5 Reasons Every Actor Should Try The Meisner Technique
Sanford Meisner created the Meisner technique after his time at the Group Theatre (alumni includes: Elia Kazan, Stella Adler, Lee Strasberg, Francis Farmer, John Garfield and many others). In essence, Meisner's approach could be described as "the reality of doing", though there's so much more to it that deserves a future post of its own. Beyond the commonly known repetition exercise, the Meisner technique can teach you how to be truly vulnerable and open in your acting as well as your everyday life.
Based on my experience with the technique, here are a few reasons why:
1 - You will be more vulnerable in your personal life as a result
I found myself opening up to family and friends more often, being honest with who I am as a person and my emotions. And no longer ignoring feelings I had that made me uncomfortable. We're given a spectrum of feelings for a reason, bottling certain ones up or ignoring them is bad for us on many levels.
2 - You will feel genuinely connected to your scene partner(s) and likely more connected to other people
Instead of putting a character on top of who you are, you will feel genuinely connected to the other human being working with you. That's because you will be 100% connected, and everything will feel real because it is during the exercise. You will learn to fully connect with people in the scene and only behave honestly. And it all starts with a straightforward thing, eye contact.
3 - It will take you out of your comfort zone, and this is a good thing
By virtue of how it works, you'll go to uncomfortable places that you don't allow yourself to explore in everyday life. It can take some time to get used to, but once you accept it and fully immerse yourself in the moment, you will grow in ways you didn't know were possible. Trust me.
4 - You will act on instinct and emotion
The Meisner technique teaches you to think less and react more. Sanford Meisner believed that you should 'Act before you think – your instincts are more honest than your thoughts.'
5 - You will learn to improvise
One of the beautiful things about learning the technique is that because you're fully in the moment, you only ever respond to what is happening at the time. Given some practice, you'll eventually be comfortable improvising, as in many ways the work is entirely improvised. You may be given a scenario or asked to create one yourself, and then you'll enter the room and whatever happens, happens. As my teacher used to say “You'll be a feather in the wind, you the feather and your partner the wind.”
I studied at The Actors Temple in London, and would highly recommend Jo Romero or Simon Furness. Both of them are extraordinary teachers.