5-Day Intensive: Elevate Your Craft

Meisner Acting Fundamentals in 5 Days

As an actor, you often receive notes like “do more,” “do less,” “be natural,” “cry,” “be joyous,” “be angry,” “be spontaneous,” etc. from a teacher or director. But this type of feedback isn’t helpful at all because it is aksing  for a result. And even the best actors can’t play a result—it only puts them in their heads.

Even if you’re new to acting and haven’t received this type of feedback, it’s crucial to start with the right tools to develop authentic performances. The Meisner Technique provides these tools, translating desired outcomes into practical actions. This special five-day workshop offers a solid introduction to these tools, helping you discover how to enhance your acting and experience their effectiveness.

This intensive course provides a valuable opportunity to immerse yourself in the Meisner acting technique. The course acts as a catalyst for skill development, artistic growth, and a wellspring of inspiration. We are not just welcoming beginners but also invite seasoned actors seeking a revitalizing boost in their careers and industry professionals returning to their artistic roots to tune up their skills.

Overview

In this workshop, you’ll explore foundational acting tools that will make your performance both solid and spontaneous. Through improvisation exercises and scene work, you’ll learn to deeply engage in your scene. This hones crucial acting skills and help you overcome barriers to authenticity.

WHAT WILL I DO

From Repetition to Activities

  • Building on the Repetition Exercise: Start with the foundational repetition exercise to connect with your impulses and respond truthfully.
  • Engaging in Independent Activities: Move into independent activities that demand full attention and create unanticipated, truthful behavior.

Working on a Scene:

Applying Techniques to Text: Bring the techniques learned to a written text, practicing the reality of the conversation.

What will I learn

Rely on Your Impulses

Meisner’s signature repetition exercise helps you grow into trusting in your impulses, ensuring every performance is authentic and surprising. This start with becoming extremely aware of your partners behavior – and this starts with attentive listening. This leads to authentic and unanticipated behavior, which is the hallmark of any great performance.

Be in the Moment

By focusing solely on listening, you anchor yourself in the moment. This eliminates hanging onto about what happened before or anticipate of what might come next, enabling you to work from “unanticipated moment to unanticipated moment”.

Foster your Sense of Truth

Being truthful is essential for actors, but striving to impress jeopardizes the truth. Attempting to captivate an audience might result in reproducing preconceived ideas rather than letting the scene unfold organically, or one might push to be emotional out of the fear of being boring.

The Meisner training sharpens your ability to distinguish the false from the truthful, ridding you from any imposed behavior and anticipation.

Be Open and Vulnerable

In order to truly listen to both your partner and what happens within yourself you must be open and vulnerable. Stanislavski asserted vulnerability is an actor’s most crucial tool. Meisner training aids you in shedding the defensive barriers and conditioning instilled by upbringing and societal expectations, enhancing your openness and receptivity continuously.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

  • Impulses Define You as an Actor: Developing the ability to act on impulses is crucial for authenticity.
  • Spontaneous Behavior: The capacity to produce spontaneous behavior is essential to engage and captivate an audience. Only if you surprise yourself can you surprise an audience.

WHY CHOOSE THIS COURSE?

  • Expert Guidance: Learn from experienced instructors who are dedicated to getting you out of your head and into your body.
  • Comprehensive Training: Gain a thorough understanding of foundational Meisner tools and their application.
  • Supportive Environment: Receive constructive feedback in a supportive and emotionally safe setting.
  • 5 classes
  • 4 hours per class
  • Homework between classes

CLASS TIME

Workshop I

Date Day Time
November 22, 2024 Friday 19:00-23:00
November 23, 2024 Saturday 19:00-23:00
November 24, 2024 Sunday 19:00-23:00
November 30, 2024 Saturday 19:00-23:00
December 1, 2024 Sunday 19:00-23:00

TUITION

  • Early bird price NTD 10,000 until Nov 4.
  • Normal price: 12,000 NTD

Teachers

Nelson Shen

Acting teacher

– Second year Meisner Technique teacher

More Detail