Question to actors: Just briefly, how do Stanislavsky and Strasberg methods compare to one another?

Answer 1

Strasberg developed the Method out of his misunderstanding of Stanislavski. Stanislavski developed all kinds of exercises to retrain the artificial acting style of the Russian actors of the early part of this Century. He also experimented with ways to make the presentation of plays more realistic. Todays teachers of Stanislavski continue to teach his me\thods which are not needed any longer since we have had 70 years of realism in our theatre and cinema.
The problem is Strasberg took credit for every star who ever sneezed in the halls of The Actor's Studio, when he had nothing to do with their abilities. The Method has always been flawed and often has been a swindle (read Acting without Agony by Don Richardson). Adherents to both Stanislavski and Strasberg continue to blindly worship them as the saviours of modern acting. All of Stanislavski's good ideas came from the Meiningen Players and it is Ludwig Kronek who deserves the credit for developing realism and discipline in the modern theatre. All of that aside, Harold Guskin, in How to Stop Acting points out that what is wrong with both of these ways of teaching acting (and all other ways based on Stanislavski, such as Adler } is that they teach "acting" when what todays actors do is not acting, but "reacting."