Editing Method acting (section)

== Techniques ==
Among the concepts and techniques of Method acting are [[substitution (theatre)|substitution]], "as if", sense memory, [[affective memory]], and animal work (all of which were first developed by Stanislavski). Contemporary Method actors sometimes seek help from psychologists in the development of their roles.<ref>Kase (2011, 125) and Hull (1985, 10).</ref>

In Strasberg's approach, actors make use of experiences from their own lives to bring them closer to the experience of their characters. This technique, which Stanislavski came to call emotion memory (Strasberg tends to use the alternative formulation, "affective memory"), involves the recall of sensations involved in experiences that made a significant emotional impact on the actor. Without faking or forcing, actors allow those sensations to stimulate a response and try not to inhibit themselves.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Team |first=N. F. I. |date=2021-11-10 |title=Method Acting - Everything You Need To Know |url=https://www.nfi.edu/method-acting/ |access-date=2024-06-28 |website=NFI |language=en-US}}</ref>

Stanislavski also took great interest in ''Perezhivanie'' ("re-living," particularly emotional experiences) and how it could be utilized to create different characters. ''Perezhivanie'' was a term formerly used in psychology that became popularized when Stanislavski began using it as an acting approach.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Notes on perezhivanie |url=https://www.ethicalpolitics.org/seminars/perezhivanie.htm |access-date=2023-05-19 |website=www.ethicalpolitics.org}}</ref> Stanislavski believed that actors needed to go beyond imitation and encouraged actors to explore their emotions heavily. He defended the idea that the actor needed to experience what the character was experiencing.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Merlin |first=Bella |date=January 2015 |title="This Side of Reality": Thoughts and Provocations Regarding Acting and Stanislavski |journal=Stanislavski Studies |language=en |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=53–67 |doi=10.1080/20567790.2015.11428611 |issn=2056-7790 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Stanislavski's approach rejected emotion memory except as a last resort and prioritized physical action as an indirect pathway to emotional expression.<ref name="Benedetti 2006" /> This can be seen in Stanislavki's notes for [[Leonid Leonidov|Leonidov]] in the production plan for ''[[Othello]]'' and in Benedetti's discussion of his training of actors at home and later abroad.<ref name="Benedetti 2006">Benedetti (1999a, 351–352).</ref> Stanislavski confirmed this emphasis in his discussions with [[Harold Clurman]] in late 1935.<ref name="Benedetti 2006"/>

In training, as distinct from rehearsal process, the recall of sensations to provoke emotional experience and the development of a vividly imagined fictional experience remained a central part both of Stanislavski's and the various Method-based approaches that developed out of it.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

A widespread misconception about Method acting—particularly in the popular media—equates Method actors with actors who choose to remain in character even offstage or off-camera for the duration of a project.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://strasberg.edu/blog/debunking-method-myths-with-david-lee-strasberg/|title=Debunking Method Acting Myths with David Lee Strasberg|website=Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute|date=16 December 2019}}</ref> In his book ''A Dream of Passion'', Strasberg wrote that Stanislavski, early in his directing career, "require[d] his actors to live 'in character' off stage", but that "the results were never fully satisfactory".<ref>Strasberg (1988, 44).</ref> Stanislavski did experiment with this approach in his own acting before he became a professional actor and founded the [[Moscow Art Theatre]], though he soon abandoned it.<ref>Benedetti (1999a, 18–19) and Magarshack (1950, 25, 33–34). He would disguise himself as a [[tramp]] or drunk and visit the railway station, or as a fortune-telling [[Romani people|gypsy]]. As Benedetti explains, Stanislavski soon abandoned the technique of maintaining a characterisation in real life; it does not form a part of his "system".</ref> Some Method actors employ this technique, such as [[Daniel Day-Lewis]], but Strasberg did not include it as part of his teachings and it "is not part of the Method approach".<ref>Skog (2010, 16).</ref>

While Strasberg focused on the memory-recall aspect of the method, Adler's approach centered on the idea that actors should find truth in the script, inner emotions, experiences, and circumstances of the character.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-08-16|title=Don't Be Boring|url=https://dramatics.org/dont-be-boring/|access-date=2021-03-26|website=Dramatics Magazine Online}}</ref> Her teachings have been carried on through [[Larry Moss (acting coach)|Larry Moss]], a successor and student of Adler. Moss is the author of the acting textbook ''The Intent to Live'', in which he maintains the basic training of Adler's techniques. The book introduces "given circumstances", which are the facts about the character given in the script, and "interpretation", which is the truths about the character not given in the script. This constitutes the actor's assumptions about the character they are playing.<ref name=IntentToLive>{{Cite book|last=Larry.|first=Moss|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1123917632|title=The intent to live : achieving your true potential as an actor|oclc=1123917632}}</ref>

According to Moss, there are three things that an actor needs to know about their character to find truth in their performance. These things are objectives, obstacles, and intentions. The "objective" is what a character needs to fulfill in a given scene. The "super objective" is the character's wishes or dreams throughout the entire story. "Obstacle" is what stands in the way of the character's objectives. "Intention" comprises the actions a character takes to overcome obstacles and achieve objectives. Moss advocates the position that if an actor understands these facts about their character, they will be able to find truth in their performance, creating a realistic presentation. Moss emphasizes this by claiming that the actor does not want to become the character, rather, the character lives through the actor's justification of the character's truths within themselves.<ref name=IntentToLive/>