Stanislavsky: A Practical Introduction

• Spaces are limited so early booking is encouraged.
• Bookings will close at 5pm on Friday 20 September 2024 or when the course reaches full capacity.
• For our Terms and Conditions, please click here.

Ages 18+

Course Dates & Times

Tuesday evenings on 24 September, 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 October, 5, 12 November 2024 
7pm–9pm

About Stanislavsky: A Practical Introduction 

This eight-week evening course will equip you with acting techniques set out by Konstantin Stanislavsky, considered the father of modern acting. The course, which will encourage you to build and develop character through exercises created by Stanislavsky, is designed to take the fear out of what can sometimes come across as a daunting system.

You will be encouraged to have fun through play and imagination and will leave at the end of the eight weeks with a new-found confidence for how to approach a character from scratch.

Who is the course for?

• Anyone who wants to learn about Stanislavsky’s acting techniques and how to put them into practice.
• Professional actors and passionate amateurs are equally welcome. Your level of acting is not as important as a willingness to participate and try out the exercises.
• There is no upper age limit on this course. We encourage and welcome participants from all ages 18 and over.

What can I expect?

This will be a practical class and acting will be required in the room. There will be exercises, play, improvisation, character studies, and discussions. The format of the sessions is highly participatory. 

You can expect to:

• Learn about the different aspects of Stanislavsky’s approach to acting
• Apply a selection of Stanislavsky exercises to character development
• Learn to analyse and break down a scene using actions and events
• Learn about phycological gesture in relation to the Stanislavsky method 
• Exercise your imagination and your ability to play when it comes to creating a role
• Build confidence in using Stanislavsky’s techniques as a springboard to create exercises that work for you
• Work together as a team with your group and develop your listening, observation, and trust skills 
• Work with a partner and be directed in short prepared scenes 

Attendance of all eight sessions is strongly recommended to allow progression of learning and for the benefit of the group as a whole.

Do I need anything for the course?

• We will be using The Seagull adapted by Martin Crimp as the set text. You will need to source your own physical copy or an electronic format of the play to participate in the course.
• Please wear comfortable clothes/shoes to work in during the sessions. 

Course Fee

£355

• Spaces are limited so early booking is encouraged.
• Bookings will close at 5pm on Friday 20 September 2024 or when the course reaches full capacity.
• For our Terms and Conditions, please click here.

Eligibility

• For everyone aged 18+. There is no upper age limit on this course. We encourage and welcome participants from all ages 18 and over.
• No prior experience required.
• Participants must have sufficient English language skills to cope with course demands.

About the Course Tutor

The course is taught by Polina Kalinina and and Anastasia Velikorodnaya.

Polina Kalinina trained at LAMDA and made her professional debut at the Orange Tree Theatre with Dutchman by Amiri Baraka, starring David Ajao, Paapa Essiedu and Sally Oliver. New plays, operatic visuals, precise anarchy, and large-scale ensembles are at the core of her practice.

Selected credits include: Anna Karenina (The Lyceum in Edinburgh and Bristol Old Vic), Smoke (Southwark Playhouse), Shakespeare in Love (Clifftown Theatre), Julius Caesar (Globe Neuss, Germany), Romeo and Juliet (Tobacco Factory & tour), The Noble Nine (Vault Festival), Islanders (Soho Theatre), Playboy of the Western World (Southwark Playhouse), Flashes (Soho Theatre), Dutchman (Orange Tree Theatre).

She was Associate Director on The Events by David Greig (Traverse, Young Vic, Guthrie, Curran, RFH).

Passionate about drama school training she has directed and taught at East 15, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Central, Mountview, OSD, and the Ekaterinburg State Theatre Institute.

Polina is a JMK finalist, a MGC Futures Bursary recipient, and a member of the Lincoln Centre Theatre Directors Lab in New York.

Anastasia Velikorodnaya trained at Moscow Art Theatre School in Moscow, Russia. She was then the lead actress at Brusnikin Studio Theatre (Masterskaya Brusnikina) for eight years, an independent theatre in Moscow, founded by theatre and film director Dmitry Brusnikin. She also performed as a guest actor in different theatres, including Moscow Art Theatre, Praktika Theatre, DOC, Meyerhold Center. 

Her theatre credits include more than 28 theatre plays from 2012 to 2022.

She was awarded 'The Gold Leaf Award' for Best Actress in a Leading Role in the performance This is also me (Praktika Theatre) in 2015. She was cast in the Brusnikin Studio Theatre production Besy/The Devils (director Dmitry Brusnikin), which won the Grand Prix of the 'Your Chance' Theatre Festival in 2015. In 2019 theatre production Motherland with Anastasia in a lead role (director Andrey Stadnikov) at Meyerhold Center was awarded 'The Golden Mask' prize, the main theatre award in Russia. 

The play A Man from the Town of Podolsk Sergei is Very Dull (director Marina Brusnikina) by Praktika Theatre with Anastasia Velikorodnaya in a leading role was awarded in 2019 the 'Theatregoer Star Award.

Anastasia has directed and taught at Moscow Art Theatre School, Crave Theatre Moscow, Moscow School of New Cinema and also created different acting courses and programs for non-actors at Gogol School, HSE School of Design, School Community of Masterskaya Brusnikina, Skillbox Online University.