Substitution (Stanislavski-to-Improv)
Stanislavski's technique of substituting a real personal memory to access an emotion on stage — adapted by improv teachers for quick emotional availability.
Known for
- Originally from Stanislavski's *An Actor Prepares* (1936); the Method extensions (Strasberg, Adler) built on it.
- Improv adaptation: not pre-planned substitution (that's Method) but in-scene pattern-recognition — the character's situation rhymes with your life, you let the memory live there.
- Controversial in some improv schools — critics say it pulls performers out of present-moment listening; proponents say it gives emotional work a real floor.
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