Stanislavsky and the Digital - report on our 2026 symposium.
THE S WORD: STANISLAVSKY AND THE DIGITAL
by Zuzana Jurechová and Evi Stamatiou
London, 17-19 June 2026
The greatest joy of organising a conference is bringing together conversations that have long been waiting to happen. In this spirit, The S Word: Stanislavsky and the Digital brought together an international community of artists, scholars, educators, filmmakers, and technologists to explore one of the most pressing questions facing contemporary performance: how do digital technologies work with and against the actor’s process?
The partnership between the University of East London and the Stanislavsky Research Centre was launched over three inspiring days during which participants explored how Stanislavsky’s legacy is being reimagined through virtual and augmented reality, motion capture, artificial intelligence, gaming environments, immersive storytelling, vertical filmmaking, and online collaboration. Together, we reflected on what it means to train, create, and perform truthfully within technologies that are rapidly transforming the languages of theatre and screen. Rather than seeing technology as a challenge to actor training, the conference demonstrated its potential as a catalyst for new forms of creativity, collaboration, and research. Throughout the event, conversations continually returned to the relationship between human presence and digital mediation, revealing both the opportunities and the responsibilities that accompany this new era of performance practice.
The conference opened with an inspiring sequence of practical explorations, such as AI song-making led by Tricia Duffy, Michaela Antoniou’s exploration of acting through a microphone, Anna-Helena McLean’s work on digital mediation in psychophysical performance, and a wonderful Michael Chekhov workshop facilitated by Lisa Dalton. The Jean Benedetti Lecture, delivered by Tom Linden-McCarron and Tosin Sanni, offered a highly engaging interactive exploration of Vakhtangov's practice within the fascinating world of motion capture. An equally stimulating panel showcasing interdisciplinary practice research followed. Jon Weinbren presented emerging creative practices alongside screened extracts from his AI-generated series. Dr Darren Daly shared his collaboration between acting and animation students, demonstrating how Stanislavsky's concept of inner motives can bridge the two disciplines in unexpected and productive ways. Özlem Turhal De Chiara delivered an insightful comparative analysis of how different AI engines can support text analysis and creative inquiry for actors. The day concluded with the launch of our new book, Stanislavsky and Screen Actor Training.
Day Two continued the exploration of artificial intelligence and emerging screen practices. Abigail Killeen’s workshop performance explored how AI can prompt, challenge, and facilitate performance-making while enabling actors to retain emotional truth, presence, and radiation within an evolving creative landscape. The day continued with Elena Stamatopoulou’s paper examining how artificial intelligence prompts a reconceptualisation of the actor’s presence, followed by Inga Romantsova's insightful discussion of adapting her acting methodology to the unique demands of vertical filmmaking. Alexander Bell concluded the session by presenting the creative use of gaming characters as a framework for teachers’ self-assessment and reflective practice.
One of the most remarkable highlights of the conference was the keynote conversation between Mike Leigh and Aletia Badenhorst. Few filmmakers have shaped actor training and performance practice as profoundly as Mike Leigh, whose commitment to process, collaboration, and truth in performance continues to inspire generations of practitioners and educators. This conversation became even more resonant through a fascinating historical connection. Mike Leigh experimented with vertical filmmaking as early as 1991 in collaboration with cinematographer Dick Pope - an extraordinary innovation that now appears remarkably ahead of its time, which was screened at the conference with the kind permission of the British Film Institute. Mike Leigh’s keynote followed directly after an outstanding workshop on vertical filmmaking delivered by our talented colleagues at the University of East London - Julian Alexander, Juliet Knight, and Alexander Thomas - together with two exceptional recent graduates from the BA Acting for Stage and Screen programme. The juxtaposition created a rare opportunity to place pioneering experimentation into dialogue with contemporary practice.
Day Three took place online, enabling participation in two further outstanding panels that would not have been possible in person. Mirjana Milenić presented an elegant and flexible psychophysical framework for performance within technologically mediated environments, thoughtfully grounded in Stanislavskian principles while adapting them to hybrid performance structures. Natalia Dniprenko introduced experimental modelling of emerging performance genres developed during wartime, followed by a live digitally mediated dance interaction that vividly demonstrated performance across online space. Joelle Ré Arp-Dunham presented an extraordinary body of practice research spanning both performance within and beyond the motion capture suit across multiple contexts. Her work remains genuinely impressive in both its scope and innovation. Continuing the theme of adapting Stanislavsky’s system to changing performance conditions, Dermot Daly offered stimulating reflections on presence, focus, and the evolving relationship between actor and audience. The conference concluded with Burak Urucu’s imaginative ecology of the digital - a compelling model inspired by the explosive creativity of Generation Alpha performers and their scroll-conditioned performative habits, offering an exciting vision for the future of actor training.
What an inspiring three days at the University of East London, filled with stimulating discussions, innovative ideas, and meaningful exchanges across disciplines and continents. The conference was intellectually and personally enriching, characterised by curiosity, generosity, uncertainty, and wonder. Although we came from diverse disciplines, practices, and perspectives, we continually returned to the same central questions: how do we navigate this period of profound technological transition, embrace its possibilities, and respond to its uncertainties without losing what matters most in our work? We reflected on acting, its continuing potential for human development, and strengthened connections with valued collaborators and friends from across three continents. Along the way, important new questions emerged for research, pedagogy, and creative practice. We thank all who contributed to these engaging, imaginative, and forward-looking conversations and look forward to seeing where these explorations of storytelling, digital performance, and screen acting take us next.
. Many presentations will be developed into essays for the Special Issue Stanislavsky and the Digital, to be published in Stanislavsky Studies journal in November 2027, while several others will be published in forthcoming issues of the same journal.
Finally, special thanks go to the University of East London for hosting us in one of its most inspiring spaces - The Dome.
Conference Conveners
- Dr Evi Stamatiou - University of East London
- Dr Paul Fryer - Stanislavsky Research Centre
- Dr Zuzana Jurechova – The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (DAMU)
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