Stella! - Sheana Ochoa

Arthur Miller decided to become a playwright after seeing her perform with the Group Theater. Marlon Brando attributed his acting to her genius as a teacher. Theater critic Robert Brustein calls her the greatest acting teacher in America.At the turn of the 20th century
by which time acting had hardly evolved since classical Greece
Stella Adler became a child star of the Yiddish stage in New York
where she was being groomed to refine acting craft and eventually help pioneer its modern gold standard: method acting. Stella's emphasis on experiencing a role through the actions in the given circumstances of the work directs actors toward a deep sociological understanding of the imagined characters: their social class
geographic upbringing
biography
which enlarges the actor's creative choices.Always
onstage
Stella's flamboyant personality disguised a deep sense of not belonging. Her unrealized dream of becoming a movie star chafed against an unflagging commitment to the transformative power of art. From her Depression-era plays with the Group Theatre to freedom fighting during WWII
Stella used her notoriety as a tool for change.For this book
Sheana Ochoa worked alongside Irene Gilbert
Stella's friend of 30 years
who provided Ochoa with a trove of Stella's personal and pedagogical materials
and Ochoa interviewed Stella's entire living family
including her daughter Ellen; her colleagues and friends
from Arthur Miller to Karl Malden; and her students from Robert De Niro to Mark Ruffalo. Unearthing countless unpublished letters and interviews
private audio recordings
Stella's extensive FBI file
class videos and private audio recordings
Ochoa's biography introduces one of the most under recognized
yet most influential luminaries of the 20th century.