Constantin Stanislavski – Reading
from an Actor’s viewpoint
Discussing a story – A New Approach
Who was Constantin Stanislavski and
what is “the Acting method”?
•
Use your computer to find and paste a workable brief biography, especially
concerning his theatre career, in the space below. Also, find a description of the
acting system or “method” he developed and place it here.
We as “Actors” (readers) will seek to
know these things about the story.
What is the story’s Super-objective?
What is at the center of the story? Whose story
is this?
What is the through line of action for each of the
characters?
Which important incidents will we label as
turning points?
What is each character’s key subtext,
motivations, and action?
The Magic If…
Super-objective
Super-objective can be loosely correlated to the
theme of the story, but it differs in some ways.
Mostly it is more complex. S-0 is the primary
motivation of the story, the reason of the
story. It is a complex interaction between the
situation, setting, and individual agendas of all
the characters. It is NOT a simple statement.
Continued…
Super-objective continued
 For example, a film we’ve all watched, is Braveheart. The
Super-objective of the film might be expressed thusly:
 Braveheart is the story of two men and a woman, Wallace,
Robert the Bruce, and Princess Isabella and how each
struggles to free themselves from the demons possessing
them: Wallace from passionate hatred sprung from his love
for others, Robert from the desperate family search for
power that he must sacrifice for his country, and Isabella
from her joyless, loveless, male-dominated marriage in the
English court, and in so doing demonstrate the great feats
of sacrifice that individual people can make that benefit
others in the name of Freedom.
Super-objective continued
 For example, a film we’ve all watched, is Braveheart. The
Super-objective of the film might be expressed thusly:
 Braveheart is the story of two men and a woman, Wallace,
Robert the Bruce, and Princess Isabella and how each
struggles to free themselves from the demons possessing
them: Wallace from passionate hatred sprung from his love
for others, Robert from the desperate family search for
power that he must sacrifice for his country, and Isabella
from her joyless, loveless, male-dominated marriage in the
English court, and in so doing demonstrate the great feats
of sacrifice that individual people can make that benefit
others in the name of Freedom.
Super-objective continued
 For example, a film we’ve all watched, is Braveheart. The
Super-objective of the film might be expressed thusly:
 Braveheart is the story of two men and a woman, Wallace,
Robert the Bruce, and Princess Isabella and how each
struggles to free themselves from the demons possessing
them: Wallace from passionate hatred sprung from his love
for others, Robert from the desperate family search for
power that he must sacrifice for his country, and Isabella
from her joyless, loveless, male-dominated marriage in the
English court, and in so doing demonstrate the great feats
of sacrifice that individual people can make that benefit
others in the name of Freedom.
Through line of action
Each character has an agenda. The through line
of action for any character is the primary
objective or “spine” for each person’s actions.
This through line of action carries him/her/it
towards their basic goal.
For the story to succeed, Stanislavski says, “The
stream of individual, minor objectives, all the
imaginative thoughts, feelings, and actions of the
characters, should converge to carry out the
super-objective of the story.”
Through Line Example
Think about the movie Braveheart.
 William Wallace FIGHTS uncompromisely to avenge his
dead wife and free his friends and Scotland from English
tyranny.
 Princess Isabelle SEEKS and FINDS her inner strength in her
loveless marriage with Edward.
 Edward the Longshanks SOLIDIFIES his rule so as to pass it
on to his successor.
 Robert the Bruce STRUGGLES with his loyalty to his class
and his duty to his country.
The through line for each character combines to create the
Super-Objective of the story.
Through Line of Action continued
What is the through line of action for the major characters in this story? Write them
below. Remember to express the through line as an action verb.
Labeling
As an Actor in (Reader of) the story, identify key
moments within the story that are turning points
for your character (or any character) and LABEL
them with a unique interesting title. Through
Labeling use carefully selected terms for those
important moments so they express precisely the
essence of the event.
Understanding where and when these labeled
moments happen and how they affect your
character will lead to a better performance
(greater understanding).
Labeling continued…
 Using the example of Braveheart again, these are possible labeled
moments for William Wallace.
1. My Hero is murdered (Wallace’s father dies).
2. Love blooms early (child-Murron gives him a flower).
3. An evening ride into love (Wallace and Murron sneak off on a date).
4. My Love is murdered by England (Murron killed by act of English soldier
and the magistrate).
5. We can defeat the English (Battle of Stirling).
6. The Princess must open her eyes (first meeting with Isabella).
7. Battlefield betrayal by the noblemen of Scotland (Falkirk battle).
8. We’ve got to try! (argument with Hamish about going to see Robert).
9. Test of spirit (Isabelle tries to give him medicine to ease his torture).
10. Test of body (His loyalties are tested with torture.
Labeling Continued…
Now choose two important characters from the novel and label their important
moments. Write your answer here with specific, precise labels.
Subtext and motivation
 Strongly related, subtext and motivation drive the
characters beneath the surface.
 What motivates a character to act and speak is
strongly tied to their through line. It could be love,
greed, hate, honesty, etc. Whatever their through line
is, it is usually steered by what motivates them.
 The manner in which this motivation is expressed,
under the surface of everything they say and do is
called subtext. When we understand motivation and
subtext we understand: What they are doing, why the
do it, and how they do it. Subtext is action and speech
PLUS thoughts.
Subtext and Motivation continued…
William Wallace is motivated by the deep love
he has for his father and his wife which he
now channels into hatred for the English.
The subtext he expresses is a belief behind
everything he says and does that Scotland, by
God’s design, must be freed from the English
and that the English must PAY for what they’ve
done to Scotland (and to him in particular).
He earnestly believes in freedom for Scotland.
Subtext and motivation continued…
•
Choose any 5 characters and explain what their MOTIVATION is and how it is
expressed as SUBTEXT. Remember these three key questions: What kinds of
things do they do? Why do they do it? How do they do it? Write your answers
below.
The “Magic if…”
 Basically, the “Magic If…” asks you to enter the story
yourself and imagine yourself as the character. “What
would I, as the character, do if…?”
 “IF” is a supposition, allowing actors (readers) into the
imaginary circumstances of the play without forcing
him/her to believe that they are anyone but
themselves. This allows the reader to respond to the
story within the context of their own life.
 This activity stimulates the readers imagination and
thought. We can learn and grow as a person through
the second-hand experience we experience from the
character in the story.
The “Magic If…” continued…
 What would I do, IF placed in the same Situation as Robert
the Bruce, when my own father tells me to sacrifice
Wallace to the English when that is NOT what I want to do
in my heart?
 What would I do and think IF I, as Princess Isabella,
discovered that my peaceful meeting with William Wallace
was really only a delaying tactic so that the English armed
forces could move secretly against Wallace, the man I’ve
grown to respect.
 What would I do IF I, as Edward the Longshanks, wanted to
expand my kingdom for the betterment of my heirs and my
country and some Scottish terrorists started attacking my
soldiers and forts?
The “magic if…” continued…
•
Choose either 5 characters from the novel or five moments in one character’s
story in the novel and ask a “Magic If…” question about them. Then answer it. Do
so in the space provided. Use those LABELED moments to help you identify key
moments when decisions were probably made.
Conclusion
You are now prepared to ACT (understand) this
story. You know what the story is trying to
accomplish (Super-objective), how each
character is struggling toward this objective
(through line of action), the key moments that
make up this struggle, the motivations and the
expression of these motivations for the key
characters (Motivation and sub-text), and how
you would react under similar circumstances
(Magic If).
Conclusion continued…
• In other words, you have explored, theme,
character, setting, symbolism, plot, conflict,
characterization, irony, mood, crisis, point of
view, tone, complications, and solutions.
• In other words, everything which we normally
explore in our English classrooms and
everything we EXPERIENCE in our everyday
lives.