Emotional memory in acting is an element of the Stanislavski System or Method Acting, an approach to acting. Emotional memory requires the actor to call on the memories he or she felt when they were in a situation similar (or more recently a situation with similar emotional import) to that of their character. Stanislavski believed an actor needed to take emotion and personality to the stage and call upon it when playing their character and believed that emotional memory was one way to do it. He also believed in objectives, the physical body's effect on emotions and sympathy with the character. The Stanislavski System is an approach to acting developed by Konstantin Stanislavski, a Russian actor, director, and theatre administrator at the Moscow Art Theatre (founded 1897). ... Method acting is an acting technique in which actors try to replicate the emotional conditions under which the character operates in real life, in an effort to create a life-like, realistic performance. ...

Emotional memory is also known as "sense memory", "affective memory" and "emotional recall", and is a the basis for Lee Strasberg's Method Acting. "Sense memory" can also be used to refer to the recall of physical sensations (instead of emotions) or as an umbrella term for both types of memory. Many modern actors and actresses, however, believe that emotional recall is not authentic "acting". The argument is that the actor is meant to be pretending to experience the character's emotions, and not actually doing so. However, the general consensus is that proper acting is a combination of many techniques, and that no actor should be restricted to one way of performing. Lee Strasberg (November 17, 1901–February 17, 1982) was an American director, actor, producer, and acting teacher. ... Method acting is an acting technique in which actors try to replicate the emotional conditions under which the character operates in real life, in an effort to create a life-like, realistic performance. ...

See also

• Presentational acting
• Method acting
• Emotion and memory

Presentational acting is a concept in theatre which holds that actors should strive to, in some sense, become their characters, rather than simply portraying them. ... Method acting is an acting technique in which actors try to replicate the emotional conditions under which the character operates in real life, in an effort to create a life-like, realistic performance. ... Emotion can have a powerful impact on memory. ...

External links

• Method Acting: sense memory