User:Chrisdelanis/sandbox

Technique and Stanislavski
Imagination, as part of Stanislavski's system of acting, is an important step in building a character. In fact, Konstantin Stanislavski believed that imagination is the most essential part to turn what is occurring on stage into theatrical reality. If the play is not turned into theatrical reality, it is not realistic and not acting. If one does not use their imagination when acting then the audience will feel none of the suspension of disbelief as it is the ability to imagine which allows you to connect to your character and start to believe you are them and if you believe your acting will appear to be realistic and naturalistic. Stanislavski shows the importance of imagination in the quote “art is a product of imagination”. Imagination is wholly psychological. To be in the correct mind, one must put themselves wholly in the space of the character. "You must be there in person and not the observer." Another part of imagination one must take into account is the idea of the "Magic If," which describes an ability to imagine oneself in a set of fictional circumstances and to envision the consequences of finding oneself facing that situation in terms of action. A human being's circumstances condition his or her character, this approach assumes. Imagination is a series of "ifs"; there is no such thing as actuality on stage. Mentioned in Stanislavski's book An Actor Prepares, "Imagination creates what can be or can happen whereas fantasy invents things that are not in existence, which never have been nor will be." He believed the only way to be an actor was to have an imagination.

Artistic Imagination
"He must develop (imagination) or else leave the theatre. Otherwise he will fall into the hands of the directors who will make up for his lack by using their own imaginations, and he would become a pawn." Artistic Imagination is the principal creative force in creating a character. The imagination adopts a more agreeable and interesting life to that of the actors' own. An actor must know how to create a true life out of any given materials. Imaginary life is created at the will of the actor's own desires.

Passive Imagination
Passive Imagination is the faculty of imagining, or of forming mental images or concepts of what is not actually present to the senses; the action or process of forming such images or concepts. It is the observation stage in the process of creating a character. During this stage, you should also be starting to build the world in which you want the character to live. An analogy for this step is you can be the audience of your own dream. The key points about this step are as follows:


 * Observation
 * Recalling images
 * Sensory memory
 * Building a world

Active Imagination
Active Imagination is calling upon the images obtained from the process of the passive stage of imagination; to put yourself in the world of your character. It is the "doing" and stage in the process of creating a character. It is at this point one should start to be more in tune with the character. It is important to remember for this that you are not "being" the character, only "doing." According to Stanislavski, you should not ever be the character during this technique; this is not to be confused with the Lee Strasberg method. An analogy for this step would be that you're are taking an active part in those dreams. The key points about this step are as follows:

Imagination must be active and not passive to be centered in the circumstances of your dream; you can begin, mentally, to act, have desires, make an effort, and achieve a goal.
 * Put yourself in the world previously built
 * Perform the actions you imagined
 * Remember that you are not the character but you are only acting as that character