How large and specific can the world of the role become in your imagination?
The Art of Acting, by Stella Adler; compiled and edited by Howard Kissel.
What the book addresses
Howard Kissel compiled and edited twenty-two lessons from Adler's teaching. The book develops an imaginative, culturally attentive approach to the actor's work and the world of the play.
How to read it
Treat the book's editorial form accurately: it is an assembled record of teaching. Attend to the demands Adler places on observation, imagination and understanding circumstances beyond your immediate experience. Research becomes useful when it changes what a place, relationship or action means to the character.
An original rehearsal investigation
Select one unfamiliar circumstance in a role and research it through reliable sources. Identify a concrete detail that changes an action in the scene. Mark any further invention as imaginative preparation, then test whether it helps the encounter become more specific. Avoid using research as an excuse to postpone rehearsal indefinitely.
Connections and distinctions
Compare Adler's imaginative emphasis with other Stanislavski-derived traditions without reducing them to a contest over one correct source of feeling. Imaging and deep Script and Character Analysis are two of the six craft tools. Different resources can serve different actors and roles.
This is an original JBAS reading guide with an attributed overview and study questions. Read the complete book for the author's developed argument and exercise instructions.
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