Sanford Meisner

Overview

Sanford Meisner, born in 1905,⁴ was a prominent actor and teacher who created The Meisner Technique,
an acting approach which emphasizes "the reality of doing" ² and "living truthfully under given imaginary circumstances." ¹

Youth

Meisner, son of a Furrier father⁷ and sibling to one younger sister and two younber brothers, wanted to be an actor.³
He became that (and more, many would say) and joined the Group Theatre, a cooperative theatre ensemble, in 1931.⁵

Career, Cont'd

As the Great Depression raged on, The Group tackled tough political questions onstage.⁴
Meisner left the Group Theatre over a disagreement regarding one of Stanislavski's original concepts, emotional recall.
He "sought to create an acting technique that was distinctly American"⁴ and went on to develop his namesake technique.

The Meisner Technique

VERY simply put, The Meisner Technique is built on three major components or tenets:⁸

• Emotional Preparation, which involves thoroughly connecting to the situation from an emotional perspective,
• Repetition Exercise, which is repetition of lines while also performing a repetitive motion to enhance line memory, and
• Improvisation, allowing you to act before thinking.⁸