Course Syllabus

Bad acting is when you watch the film and say, "hmmm. I can tell they are trying to act." This training asks actors to live truthfully in the moment to get at the genuine moment - YOU.

The goal of the Meisner technique has often been described by founder, Sanford Meisner as "living truthfully under the given imaginary circumstances."   Over his several decades teaching at the Neighborhood Playhouse, "Sandy" asked actors to observe their environment and how it affected them. The complete acting program has six phases of development, building on human response to circumstances and relationships over time and cultivating genuine connection, emotional expression and believable live experiences.

Six Semesters of Meisner Technique:

Semester 1-  Repetition,"Independent Activities"

Semester 2 - Emotional Preparation, "Coloring Your View"

Semester 3 - Character Work, "As-Ifs,"

Semester 4 - Relationships & Intentions;  "Coming Home to Be Alone"

Semester 5- Script analysis; "Well Well"

Semester 6 - Monologues   

Training:    Meisner created a training tool to learn your own emotional world without judgment. It is the "repetition exercise" that undergirds all levels of the technique. Simply repeating back and forth an observation made by you or your partner allows the intuition to respond.  Statements made in repetition are based on what you notice about the moment (ex: "you are staring at me" "I am staring at you" etc.). Repeating between to people is a form of reflecting, allowing you to become aware of what is going on without having to respond except by being "pinched."  The "pinch" is the intuitive hit that reveals your truth in this present moment.  Your own "point of view" emerges when you simply put words to the pinch (ex: "I like you" "you like me" "I like you" etc.). Repetition allows the actor to bypass superficial thought and judgment to access the true emotional response, creating a blank slate free from pre-conceived notions or artificial responses.

Meisner Quotes:    'An Ounce of BEHAVIOR is Worth a Pound of WORDS’    ‘The foundation of acting is the reality of doing’     ‘You know it’s all right to be wrong, but it’s not all right not to try.’    ‘Nothing IS something’ and ‘There’s no such thing as nothing.’    ‘Every little moment has a meaning all its own.’   

A few notable Meisner students:     Sandra Bullock, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Steve McQueen, Mary Steenbergen, Robert Duvall, Gregory Peck, Diane Keaton, Jon Voight, Grace Kelly, Sydney Pollack