A little while ago I was contacted by Jack Price of Studio Films. Over the coming months he will be running courses in Meisner technique for actors at the Tobacco Factory.
Taken from the flyer for the upcoming course
The first course begins on Thursday 6th May 2010 and it's a practical short course that takes you step-by-step through Meisner's core exercise and text analysis over 6 days. But if you've never heard of Meisner or, like me, only know the name, you're probably wondering what it's all about and why you should be interested.
You can look Meisner up on Wikipedia, but for this blog post I thought it was probably best if the answers came from Jack:
Sanford Meisner worked with Lee Strasberg as part of The Group Theatre in New York, but he left the group and developed his own technique. In a nutshell what is 'Meisner' and how does it differ from ‘The Method’?
"Meisner is almost anti-method, its not about you its about the other person. The oft quoted Meisner line is its “About Living truthfully under a given set of circumstances” To live truthfully in the circumstances of a man who has murdered do you have to know what it feels like to murder? I don't believe so."
How did you discover Meisner?
"I studied with Scott Williams at the Impulse company in London. Scott is generous, brilliant and supportive. One of the best teachers I have ever had. "
I see you are developing a film course with Impulse company. How does Meisner for screen differ to Meisner for stage?
"Meisner is almost anti-method, its not about you its about the other person. The oft quoted Meisner line is its “About Living truthfully under a given set of circumstances” To live truthfully in the circumstances of a man who has murdered do you have to know what it feels like to murder? I don't believe so."
How did you discover Meisner?
"I studied with Scott Williams at the Impulse company in London. Scott is generous, brilliant and supportive. One of the best teachers I have ever had. "
I see you are developing a film course with Impulse company. How does Meisner for screen differ to Meisner for stage?
"I don't believe there is any difference between acting for stage or screen, except you have to have different types of stamina and the voice work is different. I believe people's bullshit-ometters are the same, if it's great it's great and if it's pants, we walk."
What does Meisner offer that other techniques/practices don’t?
"Meisner created a set of core exercises which connect you to impulse, they tune your instrument, in the case of the actor the instrument is the body, mind. I have not found another exercise which gives me a workout, makes me a better actor, connects me more to truth and as a note improves my writing and directing."
"Meisner created a set of core exercises which connect you to impulse, they tune your instrument, in the case of the actor the instrument is the body, mind. I have not found another exercise which gives me a workout, makes me a better actor, connects me more to truth and as a note improves my writing and directing."
Do you need previous experience of the technique to attend the course at the Tobacco Factory?
"No. You just need to want to act and be willing to have some myths destroyed."
Reading about Jack on the Studio Film website (and IMDB), I had a few questions about the man behind the course:
"No. You just need to want to act and be willing to have some myths destroyed."
Reading about Jack on the Studio Film website (and IMDB), I had a few questions about the man behind the course:
The Man Himself
You say you’ve filmed extensively for Ridley Scott Associates, have you ever met Ridley Scott?
"I worked for Ridley Scott for 8 years as one of his directors, I have met him. I have also sat at his desk naked with Russell Crowe's Gladiator Helmet and Sword."
As you do...That was a much better answer than I was expecting, but I'll leave it there and let your students quizz you further in the workshop.
I understand your most recent film is Indigo, tell me more about it
"Indigo is a short film I wrote and directed about a boy who has a gift. You can see the trailer online at http://www.studiofilm.co.uk/. The film recently won special mention at the Berlin Film festival and I am developing it into a feature film with producer Andrea Cornwell whose last film was Scouting Book For Boys which is in cinemas now. The film stars Thomas Turgoose who was in This is England and right now I should be rewriting the synopsis."
Just before you get back to your writing, I have to ask the question anyone who looks you up on IMDB will really want to know… is it true you were in an episode of Blossom?!
[Meanwhile, somewhere in the world, another Jack Price is miffed that his credit has been allocated to the wrong 'Jack Price', and wonders if he could reclaim his rightful title by joining IMDB Pro.]
"Indigo is a short film I wrote and directed about a boy who has a gift. You can see the trailer online at http://www.studiofilm.co.uk/. The film recently won special mention at the Berlin Film festival and I am developing it into a feature film with producer Andrea Cornwell whose last film was Scouting Book For Boys which is in cinemas now. The film stars Thomas Turgoose who was in This is England and right now I should be rewriting the synopsis."
Indigo received a Special Mention at the Berlin Film Festival
Just before you get back to your writing, I have to ask the question anyone who looks you up on IMDB will really want to know… is it true you were in an episode of Blossom?!
"I love that! I only just saw IMDB had added that to my profile. Do you think if I pay for IMDB pro they will remove it? For the record, No, I was not in the episode where Blossom gets her period!"
[Meanwhile, somewhere in the world, another Jack Price is miffed that his credit has been allocated to the wrong 'Jack Price', and wonders if he could reclaim his rightful title by joining IMDB Pro.]
The course dates are 6th - 8th and 13th - 15th May 2010 and there are only a couple of places left. The cost is £265, but if you mention that you read about it on this blog, you will receive a £15 discount, making it £240.
Click here for booking details and further information about the course or visit the Studio Film website to find out more about Jack and his work.
If you can't make the course in May, he will be running a 5 day course 4th - 9th July 2010, a taster session 1st - 2nd June 2010 or, if you have experience of Meisner there will be a drop-in session on 4th June 2010.
Useful Links
its a common misconception that Meisner brought a new approach to acting. Stanislavsky called it Communion. Michael Chekhov called it Contact. Meisner called it Listening and Reacting.
ReplyDeleteStanislavsky often scolded his actors when they weren't reacting to the tiniest nuances in their partners' acting.
Meisner simply focused on this portion of Stanislavsky's system for training the actor's nature. He devised his own exercises for the purposes of such training, but it was still very much Stanislavsky's system.
You've reminded me that I want to read 'Beyond Stanislavsky' - have you read it? It was recommended by a friend ages ago.
ReplyDeleteShe described it as Bella Merlin's experience of working with Russian companies who have continued to develop Stanislavky's ideas rather than work to his writings as they stand.
It's one of the millions of books I keep meaning to read and maybe one day I will get round to it!
Yes, I've read it. Very good book. They use a rehearsal technique called Active Analysis, which was devised by Stanislavsky in his last couple of years. You basically, rehearse the play or scene without analyzing it and find all the details of it in the process of acting it out. So if in a scene one character has to convince another to do something, while the other has to resist it, they simply improvise the scene using psychophysical actions to achieve their goals and any words that best convey the line of thought in the scene. The actors must always avoid falling into repeated routine and always remain in an improvisational state of creativity. As a result, the actors discover the proper emotions, thoughts, will impulses in the scene without going through the inhibiting period of intellectual analysis by reading a script at a table. Also, in the process of doing these scenes, its most likely that you subconsciously start to develop characteristics and rhythms for the role. Ofcourse, because this process occurs while you are merely occupied with playing/researching the scenes of the play, the actors most likely dont become aware of the fact that the character is already there by the time this type of Active Analysis is completed.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this
ReplyDelete