
Where is the Stella Adler Acting Method taught? She felt that actors should be exposed to a variety of cultural, social, political and historical ideas and experiences in order to become more worldly and well-rounded human beings and artists. This sort of approach prompts the actor to be focused and engaged externally and specifically on his or her scene partner - rather than internally on a generalized emotional state.Īdler’s students are also trained in comprehensive script interpretation and analysis methods, in which scripts are broken down into specific “beats,” and lines of text are associated with specific actions.Īnd lastly, of course, Adler valued the “cultivation of a rich humanity,” or holistic engagement with the world beyond the theatre or film set. Instead of simply “being angry’ with character B, perhaps character A provokes, lambast or incites character B. Rather than playing the emotion (in this case, anger) the actor must decide, “what is my character doing to character B?” - and play that action. For example, if an actor let’s say an actor is playing character A, who is having a heated argument with character B. Actions are, in this sense, external, specific and achievable. labeling, specifically, what one character is doing in relation to another character. personal life experience/emotional recall) to bring text to life on stage.Īdler also strongly emphasized the use of action in acting - e.g. She also strongly advocated for the use of imagination (vs. What, specifically, does Stella Adler’s Acting Method entail?įirst and foremost, Adler believed that actors should be independent, creative, well-rounded beings with their own personal points of view and their own unique, strong choices. In short, they are: artistic independence, imagination, action, script interpretation, and the cultivation of a rich humanity. If you visit the website for the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, you will see that the school lists the “core beliefs” behind Adler’s method and philosophy. Like Stanislavski, Adler believed that actors must rely on their imaginations - and on doing external research - rather than digging up traumatizing memories and moments from their own personal lives. When she trained with Stanislavski in 1934, she discovered that Stanislavski, too, had changed his mind about his own early concepts of emotional memory and emotional recall. She is one of the few American actors that actually got to study directly with Stanislavski she ultimately cultivated her own technique that differed greatly from Strasberg’s and was more aligned with Stanislavski’s later writings and philosophies.Īdler disagreed with Strasberg’s interpretations and usage of Stanislavski’s system, feeling that emotional recall was a psychologically unhealthy way to approach acting. She was first introduced to Stanislavski’s theories at the American Laboratory Theatre she later joined the Group Theatre, which, founded by Lee Strasberg, Cheryl Crawford and Harold Clurman, was America’s home base for Strasberg’s method acting, as based primarily on Stanislavski’s early writings about emotional memory/emotional recall. She was born in 1901 in New York City, and, from a very young age, was acting on stage in plays. Stella Adler was an American actor, acting teacher, and director.
