Constantin Stanislavski

You'll never see any two good actors approach a role in the same way.

— Constantin Stanislavski

Remember: there are no small parts, only small actors.

— Constantin Stanislavski

When we are on stage, we are in the here and now.

— Constantin Stanislavski

Play well, or play badly, but play truly.

— Constantin Stanislavski

The greatest wisdom is to realize one's lack of it.

— Constantin Stanislavski

Doubt is the enemy of creativeness.

— Constantin Stanislavski

Who am I? What will I be? Why am I here? Where am I going?

— Constantin Stanislavski

In the language of an actor, to know is synonymous with to feel

— Constantin Stanislavski

Don't go so deep in yourself that you no longer exist for your partner and for the character and for the play.

— Constantin Stanislavski

The person you are is a thousand times more interesting than the best actor you could ever hope to be.

— Constantin Stanislavski

What is important to me is not the truth outside myself, but the truth within myself.

— Constantin Stanislavski

The character has to have some kind of arch. The character has to go through an event, and be changed by the…

— Constantin Stanislavski

All action in theatre must have inner justification, be logical, coherent, and real.

— Constantin Stanislavski

Talent is nothing but a prolonged period of attention and a shortened period of mental assimilation.

— Constantin Stanislavski

Fear your admirers! Learn in time to hear, understand, and love the cruel truth about yourselves!

— Constantin Stanislavski

Never allow yourself externally to portray anything that you have not inwardly experienced and which is not even interesting to you.

— Constantin Stanislavski

The main factor in any form of creativeness is the life of a human spirit, that of the actor and his part,…

— Constantin Stanislavski

When you're playing a character who's cruel, look for the places where he's kind. When you're playing a character who is unhappy,…

— Constantin Stanislavski

It is only when an actor feels that his inner and outer life on the stage is flowing naturally and normally, in…

— Constantin Stanislavski

You must be so thoroughly immersed in the given circumstances of the play, then you decide what it is at any given…

— Constantin Stanislavski

We have as many planes of speech as does a painting planes of perspective which create perspective in a phrase. The most…

— Constantin Stanislavski

The actor must use his imagination to be able to answer all questions (when, where, why, how). Make the make-believer existence more…

— Constantin Stanislavski

When an actor is completely absorbed by some profoundly moving objective so that he throws his whole being passionately into its execution,…

— Constantin Stanislavski

The direct effect on our mind is achieved by the words, the text, the thought, which arouse consideration. Our will is directly…

— Constantin Stanislavski

In spite of my great admiration for individual splendid talents I do not accept the star system. Collective creative effort is the…

— Constantin Stanislavski

In every physical action, unless it is purely mechanical, there is concealed some inner action, some feelings. This is how the two…

— Constantin Stanislavski

It is through you, actors, that the forces which are understood by millions and that tell of everything that is beautiful on…

— Constantin Stanislavski

The main difference between the art of the actor and all other arts is that every other [non-performing] artist may create whenever…

— Constantin Stanislavski

In the circle of light on the state in the midst of darkness, you have the sensation of being entirely alone... This…

— Constantin Stanislavski

Stage charm guarantees in advance an actor's hold on the audience, it helps him to carry over to large numbers of people…

— Constantin Stanislavski

I have taken film-work that has been a little more cliché-written, to support myself and my family, and that's a whole kind…

— Constantin Stanislavski

A true priest is aware of the presence of the altar during every moment that he is conducting a service. It is…

— Constantin Stanislavski

“Love art in yourself, and not yourself in art.”

— Constantin Stanislavski

Gratuitous cruelty borders on the pathological, psychotic and that becomes uninteresting because there is no choice.

— Constantin Stanislavski

Unless the theatre can ennoble you, make you a better person, you should flee from it.

— Constantin Stanislavski

At times of great stress it is especially necessary to achieve a complete freeing of the muscles

— Constantin Stanislavski

I was born an ordinary actor. I will die an ordinary actor. But I've persisted.

— Constantin Stanislavski

In talking about a genius, you would not say that he lies; he sees realities with different eyes from ours.

— Constantin Stanislavski

All art is autobiographical - if it's not, it's not going to quicken on-stage, and it's not going to come alive.

— Constantin Stanislavski

Create your own method. Don't depend slavishly on mine. Make up something that will work for you! But keep breaking traditions, I…

— Constantin Stanislavski