Classical acting

Classical acting is a type of acting that is based on the theories and systems of select classical actors and directors including Constantin Stanislavski and Michel Saint-Denis, including the expression of the body, voice, imagination, personalizing, improvisation, external stimuli, and script analysis.

History

The origin of classical acting stems from an acting system created by Russian actor and director Constantin Stanislavski who rose to prominence in the late 1800s and early 1900s. His system was that of both script analysis and personal exploration to find "the truth" of a part—or rather what would be truthful to the actor portraying the part. The precise system was based on having an expressive and responsive body to relay detailed and nuanced character portrayals, as well as addressing the creation of an inner life. Stanislavski's theories were published in the translated 1936 book An Actor Prepares. The training included:

• An emphasis on physical acting, or physical actions
• Imagination as a way to find character and relate to other actors
• The super-objective and "through line of actions" in analyzing the script, including the main essence
• Exploring subtext
• Personalizing through affective memory—from real-life and imagined experiences

Another influential theorist of classical acting in the early-to mid-1900s was Michel Saint-Denis, a French actor and theater director who founded The London Theatre Studio and dedicated much of his career to experimental theatre. He incorporated many of Stanislavski's techniques into his teaching, as well as improvisation and sense memory, seeking a balance between external and internal techniques. Actors Alec Guinness, Jessica Tandy, and Laurence Olivier were some of his first students. Later on, he developed a training model that was incorporated by many university drama programs.

As time went on, Stanislavski and Saint-Denis' practices became influential in the development of other types of acting techniques, including Method acting, the Meisner technique, and the teachings of Robert Lewis and Stella Adler.

Education

Classical acting today is available for study in universities, drama conservatories, and acting studios across the world. Schools that are attached to or affiliated with a professional classical theatre company give students exposure and opportunity beyond simply the education. Examples of schools or studios with classical acting programs include --

• University of London's Drama Conservatoire: This Masters of Acting program draws on theories of Michel Saint-Denis with training of the body, voice, and imagination. There is an emphasis on re-interpretation and re-imagining, with equal parts of art and craft in the education. Classical texts of Greek tragedy and Shakespeare are utilized, as well as modern plays.
• The Juilliard School Drama Division in New York: The School has both a B.F.A. and M.F.A. program that emphasizes intuition and spontaneity, as well as discipline, technique, and intellectual development. There is both vocal and physical training, with script and word analysis, style work, and risk taking with imagination.
• Montreal’s National Theatre School of Canada: This three-year conservatory training program focuses on learning the craft and art of acting through the contemporary theatre, applying techniques of voice, singing, and movement. The School ascribes to the philosophies of Michel Saint-Denis, which includes exploration, writing, studio presentations, imagination, improvisation, "the mask", and audition preparation.
• The Berg Studios in Los Angeles: The Studios offer a series of classes at various levels to explore classical acting technique and imagination, including developing of a repeatable acting system, script analysis, physical movement, self-discovery through imagination, and illuminating the dialogue through subtext.
• Yale School of Drama in New Haven, Connecticut: In its M.F.A. program, a strong imagination is encouraged and developed, along with physical and vocal work. Actors are also given extensive production work opportunities, working with director, dramaturgs, and playwrights to create theatre pieces and learn from the collaborative process. Using the body as a source of inspiration and expression of work is a focus of the first year training. Later, text analysis, voice, and speech work are integrated.
• The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in Bristol, United Kingdom: Opened in 1946 by Lawrence Olivier, this South West England school offers a highly selective B.A. Honors of Professional Acting conservatory program. The first year focuses on voice and body, moving onto public productions, and then to preparation for a professional career. The school also provides short courses for the general public who has had some experience or training in acting and wants to broaden skills; the classical acting classes include learning opportunities in voice, movement, verse speaking, improvisation, and stagecraft.

Classically trained actors

There are a lot of world-renowned actors and actresses are students of Classical Acting, among them are veteran multiple acting awards winning actors like Sir Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh, Dame Maggie Smith and Ralph Fiennes, as well as world acclaimed young actors like Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones and James McAvoy

Some well-known classically trained actors include

• Peggy Ashcroft
• Richard Attenborough
• Ethel Barrymore
• John Barrymore
• Lionel Barrymore
• Angela Bassett
• Alan Bates
• Cate Blanchett
• Dirk Bogarde
• Kenneth Branagh
• Richard Burton
• James Cagney
• Jessica Chastain
• Frances Conroy
• Tom Courtenay
• Benedict Cumberbatch
• Timothy Dalton
• Bette Davis
• Dame Judi Dench
• Robert Donat
• Chiwetel Ejiofor
• Dame Edith Evans
• Joseph Fiennes
• Ralph Fiennes
• Albert Finney
• Kate Fleetwood
• John Gielgud
• Alec Guinness
• Richard Harris
• Rex Harrison
• Katharine Hepburn
• Tom Hiddleston
• Ian Holm
• Anthony Hopkins
• John Hurt
• Jeremy Irons
• Derek Jacobi
• Felicity Jones
• Celia Johnson
• Boris Karloff
• Ben Kingsley
• Elsa Lanchester
• Charles Laughton
• Vivien Leigh
• John Lithgow
• James Mason
• James McAvoy
• Ian McKellen
• Helen Mirren
• Eve Myles
• Laurence Olivier
• Peter O'Toole
• David Oyelowo
• Christopher Plummer
• Pete Postlethwaite
• Jonathan Pryce
• Sreejith Ramanan
• Basil Rathbone
• Corin Redgrave
• Lynn Redgrave
• Michael Redgrave
• Vanessa Redgrave
• Eddie Redmayne
• Ralph Richardson
• Alan Rickman
• Geoffrey Rush
• Margaret Rutherford
• Mark Rylance
• Alastair Sim
• Paul Scofield
• William Shatner
• Maggie Smith
• Timothy Spall
• Patrick Stewart
• David Tennant
• Emma Thompson
• Sybil Thorndike
• Luke Treadaway
• Peter O'Toole
• Polly Walker
• David Warner
• Sigourney Weaver
• Orson Welles
• May Whitty

See also

• List of acting techniques
• Stanislavski's system
• Method acting
• Constantin Stanislavski
• Lee Strasberg
• Sanford Meisner
• Ion Cojar
• Ivana Chubbuck