Sanford Meisner on Acting
Nov 2012 · Sold by Vintage
4.0star
18 reviews
Ebook
272
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About this ebook
Sanford Meisner was one of the best known and beloved teachers of acting in the country. This book follows one of his acting classes for fifteen months, beginning with the most rudimentary exercises and ending with affecting and polished scenes from contemporary American plays. Written in collaboration with Dennis Longwell, it is essential reading for beginning and professional actors alike. Throughout these pages Meisner is a delight—always empathizing with his students and urging them onward, provoking emotion, laughter, and growing technical mastery from his charges.
With an introduction by Sydney Pollack, director of Out of Africa and Tootsie, who worked with Meisner for five years.
"This book should be read by anyone who wants to act or even appreciate what acting involves. Like Meisner's way of teaching, it is the straight goods."—Arthur Miller
"If there is a key to good acting, this one is it, above all others. Actors, young and not so young, will find inspiration and excitement in this book."—Gregory Peck
With an introduction by Sydney Pollack, director of Out of Africa and Tootsie, who worked with Meisner for five years.
"This book should be read by anyone who wants to act or even appreciate what acting involves. Like Meisner's way of teaching, it is the straight goods."—Arthur Miller
"If there is a key to good acting, this one is it, above all others. Actors, young and not so young, will find inspiration and excitement in this book."—Gregory Peck
Ratings and reviews
4.0
18 reviews
richard hymes-esposito
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August 11, 2015
I can honestly say that this book is a piece of toilet paper. It's an entertaining read, but that's it. You will learn nothing about acting from this book. What it does NOT disclose was that Sanford Meisner was drunk when he taught. A vile and horrible human being, who, as I heard was a really good actor; which does not mean . . . . he was a good teacher. The success of Robert Duvall made his career. After Mr. Duvall's success, Sandy could do whatever he wanted with a bunch of broken, desperate people. Meisner is ONLY good auditions. Once the rehearsal starts, Meisner actors are lost and can not believe that they have been taken for a long ride by William Esper and Maggie Flannagan (Meisner's proteges).
1 person found this review helpful
A Google user
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December 16, 2014
Great read and very instructional! I am a beginning actor and some of the exercises were hard to imagine because acting is something that needs to be physically practiced but most general concepts were easily illustrated and explained! This book is the closest we can get to learning from Meisner himself now-a-days. I am very glad that I purchased this book and was able to experience, in my imagination, what learning directly from him was like.
3 people found this review helpful
About the author
As head of the acting department of The Neighborhood Playhouse for forty years, Sanford Meisner was considered one of the greatest acting teachers of our time. As a founding member of The Group Theatre, Mr. Meisner also acted in many of its stage productions, including Awake and Sing!, Paradise Lost, An American Tragedy, Golden Boy, and Crime and Punishment. Some of the thousands of actors he taught in his classes at The Playhouse include, among others, Elizabeth Ashley, Barbara Baxley, James Broderick, James Caan, Keir Dullea, Robert Duvall, Lee Grant, Lorne Green, Tammy Grimes, Anne Jackson, Diane Keaton, Louise Lasser, Darren McGavin, Steve McQueen, Gregory Peck, Suzanne Pleshette, Tony Randall, Jo Van Fleet, Jon Voight, Eli Wallach, and Joanne Woodward. Mr. Meisner died in 1997.
After earning a degree in philosophy from Yale, Dennis Longwell studied acting with Sanford Meisner in the 1960s. He has also worked as an actor, teacher, and museum curator. His monograph, Steichen: The Master Prints, 1895–1914, published by the Museum of Modern Art in 1978, is the definitive book on the early photographs of Edward Steichen. Mr. Longwell is currently a visiting Associate Professory of History of Art and Design at the Pratt Institute.
After earning a degree in philosophy from Yale, Dennis Longwell studied acting with Sanford Meisner in the 1960s. He has also worked as an actor, teacher, and museum curator. His monograph, Steichen: The Master Prints, 1895–1914, published by the Museum of Modern Art in 1978, is the definitive book on the early photographs of Edward Steichen. Mr. Longwell is currently a visiting Associate Professory of History of Art and Design at the Pratt Institute.
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