" The technique that works."
   
   

Sanford Meisner, along with Lee Strasberg and Stella Adler, formed the Group Theatre in 1931, which at the time followed the theories of Stanislavsky.

Meisner disagreed with Strasberg's theory on emotional memory, for it limited the actor's imagination.   Meisner's philosophy is based on the creation of real and truthful behaviour under imaginary circumstances.

Meisner realised that two actors could be in a scene, having created great characters, be playing proper actions, and being emotionally truthful, and still fail the scene.  What brought life and energy to a scene was the interaction between the characters.

  

Visually we may enjoy a great solid performance, but people respond to and are affected much more by give-and-take of two, three or more characters fully engaged with one another. This was the stuff that great acting was made of, and this was what most fully illuminated the fathomless complexity of the human soul, the dynamics between people, the body language, the tone of voice, the quality of the exchange between one human and another.

All the exercises used in the Meisner technique are designed to strengthen the guiding principle - that art expresses human experience.

The "repetition" exercise is the foundation of the technique, which fine tunes your listening and observation skills, enabling a far greater connection with the other actor.   Its purpose is to liberate each actor from their self-consciousness and allow them the freedom to expand their emotional range.

Here at The Actors Pulse, we cover the Meisner technique, giving the actor depth and credibility, while still covering the need for today's fast-paced audition requirements.