ABSTRACT
OU R C O M M O N K N OW L E D G E G E N E R A L LY associates the StanislavskySystem with the twentieth century’s infatuation with psychological realism on stage. However, a closer look at the full trajectory of his life and work offers much of value to twenty-first-century actors. For example, his long-overlooked interest in Yoga dovetails with current curricula in many acting schools, and his holistic view of psychology anticipates ground-breaking discoveries in cognitive science which impact on acting (Blair 2008). This chapter suggests how Stanislavsky’s insights on actor training are more holistic, more complex and more elastic than twentiethcentury views allow.
