Output details

Lead Researcher and Report Author: Teaching Stanislavski, 2009

In 2009 a research project, Teaching Stanislavski, with the above title was initiated by the Standing Conference of University Drama Departments and funded by the Higher Education Academy. It is now published on the HEA website. But the project went beyond teaching into significant research. The author led the project which investigated how Stanislavski’s ideas are disseminated and received in the UK. The author wrote the final report, introducing the scope of the work, collating and analysing the research data and drawing together recommendations made by the nine-strong research team. The author produced an introduction to the research in which the impact of Stanislavski is located within an historical context in both Europe and America.

A number of significant conclusions were drawn arising from the extensive engagement with a variety of stakeholders involved in the research. These challenged the way in which Stanislavski is received and understood in schools and colleges. The publication noted that the reception of Stanislavski is often misinformed and a binary divide between Stanislavski and Brecht is erroneously constructed. A lack of historical clarity in the basic understanding of Stanislavski and his process was also identified. The research highlighted that Stanislavski-based work is more richly explored through a practical rather than purely theoretical HE teaching approach.

The research and report reflects six case studies – three with 16+ students and teachers in UK schools and a Further Education College and three with lecturers and students in HEIs. Interviews and observations from teachers and directors working in Russia and the Czech Republic helped place the UK practice in context and offered comparative approaches.