SANDY MEISNER ON HIS TECHNIQUE: PART TWO OF THREE;

IN MY OPINION:

WILLIAM REYNOLDS:

SANDY MEISNER ON HIS TECHNIQUE:

PART TWO OF THREE;

2. Actors Must Use Their Instinct

“It is my belief that talent comes from instinct.“When it comes to living truthfully within a scene, actors must trust their instincts. Once again, you don’t need to pretend to react on your instincts; you just react, without thinking. As Meisner mentions, the problem that a lot of actors have is that they follow only the instincts that are socially acceptable. That is NOT what truthful acting is. “We fear being branded as uncivilized for liking or disliking something,” is what Sandy says. And that, my friends, is where self-consciousness is being born. Self-consciousness is the death of a good actor. Here is what he says to one of his students after interrupting their exercise: “Listen, Philip, you have some kind of cockeyed idea that acting is an imitation of life. […] You try to be logical, as in life. You try to be polite, as in life. May I say, as the world’s oldest living teacher, fuck polite! […] You cannot be gentleman and be an actor.” One of Meisner exercise’s principle is “Don’t do anything unless something happens to make you do it,” because that is what generates instinct. And the other: “What you do doesn’t depend on you; it depends on the other fellow.” These are important principles to remember, but since we’re not covering exercises today, you’ll have to explore that one on your own. Working of your instincts brings spontaneity to an actor’s performance, and that is when the act truly comes to life and is much more interesting to watch. “Let your instincts dictate the changes,” says Meisner. And to illustrate what that means, Sandy pinches one of his students and she shouts “Mr Meisner!” That pinch justified the ouch; it brought a truthful and spontaneous reaction.