Stanislavsky’s musicality: Towards physicalization

Abstract This article investigates the musicality of Stanislavsky’s theatre practice by focusing specifically on his conceptions of rhythm and tempo-rhythm. It refers to the work Stanislavsky conducted during the 1918 Bolshoi Opera Studio and the 1935 Opera-Dramatic Studio. The article draws on recent scholarship on musicality in theatre in order to propose that although not immediately visible as an ‘outcome’ of his theatricality, Stanislavsky’s musicality was located beyond the limits of music as metaphor to theatrical activity, and was evident in processes of embodiment that Stanislavsky was developing with his actors. This rather broad musical dimension is foregrounded in Stanislavsky’s consistent attention to rhythm, and the ways rhythmic awareness affects the actor’s presence. This led to the development of the notion of tempo-rhythm. It will be argued that beyond its apparent dualistic nature, if reconsidered as a ‘relational dynamic’ tempo-rhythm emerges as a key element of Stanislavsky’s musicality. The author concludes that in his quest to promote acting as embodiment, Stanislavsky developed, through musicalized processes, strategies of physicalization of action that promoted acting beyond imitations of scripted texts.