Sanford Meisner - Theater's Best Kept Secret (Part 1 of 7)

Part 1 of 7. A documentary on the great acting teacher Sanford Meisner.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• sanford
• meisner
• technique
• acting
• method

[Thriller94]

this man is the yoda of the acting world.. it's really incredible insights, every acting student needs to be exposed to this at one point in their lives; even as a human being, looking at this method, it makes you realize the 'character' you walk around with every day..

'white colour elitist'..

'high school student'..

'actor'..

etc.

it's really quite fascinating..

[indymitcho]

Meisner wants them to get out of their heads.  He wants them to respond spontaneously. Meisner said "You're making readings in order to create variety. DON'T." He wants them not to think so much about what they're doing (such as approximating line readings) and instead, to do it as a response. When they don't actively listen/respond to one another, he says: "It's empty. It's inhuman. Right? But it has something in it. It has connection." Connect by listening! "It has no human quality, YET."

[slimblack47]

sandy, I love you and miss you. I was so lucky to have studied in Bequia and your master class in New York City @ The Neighborhood Playhouse...............i'll never forget to listen........................­.

love, Farah

John Ruskin, thank you for saving my life 90 feet down while diving...........that was a moment.................

[slimblack47]

sandy, I love you and miss you. I was so lucky to have studied in Bequia and your master class in New York City @ The Neighborhood Playhouse...............i'll never forget to listen........................­.

love, Farah

[Luvie1980]

Watch my monologue and please give me advice. I am welcome to all comments accept stupid ones.

[johnnydramaable]

@Luvie1980

hi. his voice? he had throat cancer, and much of vocal chords removed. needed battery powered device/amplifier to be heard. he was amazing.

[DADorACTOR]

Hey! Am I the next Patrick Swayze? Come watch my monologue to find out!

[joecash5bucks]

My current instructor here in Toronto is Meisner trained, he was in the same graduating class from the Playhouse as Diane Keaton

[rbacgroup]

I wrote a rap song about Sandy. It's called Look Like Meisner.

/watch?v=1cKhZ01LMqo

[LemonadeLaura]

@tenor529 - Me too :) Go Playhouse!

[LemonadeLaura]

@trueblue4321 - I envy you that.  I am lucky to have a few teachers that were in Mr. Meisner's class, but anything connected to his class is pure gold to me.

[Luvie1980]

What did happen to Sandy's voice?

[bdas15]

i like his insight, but it's hard to listen to his voice for too long

[spadge321]

by concentrating you ignorant cunt !!

[greenrate]

Oh, puh-lease.

This kind of purposeless personal adulation should make anyone with even a half-good opinion of Meisner . . . cringe on Meisner's behalf.

That aside . . . the one thing about Meisner's teaching that is in fact especially noteworthy is something that most of his students don't actually take the consequences of very seriously: his insistence that it takes 20 years to make an actor.

[steve6548867]

@skysnet Because what he has to say is pure gold. I'm currently 3 years into a Meisner program and I personally know how important the beginning acting classes are. What he's discussing in this video is the very root of the technique.

[trueblue4321]

Great great stuff. I knew a student that died recently and he gave me all his well written journals of his time in Meisner's class recently. I'm going through them now.

[trueblue4321]

Truly a fascinating man. I've really enjoyed watching all the clips

[skysnet]

how can you possibly sit through a lecture with his voice like this.

[sylicone221]

Hey I wanted to ask, this should be taught to kids, not for acting but for real life. Lets say they dont enjoy the outdoors, so what they can learn to do is pretend they are indoors, and that way they can look like they are enjoying something outside.....should this be done. I wish I learned this technique when I was a kid...what u all think?

[Chameleonardodavinci]

God I wish you could see him performing...

[tenor529]

I'm studying at Playhouse West right now. The stuff he thought up is brilliant. Make sure you check out James Franco on Inside the Actor's Studio on the 7th. He's gonna talk a lot about Playhouse West (where he studied) and Meisner technique.

[myepiphany86]

Brilliant.

"Shut up. You talk too much." haha!

[legatofancier]

@legatofancier - Stanislavski is teaching young opera singers to act. Everything is off the cuuf and it's wonderfully consistent! Reading those transcripts is a lot like being in class with Sandy. I told him about it and it seemed to please him. Absolutely remarkable man!

[legatofancier]

@dlmorrow11 - Having studied for years with Sandy, I really loved him and I'm grateful for what I learned from him. However, he was quick to say that he learned a lot from Stella Adler & Harold Clurman. Later in life he credited Lee Strasbeg with being a great influence, in spite of their differences. Read STANISLAVKI & THE ART OF THE STAGE, translated and introduced by David Magershack. It's a collection of transcripts of Stanislavski's sessions with the Bolshoi Opera Studio.