Sharon Marie Carnicke eloquently tells the story of Stanislavsky's monumental later, yet lesser-known, innovations in the art of acting. She then traces the journey of his protégé Knebel, who, almost singlehandedly, harbored and developed this work through the great restrictions of the late-Soviet world. With great compassion, Carnicke imagines what they might have undergone during what were perhaps their darkest hours, with Stanislavsky under house arrest and Knebel struggling to preserve and persevere. Carnicke then insightfully shares these innovations with her own students and thereby with the reader of this book. In our current moment as we transition to more collaborative environments, Active Analysis will prove to be a boon for rising theatre artists. Carnicke gives Stanislavsky a humanity that does not exist in other texts, and gives her readers practical access to concepts that are often mired in academic and theoretical verbiage. Through rehearsals of Shakespeare, Chekhov, and a previously unproduced play, Carnicke presents Active Analysis as a usable methodology for any actor or director. A true gift! With intelligence, wit, compassion and respect for the traditions of theatre, Carnicke guides us to an understanding of Active Analysis and its continuing vitality in our ever changing world. Her book is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. With consummate expertise, meticulous scholarship, and innovative actor training, Carnicke reveals in clear, practical terms how Active Analysis works and how to apply it. This book could not be more timely or relevant. Carnicke combines history, acting technique, and practical theatre advice to present a fresh approach to acting and directing in any style of theatre or film.