About
the Book:
The most authoritative,
authentic text of a classic guide to acting.
In the four decades since its first publication, To
the Actor has become a standard text for students of the
Michael Chekhov Technique. But To
the Actor is a shortened, heavily modified version of the
great director/actor/teacher's original manuscript with the deletion
of some of the more important concepts. A long-time advocate of
Michael Chekhov's acting methods, Mala Powers wrote the preface for
On the Technique of Acting,
which is the first and only book ever to incorporate the complete
text of that brilliant manuscript. Scholars and teachers of Chekhov's
technique have hailed On the
Technique of Acting as the clearest, most accurate
presentation of the principles he taught Yul Brynner, Gary Cooper,
Marilyn Monroe, Gregory Peck, Patricia Neal, Leslie Caron, Anthony
Quinn, Ingrid Bergman, Jack Palance, Lloyd Bridges, and Mala
Powers. Other prominent actors who did not study directly with
Michael Chekhov, but who benefited from his techniques are Anthony
Hopkins, Jack Nicholson, Richard Kiley, Johnny Depp, and Clint
Eastwood, to name a few.
Michael Chekhov was the nephew of playwright
Anton Chekhov and a student of Constantin Stanislavsky at the Moscow
Art Theatre. He eventually differed with his mentor on how best to
approach acting. Stanislavsky believed that memory was the key and
Chekhov thought it was imagination. This definitive edition of
Michael Chekhov's masterful work clarifies the principles
outlined in To the Actor
concerning the pivotal role of the imagination in actors'
understanding of themselves and the roles they play. It contains the
Chart for Inspired Acting, given personally to Mala Powers as
a hand-drawn chart. Not found in any other Chekhov books, this Chart
shows graphically most of his teachings in one symbol, useful to
teachers and learners alike as a quick-reference short-hand overview
of the techniques. On the
Technique of Acting also expands on Chekhov's previously
published work with many unique features, including:
• Thirty additional exercises
• A chapter devoted to
screen acting
• More thorough explanations of the
Psychological Gesture, inner tempo vs. outer tempo, and other key
concepts of Chekhov's approach
For actors, directors, and anyone interested in the theatre, On
the Technique of Acting is an essential handbook.
What people say:
"There's
this need to continue growth; to expand. For me, Michael
Chekhov’s
system is the most complete."
— Robert Davi,
interviewed on the set of his TV series, The
Profiler
"You have to teach yourself to
act but Michael Chekhov will give you the
necessary tools – and for me, Psychological Gesture and Centers are
extremely valuable... They work like a charm. I've used them all
along and still do." — Clint Eastwood
"While my mother and sister
were hiding in the dark and kind of watching me, ya know, hoping I
was going to be in the movie business, I turned around and imagined I
saw my director making fun of my newly acquired Psychological Gesture
from Michael Chekhov." — Jack
Nicholson, at the 1998 Golden
Globe awards (speaking about his first job)
"I had always loved acting and
tried hard to learn it. But with Michael Chekhov,
acting became more than a profession to me. It became a sort of
religion." — Marilyn Monroe, from her book, My
Story
"I like to physicalize. I like
to talk about Michael Chekhov – Psychological
Gesture." — Sir
Anthony Hopkins, from his Inside
the Actor's Studio
interview
About the Author:
Michael Chekhov (1891-1955) was
a Russian actor, director, theatre practitioner and author, referred
to by Konstantin Stanislavski as his most brilliant student.
He was the nephew of playwright Anton Chekhov and was a distinguished
actor but his work in theatre education may be his most important
legacy. In 1942 he was invited to Hollywood, where he became an
acting coach to the stars, acted in many films, published his book,
To the Actor.
Mala Powers (1931-2007) was an American actress. Studying
with Michael Chekhov in her early years, she later became a noted
university lecturer and teacher, founding the Michael Chekhov Drama
Group in Los Angeles and becoming a leading authority on the Chekhov
acting technique.