The History and Theory of Active Analysis: Stanislavsky’s Legacy to Dramatic Criticism

FAIN: FT-54229-06

Sharon Marie Carnicke
University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA 90089-0012)

I request funding to complete the first book in English about Active Analysis, the theory that Stanislavsky developed in the last two years of his life (1936-1938) while under house arrest by order of Stalin. In Active Analysis Stanislavsky proposes a theoretical model that links plays to their potential embodiment in performance. Despite Stanislavsky’s unquestionable influence on American acting and much current scholarship on performance, Active Analysis remains little known and much misunderstood in the West. My book will demonstrate how Soviet post-World War II policies on the arts suppressed knowledge of it. I will then examine its principles and illustrate its application to dramatic texts.

Associated Products

The Knebel Technique: Active Analysis in Practice (Article)
Title: The Knebel Technique: Active Analysis in Practice
Author: Carnicke, Sharon Marie
Abstract: The first major English language article on Maria Knebel and her promotion of Stanislavsky's last technique, Active Analysis.
Year: 2011
Format: Other
Periodical Title: Alison Hodge, ed. Actor Training.
Publisher: London: Routledge

Mikhaïl Tchekhov et Maria Knebel: Une relation tributaire de l’éloignement politique (Article)
Title: Mikhaïl Tchekhov et Maria Knebel: Une relation tributaire de l’éloignement politique
Author: Carnicke, Sharon Marie
Abstract: An examination of the censorship that surrounded the Russian language editions of Michael Chekhov's books on acting, as edited by Maria Knebel who incorporated Chekhov's acting techniques into Stanislavsky's Active Analysis.
Year: 2009
Format: Other
Periodical Title: Marie-Christine Autant-Mathiew, ed. Mikhaïl Tchekhov/Michael Chekhov: De Moscou à Hollywood, Du théâtre au cinéma
Publisher: Paris: L’Entretemps

The Bare Bones of Stanislavsky’s Active Analysis (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: The Bare Bones of Stanislavsky’s Active Analysis
Author: Carnicke, Sharon Marie
Abstract: A two hour keynote examination of the principles of Stanislavsky's Active Analysis, as taught by his primary Russian language proponent, Maria Knebel.
Date: 6/6/2010
Conference Name: Australasian Dramatic Studies Association, Canberra Australia

Active Analysis: Intensive (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: Active Analysis: Intensive
Author: Carnicke, Sharon Marie
Abstract: A ten day master class on the principles of Active Analysis. Taught at MetodiFestival, Italy, to professional actors from Itatly, Norway, and Britain.
Year: 2011
Audience: Other

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