Sanford Meisnerand the Meisner Acting Technique

About The Man…..

• Born on August 31, 1905 in New York, NY• As a child Sanford (‘Sandy’) accidentally fed his younger brother

unpasteurized milk. His brother acquired bovine tuberculosis and died soon after:

“[My brother’s death is] the dominant emotional influence in my life from which I have never, after all these years, escaped." • Meisner was an accomplished pianist with an incredible ear for pitch. His

knack for sound influenced the emphasis he would put on an actor’s honest vocal delivery

• As a student at The Theatre Guild of Acting, Meisner met Lee Strasberg, who would later become the face of method acting. Although initially good friends, Meisner’s criticism of method acting caused their friendship to deteriorate.

• Meisner resisted the use of affective memory and instead combined the teachings of Konstantin Stanislavski (given circumstances), Stella Adler (imagination) and Strasberg (personal connection) to create his own Meisner technique

About the Man (Cont’d)…

Meisner was a big smoker. As many did, he constantly smoked while teaching class, and he eventually formed throat cancer. Sandy had to undergo surgery and have a piece of his throat removed. He was forced to learn how to speak all over again, employing a method of burping up air to form two or three words at a time.

After an experience such as this, most people would quit smoking…

About The Man (Cont’d)…

But Meisner did not.

He continued smoking and developed throat cancer a second time. He had to endure a

second surgery and, again, had to reteach himself how to speak.

After two experiences such as this, most people would quit smoking….

About The Man (Cont’d)….

But Meisner did not.

Sandy actually got throat cancer for a third time, had a third surgery, and had to relearn how to speak a third time.

It was during these periods in the hospital that Meisner did a lot of his theorizing about what it meant to be a good actor.

The Technique…

• Mesiner believed that actors had two main problems – they were self-conscious and unable to effectively listen

• The focus of the technique is to get the actor out of his head and focusing on external cues to inform his acting (as opposed to method acting which focuses on internal cues)

• The focus in on your fellow actor and not yourself

• Meisner’s most famous exercise is the repetition exercise which aims to teach the actor how to fully listen to her partner on stage

• Meisner insisted that those who fully grasped his concepts could erase stage fright and learn to be fully spontaneous and organic on stage

• The technique is rooted in improvisation and using the given circumstances to motivate acting decisions.

Some Actors Who Employ The Meisner Technique

Alec Baldwin Christoph Waltz David Duchovny

James Franco Jeff Bridges Jeff Goldblum

Michelle Pfeiffer Tina FeyStephen Colbert

Sandra Bullock Roger BartGregory Peck

Some of Meisner’s Most Famous Thoughts On Acting

“Acting is behaving truthfully under imaginary circumstances.”

“Act before you think – your instincts are more honest than your thoughts”

An ounce of behaviour is worth more than a pound of words”

“You can't learn to act unless you're criticized. If you tie that criticism to your childhood insecurities you'll have a terrible time. Instead, you must take criticism objectively, pertaining it only to the work being done.”

“Silence has a myriad of meanings. In the theater, silence is an absence of words, but never an absence of meaning.”

“Listen with your gut, not your head”

“Acting is not talking, it’s living off the other fellow!!!”

“You know it’s okay to be wrong, but it’s not okay not to try”

“You’re enough.”