Translated by Jean Benedetti, this is a classic treatise on acting At last, Jean Benedetti has succeeded in translating Stanislavski's huge manual into a lively, fascinating and accurate text in English, remaining faithful to the author's original intentions within a colloquial and readable style for today's actors. Introduction by Declan Donnellan ix Translator's foreword by Jean Benedetti xv Publisher's acknowledgements xxiii An Actor's Work, original draft preface [extracts] xxiv YEAR ONE: EXPERIENCING An Actor's Work, introduction 3 1. Amateurism 5 2. The stage as art and stock-in-trade 16 3. Action, 'if', 'Given Circumstances' 37 4. Imagination 6o 5. Concentration and attention 86 6. Muscular release 119 7. Bits and Tasks 135 8. Belief and the sense of truth 152 9. Emotion Memory 195 10. Communication 229 11. An actor's adaptations and other elements, qualities, aptitudes and gifts 258 12. Inner psychological drives 273 13. Inner psychological drives in action 283 14. The actor's inner creative state 292 15. The Supertask, Throughaction 306 16. The subconscious and the actor's creative state 322 YEAR TWO: EMBODIMENT 17. Transition to physical embodiment 351 18. Physical education 355 19. Voice and speech 381 20. Perspective of the actor and the role 456 21. Tempo-rhythm 463 22. Logic and sequence 507 23. Physical characteristics 516 24. The finishing touches 536 25. Charisma 549 26. Ethics and discipline 552 27. The external creative state in performance 579 28. General creative state in performance 581 29. The 'system' 611 APPENDICES 613 End notes 675 Glossary of key terms 682 Afterword by Anatoly Smeliansky 685