Sanford Meisner and the Meisner Technique - Essay Example

Sanford “Sandy” Meisner and the Meisner Technique Introduction Sanford Meisner quotes: Actors have the opportunity to literally impact the lives of people if they work on material that has integrity. But today, most actors simply want to be famous. Well, being an actor was never supposed to be about fame and money. Being an actor is a religious calling ... because you’ve been given the ability, the gift to inspire humanity. Think about that on the way to your soap opera audition (as cited in Jarret, 2009). Although millions of actors and aspiring actors flood the industry of film and theatre all over the world, there are only few compared to this number who could be considered as masters of their craft, those who portray their roles not as mere characters from scripts, but as alter ego of themselves. They make it seems so real, that the audience temporarily forgets their names but rather refers to them as the persons they impersonate. This paper acknowledges the contribution of one of American theatre’s best mentors in history, for without him (Meisner), we could have been left a dull industry set before us today. Brief Bibliography of Sanford Meisner Sanford Meisner, born on August 31, 1905, was raised in Brooklyn, New York where he graduated in Erasmus Hall in 1923. He then proceeded to study in The Damrash Institute of Music, now known as Julliard, to become a concert pianist. When he took a job in a production of Sidney Howard’s They Knew What They Wanted at the Theatre Guild, his passion for acting which was hidden in him during his younger years resurfaced (The Sanford Meisner Center, 2008). A group of young actors, including Meisner, established the Group Theatre in 1931. Conflicts arose among them, which led Meisner to focus on “his own approach of acting.” After years of influence, the Group Theatre died in 1940. Meisner then worked as head of the acting program of The Neighborhood Playhouse, which gave him the opportunity to develop his own technique. He left The Neighborhood Playhouse in 1958 as he took position as director of the New Talent Division of Twentieth Century Fox. He went back to The Playhouse and was again head of the Drama Department from 1964-1990. Together with James Carville, they founded The Meisner/Carville School of Acting on the Island of Bequia in 1985. In 1987, Sanford Meisner on Acting, which he wrote together with Dennis Longwell, was published by Vintage Books, which Baldridge argues is not a “how-to book” rather “basically a description of what happened in the series of classes” in two years (as cited in Vilga, 1997, p. 21). An extension of the school was then made with Martin Barter in North Hollywood, California. With Carville and Barter, Meisner established The Sanford Meisner Center for the Arts in March 1995, which was later on combined with the school to form the Sanford Meisner Center (The Sanford Meisner Center, 2008). Several awards were received by Meisner, including “Humanitarian of the Year 1990” by The Washington Charity Awards (The Sanford Meisner Center, 2008). In an E.R. special episode in 1995, Meisner guested the series as his last appearance as an actor. With this, famous director Steven Spielberg comments that, “It is a pleasure to see that after so many years of teaching acting, the teacher finally gets to show the students that he’s the best” (as cited in Flint, 1997). Sanford Meisner died on February 2, 1997, at age 91. The Meisner Technique In spite of the many acting techniques developed over the years, Sanford Meisner emphasized on the connection between actors, and between the actors and the audience (Barton, 2009, p. 163). He came up with exercises that allowed the actors’ emotions to “come into play with spontaneously” (as cited in Krasner, 2000, p. 100). He also points to acting as “the ability to live truthfully under imaginary circumstances” (as cited in Stinespring, 1999, p. 23). Stinespring (1999) presents that the Meisner technique is guided by four acting principles which are: (1) the honesty of the actor’s behavior as defined by concentration on what he is doing and his reaction to his partner and the environment; (2) making the imaginary events as his own; (3) one’s doings and reactions become outcomes of the text; and (4) the emphasis of performing in front of the audience, not for them (p. 68). In his book Sanford on Acting, Meisner asserts that the “reality of doing” is the foundation of mastering the craft. Doing something as oneself is different from doing that thing as a character. He encourages doing based on instinct or impulse, rather than on thinking. As the actor is doing based on instinct as himself compared to doing through intending what the character might do, he achieves a truthful acting. Another known strategy in his technique is the “repetition exercises,” designed to sharpen listening and observation skills, do it intently, and react truthfully to it (Ferra-Gilmore, 2006, pp. 28-29). Here, the students are asked to observe their partners and verbalize these, and this must be done as themselves, and not as characters. There is the focus on real physical attributes, rather than in the illusion of seeing something that is not there. As one student says aloud what he notices with his partner, and the partner repeating what he said, and vice-versa for several times, each one must carefully listen to what one says, and not return to the original context (Stinespring, 1999, p. 91). By practicing this, there is a “slight difference in connection each time” and there is an attained “genuine point of trust” (Barton, 2009, pp. 161-162). Meisner also teaches that there is a need for one to be affected by their partner’s emotional impulses. As the exchange of “emotional impulses” transpires between the actors, they depend “on each other’s ability to discern these emotional impulses while they engage in their doings and reactions” (Stinespring, 1999, p. 101). This way of thinking supports Meisner’s initial assertion that acting should be based on instinct, rather than on intentions. As their full attention is on their partners, there will be modifications on what and how things were said during the repetition, basing solely on the impulses one throws on the other. Meisner adds that “the pinch and ouch” is also “organic to the technique” (as cited in Stinespring, 1999, p. 109). The idea is one responds to an external stimulus instinctively, again achieving a truthful response. Furthermore, Meisner teaches techniques for emotional preparation, imaginary relationship, scene work and textual analysis, which are still based on the fundamentals of the technique. As the actor prepares emotionally, he uses higher demanded imagination until “it becomes real to him” (Stinespring, 1999, p. 145), to generate an emotional reaction. Actors must also posses the ability to distinguish their relationship to each other to produce better scene work as demanded by the playwright. The scene work is now an avenue to incorporate everything that they have previously learned and present it in front of a crowd. Textual analysis is also expected from the actor, wherein he digests the script written by the playwright, in order to make it his own, thereby producing a craft of truthful acting. Current Trends There have been heated arguments on who established the “best” acting technique in the history of theatre, American theatre especially, and until now there seems to be one single answer. Also most often, acting schools incorporate one technique over the other in the belief of achieving the “best acting quality” for their students. Even if there are several other acting techniques presented such as Strasberg’s emphasis on emotion memory, Adler’s process of analysis and characterization (Barton, 2009, p. 163), et cetera, Pollack writes that Meisner’s approach is “the simplest, most direct, least pretentious and most effective” (as cited in Meisner & Longwell, 1987, p. xiv). Because of its popularity through the success of his protégés, many acting schools in New York teach the Meisner technique (Wilmeth & Bigsby, 2000, p. 499); and Baltridge attests that many who claim to be taught by Sanford Meisner himself also teach the said approach (as cited in Vilga, 1997, p. 21). Conclusion Sanford Meisner, the legend behind the well-renowned Meisner technique, lived as an acting teacher most of his life. With his famous statement that it “takes twenty years to be a master,” the success of his previous students prove the efficacy of the technique despite numerous critics, and his demise in 1997 did not end the contribution he has made in American theatre. The instinctual reaction of the actor to the emotional impulses of his partner, and vice-versa, creates a truthful acting. The challenge the actor undergoes to behave in the manner that he would in real life comprise the essence of this technique. However, there is a need for thorough and extensive practice to stay “out of the mind,” such as the reason why Meisner came up with the series of exercises for his students. In today’s acting schools throughout America, the Meisner technique is continuously accepted and practiced, especially to denote a high standard of education in the art of acting. As Elia Kazan says, “Take it from a director: If you get an actor that Sandy Meisner has trained, you’ve been blessed” (as cited in “Sanford Meisner,” 2001). References Barton, R. (2009). Acting: Onstage and off (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Ferra-Gilmore, C. (2006). The 7 steps to stardom: How to become a working actor in movies, tv, and commercials. New York, N.Y.: Applause Theatre & Cinema Books. Flint, P. B. (February 4, 1997). Sanford Meisner, a mentor who guided actors and directors toward truth, dies at 91. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/1997/02/04/theater/sanford-meisner-a-mentor-who-guided-actors-and-directors-toward-truth-dies-at-91.html?scp=8&sq=sanford%20meisner&st=cse&pagewanted=1 Jarrret, J. (2009). The Meisner technique school of acting [Interview transcript]. Retrieved from http://www.jarrettproductions.com/q&a.html Krasner, D. (2000). Method acting reconsidred. New York, N.Y.: St. Martin’s Press. Meisner, S., & Longwell, D. (1987). Introduction. In S. Pollack (Ed.), Sanford Meisner on Acting (pp. xiii-xvi). New York, N.Y.: Vintage Books. Sanford Meisner: About Sanford Meisner. (2001). Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/sanford-meisner/about-sanford-meisner/660/ Stinespring, L. M. (1999). Principles of truthful acting: A theoretical discourse on Sanford Meisner’s practice (Doctoral dissertation, Texas Tech University, 1999). The Sanford Meisner Center. (2008). Our history: ‘It takes twenty years to be a master!’ Retreived from http://www.themeisnercenter.com/history.html Vilga, E. (1997). Acting now: Conversations on craft and career. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press. Wilmeth, D. B., & Bigsby, C. (Eds.). (2000). The Cambridge history of American theatre (Vol. 3). Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press. Read More