Let us look at some examples of theater as cultural diplomacy, or perhaps we could all it technology transfer. Throughout this course we have stressed that modernization has been one of the driving forces behind the globalization of theater. This is nowhere more apparent than in the most basic craft of theater: in acting. Now, the world is full of fascinating performance forms, each with their own traditions and means of transmission. What we see in the 20th century, is the dominance of one approach. The famous method or system developed by Constantin Stanislavski at the Moscow Art Theatre in the first decades of the 20th century. I'm not going to try and explain his method or system here. There are many textbooks that can do that. Instead, I want us to think about why it became a global acting style. Almost a kind of orthodoxy. Stanislavski-style acting stresses emotional identification. One of his most famous tenets requires that the actor draw on his or her own emotional experience, the so-called emotional or affective memory, to create a role. The concept of emotional memory establishes congruence between the actor's actual emotional makeup and the requirements of the fictional role. Stanislavski developed complex exercises so that the actor achieves a level of conscious control. These exercises proved to be very influential in theater practice and actor's training. His method began to be taught in other countries during his own lifetime by his pupils, and others claiming to be his pupils. The most famous of these was Lee Strasberg who learned the system in the USA from two Russian actors. As artistic director of the Actor's Studio in New York, and founder of the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, his own acting school, Strasberg coined the name method acting. And popularized it among many now famous Hollywood actors, such as Marlin Brando, Robert de Niro, Al Pacino, Johnny Depp, Julia Roberts, and many more. But the system, drawing from Stanislavski, spread not only in the US. It coincided with a huge increase in the number of acting schools in the 20th century, both state and private, to cater for the expanding theater, film, and later, television industries. The more surprising aspect of the story is how it took root in Asia, especially China. Surprising because Asian performance cultures proceed from quite different principles, mainly exhaustive physical training regimes that often begin in childhood. But perhaps it is not so surprising in the light of Soviet Chinese relations in the immediate post war period. Realist theater, or rather, Socialist Realist theater. The orthodox Soviet approach to the arts was adopted by the Communist Chinese state, founded in 1949. Modernization was one of the catch cries of the revolution. And initially, China received direct support from the Soviet Union. The Central Academy was founded in 1950. And while it continued to train performers in the traditional forms, modern drama, both foreign and home-grown, received equal attention. Soviet theater experts were regular visitors. One important result of this exchange is the importance of Stanislavski's system. In China, Stanislavski is a major figure. This statue is located outside the main building of the new campus of the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing. This huge campus, which offers both western-style and traditional theater training, is itself, a testimony to the importance of western-style theater in China.
