Any actor interested in studying the Meisner technique should explore what’s known as the actors instrument. The instrument analogy can be helpful when breaking down all the various aspects that can determine how good an actor is. Audience members are quick to determine whether actors are portraying a new reality well enough to hold their attention. They don’t need a great deal of theatre going experience to sense when the acting is fantastic. In fact, it is the actors instrument and how well rounded and how well developed it is.
The actors instrument is comprised of six different elements, all important. Those elements include emotional expression, sensory expression, physical expression, empathy and intelligence. In the Meisner technique, all aspects of the actors instrument need to be addressed and considered and are essential to mastering the craft. 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. Stallone is certainly able to express emotionally, but overall his most powerful tool onscreen is his physical expression. For Stallone, emotion is an internal process but it is reflected in a very physical way. 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.
Emotional expression is the most common aspect of the instrument that actors are focused on. How a character feels about something and delivering lines powered by that feeling is a very common practice for newer actors. One one hand, it is short sighted to place too much emphasis on this particular aspect of the actors instrument, however, emotional expression is certainly a key aspect. 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. Meisner acting in nyc is very popular, and these actors work hard to develop an emotional composite of a character, which they in turn, figure out how to express using the other aspects of the instrument. Students of Meisner acting must study the range of human emotions in all their complexity. They work hard to create a foundation of human emotion and way of communicating based on real people and fictional characters. Specific characters can be created by delving very deep into the imagination and using the “library” of human behavior they have created. Having created a full emotional life and a foundation of behaviors, thoughts and ways of reacting, the actor can then bring the character to life, in the moment, in a spontaneous way.
Vulnerability, for example is an expression of the emotion of insecurity. It’s one thing for an actor to understand that and work with it. But, unless they have developed other aspects of their instrument, such as empathy or intelligence, the character will not be authentic. After all, vulnerability can be expressed through tears, or smashing something to pieces or just walking through a park. These are very nuanced yet, essential things to study.
One common myth is that acting is pretending to have certain emotions. Acting is not “emoting,” by injecting emotion into a script. 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. This may feel risky at first. Legendary actors do not force themselves to show emotion. There are genuine emotions in their performances, often unpredictable ones that appear as they work as character. This process requires that an actor develop the capacity to create and feel true sensations, and then express that through all channels of their instrument. 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 Maggie Flanigan Studio provides training for serious actors committed to improving their craft. Find out more about meisner by reading this article about actors instrument by visiting the studio website.