Theory for SimulationApplying the Theory of Stanislavski to Simulation: Stepping into Role

•Simulated participants (SPs) serve as proxies for those they represent and engage health care practitioners and trainees through the realism of their performance.•Realism in role play is related to the portrayal of inner and outer qualities.•Theatre practitioner Constantin Stanislavski's holistic approach to acting can inform and guide the performances of SPs.•Systematic training incorporating features of Stanislavski's approach can increase SP engagement.

This article examines how the approach of Russian theatre practitioner Constantin Stanislavski (1863-1938) can inform and guide simulated participants (SPs) such as simulated/standardized patients and confederates to step into role, or character, and authentically engage health care trainees. We will address concepts related to SP role portrayal, including role play and realism, and then present a model for creating characters based on aspects of Stanislavski's theory, including origins, an overview and selected features. Finally, applications to SP role portrayal in health care will be explored. A systematic and person-centred experiential training process for role portrayal that incorporates elements of Stanislavski's approach, such as proposed by Nestel, Fleishman, and Bearman (2015), can optimize the impact of SP engagement.