ABSTRACT
The challenge for anyone tracing Konstantin Sergeyevich Stanislavsky's biography is that the path isn't linear. Sometimes he ditched an idea only to pick it up again years later; at other times, the preoccupations of his mature life can be traced right back to his childhood. He was full of contradictions and experimentations, and he was often an artistic maverick. Born in 1863 into one of Russia's wealthiest families, Konstantin Sergeyevich Alekseyev was the second of nine siblings. Along with four brothers and four sisters, his childhood was spent at the theatre, opera, circus and ballet: arts and entertainment formed the family's staple diet. Kostya's young professional life was spent in the family textile business, although his passion for theatre soon hurled him into a series of ventures, not the least of which was the Alekseyev Circle, his family's highly acclaimed acting troupe. Stanislavsky's success in creating the mises-en-scene lay in his ability to turn the nuances of Chekhov's script.
