Meisner

Meisner refers to Sanford Meisner and the acting technique he developed. Meisner was an American acting teacher who founded the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York. His aim was to help actors create performances that feel spontaneous and truthful in the moment.

The Meisner Technique centers on truthful acting achieved through sustained attention to a partner and authentic responses to the changing moment. It emphasizes listening and reacting rather than planning or intellectualizing what to say or do. A core component is the Repetition Exercise, in which two actors repeat a simple statement or observation. Through repetition, their genuine thoughts and feelings surface, moving beyond surface dialogue. As training progresses, actors work on improvised scenes and later on material based on given circumstances, with an emphasis on independent behavior and responding truthfully to the other actor’s cues.

The method guides performers through a progression of tasks designed to reduce self-consciousness and habitual acting patterns, encouraging a living, present presence on stage or screen. Emphasis is placed on impulse, timing, and the truth that emerges in interaction, rather than on internal memorization or emotional recollection. The technique has had a lasting influence on American acting training, and the Neighborhood Playhouse and other Meisner-affiliated studios continue to teach the method to actors across theatre and film.