The method, p.51
The Method, page 51
145 Harold Clurman spoke nearly every Friday night Lewis, Slings and Arrows, 36.
145 “perpetually on the go to a place he didn’t know” Clurman, The Fervent Years, 30.
145 “If you’re forgetting me, I’ll come back” Quoted in Ochoa, Stella! Mother of Modern Acting, loc 1394.
146 they’d go to a Child’s on Columbus Circle Smith, Real Life Drama, loc 210.
146 Theresa Helburn, the Guild’s chief, confronted Harold Clurman, The Fervent Years, 36.
146 The Daily News listed it on the same page New York Daily News, May 24, 1931, 68.
147 The actors paid ninety dollars for the privilege of being there Lewis, Slings and Arrows, 39.
147 “What we have undertaken as a creative people of work” The original, tattered Brookfield Diary can be found in Lee Strasberg’s papers at the Library of Congress, in Box 29. A photocopy of it is in Robert Lewis’s papers at Kent State, Box 12, Folder 1. All quotes from the Brookfield Diary come from transcriptions of it by Rae Binstock and myself. Not all of the handwriting is legible, and I have quoted from it only when I felt fully confident that we had correctly transcribed the sentence in question.
147 the Hard Sluggers beat the Cagey Bunters Leverett, The Brookfield Diary, LS-29, 1.
147 Harold spoke once more of the poison Ibid., 2.
147 producing the play had been her idea Smith, Real Life Drama, loc 875.
147 “a single unified method for the company” Clurman, The Fervent Years, 41.
147 Crawford’s main responsibility was rehearsing with the African American members Crawford, One Naked Individual, 54.
147 who were neither invited to the company-building workshops Lewis, Slings and Arrows, 46.
148 Rose McClendon was a close friend of his Ibid.
148 he was working with an actor Ibid., 47.
148 “inner significance” Bromberg, The Brookfield Diary, 4.
148 “the treatment of many artistic problems” Clurman, The Fervent Years, 41.
149 Aaron Copland warned Clurman Ibid., 42.
149 The men in the company formed a “Fuck Phoebe Club” Adams, Lee Strasberg: The Imperfect Genius of the Actors Studio, 129.
149 Cheryl Crawford and a young actor named Dorothy Patten Smith, Real Life Drama, loc 1131.
149 Paula Miller, another young actor in the Group Adams, Lee Strasberg: The Imperfect Genius of the Actors Studio, 131.
149 sending daily love letters to fellow actor Eunice Stoddard Smith, Real Life Drama, loc 1126.
149 Strasberg and Clurman’s instruction focused Clurman, The Fervent Years, 43–44.
149 Strasberg would tell the actors they were trapped in a mineshaft Smith, Real Life Drama, loc 894.
149 particularly a sequence of nighttime revels Lewis, The Brookfield Diary, 47.
150 The Group learned to “take an exercise” Smith, Real Life Drama, loc 923.
150 “a fanatic on the subject” Clurman, The Fervent Years, 44–45.
150 “Harold talked about the question” Brand, The Brookfield Diary, 31.
150 “it feels just great” Lewis, Slings and Arrows, 42.
150 “What is this hocus-pocus?” Quoted in Clurman, The Fervent Years, 42.
150 “Do it anyhow” Quoted in Adams, Lee Strasberg: The Imperfect Genius of the Actors Studio, 123.
150 he hid behind the sports section of a newspaper Smith, Real Life Drama, loc 445.
151 “There came into his humble demeanor” Clurman, The Fervent Years, 52.
151 “I was already an established name” Quoted in Adams, Lee Strasberg: The Imperfect Genius of the Actors Studio, 124.
151 “You … are committing a central crime” Quoted in ibid. In Wendy Smith’s Real Life Drama, Carnovsky is quoted as saying “Lee don’t. You’ll hurt yourself, Lee” as Strasberg grew angrier.
151 “I knew the principle, but I also knew the practice” Quoted in ibid.
151 “General Lee” Smith, Real Life Drama, loc 933.
151 “take a minute” Adams, Lee Strasberg: The Imperfect Genius of the Actors Studio, 122.
151 “Indicating” Chinoy, The Group Theatre, 42.
151 “How the hell is this” Odets, The Brookfield Diary, 8.
152 “I am done!” Ibid., 69.
152 “Franchot, for God’s sake” Quoted in Clurman, The Fervent Years, 47.
152 “being surrounded with nothing people” Quoted in Adams, Lee Strasberg: The Imperfect Genius of the Actors Studio, 147.
153 “If our play is a success—twenty years” Quoted in Clurman, The Fervent Years, 54.
CHAPTER 11: IT MAKES YOU WEEP
154 “In its utter simplicity of story and structure” Atkinson, “The Play: Epic of the South,” New York Times, 22.
154 Instead their next show Internet Broadway Database.
155 Roman Bohnen, an alum of the Goodman Theatre Smith, Real Life Drama, loc 1919.
155 he gained the nickname Gadge Sources differ radically about where Kazan picked up his nickname, and A Life, his memoir, doesn’t explain its origins. Richard Schickel, in his biography of Kazan, says he got it at Yale.
155 “Sit down,” she said Quoted in Kazan, A Life, loc 1219–38.
155 The reluctance of the Group’s chief theorist Smith, Real Life Drama, loc 2031.
156 as its cast was small Ibid., 2070.
156 Helen Tamiris, who created exercises Ibid., 2089.
156 These classes were particularly beloved by Bobby Lewis Lewis, Slings and Arrows, 62–63.
156 Mark Schmidt, a dishwasher at Dover Furnace Chinoy, The Group Theatre, 71.
156 Clurman would later compare their attention to that of the Sultan Clurman, The Fervent Years, 91. It would be surprising if the Group managed to understand much of the texts. The documents, even in translation, are difficult to follow and filled with Soviet jargon.
156 Odets, when given “America,” produced a pantomime Smith, Real Life Drama, loc 2119.
156 repeat a phrase like “I must see you” Ibid., loc 2129.
157 “Red Hamlet” Lewis, Slings and Arrows, 65.
157 Clurman’s constant stream of Big Ideas for the Group Clurman, The Fervent Years, 95.
157 “on the basis of her real competence” Quoted in Smith, Real Life Drama, loc 991.
157 In 1932, Odets wrote in his diary Chinoy, The Group Theatre, 101.
157 “pick and choose … and were hurt by it” Quoted in Clurman et al., “Looking Back,” 504.
158 “reduced … to a pulp” Quoted in ibid., 523.
158 “the attempt to reproduce the same emotion night after night” Quoted in ibid.
158 “Her emotional output was heavy, schmaltzy” Quoted in Adams, Lee Strasberg: The Imperfect Genius of the Actors Studio, 147.
158 “The problem was not to create emotion, but to define emotion” Quoted in Clurman et al., “Looking Back,” 550.
158 played by her brother Luther According to Ochoa’s Stella! Mother of Modern Acting, it was not uncommon for siblings to play lovers in Yiddish theater, as Yiddish theater companies were often family businesses.
158 “Holding his body in her arms” Lewis, Slings and Arrows, 78.
158 “a splendid performance, profound, emotional, true” Atkinson, “Group Theatre Commences,” New York Times, 24.
158 Noël Coward would drop by the theater Lewis, Slings and Arrows, 78.
159 “after two tough realistic acts” Crawford, One Naked Individual, 59.
159 The Group fought for the play Smith, Real Life Drama, loc 2540–41.
159 “Harold,” Morris Carnovsky said to him, laughing Quoted in Clurman, The Fervent Years, 103.
159 Strasberg denounced Tone Ibid., 94.
159 after tearful drinks with Clurman Ibid., 95.
159 “Big Night opens tonight” Crawford, One Naked Individual, 50.
159 to shuffle feebly as if on chilblained feet Clurman, The Fervent Years, 113.
159 rented her apartment to Aaron Copland Smith, Real Life Drama, loc 2771.
159 they jokingly nicknamed Groupstroy Ibid., loc 2469.
160 Odets made potato pancakes Smith, Real Life Drama, loc 2469.
160 when his relationship with Adler went from on again to off Ibid., loc 2479.
160 Harold told him that it wasn’t good Ibid., loc 2406.
160 talk about the play and its characters with Strasberg Adams, Lee Strasberg: The Imperfect Genius of the Actors Studio, 154.
160 One day, Bess Eitingon, the wife of a wealthy fur dealer Ibid., 154–56. This story is, for obvious reasons, a major part of Group lore. The dialogue in this version of it comes from Adams.
160 The Group never saw the money Smith, Real Life Drama, loc 2791.
161 In exchange for room, board, and rehearsal space Crawford, One Naked Individual, 63.
161 They performed … the second act of I Got the Blues Ibid., 65.
161 The radicals in the Group objected Smith, Real Life Drama, loc 3115.
161 everyone knew that Lee had tapped into something special Ibid., loc 3188.
161 “Let’s learn what doctors do” Quoted in Seymour, “Stage Directors’ Workshop,” 259.
161 Medical professionals—some friends, some guests of the resort Crawford, One Naked Individual, 64.
161 “one could hardly call it rehearsal” Chinoy, The Group Theatre, 86.
162 They ran it to Beethoven’s Seventh Smith, Real Life Drama, loc 3220.
162 “brought their own sensitivity to the sufferings of the patients” Crawford, One Naked Individual, 64.
162 With adjustment, Lee shaped performances Seymour, “Stage Directors’ Workshop,” 214.
162 to act as if he were an undercover FBI agent Chinoy, The Group Theatre, 87. The FBI Adjustment is so significant a piece of lore about Strasberg’s techniques that it appears in just about every book that touches on his directing, including his own A Dream of Passion.
162 a much younger female acting student While Acting: The First Six Lessons contains some of the clearest explanations of the basic concepts of the “system,” the framing device of “the Creature” makes the book almost impossible to assign or teach today.
163 “We went forth from the Group Theatre like the apostles of Jesus” Kazan, A Life, loc 2382.
163 they would teach acting and be taught Marxist politics Ibid., 2352.
163 His students included Burgess Meredith Lewis, Slings and Arrows, 61. According to Lewis, Meredith tried numerous times to join the Group, but the Directors never let him in.
163 Born in 1913 Nott, He Ran All the Way, loc 131.
163 P.S. 45, whose kindly principal, Angelo Patri Ibid., loc 224.
163 Julie was cast in A Midsummer Night’s Dream Ibid., loc 353.
163 He struggled in class with Madame Ouspenskaya Ibid., loc 367.
163 he and a friend named Joe LaSpina hitchhiked across America Ibid., loc 406.
164 Julie saw a fellow jumper crushed by a moving train Ibid., loc 420.
164 Julie made money by performing The Raven Ibid.
164 “it didn’t take long to uncover a warmth, sincerity” Lewis, Slings and Arrows, 61.
164 the exercise was layered Ibid.
164 Sidney Kingsley showed his gratitude to Lee Strasberg Adams, Lee Strasberg: The Imperfect Genius of the Actors Studio, 165.
164 For six days he watched Ibid., 168.
165 “What could I do?’ ” Quoted in ibid.
165 The year before Strasberg’s visit Benedetti, Stanislavski: His Life and Art, 350.
165 Stanislavski needed to write two different versions of the book Ibid., 318–32. The agonizing (and very long) writing and editing process of both books is recounted here.
166 “complex processes of the actor’s perception”: Quoted in ibid., 335–36.
165 (it soon became “emotion memory”) Whyman, The Stanislavsky System of Acting, 62.
166 a state-mandated “political” director of the Moscow Art Theatre Benedetti, Stanislavski: His Life and Art, 323.
166 In exchange Ibid., 340. The theater’s name in Russia also changed once again, becoming the Moscow Art Academic Theatre of the USSR.
166 “those of us who knew him never heard kind words” Logan, “The Method Is the Means,” New York Times, 97.
166 “My life’s goal is to guarantee the survival” Benedetti, Stanislavski: His Life and Art, 348.
167 now he saw how the director had managed Smith, Real Life Drama, loc 4028.
167 a desire to mirror and explore life more fully Ibid., loc 4016.
167 “left me with more impressions” Clurman, All People Are Famous, 81.
167 He was finally ready to direct Smith, Real Life Drama, loc 4050.
167 “It makes you weep” Kline, ed., “It Makes You Weep,” 188.
167 “I’ve never seen anything like it … they juggle with sounds” Ibid., 189.
167 “Lee Strasberg and I nearly died” Ibid.
167 Adler’s struggles with the role Kazan, A Life, 104.
168 She was a prominent member Adler, “How I Met Stanislavski,” SAHC 23.13, 4.
168 she was unable to devote herself to him Infidelity by both Adler and Clurman was a hallmark of their relationship over the years, and it would eventually be one of the chief factors leading to their divorce.
CHAPTER 12: WE ALL THOUGHT HE WAS GOD
169 Since they were such devotees of his Clurman, All People Are Famous, 82.
169 Stella was in such shock Adler, “How I Met Stanislavski,” SAHC 23.13, 5.
169 “You must go over and shake Mr. Stanislavski’s hand” Quoted in Adler, Technique of Acting, 119.
170 “They will work as you please” Quoted in Clurman, All People Are Famous, 83.
170 “who ducked her head like a contrite schoolgirl” Ibid.
170 “he’s not stupid” Quoted in ibid., 84. Clurman describes the events of this meeting as happening over multiple visits, Adler describes it as happening over one afternoon.
170 “Young lady,” he said, “everybody has spoken to me but you” Quoted in Adler, Technique of Acting, 119.
170 “Perhaps you don’t understand the ‘system’ ” Quoted in Clurman, All People Are Famous, 83.
170 Their rehearsals became more of an encounter Adler, “How I Met Stanislavski,” SAHC 23.13, 7.
171 “Just do a few things and put a plot around it” Quoted in Adler, Technique of Acting, 121.
171 “If your director … says, please feel [first]” Quoted in Chinoy, The Group Theatre, 104.
171 Throughout, Stanislavski stressed the value of action Gordon, Stanislavsky in America, 154–55.
171 Mr. Stanislavski, I can’t thank you personally Adler, Technique of Acting, 122.
171 “I’ll pay you back for this” Quoted in Ochoa, Stella! Mother of Modern Acting, loc 1985.
172 “I wasted a whole month on it” Quoted in Filippov, Actors Without Make-up, 59.
172 it is clear today that he was talking about Stella Stanislavski was more affected by his encounter with Stella Adler than he let on. According to Sergei Tcherkasski’s Masterstvo aktera, he mentioned it in several interviews, and his chapter on the supertask and throughline of action in The Actor’s Work on Himself contains another version of the story.
172 “She clutched me and cried” Quoted in Filippov, Actors Without Make-up, 59.
172 In August 1934 Chinoy, The Group Theatre, 106.
172 after a series of private meetings Meisner, Meisner on Acting, 255.
174 “feeling for feeling’s sake in life?” Quoted in Chinoy, The Group Theatre, 107.
174 “You could feel the fog lifting” Quoted in Smith, Real Life Drama, loc 4108.
174 Sanford Meisner later claimed Clurman et al., “Looking Back,” 503.
174 playing with your subconscious Ibid., 516.
174 “It was awful with Strasberg” Quoted in ibid., 523.
174 “until the net result is zero” Quoted in Smith, Real Life Drama, loc 3715.
174 “Stella challenged” Clurman et al., “Looking Back,” 516.
174 “It was a time of doubt and self-questioning” Kazan, A Life, 105.
174 By the summer of 1934, there was a Communist cell Smith, Real Life Drama, loc 3587.
174 several Group members rose to their feet Chinoy, The Group Theatre, 107.
175 Harold Clurman claimed the Group immediately abandoned Clurman, The Fervent Years, 139.
175 “the difficulty was with Stella Adler” Clurman et al., “Looking Back,” 550.
175 A 1935 outline for a course on acting Kazan, “Outline for an Elementary Course,” 34–37.
175 “ ‘I had a great feeling of being insulted” Adams, Lee Strasberg: The Imperfect Genius of the Actors Studio, 179.
