Sanford Meisner

"About Sanford Meisner." PBS. PBS, 22 Apr. 2001. Web. 15 Oct. 2013.

"About the Group Theatre." PBS. PBS, 29 Dec. 1997. Web. 11 Oct. 2013.

"Sanford Meisner." Wikipedia.org. Wikipedia Foundation Inc., 26 Sept. 2013. Web. 11 Oct. 2013.

"Sanford Meisner: Full Biography." nytimes.com. The New York Times Company, 2010. Web. 14. Oct. 2013.

Sanford Meisner

The Meisner Technique

Background Information

"Take it from a director: if you get an actor that Sandy Meisner has trained, you've been blessed." -Elia Kazan

• Born on August 31, 1905 and lived until February 2, 1997.
• His nickname was Sandy
• Born in Brooklyn, New York
• Oldest of four children (Sanford, Jacob, Ruth and Robert)
• 2 marriages- Peggy Meyer and Betty Gooch, respectively, ended in divorce (spent the rest of his life with his partner James Carville) due to the fact he was actually gay
• Was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1970

• Primary tool he employed in preparing his students was spontaneous repetition
• His technique was described as unorthodox and effective
• 2 volunteers for 2 different exercises
• The technique emphasizes that in order to carry out an action truthfully on stage, it is necessary to let emotion and subtext build based on the truth of the action and on the other characters around them, rather than simply playing the action or playing the emotion

In more detail...

Film Apperances

Books

Schools

Though he rarely appeared on films, he performed in Tender Is the Night, The Story on Page One, and Mikey and Nicky. His last acting role was in the Season One episode of the television medical drama ER, "Sleepless In Chicago". Actor Noah Wyle worked with him and referred to the experience as the highlight of his career.

The New Talent Division of 20th Century Fox

The Meisner/Carville School of Acting

The Neighborhood Playhouse

Sanford Meisner on Acting- by Sanford Meisner and Dennis Longwell : follows an acting class of eight men and eight women for fifteen months, beginning with the most rudimentary exercises and ending with affecting and polished scenes from contemporary American plays. Throughout these pages Meisner is delight--always empathizing with his students and urging them onward, provoking emotion, laughter, and growing technical mastery from his charges.

Other novels:

- La Recitazione

-Sulla Recitazione

- Various Volumes of The American Actor

Most Successful Students

The Group Theater

Robert Duvall- The Twilight Zone, The Godfather, and Academey Award, 2 Emmys

Grace Kelly- The Country Girl, Golden Globe, and an Academy Award

Diane Keaton- Baby Boom, Father of the Bride, The Godfather

Joanne Woodward- Academy Award-winning role in The Three Faces of Eve

Lee Grant- Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Felicia Karpf in Shampoo

Peter Falk- The Princess Bride, The Great Race, and Next

Sandra Bullock- The Proposal, The Blind Side, Crash, A Time to Kill

• The Group Theater was a leading force in the theater world in the 1930's
• Meisner performed in the groups most memorable productions.
• While still a member of the group he became the head of the acting department of New York's Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theater
• Dissolved in 1941
• Devoted himself to teaching, appearing only occasionally on Broadway and in films.

Sanford Meisner died in his sleep in February 1997, in his Sherman Oaks California home.

Works Cited