Any actor interested in studying the Meisner technique should explore what's known as the actors instrument. Making a comparison between acting and an instrument is helpful in categorizing aspects of the acting craft and what makes a good actor. As an audience member, it becomes apparent very quickly who the good actors in a piece are or who might be falling short. They don't need a great deal of theatre going experience to sense when the acting is fantastic. They can also sense when an actors instrument is not well developed, because they don't "believe" the character portrayal.
The actors instrument as six general categories. The aspects of the instrument include sensory expression, emotional, empathy, intelligence and sensory and physical expression. Mastering the craft of acting with the Meisner Technique requires that all six aspects of the instrument are well developed. If you run down the categories mentioned, anyone even slightly interested in acting should be able to name successful actors who have mastered several of these aspects of expression. Legendary actors are those that have mastered all six.
Sylvester Stallone is a physical actor who commands attention simply because of his physical presence onscreen. While this does not mean the Stallone cannot express a character emotionally, he is general know for his physical expression, which is the most powerful of his acting tools. Although he is practiced at developing an emotional side of his characters, those expressions are often communicated through physical means. Actors must focus and learn about all the aspects of the acting instrument, which will help them be diverse and capable of many types of roles.
Actors often focus mainly on emotional expression, thinking it to be the most important. Thinking deeply about how a character feels about something and trying to emulate it is a very common thing for up and coming actors to try and master. One of the most important, but certainly not the only tool to master is the emotional expression aspect of the actors instrument. Each of the six aspects need to be studied and mastered so that they can all work together.
Of course, it is meaningful emotional expression that draws people into any character or story. Emotional expression is they way that the internal aspects of a character's conflicts, needs, and feelings are expressed. Those that study Meisner acting in nyc use an imagined emotional history of a character which they must then express using all the aspects of the instrument. Students of Meisner acting must study the range of human emotions in all their complexity. They in fact, build a library of emotions and reactions and methods for communicating them. Specific characters can be created by delving very deep into the imagination and using the "library" of human behavior they have created. This created life, its emotions and patterns of behavior, are then drawn upon moment by moment, not in rehearsed ways, but spontaneously.
Vulnerability, for example is an expression of the emotion of insecurity. Actors might work hard to develop this emotion and the complex ways it can be expressed. But, if they have strongly developed other aspects of their instrument, such as physical expression and empathy, they will be able to present an authentic, vulnerable character. A single tear, without words can accomplish this, but how about a sense of vulnerability shown while one is smashing a clock to pieces? There is no predictable, safe way to do this.
One common myth is that acting is pretending to have certain emotions. Simply reciting inflections and gestures that express certain emotions is not acting. As Sanford Meisner always said, Acting is DOING. Being in the moment, and opening up completely to whatever emotions the character might present to you is the secret of great acting. Great acting is, moment by moment, opening up to the character and allowing them to take you places you may not have imagined. The best actors do not pretend to feel something, or coach themselves to do anything while in character. There are genuine emotions in their performances, often unpredictable ones that appear as they work as character. Developing a deep capacity to understand and feel the full range of human emotions and experiences is a great way to become an open, flexible acting student, the best kind of student. Actors must give themselves permission to feel strong emotions, and express them (or not, if the role requires it) in physical, intelligent, empathetic ways.
The actors instrument as six general categories. The aspects of the instrument include sensory expression, emotional, empathy, intelligence and sensory and physical expression. Mastering the craft of acting with the Meisner Technique requires that all six aspects of the instrument are well developed. If you run down the categories mentioned, anyone even slightly interested in acting should be able to name successful actors who have mastered several of these aspects of expression. Legendary actors are those that have mastered all six.
Sylvester Stallone is a physical actor who commands attention simply because of his physical presence onscreen. While this does not mean the Stallone cannot express a character emotionally, he is general know for his physical expression, which is the most powerful of his acting tools. Although he is practiced at developing an emotional side of his characters, those expressions are often communicated through physical means. Actors must focus and learn about all the aspects of the acting instrument, which will help them be diverse and capable of many types of roles.
Actors often focus mainly on emotional expression, thinking it to be the most important. Thinking deeply about how a character feels about something and trying to emulate it is a very common thing for up and coming actors to try and master. One of the most important, but certainly not the only tool to master is the emotional expression aspect of the actors instrument. Each of the six aspects need to be studied and mastered so that they can all work together.
Of course, it is meaningful emotional expression that draws people into any character or story. Emotional expression is they way that the internal aspects of a character's conflicts, needs, and feelings are expressed. Those that study Meisner acting in nyc use an imagined emotional history of a character which they must then express using all the aspects of the instrument. Students of Meisner acting must study the range of human emotions in all their complexity. They in fact, build a library of emotions and reactions and methods for communicating them. Specific characters can be created by delving very deep into the imagination and using the "library" of human behavior they have created. This created life, its emotions and patterns of behavior, are then drawn upon moment by moment, not in rehearsed ways, but spontaneously.
Vulnerability, for example is an expression of the emotion of insecurity. Actors might work hard to develop this emotion and the complex ways it can be expressed. But, if they have strongly developed other aspects of their instrument, such as physical expression and empathy, they will be able to present an authentic, vulnerable character. A single tear, without words can accomplish this, but how about a sense of vulnerability shown while one is smashing a clock to pieces? There is no predictable, safe way to do this.
One common myth is that acting is pretending to have certain emotions. Simply reciting inflections and gestures that express certain emotions is not acting. As Sanford Meisner always said, Acting is DOING. Being in the moment, and opening up completely to whatever emotions the character might present to you is the secret of great acting. Great acting is, moment by moment, opening up to the character and allowing them to take you places you may not have imagined. The best actors do not pretend to feel something, or coach themselves to do anything while in character. There are genuine emotions in their performances, often unpredictable ones that appear as they work as character. Developing a deep capacity to understand and feel the full range of human emotions and experiences is a great way to become an open, flexible acting student, the best kind of student. Actors must give themselves permission to feel strong emotions, and express them (or not, if the role requires it) in physical, intelligent, empathetic ways.
About the Author:
The Maggie Flanigan Studio provides acting classes in NYC for serious actors. Find out more about meisner technique at the studio website or read this article about emotional memory.
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