Konstantin Stanislavski (1863-1938) was a Russian director who sought 'inner realism' by insisting that his actors find the truth within themselves and 'become' the characters they portrayed. His work brought international fame to the Moscow Art Theatre, which he had co-founded with Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko in 1897. During his early years at the Moscow Art Theatre, he directed the first productions of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya (1899), Three Sisters (1901) and The Cherry Orchard (1904) as well as a series of celebrated versions of Shakespeare. Stanislavski toured America with the company in 1923. After World War II, the US edition of Stanislavski's treatise An Actor Prepares (1926) became a bible of the Method school of acting.

Foreword by Robert Lewis \ Translator's Note \ Part I: Griboyedov's Woe from Wit \ 1. The Period of Study \ 2. The Period of Emotional Experience \ 3. The Period of Physical Embodiment \ Part II: Shakespeare's Othello \ 4. First Acquaintance \ 5. Creating the Physical Life of a Role \ 6. Analysis \ 7. Checking Work Done and Summing Up \ Part III: Gogol's The Inspector General \ 8. From Physical Actions to Living Image \ Appendices \ A. Supplement to Creating A Role \ B. Improvisations on Othello \ Index.