The actor's preparation

The first volume of a trilogy for both those who act and direct, and those who simply study theater.

Stanislavski was tasked with the important task of systematizing the intuitive knowledge of the great actors of the past and explaining to the contemporary actor how to act in the moment of creation or production. His system is not a continuation of the ideas presented in old manuals. It is, rather, a departure from the traditional way of teaching. The actor's work, according to Stanislavski's system, is not equivalent to a style of acting. It is, like any technique, a means and not an end. Stanislavski himself says: "It (his system) is only useful when it becomes second nature to the actor, when he ceases to worry about it and when its effects begin to appear naturally in his work." Technique must be absorbed and never appear in the production. This is the result, and the technique then functions as a stimulus to the creative process.

The Author's Preparation is a book that should be read and reread.