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10 Litig. 8 (1983-1984)
Stanislavsky in the Courtroom

handle is hein.journals/laba10 and id is 206 raw text is: Stanislavsky in the Courtroom by Janeen Kerper It is a clich6 among trial lawyers that good trial work is good theatre. Many of the best performers in the courtroom do, in fact, have training and experience in acting. Courses designed to teach advocacy skills often include a session or two with a professional actor who works with the student on such problems as body language and diction. Most lawyers' interest in the dramatic arts is purely cosmetic: How can I appear to control the courtroom; how can I conceal my stage fright; how can I cure this nasal twang? Unfortunately, this concern for appearances has caused us to overlook the more profound ways in which the study of dramatic theory can enhance our powers of persua- sion. In particular, we stand to benefit from a deeper understanding of the specific techniques used by actors in developing empathy for their characters. Great trial lawyers apply these techniques unconsciously and intuitively, trained actors do so consciously and systematically. Those of us who were not born great trial lawyers have much to learn from the latter. Particularly useful in the courtroom are the techniques of the so-called method school of acting. The method was originated in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by Konstantin Stanislavsky, a Russian actor, director, drama teacher, and writer. Stanislavsky devoted sixty years of his professional life to eliminating the artificial, declamatory style of acting that was in vogue at the turn of the century, and replacing it with an acting style based on concepts of psychic technique, logical sequencing of actions and emotions, and scenic truth. His thought and teaching changed the course of modern drama. His influence was and is great, and it per- sists to this day. There is hardly an actor around who has not, at some time or another, been trained in the method. So it is that we stand in front of juries and face a host of preconceptions shaped by Perry Mason and Joyce Daven- port, not realizing that Perry and Joyce are themselves shaped by the teachings of Stanislavsky. Their style, expression, movement, and thoughts depend on the method. If, as trial lawyers, we unwittingly depart from the style dictated by the The author is a trial lawyer, a professor of law, and the director of the trial advocacy program at California Western School of Law in San Diego. method, we run the risk of being perceived as insincere, overly dramatic - or worse yet - flat and uninteresting. Stanislavsky was fascinated by the inner world and its rela- tionship to human behavior. Among numerous other disciplines, he studied psychology and neurophysiology. From his studies he developed a particularized concept of the role of the imagination and what he termed emotional memory in the development of a believable character. In modern acting classes, these techniques are sometimes re- ferred to as imaging. Imaging can be best defined as the systematic exercise of the imagination to recreate an event in its fullest sensual and emotional detail. It is critical to the success of the exercise that nothing be imagined vaguely. Rather, the imagination must be used to invoke all possible concrete and consecutive details in their logical and proper sequence. All of the senses must be called upon. Thus an actor who plays the role of a person on a bus is expected to be able in his mind's eye to see the bus and the passing scenery, to hear the street noises and the gears grind- ing, to feel the vibrations of the roadway and the sticky plastic seats, to smell the diesel exhaust leaking into the passenger area, and to taste the aftertaste of the gin and tonic downed hastily just before the bus was boarded. Moreover, the method dictates that the actor understand what he is doing on the bus, the precise order of his actions, why he is there, and what he is thinking and feeling at the time. The understanding of a character's thoughts and motivations are developed by searching out analogous thoughts and emo- tions in one's own experience. The actor in turn conditions this emotional memory to respond to a particular stimulus on stage at the moment he needs it. Actors use the technique of imaging to bring to life a predefined role. Lawyers have the opportunity to use the technique far more creatively, for in trial work the lawyer is not only an actor, but also a director and author who writes much of the script. The technique has applications in every phase of trial work. Imaging can be useful in developing case theories. It is helpful in voir dire. It is indispensable in open- ing and closing arguments and in the intelligent formulation of direct and cross examinations. 8

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