Sanford Meisner: A Study in Living
Acting Becomes You; the Drama of Life
In the Meisner method of acting you must delve into your most private self to discover hidden emotional treasures; then rend your self and expose them for all to see.
The diacritical mark of the Meisner method of acting is that it teaches you not to act. Each time you walk the boards, you, as an individual, no longer exist. Studying Meisner's methods in a class is a grueling experience; it is not unusual to lose nearly half of the class during the first sessions. It is a grinding down of all artifice, an exposition of your most closely held fears and emotions: in short, it is not for the faint of heart.
IN THE MOMENT
The most important aspect of a trained Meisner actor is the ability to "stay in the moment"; this means that the actions of one actor is dependent upon focusing on and reacting to the emotions and actions of the other. One must also be able to tap into the truth of one's emotional response and express it honestly. A main theme is "committing to the action", an impulse or emotion must be fully acted upon. There is no drawing back, or thinking about how to portray a character. You simply are; you do; you interact.
The training involves a series of steps that build upon each other. Each one is essential to the other. The first classes may seem confusing, even nonsensical, to a beginner. You start with a practice called repetition. Two actors stand and face each other, look each other in the eye and repeat observations about each other. An interchange may go something like this, "Your hair is messy." "My hair is messy?" "Your hair is messy!" "My hair is messy?" Each actor feeds off of the emotions of the other, which may end in an explosion of laughter, tears or rage. One of the most important rules in these exchanges is that there is absolutely no touching.
After the actors are able to let go of self-consciousness and be entirely 'in the moment', another element is added. Two actors are given circumstances or relationships; they begin with the repetition, but when emotional intuition calls for change, they are free to do so. The repetition may continue intermittently, changing only when one actor feels compelled by a change in the other's emotional or physical state.
The third level is almost completely improvisational. One actor chooses a relationship with the other and devises a difficult circumstance which they are involved in, or are about to become involved in. The other actor enters the scene without knowing the situation. They interact as one tries to impart his reality, while they other intuitively reacts; attuned to the emotions, inflections and subtle physical cues. The improvised drama usually turns out to be something completely other than what was planned, but this is inconsequential; the stress is on "moment to moment spontaneity".
PURPOSE
Later, when an actor is memorizing lines, they are rehearsed in a straight and uninflected manner; it is of extreme importance to know the script inside and out, but the actual performance must be pure Meisner. Every action, every movement, even the silences must have a purpose. Nothing should be done or said without a reason, stemming from natural impulses coupled with reading the other character's 'truth'. When two actors are able to do this simultaneously - spontaneously - the effect can be electrifying. It is real, it is true, it is living in the moment with a purpose.
PERSONALIZATION
One requirement to actually attain this transformation of self into another self is to personalize your character. You must sculpt a human being with a personality, history, family, likes and dislikes; you must physically write it down and make this life your own. You shed your self and walk out on the stage emotionally naked and new. Performances may vary from night to night, but they will be authentic and the audience can sense this, even if they do not understand how it is accomplished.
Performance using the Meisner method of acting must necessarily be a wedding of truth in action and the ability to focus on another's internal purpose. A true Meisner actor exchanges his personal self for the authenticity of the role being enacted, or preferably, lived. When all is said and done, you have also gained a more thorough understanding of yourself and the intrinsic motivation for your actions and reactions in daily life. Not only have you learned an invaluable skill, but you have gained an insight that deepens perception of your identity when interacting with others.
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