Use your creative imagination to create a past that belongs to your character. She began to believe that the use of imagination would allow an actor to find creativity, meaning and truth well beyond their own experiences. She believed it limited an actor’s performance to rely solely on their own personal experiences. Over time, Stella Adler grew weary of the use of Affective Memory. #4: Stanislavski altered the course of her career Their work further built on techniques developed by Stanislavski, including Affective Memory, which calls upon actors to recall experiences in their personal lives and relate them to their characters’ experiences to bring truth to their performances. Together they would create perhaps the most influential theatre company in the history of the United States, Group Theatre. While studying at the American Laboratory Theatre, Adler also met other hungry young actors, including Sanford Meisner, Lee Strasberg, Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford. #3: Stella was one of the original founders of Group Theatre Stella began acting at age four in productions put on by her parents’ company, the Independent Yiddish Art Company, which flourished in the Yiddish Theater District in New York in the early to mid-1900s. But the most important thing the actor has to work on is his mind. She came from a famous family of performers, the Jewish American Adler acting family dynasty, including her parents Sara and Jacob P. Here are 7 basic facts about the life and influence of Stella Alder: Through her books, schools, theories and teachings, Stella Adler helped shape the way actors approach the craft of acting and she forcefully voiced new ideas that challenged even legendary acting teachers like Lee Strasberg. Stella Adler (February 10, 1901- December 21, 1992) may have come from a famous family of performers, but it was Stella who would go on to have perhaps the greatest influence on the craft of acting. Stella Adler left behind a powerful legacy, inspiring a who’s who of iconic actors