Existing comment:
Morris Carnovsky, 1897-1992
Lee Strasberg, 1901-1982
Ralph Steiner, whose evocative photographs often present an unusual vantage point, photographed the director Lee Strasberg (right) and the actor Morris Carnovsky (left) from above, following one of their rehearsals at the Ethel Barrymore Theater in New York City. In March 1936, Strasberg, of the Group Theatre, directed the play The Case of Clyde Griffiths, by Erwin Piscator. In this adaptation of Theodore Dreiser's novel An American Tragedy (1925), Carnovsky played the important and complex role of the Speaker. The exact words exchanged during this semi-private interaction are unknown to us. However, during rehearsals, Strasberg explained the role of the Speaker as "the soul of the people -- he feels everything the people feel but with full consciousness." These brief lines provide a window into the conversations between director and actor while underscoring Strasberg's immersive "method acting," in which he asked his actors to embody their roles.
Ralph Steiner, 1936 |