In June 1897 in Russia, Stanislavski and Nemirovich Danchenko formed the Moscow Art Theatre, known as MAT. They set out to form a better theatre experience. In 1898, they produced Seagull, which initiated reforms in actor …show more content…
In 1922, she attended a performance by Constantin Stanislavski and his Moscow Art Theatre. In 1925 she joined the American Laboratory School, where former Moscow Arts actors Richard Boleslavski and Maria Ouspenskaya imparted what they'd learned of the Stanislavski method. In 1931, Adler became one of the founding members of The Group Theater, along with Harold Clurman, Cheryl Crawford and Lee Strasberg. During this time she was able to go study with Stanislavski. There she learned Stanislavski’s methods: to be disciplined and analytical, learning not just lines and accompanying stage movements, but coming to understand their character's psyche through exercises, close reading of the text, extensive research and calling on their own emotional memories. Upon arriving back to America, she decided to leave The Group Theater. She left because she believed that Lee Strasberg overemphasized emotional memory, they did not cast enough female roles, and some of the members were suspiciously communistic. In 1949 founded the Stella Adler Theatre Studio, It wasn't long until the school lured its most famous student, a young actor named Marlon Brando. Along with Brando, Judy Garland and Dolores Del Rio were notable among her early students. Later students included Robert De Niro, Martin Sheen, Harvey Keitel, Candice Bergen. In 1985 Adler would open a second school in Los Angeles, where she tutored Nick Nolte, …show more content…
These actors play their characters in their day to day lives in order to accurately represent the emotions and attitudes that their characters have. While playing Wladyslaw Szpilman in the Pianist, Adrian Brody gave up the finer things in life, including his car and girlfriend. He dropped his weight down to 130 pounds and practiced the piano for four hours a day. Christian Bale is another example of an actor that gains and loses weight according to the roles he plays. When Jim Carrey played Andy Kauffman in Man on the Moon, he carried cheese in his pocket, in order to portray his characters alter ego, and he only responded to his character’s name. He also incited a fight so he could feel what his character felt. Roony Mara got multiple piercings all over her body for her part in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Min-sik Choi, an active Buddhist, had to play a man fresh out of prison that wanted to eat something alive. In order to do this he had to go against his religious and cultural beliefs and kill and eat multiple octopods to play his role in Oldboy. Al Pacino got so involved with his role in Serpico, as an undercover cop, that he made a citizen’s arrest on a truck driver. Hillary Swank, in preparation for her role as a transgender in Boys Don’t Cry lived as a man for a month before shooting, she cut her hair short, tied up her breasts, and stuffed