Meisner In Practice

The essential practical guide to the Meisner Technique, written by an expert in the field.

Sanford Meisner was one of the best known and beloved teachers of acting in the country. This book follows one of his acting classes for fifteen months, beginning with the most rudimentary exercises and ending with affecting and polished scenes from contemporary American plays. Written in collaboration with Dennis Longwell, it is essential reading for beginning and professional actors alike. Throughout these pages Meisner is a delight—always empathizing with his students and urging them onward, provoking emotion, laughter, and growing technical mastery from his charges. With an introduction by Sydney Pollack, director of Out of Africa and Tootsie, who worked with Meisner for five years. "This book should be read by anyone who wants to act or even appreciate what acting involves. Like Meisner's way of teaching, it is the straight goods."—Arthur Miller "If there is a key to good acting, this one is it, above all others. Actors, young and not so young, will find inspiration and excitement in this book."—Gregory Peck

William Esper, one of the leading acting teachers of our time, explains and extends Sanford Meisner's legendary technique, offering a clear, concrete, step-by-step approach to becoming a truly creative actor.Esper worked closely with Meisner for seventeen years and has spent decades developing his famous program for actor's training. The result is a rigorous system of exercises that builds a solid foundation of acting skills from the ground up, and that is flexible enough to be applied to any challenge an actor faces, from soap operas to Shakespeare. Co-writer Damon DiMarco, a former student of Esper's, spent over a year observing his mentor teaching first-year acting students. In this book he recreates that experience for us, allowing us to see how the progression of exercises works in practice. The Actor's Art and Craft vividly demonstrates that good training does not constrain actors' instincts—it frees them to create characters with truthful and compelling inner lives.

Applied Meisner for the 21st-Century Actor develops Meisner’s core principles for the contemporary actor and presents a Meisner-based acting technique that empowers practitioners to take ownership of their own creative process. In this book, the authors present the best, most applicable foundational components of Meisner’s technique in a clear, pragmatic, and ethical manner, and advance Meisner's core principles with their own innovations. Drawing on the best practices of consent-based work, they outline a specific approach to creating clear boundaries for the actor and establishing an ethical acting studio. Filled with practical exercises, useful definitions and explanations of foundational principles, and helpful advice on how to recognize and overcome common acting traps and pitfalls, this book provides a replicable and flexible technique that puts the actor at the center of their training. Applied Meisner for the 21st-Century Actor offers actors and students of acting courses a workable technique that will foster growth and discovery throughout their career. The text also includes links to the companion website www.21CActor.com, where readers can engage with the material covered in the book and with Otos’ and Shively’s most up-to-date research, supplemental materials, and training opportunities.

The indispensable companion to a vital component in every actor's toolkit.

Product DescriptionShortly before his death, Sanford Meisner arranged for Larry Silverberg to create a written legacy of his teaching techniques. This book is the second of four books in the Sanford Meisner series. In this extraordinary new book, Silverberg demystifies the emotional demands of acting and leads the actor through a process aimed at tapping into and deepening his own emotional instrument. Not only will actors gain insight into the whole realm of the emotions, they will see very clearly the traps most actors fall into when it comes to "being emotional" on stage. A healthier and more effective way of working will be taught -- a way of working which brings the actor powerful and unique creativity to every part. About the AuthorLarry Silverberg is founder and Artistic Director of the Belltown Theatre Center in Seattle, WA. He is also on staff at the University of Washington where he teaches Master Classes in the Meisner Work, while continuing his own acting career. Larry is a past winner of the Warner Bros. Filmmaker of the Year Award for his film, Flight in Masquerade, and has also been busy directing for the stage. Larry is a graduate of the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theater in New York City where he studied with master acting teacher, Sanford Meisner.

Working with such concepts as emotional openness, trust and acceptance, setting boundaries, and artistic freedom, Acting and Reacting explores in depth techniques and exercises for expanding the actor's skill set - a valuable tool for both actors and those who train them.

Using clear and simple exercises adapted for leadership development from the world-renowned Meisner Technique, The Authentic Leader will help you discover first-hand what it means to build your authentic leadership skills in a clear, technical way. This book presents a version of the Meisner technique that has been thoughtfully modified for the purposes of leadership training. It aims to train leaders to be fully authentic in their responses in the most efficient way and to let their responses be filtered by their abilities to deeply interpret and thrive within the psychological realities of the circumstances they are entering, be it their own or other people’s. The exercises in this book teach that effective leadership skills are about getting the attention off of oneself and allowing for a type of interpersonal determinism to bring out a leader’s truthful responses. This text breaks open the conversation on leadership and business skills in a whole new way using an established, although largely unknown method in the business world that will help leaders engage in the values of great leadership and train their own abilities to have presence, be dynamic, be magnetic, and know how to read any situation and thrive within it. Whether you are green in your career or at the head of a nation, an aspiring leader or an educator looking to use this material, this work develops and nourishes powerful leadership in unconventional, effective, and dynamic ways.