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I started out as an actor. Like most actors, I was introduced to Stanislavski early. Konstantin ****Stanislavski was a Russian actor, director and teacher, and as a teacher is inarguably the most influential figure of the acting world ever.
It was Stanislavski’s teachings that helped push acting from a presentational display to more emotionally truthful performances.
His influence from Russia into America came mostly from The Group Theatre in the 30s and all of its influential offshoots.
Most notably Lee Strasberg and The Actor’s Studio.
When you hear of “the “method,” that mostly comes from Lee Strasberg’s branch of Stanislavski’s original training.
Stella Adler, another founder of The Group Theatre, who studied with Stanislavki more intimately, was not a fan of Strasberg’s approach.
Nor was Sanford Meisner, another figure from The Group Theatre, who is perhaps the second most influential American acting teacher behind Strasberg (And who Sydney Pollack studied under.)
Hopefully, you’re getting a picture of just how influential The Group Theatre was in 20th Century American Theatre.
Personally, as an actor, while I have been fascinated by the results. I never really dug deep beyond the basics.
And perhaps the most basic fundamentals of acting is this:
Same as for the writer as for the actor.
These three fundamentals work in the microview of what is happening is the moment, and they work in the macroview of the story as a whole.