Stanislavsky’s Use of Improvisation

Stefan Aquilina is an Associate Professor of Theatre Studies at the School of Performing Arts at the University of Malta, Co-Director of the Stanislavsky Research Centre (Leeds/Malta), and Editor-in-Chief of the Stanislavski Studies journal. Aquilina's main interest is in modern theatre and performance, especially Stanislavsky and Meyerhold, but he has a wider interest in theatre historiography, actor training, and reflective teaching. Aquilina is the author or editor of six books, including Stanislavsky and Pedagogy, Modern Theatre in Russia: Tradition Building and Transmission Processes, and The Routledge Companion to Vsevolod Meyerhold (with Jonathan Pitches).

• Introduction.- First Phase The 1880s and Stanislavsky’s Amateur Years.- Second Phase 1903-08, Placing Improvisation in the Production Process.- Third Phase 1912-16, The First Studio and Stanislavsky’s Offshoots.- Fourth Phase 1924-28 and Stanislavsky’s Final Legacies of the 1930s.- Conclusion.