An Actor-Organic Presence on stage: The Exploration based on Stanislavsky’s Practical Studies

Abstract

This study is an codification of the dramatic concepts of  Konstantin Stanislavsky, the renowned Russian drama theorist and director, who paved the way for inquiries into making the actor's creative process independent and spontaneous. He was the one who shifted the dominance of drama texts and stage settings to the actor on the stage. By formulating a new curriculum for the actor's practical training, he attempted to liberate drama from literary dominance.  As a result of the influence of Stanislavskian thoughts, numerous experiments and transformations have taken place on the stage in terms of form, emotion, settings, and concepts. While each stage has its own concepts, Stanislavsky's dramatic concepts operate underlyingly in all of them. Stanislavski's dramatic practical studies are helpful for drama practitioners in constructing the actor's body to express the sound-based script on stage and in developing a non-verbal actor language through symbols, gestures, vocal expressions, sign language, and emotions. The indirect reflections of this have been found in our Theatre of  Root, where the actor's body language communicates with the audience, revealing the diverse possibilities of performance. In today's time, when drama literature becomes irrelevant and explorations into the infinite possibilities of  the stage gain importance, Stanislavsky's dramatic concepts become highly relevant.