Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction
The Beginning of My Voyage: The Search and the Discovery
Stanislavsky and the Search for His System
The American Laboratory Theatre
The Voyage Continues: I. Discoveries at the Group Theatre
The Voyage Continues: II. The Actors Studio and My Classes
The Fruits of the Voyage: Procedures for the Actor's Training
The Method and Nonrealistic Styles: Artaud, Grotowski, and Brecht
In Conclusion

About the Author

Legendary acting teacher, director, and actor Lee Strasberg co-founded the Group Theatre and was artistic director of the Actors Studio, working with James Dean, Julie Harris, Jane Fonda, and Joanne Woodward, where he was known for teaching method acting, or The Method. In 1969, he established the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. He died in 1982.

Reviews

“The definitive source book on acting.”—Los Angeles Times
 
“A must for young actors—for old ones, too, for that matter.”—Paul Newman
 
“An exploration of the creative process that will reward all who are interested in the nature of inspiration.”—Library Journal
 
“An important cultural document.”—Booklist

Noted director Strasberg (1901-1982) explores the nature of creativity in the acting process and provides the first authentic description of ``The Method'' as developed by Constantin Stanislavsky and continued by Strasberg himself in the Group Theatre and Actor's Studio. In this short work, he shows how Stanislavsky's teachings changed his life; describes his own discoveries and procedures; provides specific examples of the uses of imagination, tension, relaxation, emotional memory, anticipation and control; proposes various methods of training; comments on the acting styles of his contemporaries as well as on the nonrealistic styles of Antonin Artaud, Bertolt Brecht and Jerzy Grotowski. Essential reading for actors, directors and students of theater. Photos not seen by PW. (October 14)

Strasberg's posthumous memoir traces the creation of his famous ``Method,'' the most influential actor-training technique ever developed. At the beginning of his career, Strasberg embarked on a search for the sources of the actor's creativity and a means of consistently attaining emotional truth on stage. His solution, inspired by the work of Stanislavsky's Moscow Arts Theatre, was transmitted to a generation of actors at the Actor's Studio of New York. Strasberg's reminiscences are an exploration of the creative process that will reward all who are interested in the nature of inspiration. Essential for theater collections. Susan Thach Dean, Chicago P.L.

"The definitive source book on acting."-Los Angeles Times

"A must for young actors-for old ones, too, for that matter."-Paul Newman

"An exploration of the creative process that will reward all who are interested in the nature of inspiration."-Library Journal

"An important cultural document."-Booklist