An Actor Prepares

by Constantin Stanislavski

Published 1 February 1936
Stanislavski's simple exercises fire the imagination, and help readers not only discover their own conception of reality but how to reproduce it as well.

Building a Character

by Constantin Stanislavski

Published 11 January 1979
In this follow up to his most famous book, An Actor Prepares, Stanislavski develop his influential 'system' of acting by exploring the imaginative processes at the heart of the actor's craft. Building a Character deals with the physical realisation of character on the stage through such tools as expressions, movement and speech. It is a book in which every theory is inextricably bound up with practice - a perfect handbook to the physical art of acting. The work of Stanislavski has inspired generations of actors and trainers and - available now in the Bloomsbury Revelations series to mark the 150th anniversary of Stanislavski's birth - it remains an essential read for actors and directors at all stages of their careers.

Creating A Role

by Constantin Stanislavski

Published 6 November 1980
Creating A Role is the third book - alongside the international bestseller An Actor Prepares and Building A Character - in the series of influential translations that introduced Stanislavski's acting 'system' to the English-speaking world. Here Stanislavski describes the elaborate preparation that an actor must undergo before the actual performance itself. Now published in the Bloomsbury Revelations series to mark the 150th anniversary of Stanislavski's birth, the book includes the director's analysis of such works as Othello and Gogol's Inspector General.