THE SANFORD MEISNER TECHNIQUE
The picture of the feather represents the ease at which the actor’s words can float on the wind of their emotions. With the constant changing direction of the wind brings the unpredictable direction of the feather’s direction.
What is Acting?
Sanford Meisner said “Acting is the ability to live truthfully under imaginary circumstances. There are two key phrases in the acting definition: one is Living Truthfully and the other is Imaginary Circumstances.”
When you carry out an action on stage, are you really doing it or are you pretending to? Are you living truthfully under the imaginary circumstances of the story or are you performing? Meisner emphasised the need to “really do” something instead of just pretending to. Ask yourself something as you read these words: are you really reading the information or are you just pretending to?
What differentiates the Meisner Technique to most other acting methods is that it is strictly sequential in its format; you cannot move on to the next module until you have become proficient in the current one. The process begins with Really Doing and Repetition and then progresses on to Doors and Activities, Monologues, Scene Work, Character and finally Text Analysis. The duration of module study will depend on your proficiency and confidence; I will guide you through each module of the technique until you feel ready to move on to the next.
Live in the moment
Learn to live in the moment and dispel any idea of a set result. Learn to start acting on feeling and not thought. Learn to respond truthfully in the moment and not pretend.
I was certified as a Designated Meisner Teacher by Scott Trost of the Meisner Institute, the only body endorsed by Jimmy Carville, the executor of Meisner’s estate to certify teachers.
Scott is a 2nd generation Meisner teacher who was trained for ten years by Robert Carnegie, who was himself tutored under Sanford for the last eight years before his death in 1997. During that time, Robert invited Scott to begin teaching at his school in North Hollywood called the Playhouse West*, where he taught for twenty years before taking his current position as executive director of the Meisner Institute.
Why Me?
I believe in delivering the entire Meisner Technique, not just the early exercises of really doing and repetition. You will begin at the very beginning of technique and will systematically move from one module to the next when you have become proficient in the one that you are working on. I am a firm believer of craft. Craft helps the actor build multi-layered, complex and compelling characters through the systematic exploration of the spirt by means of the Meisner Technique.
I am resident Meisner teacher at the Italia Conti School of Theatre Arts, the London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art (LAMDA), and visiting Meisner teacher at Drama Studio London.
“If you want to reach every person in the audience, it’s not about being bigger, it’s about going deeper.”
– Sanford Meisner
*Meisner spent the last decade of his teaching career at the Playhouse West, where he continued to refine his method by adding new exercises and enhancing original ones. The Playhouse West is the only heir to the improvements and additions, which make up the final version of the Sanford Meisner Technique.
