The work of master acting coach Sanford Meisner is what's used in Meisner acting classes, and are comprised of a series of exercises, designed to build increasingly sophisticated acting tools as you progress. A student that experiences Meisner acting classes will soon discover that they will never be done learning the craft of acting. Phrases such as improvisation, personal response, emotional memory, emotional preparation will take on new meaning for the student as they work through these exercises from simple repetitive phrase exercises to scene studies with complex texts.
At first, a student of Meisner acting classes often thinks that the exercises are simplistic and perhaps a little silly, since the initial exercises use no text, there are no lines, no story. This is so the student will tune into the subtle changes in the meaning of simple repetitive phrases as they are said back and forth between them and an acting partner, which changes the meaning of the phrase and helps them recognize the emotional shifts. Over time, if they remain open to the process, students in Meisner acting classes learn to rely on the emotional cues they get from other players in a scene or exercise and use them to create and live in a new reality they are creating in the moment.
Known for asking the same pointed questions again and again as students worked, Meisner's goal was to make the student aware that they needed to be fully committed to their emotional responses and have a purpose for actions that would propel the story forward. Even activities with no movement, such as resting, sleeping, or sitting still are still considered "actions" and according to the Meisner technique must have a purpose and must propel the story forward. Meisner was considered by many to be a tough, yet brilliant coach, who was known for coining the phrase "acting is doing." His other well known saying "an ounce of behavior is worth a pound of words," is a good way to sum up his theory about acting. The only way dialogue will work is if it is spoken by an actor who is living truthfully in the moment, with authentic emotions and behaviors.
It is about creating a new reality, every moment, even if the actor is simply working on a simple exercise. Many acting classes nyc will train the actor to use sound, feeling, emotion, physical space, and the sounds, emotions and physical expression of the other players to create an edgy exciting performance full of spontaneity. Learning this skill is the best way to change bad acting habits, especially the all pervasive myth that acting is "pretending." Getting out of your own way is the number one goal of Meisner acting classes. The aim is to eliminate self awareness while acting, and always be present in the moment, as the character, and use that energy to create the new reality of the story. If this sounds difficult, then this training might be for you. If you are still convinced that acting is merely delivering lines as given, pretending to be a character than perhaps this kind of training is for you. The Meisner acting technique will force you to work far more deeply than that. First, you become a different person, aware of your habits and pre-programmed emotional responses, and then you learn to do it all over again as a character. Instead you become someone new,someone real, that changes as the work progresses in unrehearsed ways.
Using an entire set of imagined circumstances of a character's memories, needs, obsessions, mistakes, etc. the character can just emerge and change as the story progresses, which is how Meisner works. This involves behavioral theories, including the elements of adaptation and communication which were aspects of the discipline known as Method acting. Putting his own stamp on method acting principles, Sanford Meisner developed a whole new training technique which has produced some of the most legendary actors of all time.
This system was built upon two all importune principles, that an actor must "live truthfully" while acting and to accomplish this they must focus on the other actors, not themselves. This will move the story forward, every moment and every actor will live truthfully and achieve complete self forgetfulness, which is the key to great acting. The performance will have an edge, a sense of reality that is hard to create unless spontaneity is constantly at work. After all, that's the way it is in life. This is, in fact, how we live; having no idea what may happen at any moment, how others might react, what they will say, what we will say in return. Gaining the ability to create this kind of spontaneity onstage with other actors, the lines and story emerging brand new every second, is the most rewarding things you will learn in Meisner acting.
At first, a student of Meisner acting classes often thinks that the exercises are simplistic and perhaps a little silly, since the initial exercises use no text, there are no lines, no story. This is so the student will tune into the subtle changes in the meaning of simple repetitive phrases as they are said back and forth between them and an acting partner, which changes the meaning of the phrase and helps them recognize the emotional shifts. Over time, if they remain open to the process, students in Meisner acting classes learn to rely on the emotional cues they get from other players in a scene or exercise and use them to create and live in a new reality they are creating in the moment.
Known for asking the same pointed questions again and again as students worked, Meisner's goal was to make the student aware that they needed to be fully committed to their emotional responses and have a purpose for actions that would propel the story forward. Even activities with no movement, such as resting, sleeping, or sitting still are still considered "actions" and according to the Meisner technique must have a purpose and must propel the story forward. Meisner was considered by many to be a tough, yet brilliant coach, who was known for coining the phrase "acting is doing." His other well known saying "an ounce of behavior is worth a pound of words," is a good way to sum up his theory about acting. The only way dialogue will work is if it is spoken by an actor who is living truthfully in the moment, with authentic emotions and behaviors.
It is about creating a new reality, every moment, even if the actor is simply working on a simple exercise. Many acting classes nyc will train the actor to use sound, feeling, emotion, physical space, and the sounds, emotions and physical expression of the other players to create an edgy exciting performance full of spontaneity. Learning this skill is the best way to change bad acting habits, especially the all pervasive myth that acting is "pretending." Getting out of your own way is the number one goal of Meisner acting classes. The aim is to eliminate self awareness while acting, and always be present in the moment, as the character, and use that energy to create the new reality of the story. If this sounds difficult, then this training might be for you. If you are still convinced that acting is merely delivering lines as given, pretending to be a character than perhaps this kind of training is for you. The Meisner acting technique will force you to work far more deeply than that. First, you become a different person, aware of your habits and pre-programmed emotional responses, and then you learn to do it all over again as a character. Instead you become someone new,someone real, that changes as the work progresses in unrehearsed ways.
Using an entire set of imagined circumstances of a character's memories, needs, obsessions, mistakes, etc. the character can just emerge and change as the story progresses, which is how Meisner works. This involves behavioral theories, including the elements of adaptation and communication which were aspects of the discipline known as Method acting. Putting his own stamp on method acting principles, Sanford Meisner developed a whole new training technique which has produced some of the most legendary actors of all time.
This system was built upon two all importune principles, that an actor must "live truthfully" while acting and to accomplish this they must focus on the other actors, not themselves. This will move the story forward, every moment and every actor will live truthfully and achieve complete self forgetfulness, which is the key to great acting. The performance will have an edge, a sense of reality that is hard to create unless spontaneity is constantly at work. After all, that's the way it is in life. This is, in fact, how we live; having no idea what may happen at any moment, how others might react, what they will say, what we will say in return. Gaining the ability to create this kind of spontaneity onstage with other actors, the lines and story emerging brand new every second, is the most rewarding things you will learn in Meisner acting.
About the Author:
The Maggie Flanigan Studio provides acting classes in NYC for serious actors. Find out more about meisner technique at the studio website or read this article about emotional preparation.
No comments:
Post a Comment