Stanislavski and the tactical potential of everyday images

Abstract

This essay discusses Stanislavski’s rehearsal use of images derived from everyday life. This discussion focuses on a relatively obscure chapter of Stanislavski’s career, his 1932–3work on Artists and Admirers, the rehearsal notes of which are unavailable in English translation. The essay contends that everyday images not only facilitated communication between rehearsal participants, but also projected outwards to the highly regulatory political scene of the time. More specifically, the ephemeral nature of everyday images will be identified as a ploy that eluded the Communist Party’s appropriation of Stanislavski’s work. Michel de Certeau’s theories on everyday life, particularly his elaboration on strategies and tactics, will serve as a theoretical framework for such a discussion.