Radovan Lukavský and the Stanislavsky’s method of an actor’s work

Abstract

ABSTRACT Radovan Lukavský (1919–2008) was an important representative of modern Czech acting, a long-time National Theatre drama ensemble member in Prague, and a teacher at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (AMU). As a teacher, he persistently espoused the legacy of Konstantin Sergeyevich Stanislavsky. Lukavský made considerable efforts to defend the latter’s ideas against the “vulgarization” that had infested Czech theatre and the Theatre faculty of AMU at the beginning of the 1950s, as a clash took place between the socialist-realist ideologisation and the creative interpretation of the Stanislavsky “System.” In this essay, the author draws attention to Lukavský’s approach to Stanislavsky’s methods and the basic principles Lukavský addressed in other professional publications and studies.