Adding the Missing Ingredient: Meisner's Approach to Acting

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Written by Edward Nelson

I was fortunate enough to do a practical three year course in acting at a university with only twelve other students. Together, we explored Shakespeare, Uta Hagen and the enigmatic work of Yat Malmgrem. Alongside these varied acting classes, we worked on the common staples of performing: voice, movement and dance – none of which were my forte: A backhanded compliment from my singing teacher summed up my experience nicely, “You may be one of the best actors in class but you've got to be one of the worst singers.”

So I left drama school having experienced many challenges, playing some fantastic roles and most importantly, acquiring a good agent. But still, I had no idea what on earth I was doing! What was I doing, if my singing teacher was to be believed, that made me any good? How do I do that special thing called “acting”?

I then spent the next few years bumming around the world getting life experience that would “make me a better actor.” After a lengthy sojourn, I arrived in England to take stock. I met up with an old acting friend who introduced me to the work of Sanford Meisner which totally blew me away. Here was someone describing both a simple and practical way to develop the quality of acting that had remained so elusive for me at university. A subsequent trip to New York gave me a direct encounter with the technique and I came back to London to commit myself to learning as much as I could about his approach.

The thing that stuck me about the Meisner technique was how readily it applied to acting. Up until then, my acting consisted of exercising my imagination and marrying this with good voice and movement technique. While this was no bad thing, it was far from complete. If I did this well, it was as much down to natural talent as it was to any clear system. Meisner's approach changed all that by offering a tangible way to develop myself as an actor. From the introduction and throughout many of the exercises, the approach was instantly applicable. Not only that, it was great fun too.

What I found so useful about this way of working was, as Meisner says, that: “the foundation of acting is the reality of doing.” For me, that was a god-send. Up to this point, the trap of imagining and “feeling” tended to have me swimming around concepts that didn't translate to workable acting choices. By constructing some simple exercises that focused on “doing”, Meisner's approach helped me discover ways to get out of my head and really start acting.

I have since been able to develop both as an actor and a teacher who can find tools that can be used anywhere from auditions through to developing character choices in rehearsal. A grounding in the technique also gave me ways to lift performances out of the ordinary into something constantly exciting to play. As Meisner himself said, “It's a play – play, play, play.”

If you are interested in learning more about Meisner's approach to acting, Edward Nelson will be running an intensive introduction in Melbourne this summer. For more information, contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or phone 0403 897 326

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