{"id":2260,"date":"2017-01-19T16:27:31","date_gmt":"2017-01-19T16:27:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/?p=2260"},"modified":"2020-01-29T22:46:41","modified_gmt":"2020-01-29T22:46:41","slug":"8-different-acting-techniques-and-the-celebrities-who-use-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/8-different-acting-techniques-and-the-celebrities-who-use-them\/","title":{"rendered":"8 Different Acting Techniques and the Celebrities Who Use Them"},"content":{"rendered":"

8 Different Acting Techniques and the Celebrities Who Use Them<\/h3>\n \"\"<\/a><\/span>

Written by Ashleigh Gardner<\/p>\n

July 13, 2016<\/p>\n<\/font>

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Are you curious about acting techniques but don’t know where to start? The list below compiles basics on our world’s most popular and well-known acting teachers, the celebrities who follow their methods, and a list of acting books for further reading. Dive in! And find which method suits you best.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Stanislavski’s System<\/h4>\n
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The father of acting techniques, <\/span>Stanislavski<\/a><\/strong><\/span> approached acting through an emotional recall method, encouraging students to use past experiences to fuel their character\u2019s reactions and emotions. He then shied away from this \u201cinside out\u201d approach to use the \u201cmagic if\u201d — when the actor places themselves in an imaginary circumstance and decides how their character would react. <\/span><\/p>\n

Students:<\/b> Laurence Olivier and John Gielgud<\/span><\/p>\n

Further Reading:<\/b> An Actor Prepares<\/i><\/a><\/strong><\/span>, <\/span><\/i>Building a Character<\/i><\/a><\/strong><\/span>, <\/span><\/i>Creating a Role<\/i><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Michael Chekhov<\/h4>\n
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Chekhov studied under Stanislavski at the First Studio of the Moscow Art Theatre and had a nervous breakdown when he employed Stanislavski\u2019s method of emotional recall. He practiced a physical and imagination-based system of achieving character through physicalizing a character\u2019s need through an external gesture. Then, the gesture is unlearned through rehearsal and rather performed internally.<\/span><\/p>\n

Students of this technique:<\/b> Marilyn Monroe, Johnny Depp, Clint Eastwood, Anthony Hopkins, Helen Hunt, and Jack Nicholson<\/span><\/p>\n

Further Reading:<\/b> On the Technique of Acting<\/i><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Lee Strasberg\u2019s Method<\/h4>\n
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Strasberg<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span> took Stanislavski\u2019s use of \u201cemotional recall\u201d and ran with it. He believed that an actor achieves their most truthful performance when they apply a memory from their own life to their character\u2019s emotions. Tools Strasberg used to teach his students were the coffee cup exercise (having a student drink a cup of coffee and then have them truthfully repeat the event only through pantomime) and the animal exercise (having a student study an animal that resembles the emotional traits of their character and then embody that animal in performance exercise).<\/span><\/p>\n

Students of this technique: <\/b>Scarlett Johansson, <\/span>Dustin Hoffman, <\/span>Angelina Jolie, and Steve Buscemi<\/span><\/p>\n

Further Reading: <\/b>Acting: A Handbook of the Stanislavski Method<\/i><\/a><\/strong><\/span>, <\/span><\/i>A Dream of Passion<\/i><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Stella Adler<\/h4>\n
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Adler<\/a><\/strong><\/span> pushed her students to make choices for their characters that are different from the choices they would make themselves. She encouraged outside research and heavily focused on the use of sensory imagination to fuel an actor\u2019s performances. Her main message? \u201cIn your choices lies your talent.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Students of this technique: <\/b>Robert DeNiro, Benecio Del Toro, Mark Ruffalo, and Melanie Griffith<\/span><\/p>\n

Further Reading: <\/b>The Art of Acting<\/i><\/a><\/strong><\/span>, <\/span><\/i>The Technique of Acting<\/i><\/a><\/strong><\/span>, <\/span><\/i>Stella Adler on Ibsen, Strindberg, and Chekhov<\/i><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Meisner Technique<\/h4>\n
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Sanford Meisner<\/a><\/strong><\/span> believed that acting is reacting. He disagreed with Stanislavski and Strasberg\u2019s use of emotional recall and believed, rather, that an actor should live truthfully under imaginary circumstances. A strong proponent of an actor\u2019s instinct, Meisner developed the Repetition Exercise in which two actors repeat a phrase back and forth to one another to encourage listening and instinctual reactions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Students of this technique: <\/b>Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Robert Duvall, Grace Kelly, Gregory Peck, and Diane Keaton<\/span><\/p>\n

Further Reading: <\/b>Sanford Meisner on Acting<\/i><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Practical Aesthetics<\/h4>\n
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Developed by David Mamet and actor William H. Macy, this technique focuses on a four-step breakdown of a scene that helps the actor understand their character\u2019s motivations and circumstances: The \u201cLiteral\u201d, the basic description of what is happening; The \u201cWant\u201d, what the actor\u2019s character wants another character to do; The \u201cEssential Action\u201d, a description of what the <\/span>actor<\/span><\/i>, not the character, wants in the scene; and The \u201cAs If\u201d, which relates the Essential Action to the actor\u2019s own life experience. Another way to remember it is GOAT (Goal, Obstacle, Tactics, and Expectation), developed by Robert Cohen.<\/span><\/p>\n

Students of this technique: <\/b>Felicity Huffman, Rose Byrne, Jessica Alba, and Clark Gregg.<\/span><\/p>\n

Further Reading: <\/b>A Practical Handbook for the Actor<\/i><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Uta Hagen<\/h4>\n
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The actor who originated the role of \u201cMartha\u201d in <\/span>Who\u2019s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?<\/span><\/i>, Uta Hagen advocated for naturalistic acting. She taught that an actor should put their own memories and psyche to work in finding their character. What will result is a character that is truthful, natural, and instinctual. She spoke against using any form of acting technique that used a rigid set of rules to achieve a character.<\/span><\/p>\n

Students of this technique: <\/b>Matthew Broderick, Sigourney Weaver, Jack Lemmon, Al Pacino, Liza Minnelli, and Jon Stewart. <\/span><\/p>\n

Further Reading: <\/b>Respect for Acting<\/i><\/a><\/strong><\/span>, <\/span><\/i>A Challenge for the Actor<\/i><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Viola Spolin<\/h4>\n
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A pioneer and the mother of American improvisation, Spolin designed her improv games to give the actors something to focus on during the exercise — a problem or an end point. By adhering to these tasks, actors can learn to be less self-conscious and more in the moment about their decisions and actions, inspired by creativity and the other actors around them. <\/span><\/p>\n

Students of this technique: <\/b>Alan Arkin, Fred Willard, Dan Aykroyd, and Gilda Radner<\/span><\/p>\n

Further Reading: <\/b>Improvisation for the Theater<\/i><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
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Need some advice? We\u2019ve got you covered.<\/h3>\n