Sanford Meisner on Acting Paperback – July 12, 1987

I think that every person with creativity invested in them has the potential to be a great actor. And I don't mean great as in melodramatic or characterized. I'm talking about truth. Living and breathing truth on and off the stage. Seeing acting as a lifestyle. I strive to be one of those, yet I find people acting in a modern era of self reinventation on the stage and screen in the cheap ways. The tit for tat, earn your moneys worth quick scheming forms of acting. I believe those versions to be Uta Hagen and Lee Strasberg. It sounds pretentious but all too often are modern actors just being performers. I say that because I've been there. I've been a performer. But to be a true actor I think you need to be a student of Stella Adler or Sanford Meisner. Personally, I am an Adler disciple but I would only ever recommend him over everyone else. Everyone else, that is except for Stella. But if you want to enjoy acting. To get up and enjoy some truthful acting, then he's the man for you. And even then, I would beg you to read him anyway for the insight he can give you from a perspective of a teacher determining whether or not an actor is doing their best.

Liked it all. Read the book in conjunction with class work.

I bought this book at a time when I bought a lot of other, more recently written, books on theater. The books were by Anne Bogart and others who wrote about techniques that are not the Method. I thought that I would get a Meisner book because I thought it would be good to get to know some of the history of acting... and Meisner was certainly important historically. I saw this book as a sort of "eat your vegetables". So, I left it for the last book of the bunch that I read...... and it turned out to be WONDERFUL!This book is INCREDIBLY not dryly written. It is SO interesting to read. It is written as a series of reports on a class that Meisner was teaching, so you get to follow along and learn the Method with his class and see where Meisner is coming from on his beliefs on the Method. The writing style is really interesting and easy to read because Meisner's speech is really interesting.This book is WONDERFUL!

Meisner was a no bullshit type of guy, my kind of guy. He wanted the truth, always, in every moment. I went to the Neighborhood Playhouse for the first year. I couldn't sing or dance well so I didn't get asked back for the second year... but the acting technique and the acting teacher there taught me so much. I took away a lifetime of training in that one year that I will carry with me forever. This book will give you a glimpse into that, including repetition, emotional preparation, and other important foundations of the Meisner Technique. Meisner was a beast.

I got this book because I was taking acting classes online for a few months and this helped to understand his method in dialogue form. I also got other books to help me out. Otherwise this book is adequate.

This book provides the novice student of the dramatic arts with an introduction to Mr. Meisner and his genius. If you appreciate the work of his students and their progeny, you will want to know more about him and his technique. This book does that. A great quote, from page 114, is "Acting is a scary, paradoxical business. One of its central paradoxes is that in order to succeed as an actor you have to lose consciousness of your own self in order to transform into the character of the play. It's not easy, but it can be done."

I read the entire book. Meisner is funny as hell. He is real and is not afraid of being transparent with the students he taught. My favorite lessons was using the imaginary "as if" which helps a whole lot and the repetition exercise which gets you out of your head and into "living under imaginary circumstances". It gets you to react to the other person which is vital if you want to make a scene in a movie or play seem legit. If you read this book, and you should, use a high-lighter and take some notes. Loved it!

The book was very helpful and helped me remember the 1st acting technique I ever learned. I enjoy this book very much!