Introduction

A Brief Tour of the Evolution of Acting Methodology since Constantine Stanislavski
Students of Stanislavski: Strasberg, Chekhov, Meisner, et al
Gister
Chapter 1: Who am I?

The play as A Guide to Who am I?
First Reading
Second Reading
Third Reading
The Imagination
Exercising your Imagination
Transformation into Character
Types
Stereotypes and Functional Characters
Real People
Anomalies
Narratives
Actions
Other Areas to Investigate
Body
Relationships
Vulnerability
Discovery
Questions and Answers
Chapter 2: Where am I and When am I there?

Designers
Sources
The Play as a Guide to establishing Where am I?
What Where am I? means to You as the Character
Some Areas to Investigate
The Play as a Guide to Establishing When am I there?
What When am I there? means to you as the Who am I?
Preceding Time
Some Areas to Investigate
Questions and Answers
Chapter 3: What do I want?

Super-objective and Objective
Action, Intention and Motivation
Classical Plays
Prior Knowledge
Articulating the Super-objective and the Objective
Revealed Meaning
Stakes
Obstacles
A Word about Listening
What do I do after I get or fail to get what I want?
Questions and Answers
Chapter 4: How do I get what I want?

Some Common Definitions and Why to Put Them Aside
Action Defined in this Approach
The “How” of the Action
Using Action with Images and Objects
Consequences of Playing an Action
Action is Anchored in the Objective
Action in Classical and Modern Plays
Action, Objective, Paradox and the Present Moment
Questions and Answers
Chapter 5: Putting it all together

Getting Started
First Reading
First Impressions
Second Reading
Third Reading
The Questions
Who am I?
Where am I?
When am I there?
What do I want?
How do I get what I want?
How of the Action
What do I do after I get or fail to get what I want?
Using this Approach to Analyze a Scene
The Test to be Analyzed: The Sea Gull, Act 2, Nina and Treplev
A Note about Transitions
Remembering it all: Marking your Script
Preparation and Rehearsal
Chapter 6: More Examples of Applying the Methodology

Yelena in Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov
Commentary
Reading One: Understanding the Story
Reading Two: Gathering the Facts
Reading Three: Yelena's Point of View
Commentary
Emilia in Othello by William Shakespeare
Reading One: Understanding the Play
ReadingTwo: Gathering the Facts
Reading Three: Emilia’s Point of View
Commentary
Male or Female in Sonnet Number One by William Shakespeare
Commentary
Action on an Audience
Male or Female Using Lines from Savage/Love by Sam Shepard and Joseph Chaikin
Creating your own Text
In Conclusion

Appendix 1: Action Word Lexicon

Appendix 2: How of the Action Word Lexicon

Appendix 3: Annotated Playlist

Work Cited

Index