Stanislavski's An Actor Prepares: A Book that Every Actor Should Own

During the late 1940s and 1950s, the Method Actor became both an object of adulation and ridicule on the screens and stages of America. The genesis of this psychologicaly intense and naturalistic school of acting traces back to Russia and the vaunted Moscow Art Theatre, especially an acting teacher who adopted the non-de-plume now known in every acting school and drama class in the country, Stanislavski.
An Actor Prepares is the title of the book that Stanislavski wrote that has become a bible for young actors throughout the world. An Actor Prepares is structured as semi-autobiographical account of a Russian actor preparing for a role. In fact, Stanislavski writes himself into the book in the guise of not only the young actor relating his education, but also as older acting teacher who serves as his guides. One might well consider it a dual autobiography that tells both the story of the young Stanislavski and the old Stanislavski.

An Actor Prepares is simply one of the most essential books that anyone considering a career as a serious actor could possibly own. There are lessons to be found in this book that will serve you well not only on your journey through the often strange and sometimes wonderful world of the theater, but also on your journey as a human being. An Actor Prepares is written in an easily accesible and conversational style that is often laugh out loud funny even when it provides startling insight in the human condition. Even if you aren't planning on a career as an actor, anyone with any artistic temperament can benefit from its lessons involving concentration and tapping the subconscious.