Learning to listen the Meisner way

Sanford Meisner’s technique is based on the “reality of doing”. Instead of focusing on emotions, he focused on truthful behavior that was the product of “doing” and not “thinking.” To provide actors with a way to achieve truthful behavior, he created what he called “repetition” exercises. First of all, these exercises teach the actors to really listen to each other. The earliest stage of the exercises is known as the “first thing”. By “working” with each other and listening without adding anything artificial to the exercise, the actors begin to understand what it means to respond from their true selves. To illuminate the value of listening in relation to instincts, Meisner provided his students with 3 rules:

Rule 1. “Don’t do anything until something happens that makes you do it.” Learning the value of “leaving oneself alone,” the actor begins to understand that made-up responses are meaningless. To achieve the sense of truth that we seek in our work, the actor must learn to put all of his attention on an “object” outside of himself. In doing so, the actor no longer looks at himself. This is the basis of listening to the other person.

Rule 2. “What you do is not up to you, it’s up to the other person.” This is most easily understood in stage 3 of the “repetition”, commonly known as the “point of view” exercise. In this stage, students are introduced to what Meisner called the “pinch” for “ouch.” The actors involved in the “point of view” exercise are now moving forward with the “repetition.” They are now required to answer the other person from their own truthful “point of view.” Actors are not allowed to “think.” a response or a pause to consider the effect their partner’s “pinch” has had on them. Now you must spontaneously answer from your truthful “point of view”. If your partner says something that makes you angry, you should stay on “replay” and respond from your gut. This is the stage where the actor begins to understand what it means to remove the “filter” and remove the “good routine” from his work. Thinking blocks instincts, so actors work tirelessly to get our “heads” and find meaningful behavior through “pinch.” Ergo Meisner said: “If I “pinch” you, you will say “ouch”.

Rule 3. “The quality of your work depends on how fully you do what you do.” This is one of the most difficult things for an actor to master. Full work refers to his ability to react to the “pinch” from a personal place. This is essential for script work as there are no casual moments in the drama. By definition, “No conflict = no drama.” The actor’s work must be imbued with meaning from start to finish. Marlon Brando speaks briefly in Brando’s latest documentary, “Listen To Me Marlon,” about the importance and difficulty of finding the “truth of the moment.”

Meisner continued to provide his students with “independent physical activity” to provide the actor with a means of developing focus and concentration. The actor is now in a place where he must perform an activity that is purely physical and extremely difficult. Once again the importance of putting all of his attention on the “object of his behavior” is reinforced.

As the actors progress from one stage of the “repetition” to the next, the stakes are raised by providing the means by which we create urgency.

In total there are approximately 12-13 stages of the “repetition” exercises. At each stage the actor must continue to learn to ‘listen’ through the ‘knock on the door’, independent physical activity and finally the ‘in relationship’ stage of the exercises.

As a young actor, it was always in my head and I had no idea how to get out. There were times when my instincts surfaced, but more often than not I was thinking rather than reacting to the “pinch”. Fortunately, I found the Meisner Technique early in my training. As an actor, teacher and director, I would be lost. without it.