Meisner Method

[son_of_a_gunn_25]

Posted: 2/16/06 at 11:29am

Has anyone else studied this method of acting? One of my professors is a huge proponent of it and we are studying it right now. I like it, but it is hard for me to just let go and get down to the basics.

[Pippin]

Posted: 2/16/06 at 11:51am

it is a very challenging method to do correctly. I have taken three years of it, and it wasn't until I was out of college and was able to think about it without doing it that I was able to understand what it is really trying to do. the trouble with being taught in colleges is, IMO, that college age kids are not old and mature enough, with a lack of life experience to fully grasp how to use it. Meisner himself said that you do not become proficient in it for twenty years. that being said, I really like the method. It is safer than other methods becuase it is completely imaginary, and you don't have to suffer all of the time through painful memories and heartaches. you live the imaginary circumstances, and when the curtain drops, you are done, and can go out and party. I am also one who says that "all roads lead to Rome" meaning that I am not a 100% meisner person, where some people (my teacher included) are. some people say you need to eat, breathe, smell, and sleep with it to get it. I say, use what you need to use to live out the imaginary circumstances in a realistic way.

I hope that sheds a little light on the subject. PM me if you want further discussion.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 2/16/06 at 12:41pm

I never got Repetition. I may not have studied it long enough, but I felt like everytime I did it, I was becoming a zombie.

[Pippin]

Posted: 2/16/06 at 12:45pm

It is really, really hard to get repition. it's like your brain has to be 150% alert. it is very taxing, and was very hard for me at 9 in the morning for 3 hours.

the key, just with every other method, is not to think, and just do. I think especially in Meisner, though, once you go into your head, it's all over.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 2/16/06 at 2:54pm

The purpose of repetition is to focus on your objective and you will notice the subtle changes in the way you say something as the situation itself changes. When you or your partner change the line, then often there is a shift in the tension or power struggle at hand while the objective may stay the same. It is an interesting method in exploring focus, tension and expression, but it should be merely a single color in an actor's palette of training. If it becomes monotonous or if you "become a zombie", then either you are probably not working at completing your objective in the exercise. If there is no objective, then the exercise is meaningless. I do like this method when done properly, but I also add some Stanislavsky and Alexander into my own work. I don't believe any one methos is solely correct or better than any other method. Each actor must find the combination of styles and methods that work for them.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 2/16/06 at 4:17pm

I may be repeating what Mister Matt has said but here is my take:

Repetition is an exercise that lets you learn how to pick up things from the other actor (body language, voice, etc.) so that you know how far you are from your goal. (Though in early repetition, you don't have a goal, you just focus on physical things you notice as they happen). You want to get to the point where you don't have to think about it, you just pick up signals and act accordingly.

The idea is that an actor can not walk onto the stage assuming how the scene will go. To oversimplify: let's say your scene is you coming home to confront your lover over something you found out they did. You might think that your character is gonna walk in that door and start screaming at them. Well, what if they are sitting on the bed crying? What if something about them doesn't invite your need to yell at them? You can only do based on what the circumstances are. It's hard to explain in a post, but the idea is that you can not presuppose an emotional state in yourself or the other actors. What is happening here and now?

It does take time to "get good at". It is hard at first--can be very frustrating as you try to get outside of your head--it's easy to try to think of things to repeat as opposed to repeating what is happening at that moment.

And, most teachers do not know how to teach it. I did repetition in grad school, and I couldn't tell you what it was for until I recently studied at the Atlantic Theater Acting School. It just seemed like another hokey theatre exercise.