It really is hard work to be truthful and imaginary at the same time. The more we can find to really be doing onstage (really playing cards, really drinking the tea, really cleaning the house), the less we have to THINK about being truthful. We can just be there, in the moment, honestly drinking tea and reacting to the imaginary world we're living in for a few moments.
I am very proud of the work you've done in class over the past month. Don't forget that, like anything worth doing well, this takes time, energy, focus, and effort. We'll continue to use basic aspects of repetition before scenework to help you connect with your partner(s) before performances and will continue to talk about "really doing what you're doing for real", but as we move away from this technique as a primary focus of our classwork, I encourage you to read more if you are interested. Let me know if you want some titles.
I am very proud of the work you've done in class over the past month. Don't forget that, like anything worth doing well, this takes time, energy, focus, and effort. We'll continue to use basic aspects of repetition before scenework to help you connect with your partner(s) before performances and will continue to talk about "really doing what you're doing for real", but as we move away from this technique as a primary focus of our classwork, I encourage you to read more if you are interested. Let me know if you want some titles.
Good morning everyone! I hope your long weekend has gone joyously, and abundant smiles have been bestowed upon your faces! (:
ReplyDeleteThe past month in this class, we all have been introduced to a defiantly unique-foreign 'meisner technique even though we may have unknowingly practiced different excersises involving branches of this technique...
But that's pretty obvious.
Even though everything involving said technique, may have been 'difficult', i really thought highly of the experience. Sometimes i feel like people see different circumstances, or 'things', as 'difficult', solely because they are new, and maybe a tad scary, because they've never practiced it before. Even in this blog, it touches upon how we are so programmed to keep up walls, and not let someone see the real emotions or thoughts behind the facade/covered eyes, you look with. Sure, not EVERYone is this way, but when the masses are taught that showing emotion or sensitivity is WRONG, or makes you WEAK, it's a bit of a contagious force.
That day that we were in a circle, and asked about sharing a moment that 'happened' to us was so powerful to me. I just wanted to share my heart with everyone, because it was flooding! haha. But I guess that just showed me what acting can be when you are in an very honest mindset, and TRULY let another human being AFFECT you. That's one of the main purposes of this all as well. I think that most are scared to be open or real with others, and stay in a receptive way because it's frightening when someone might affect you, and it hurts, or shows you something you don't want to look at inside yourself, etc. I want to learn that the most meaningful relationships and moments in life are when you un-gaurd yourself, and really just....be! It doesn't even have to be that spectacular or significant at all! I always have groped to recognize and strive for the 'realness', in the world. And i want to learn to be real and 'me', all the time!
In this particular class, the times that i did well in the repetition, was when i wasn't in my head or worrying, planning, etc. I realized that the times that were the hardest, were when i had my mind on overdrive, and was thinking of what the other person was thinking, other times, etc.
Another thing i noticed was, it was easier for me to make honest observations about the OTHER person, then to receive an observation about myself. i don't know what this exactly means, but...yes. I wanted to say also, that it affected me so much when i watched someone be honest, and open up. Especially Alex. It made me respect her and want to give her a big hug!
Thanks everyone, for going through all this hub-bub repetition and such, together!
And thank you Mrs. Arthur, for being patient and a good guider with it all!
Sincerely in a very REAL way!,
Briana Bergeron
Practicing the Meisner technique during the past couple of weeks in Acting Ensemble has been a step out of all of our comfort zones. It has enabled us to look at each other in a new way. A real way. An honest way. Though we are making judgements about other people when we are practicing this technique, they are truthful in a way that is not hurtful. I feel as though my mouth is always blocked with a filter that does not let me say the things I want. Meisner has taught me to say how I feel and go with my gut, and that is something I will take away with me whether it be in acting or my personal life. I plan on using this technique for furthur acting roles, and I feel it will be certainly helpful for Lady Montague.
ReplyDeleteReflecting on my participation during class I felt as though I could have done more. I need to work on making observations, as it is something I can't seem to be honest about. I am always so in my head, I never have anytime to feel raw emotion. Working outside of class with our partners was a bit strange, but rewarding. I especially enjoyed my time with Briana, because she is such an honest observer.
Meisner was a challenge for me, but I believe I have learned a lot from it. Maybe someday I will revisit it again.
It's been odd working with the Meisner technique. It was tough for most, if not all of us at some point. I shouldn't be speaking for the class, so I will speak for myself. To be completely honest, I disliked it. I think it helped with my ability to open up and let things affect me more, but I don't think I got enough chances to be affected. The observations I made were extremely general, because I just didn't know what to say. When I was affected by a statement, it felt incredible, but that event was rare. As Emma stated, it was tough to say the things that popped right into my head, because I didn't exactly know how my partner at the time would take it.
ReplyDeleteThe one thing Meisner did do, was give people the ability to really open up more. It developed more in depth bonds, and to give real insight on people and their own person. Through working with this, I've gained a respect for Ms. Briana Bergeron I didn't think was possible. Meisner helped her become more open, and though some of what she said was sad, It was beautiful. Thank You. :)
Meisner is an extremely difficult technique to master. I can see why classes work on what we did for months on top of months. Certain exercises I didn't mind, but overall, I wasn't the biggest fan of Meisner. It's a helpful technique, but I would rather try others before I make my final decision on Meisner. Something to compare it to always helps.
- Nick Pichette
Meisner technique is like nothing that I was expecting to be working on, but in this sort of class, you should be ready to expect the unexpected. I feel like it was a great learning experience for all of us.
ReplyDeleteIt was definitely hard for me to bee able to open up honestly and completely with people when that is not what I am used to doing. But I guess thats why we have to all trust each other so that we can do these things and experience all of this together and feel that we are able to make mistakes without being judged. That is what I feel that Meisner is all about. Being able to trust the people you are around enough to be able to expose your inner, raw emotion and not feel like you are going to be criticized or how you feel.
I was not a huge fan of Meisner technique, but with only a few weeks to work on such a huge concept, it would be hard for me to be good at it. Or rather, what I mean is it is such a complicated thing to tackle, and as Mrs. Arthur said it is a class within itself, and we are covering everything that they cover in a few months, only in a few weeks. I'm sure that if I had more time I may grow to like and understand it more. But for the time being, I am happy with the time we spent learning Meisner and I think that it was a good experience. I feel like it was something that I learned that is going to help me in the future.
Huggles and smooches,
Ashley Dougherty <3
I actually liked working with the Meisner technique. Although it was tough to become comfortable enough with the technique of being completely honest as well as reacting in a real way to your partners words, it was an experience to let us all grow as actors and as people. As people we wear masks. These masks hide what we don't want people to know. They are a technique we use without realizing it. Masks are not only ways to hide certain emotions, they cut off our real feelings from the people that care about us. Meisner technique allows us to take off the mask and show the group of peers who we really are. Meiser technique taught me to use my gut reactions instead of the ones that are thought of after the inital instinctive move.
ReplyDeleteI think that to have gotten more out of our experience with this technique,I could have tried harder to go with my gut reaction. I did most of the time but sometimes I found myself thinking and in my head. I found that the more I knew the person I was working with, the easier it was for me to be completely honest. When I worked with Marcy and Izzy that one class, I found things that were simple appearence observations but that we had memories attached to. Working with Marisa and Alex out of school was interesting. We did things just like we do in class but because it wasn't in the classroom setting it was different, well at least that's how it was for me. I enjoyed working with Meisner, even though it was a struggle. It would be interesting to keep learning this technique.
During these past couple weeks, working with the Meisner technique was challenging. I have a very hard time saying what I actually want to say about that person. In the beginning, I thought it was a little weird and didn’t really want to open up and talk. As time went by though it became easier. I became more open with myself and with others in the class.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I am very proud of myself for what I have done. Some things I said or have wanted to say came out and I was very surprised it did. Spending time on the Meisner technique gave me a chance to express myself in a way that I wasn’t able to before. I am also proud of Bri. She is a very strong person and I respect her a lot for the things she has said.
I had a really good time with this. I know that some people didn’t particularly like it but I wouldn’t mind at all having to do this again. Thank you Mrs. Arthur for bringing this up and having us working on this. It was very worth it.
P.S Thanks Bri!
Alex Blanchette
I definately think that the Meisner Technique was difficult, but I sort of liked it, and I think I got more comfortable with it as we went along (because it was definately a step outside my comfort zone). I like the whole concept of reacting to other people in a real way,(or simply just doing things for real, and not pretending) and trying hard not to be in your head. I agree with Emma when she says that she feels that her mouth is blocked with a filter. I often have trouble going with my gut and not thinking about it, and I liked how this technique helped me to be more honest. I think at least a couple times during this unit I was able to go with my gut and say the first thing that popped into my head, without the filtering.
ReplyDeleteHowever, there were definately many moments where I found this excercise to be extreamly frusturating. I feel that a lot of the time (especially when I was recieving the observation), I felt the need to force myself to change my reactions to the other person, if that makes any sense. I found myself planning ahead for how I was going to respond to the observation, in order to make it sound more real. But I guess that actually made my reactions less real.
The one moment where I totally felt honest was the last day, when we had to do an activity while doing the excercise. I think when Mrs. Arthur got right up in my face and yelled at me to put the bead on the string, I actually really felt something. Like I said, I was shaking so bad I just couldn't put that bead on the string. I feel my reactions were actually totally honest for once, and it just felt really cool to experience that. So, I think in the end, I did definately get soemthing out of the Meisner Technique, even if it was challenging, and I hope to continue to practice it at least every once in a while.
Julie Ryan
For me the Meisner technique was something I had never heard of before. At first I didn't understand how repeating myself could possibly have any impact on the way I perform on stage. But I think the more I did it the more I learned that it's not about YOU repeating YOURSELF over and over, it's about reacting to the other's response. The tough part for me was the topics we ended up repeating. "You look cute etc. etc.". I couldn't find a connection to the words I was saying and I felt that had an Impact on how my reactions were getting across to my partner. Something I found myself doing in these instances was trying to use inflections in my repetitions to have a conversation. It became less about the feelings and more about communicating Ideas which I think strays from Meisner's main focus. When I could feel or saw an honest response in practicing the technique I started to see the potential of it. An example of this was when Mrs. Arthur tried to play the guitar with Nick. Raw emotions was all I could see, feel, hear, I don't even know what they were repeating because It wasn't important. Where viewing other's Meisner work could be beneficial it was also the most tedious.
ReplyDeleteIt was hard to focus on some of the repetitions "performed" in class. As much as you wanted to find the emotion behind them sometime there wasn't allot of it. I think this technique will be easier to work with when we start applying it to our scenes and other class work. Seeing it in it's most raw form has been interesting but I'm even more curious to see what it looks like used in a piece. I'm proud of the class for sticking with it and happy the focus is beginning to shift. ~Marisa
I have enjoyed the time that I spent with the Meisner technique. I am upset, however, that I was not there for the entire month to really get the full affect of it. From what I have seen though, it seems like everyone in the class has really grown and pushed themselves further by using this technique. Everyone seems to be more honest with themselves, with others, and with their characters. My favorite part of these Meisner exercises was definitely the activity where we each had to bring in something challenging for us to do, while continuing with the technique itself. I hope to someday really get to experience the full affect of this technique and finish what I started.
ReplyDelete-Tyler Greene-
When beginning the Meisner technique in class, I was skeptical at first. I was unsure about both the concept and the final goal of Meisner, and did not give as much effort into it as I could have. The repetitions were empty for me, because I mainly focused on what I was saying and how I could say it differently. I would look my repetition partner up and down, trying to think of something kind to say, instead of something honest. With every time we practiced the technique, I believe that I understood it just a little bit more. One of the first times I can remember truly being affected was when Marcy built the house out of cards. Her attempts and reactions were so deeply honest that I became totally engaged in the meaningless activity. Whenever a card fell out of place, I could hear gasps and groans from the people around me. I feel as if the entire class moved together as one with this technique. Even when it was frustrating, we made progress and began to trust each other more than ever. My favorite moment was when I was observing Nick and Julie practice the technique. Julie made a completely honest remark to Nick –“you make me laugh”- and all of us were unprepared for the sincere observation and the reaction that followed. Nick appeared startled, but then smile and repeated it back, a little shocked.
ReplyDeleteOne of the first discussions I remember about the Meisner technique was the most crucial. The concept of other people “happening” to me was a bit foreign, and I could only think of a few instances where it has affected me strongly enough to break down every barrier. Still unfamiliar with the idea, I tried to continue on with the technique as best I could. It was not until the past weekend that I could say that I had been happened to. It was in a concert venue last Friday night. The show was mediocre, but the energy was high and everybody in the venue was moving quickly. I had been feeling bored when I looked around to see two of my friends gazing at each other with such looks of love. They were kissing so sweetly in the midst of the chaos, as if they were in their own world. I had quickly looked away, but I had tears in my eyes and I felt that their honest and true emotions had washed over me. I felt as if I had the potential to understand the Meisner technique.
In the course of learning and developing this ability, I feel like I have been challenged, but also as if a new world of acting has been revealed. Already, I can feel a difference when I am on stage, even when I am making abstract shapes to mourn Mercutio. Even in my everyday life, I feel more open and honest.
Working with the Meisner technique has been a very interesting and eye opening experience for so many reasons. Everyone knows how fake other people can be, it’s a part of human nature that we’ve all grown up with and live with day by day. I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s ever said something like “ She’s totally lying, she doesn’t really care.” or “ Wow stop trying to be something your not.”. Everyone’s done it at one point or another. What made those people so fake in that moment? Chances are the reason they seemed so fake is because they weren’t being honest with themselves and we could tell. Doesn’t it bother you when you can tell that someone isn’t being honest? I know it bothers me. This is because we all secretly wish that the world was a more honest place. But how can we expect other people to change and be honest or at least be more aware of when there not being honest if were not completely honest ourselves? The harsh truth of the matter is we cant. We can try to deny the fact that were not completely honest all we want, but the truth is were not. No one is. I’m pretty sure its impossible to 100% honest all the time.
ReplyDeleteThat’s why I found this technique so interesting. I found it interesting because we were asked to do something so different from what were all use to. Yeah It was hard. Really really hard at times. I still remember that first day were you asked us to go into the circle and make 3 honest observations. It took so long and I second guessed myself a lot and didn’t say what I really wanted to. I honestly wasn’t expecting that we were going to spend so much time with Meisner after that day ; and if you had told me I probably would have been kind of scared . It was so awkward at first but as time went on things got a little bit easier. Like letting the reactions come honestly even though we were repeating what the other person had said. That definitely got easier for me. Although for myself quickly coming up with an observation is still a bit of a challenge. By the end of our work with Meisner it wasn’t hard to open up to the person standing before me. I think that that was one of the most challenging things for me at first, because there’s always that fear if I’m being honest with them how do I know their being honest back.
There were so many great moments I had with other people in the class. Like when we first started working with partners and I was paired with Marisa. I remember that feeling when we were just standing there looking at each other and I almost cried, because she happened to me; and after when we talked she said that she almost cried to. Its just one of those moments that you cant really explain. I m not sure if anyone else agrees with me but I think that working with Meisner definitely brought us closer together as a class, and I’m really glad we got the chance to experiment with it.
Your friend
Isabella Bennett
When I first learned about Meisner, I wasn't sure about it. At first I didnt take it very seriosuly. As we began to practice it more and more I began to realize how amazing it really is. The levels of honesty that were used was unbelieveable. I never knew how honest I or other people could be. It get difficult after a while,and I found myself unsure of what to say. Once we used the third technique I really understood the point of the meisner technique. The point was to open our minds to something new, it was to help us learn new things about each other and connect with the people in our class. At some points mesiner was frustrating and I got tired of it, but other times I was excited to see what we could do with it. Overall I had a great experience doing mesiner and I have learned more than i ever imagined from it.
ReplyDeleteMeisner would never work in real life. In acting, it is wonderful and truthful and so open. But actors are all family and we are all friends. In real life, expressing so much raw honesty is either offensive or too personal. I would never walk up to someone I hardly know and tell them their hair is foxy or that I think they have a mental disease (ADD). I would be mistaken for a crazy person nine times out of ten. I would also never stare at someone as intently as we do when we practice Meisner, but with actor folk, it's completely fine. I am so glad we can practice these honest observations and that we can feel so comfortable with each other. Doing Meisner, I can let go of all my little brain filters and do what I do best. Forget I even have a brain. I just let my prefrontal and visual cortexes do the talking. It helps our acting by being truthful and in the moment and not letting the drone of repetitive anticipation control our reactions. Letting go of "acting" is the key to acting. Being real and reacting honestly as your character would react is how true acting is done.
ReplyDeleteMeisner.
ReplyDeleteWell...There's a lot to say on this subject, isn't there? I remember the overview that was first given to us was comparing it to other techniques that we've done, and the mention that it takes years of practice to even come close to mastering. I think intimidating statements like that leave deep imprints.
Anyway, the time we spent as a class on Meisner was different to say the least. I really love getting all sorts of different acting techniques in my head because there are at least small parts I can sort of add to my general acting performances. I remember one specific Romeo & Juliet rehearsal,where we were working on the balcony scene that really stood out to me because of how I was attempting the entire time to incorporate Meisner, and the honesty, and in the moment reactions that it embodies. I feel like in that rehearsal I managed to accomplish more honest feelings and in the moment reactions than I have ever managed to muster while performing. It really stands out in my head, and I even remember you (Mrs. Arthur) commenting on noticing my almost futile attempts at Meisner during the scene.
I feel like Meisner is the most true form of acting, because in a way its not 'classical' or 'traditional.' I mean, it is both of those things, but it is also taking you, your emotions, energy, reactions, feelings, life, and body and putting them all in a place that they may never be, and still managing to be someone else. That is really roughly worded, but I'm not so sure I could do any better. I think working on Meisner has been incredibly beneficial to everyone in the class, but I can't say I'm not glad it is over. It is absolutely exhausting and incredibly tough. I can't imagine working on that for years. I might break.
i am just so thankful for all of you.
ReplyDeletesorry for intruding yet AGAIN.
but yeah.
reading responses on these blogs, is almost as compelling as letting someone 'happen' to you.