Biography
Stanislavsky was the co-founder (with Nemirovich-Danchenko) of the Moscow Art Theatre, which took the international theatre world by storm when he began producing the plays of Anton Chekhov in 1898. (Nemirovich-Danchenko went on to set up the Moscow Art Theatre School, which is still running today.)
He is the author - with the help of his translator Elizabeth Hapgood, who also edited his scattered writings and became 'co-author' - of My Life in Art; An Actor Prepares; Building a Character; Creating a Role; and various other marginalia (put together, I suspect, postumously).
Jean Benedetti is the author of many books about acting and Stanislavsky, including The Art of the Actor (2005); Stanislavsky: An Introduction (2E 2004); and Stanislavsky and the Actor (1998). All these were co-published with Methuen and, I think, commissioned by them. Initially working as an actor, director and television writer, he turned to teaching and became the Principal of Rose Bruford College, still a highly respected drama school.
'This wise and delightful book … is packed with sage, practical counsel to actors and actresses.' – The Times Literary Supplement
'The Stanislavski system of acting is good. What is better is the Stanislavski philosophy of art that believes in the infinitude of man ... Even those who are not primarily interested in acting will find in Stanislavski's writing an extraordinary illumination of art.' – The New York Times
"This vibrant translation assures that Staniskavski's memoir will be appreciated by a wide audience of Anglophone readers... Highly Recommended." – CHOICE
