Stansislavsky Biography
...d personal relationships of the character you are playing. The first thing an actor should do is give his character this sort of background or history.” -Stella Adler, The Technique of Acting Source 3: “Writing a biography will put you on closer terms with the character, so make the biography part of your analysis. When an actor writes a theoretical biography, he is using his imagination to construct a history, a past life of the character. Although such work is necessary for creating a believable person who can live and act within the given circumstances of the play, the actor must concentrate his efforts on those moments in the character’s life the playwright chooses to dramatize.” -Charles McGraw and Larry D. Clark, Acting is Believing: A Basic Method Source 4: “My aim is to give myself new roots, to make al the elements of ‘my’ life up to the play’s beginning as concrete as I can, until I know as much as possible about the new me and more than ‘she’ knows about herself…I must glean (from intensive study of the play) facts about parents, upbringing and education, health, friends, skills and interests…This should make me understand what I do, and why I must do it.” -Uta Hagen, Respect for Acting My Definition: A biography is a tool to help an actor better understand a role. By answering questions about the character’s past, the actor is more able to comprehend the reasoning behind what the character says and how he or she reacts to situations. Connected Terms: Given Circumstances Given circumstances are so closely related to the biography, they were even mentioned in on o...