Post by LivvieBrundle on Apr 25, 2013 18:32:49 GMT -5
You'll hear Jeff praise this a lot. He is a self-proclaimed 'humble student' Who didn't just study with Meisner, he now teaches it himself- and he uses it in his own work.
* * *
Sanford Meisner said that actors are suppose to live truthfully under imaginary circumstances, and this is done by setting up the foundation of acting which is the reality of doing.
You aspiring actors reading this; say that to yourselves every day. The foundation of acting is the reality of doing.
You may be asking yourself what exactly does that mean? The reality of doing means to actually do something not "pretend" you’re doing it.
~If you are supposed to be listening; really listen not pretend to listen.
~If you are supposed to drink out of a cup; don't pretend to drink out of the cup, really drink out of it.
~If you are suppose to count how many lights are in the room; really count them.
A lot of actors spend so long being taught "How to act" and "How to become an actor" that they develop actions that are supposed to be 'what a good actor does'. How many times have you seen a play, and the actor who's more concerned about performing and entertaining the audience is using over exaggerated hand gestures and pre-rehearsed delivery of lines. This is because there is one simple fact that separates the good actors from the bad: truth.
* * *
Word Repetition Game
Those of you familiar with Meisner know very well the word repetition game. It is the bases of learning the Meisner technique, it was created to get actors out of their heads so they won't think but do. Meisner wanted to create the simplest task so that actors would not have to think and could focus on doing.
With word repetition you are to repeat accurately everything your partner says.
E.G.) ~sit down across from your partner
~they make an observation of you, and say it
~You repeat EXACTLY what they say word for word.
~next; do the same thing, but now; instead of saying it word for word, you say it from your point of
view. (Partner: "You have on a green shirt" YOU: "I have on a green shirt")
~Do this several times, going back and forth making observations with each other.
A student in an acting class wherein they had been playing this game for a couple of lessons; woke up one morning; feeling confident that they'd done a good job so far was ready to get to work again.
His partner was told to make an observation of him and said "You have big hair"- and without thinking the student asked “I have big hair?" (The class began to laugh, because he was clearly not happy.
The teacher stopped them, and asked the student how he felt.
"It made me a little angry."
"Well, tell him that!"
That's the third most important thing to learn from the repetition game; listening, point of view, and the pinch. (That feeling the student had about the comment was the pinch; the point in the repetition game where he could now say how he felt about the comment. "You have big hair" "I have big hair?" "You have big hair" "That's an asshole thing to say")
Waiting for the pinch is confusing because it happens at different times for people.
The most important thing is; no matter how long you do repetition, wait for the pinch. Most people don't wait and make a change themselves and by doing that they are not reacting truthfully. Do repetition for however long until the change naturally happens. This is a key rule in mastering the Meisner Technique.
The most beneficial thing is to NOT BE POLITE! Being polite will get you now where with the Meisner Technique because it is expressing how you really feel.
Always practice at least once especially in the beginning of your training. Make repetition second nature to you; get it so ingrained in you that you don't think you just do.
* * *
Meisner himself said:
~"Don't create change wait for a pinch. It's about your instinct."
~"Acting is doing & meaningful acting is doing under emotional and truthful circumstances."
~"Have a way of doing. Be specific."
~"Keep working all the time. Do all types of plays, whether they are right for you or not, because eventually time and you will catch up with each other."
"Acting is an emotional profession!"
* * *
The bottom line is this: Meisner is about breaking down all your bad habits you learned in your life, and stripping them away so that you can finally get truthful in your acting. The point of the Meisner technique is to act truthfully under imaginary circumstances.
What people fail to realize is that everyone is different so this process will affect people differently.
(If one student is understanding the technique and the second is not but the teacher is forcing them to move on to the next step this result in student #2 not acting truthfully. And because too many actors are ego drivin and will refuse to admit they don't fully "get it" Student #2 will never fully learn the Meisner Technique correctly.)
No one is the master of Meisner except himself- but; if you want to learn it how he intended ypu to, you have to be willing to comit to the process. Commitment is the first step and hard work is the next.
* * *
Sanford Meisner said that actors are suppose to live truthfully under imaginary circumstances, and this is done by setting up the foundation of acting which is the reality of doing.
You aspiring actors reading this; say that to yourselves every day. The foundation of acting is the reality of doing.
You may be asking yourself what exactly does that mean? The reality of doing means to actually do something not "pretend" you’re doing it.
~If you are supposed to be listening; really listen not pretend to listen.
~If you are supposed to drink out of a cup; don't pretend to drink out of the cup, really drink out of it.
~If you are suppose to count how many lights are in the room; really count them.
A lot of actors spend so long being taught "How to act" and "How to become an actor" that they develop actions that are supposed to be 'what a good actor does'. How many times have you seen a play, and the actor who's more concerned about performing and entertaining the audience is using over exaggerated hand gestures and pre-rehearsed delivery of lines. This is because there is one simple fact that separates the good actors from the bad: truth.
* * *
Word Repetition Game
Those of you familiar with Meisner know very well the word repetition game. It is the bases of learning the Meisner technique, it was created to get actors out of their heads so they won't think but do. Meisner wanted to create the simplest task so that actors would not have to think and could focus on doing.
With word repetition you are to repeat accurately everything your partner says.
E.G.) ~sit down across from your partner
~they make an observation of you, and say it
~You repeat EXACTLY what they say word for word.
~next; do the same thing, but now; instead of saying it word for word, you say it from your point of
view. (Partner: "You have on a green shirt" YOU: "I have on a green shirt")
~Do this several times, going back and forth making observations with each other.
A student in an acting class wherein they had been playing this game for a couple of lessons; woke up one morning; feeling confident that they'd done a good job so far was ready to get to work again.
His partner was told to make an observation of him and said "You have big hair"- and without thinking the student asked “I have big hair?" (The class began to laugh, because he was clearly not happy.
The teacher stopped them, and asked the student how he felt.
"It made me a little angry."
"Well, tell him that!"
That's the third most important thing to learn from the repetition game; listening, point of view, and the pinch. (That feeling the student had about the comment was the pinch; the point in the repetition game where he could now say how he felt about the comment. "You have big hair" "I have big hair?" "You have big hair" "That's an asshole thing to say")
Waiting for the pinch is confusing because it happens at different times for people.
The most important thing is; no matter how long you do repetition, wait for the pinch. Most people don't wait and make a change themselves and by doing that they are not reacting truthfully. Do repetition for however long until the change naturally happens. This is a key rule in mastering the Meisner Technique.
The most beneficial thing is to NOT BE POLITE! Being polite will get you now where with the Meisner Technique because it is expressing how you really feel.
Always practice at least once especially in the beginning of your training. Make repetition second nature to you; get it so ingrained in you that you don't think you just do.
* * *
Meisner himself said:
~"Don't create change wait for a pinch. It's about your instinct."
~"Acting is doing & meaningful acting is doing under emotional and truthful circumstances."
~"Have a way of doing. Be specific."
~"Keep working all the time. Do all types of plays, whether they are right for you or not, because eventually time and you will catch up with each other."
"Acting is an emotional profession!"
* * *
The bottom line is this: Meisner is about breaking down all your bad habits you learned in your life, and stripping them away so that you can finally get truthful in your acting. The point of the Meisner technique is to act truthfully under imaginary circumstances.
What people fail to realize is that everyone is different so this process will affect people differently.
(If one student is understanding the technique and the second is not but the teacher is forcing them to move on to the next step this result in student #2 not acting truthfully. And because too many actors are ego drivin and will refuse to admit they don't fully "get it" Student #2 will never fully learn the Meisner Technique correctly.)
No one is the master of Meisner except himself- but; if you want to learn it how he intended ypu to, you have to be willing to comit to the process. Commitment is the first step and hard work is the next.
Very informative, and I'm not even an actress! 