Stanislavski and Meyerhold held distinct ideas about the principles of theatre and thus the actor’s purpose in performance. Both practitioners understood that theatre should present the truth of human nature. This reality, however, would have been expressed in separate ways by the actor due to the differing types of theatre that the practitioners approved of. Stanislavski, an advocate for realism in the theatre, believed that it is the actor’s function to present the reality of everyday experience and thus to be lifelike in their performance. Through the development of his System, an actor could access the inner truth of their character and offer a more authentic performance to their audience. Meyerhold, after studying under Stanislavski, rejected
