Sanford Meisner

Sanford Meisner (August 31, 1905 - February 2, 1997) was a member of the Group Theatre in New York during the 1930s and 1940s. He eventually left to teach at the Neighborhood Playhouse which would become the central launching place of what became known as the Meisner Technique.

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Based upon the earlier acting techniques of Konstantin Stanislavski, Meisner's training for actors was characterized by a strong foundation in behavioral exploration, both the performance of behavioral "activities" and behavioral communication between actors. Actors who use the Meisner Technique spend a great deal of time learning how to find activities that fit well into a scene. Activities could be of any kind, building, cleaning, trying to figure out a mental puzzle. The general principle is that with whatever activities one chooses, how one does these activities and how one interacts with the requisite props reveals a great deal, both consciously and subconsciously, about one's character.

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Meisner's major unique contribution to the craft of acting is his "Repetition Exercise," a training exercise for building skill in behavioral communication. The experience of the exercise is difficult to describe in words, but the general rules are that you either describe the behavior of another person in the scene, or you repeat the last words said to you by the other person. The result of extended practice is that actors become very proficient in being able to understand and respond to the body language of other people. This allows them to tailor their performances to the moment-to-moment nuances of their fellow actors. They also learn to put less emphasis on the words of the scene, but instead draw out the underlying meanings of the words.

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Some prominent actors who trained at The Neighborhood Playhouse

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under Sanford Meisner are Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Grace Kelly, Gregory Peck, Philip Seymour Hoffman, William H. Macy, and Joanne Woodward.

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His last appearance was on an episode of ER in which Noah Wyle's character reads a poem to Meisner's patient on a deathbed. Wyle later said that the scene was one of the highlights of his career, since he got to work with the legend.

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August 31: August 31 is the 243rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (244th in leap years), with 122 days remaining, as the final day of August....

1905: 1905 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar)....

February 2: February 2 is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 332 days remaining (333 in leap years)....

Sanford Meisner related Images and Photos (experimental)

Sanford and Son Dirty Old Man T-Shirt

Sanford and Son Dirty Old Man T-Shirt