Where have you gone, Sanford Meisner?
Right now, as we speak, I am watching an 8 hour instructional DVD on Sanford Meisner's teachings. The class was in 1980, and at the time, the producers wanted to record Meisner's teachings before he shuffled off this mortal coil. Considering he'd lost his voice three times because of his smoking habits, and that his body had been through the plague of the damned the past few years or so, it was a good idea to play with.
Who knew Sandy would live another 17 years? Don't think there's even a compulsive gambler out there that would take that bet.
The premise was simple. One dark stage, one aging legendary acting coach, and twelve selected students for a dream program for any actor(at least in my mind). Lots of listening exercises(essential in acting), lots of role play. Dialogue is learned by rote(completely mechanical, so as you don't focus on the dialogue more than the scene itself). Very simple to understand, yet very hard to master. Meisner says it takes twenty years to truly become an actor, and I don't doubt that one ounce.
That being said, that brings me to the question above.
Where have you gone, Sanford Meisner?
I say this because you saw a complete level of commitment with each and every actor in his class. Everyone took notes, everyone listened intently, and everyone took his word as gospel. Mind you, you won't recognize a lot of his students in star power(Around that time, the most recognizable one I saw was Frances Sternhagen, who is best remembered as Ma Clavin on Cheers), but you could see how good they were.
Yes, I know that times have changed, and you can fart in JUST the right direction on youtube and become a celebrity. Good for them, and I'm not one to knock that because I'm looking for my break too. But should that be a copout excuse for being lackadaisical?
It's not all, and I'm probably generalizing a little too much here, but it's becoming a lot more common. There's PERFORMING and there's ACTING. In high school and, for the most part, college, you PERFORM. Most acting teachers at that level wouldn't know Meisner's teachings from a hole in the wall, and their idea of instruction is "STAND OVER THERE", and "READ YOUR LINES LIKE THIS!"(Huge pet peeve of mine at ANY level. DON'T DO THE ACTOR'S JOB FOR THEM!). This is purely the reason why the performers(won't call them actors yet) get killed when they hit New York or L.A.(with exceptions). They go into auditions with all the confidence in the world. Their local paper or their school paper gave great reviews of their performance, and they were ready to hit it big. Then 14 seconds later, they are stopped cold at their first audition because it just plain sucks. They were performing, and most theatre directors won't give them the time of day till they improve. Soon enough, the same thing happens over and over again, and they end up crushed and go back home. People say it's rough competition, and it is, but in those cases, it's improper preparation.
You should not be able to get away with performing in the mega markets, but if you watch television shows, it's obvious that expectations are getting lower. Not on the stars, mind you.....they've earned their spot, and for good reason. The expectations are getting lowered on the day players, and it shows in their performance. Let me explain.
Legendary actor Tony Randall once told a story about the Russian art house theatre when they came to America. Before they came, Americans knew a cruder version of theatre, one that hadn't changed with the times, and one filled with performance over beautiful acting. The Russians show up and display a level of acting never seen before. Most of all, the most MINUTE parts were played brilliantly. We're talking one scene, a couple of lines. Still played brilliantly.
That's called dedication and commitment.
So when you notice the tiniest roles on television now, it's obvious that most actors are treating it like "YAY, I'M ON TV! IT'S A CREDIT!", instead of making things look good. Yes, it's one thing if you have "More Pie, Ma'am" as your only line of dialogue. Can't do much there. It's another when you have one scene and have the same mindset. I told a buddy of mine once, who always told me that he'd do better at work if he made more money, that you should always have a psychology of kicking ass no matter the job. If you don't have the psychology of kicking ass in the crappiest of jobs, the tiniest of situations, or the smallest of roles.....it's pretty much guaranteed you won't have the kick ass psychology when things get better. Just because your paycheck got fatter, or responsibilities got better, doesn't mean excuse making goes away.
As I said, this could be a bit generalized because not everyone is like that, and I admit it, but it is more evident. If you watch guys like William Hung get 15 minutes of fame for sounding like a dying cat getting dragged down the interstate, then you too can light a firecracker up your ass and become famous. With that ease ends the higher expectations and the commitment, and that's too bad.
Because one thing is for certain. You watch the mega-stars on TV or film these days, the one difference between them and "More Pie, Ma'am" actress is, besides a little bit of luck and a break they needed?
Simply hard work and preparation. They want it more than anyone else.
I always tell people to live as if they were ten years old. You never hear ten year olds wanting to be fast food restaurant managers. They want to be doctors, lawyers, surgeons, actors, ballplayers, etc..... Some get to follow their dreams, and some marry early, get fat after four kids, and hope they can retire in this economy. Everyone has different ways to live life.
At 10 years old, everything's a dream. At 20 years old, it's a sacrifice.
How much are you willing to sacrifice.
How bad do you truly want it?
Who knew Sandy would live another 17 years? Don't think there's even a compulsive gambler out there that would take that bet.
The premise was simple. One dark stage, one aging legendary acting coach, and twelve selected students for a dream program for any actor(at least in my mind). Lots of listening exercises(essential in acting), lots of role play. Dialogue is learned by rote(completely mechanical, so as you don't focus on the dialogue more than the scene itself). Very simple to understand, yet very hard to master. Meisner says it takes twenty years to truly become an actor, and I don't doubt that one ounce.
That being said, that brings me to the question above.
Where have you gone, Sanford Meisner?
I say this because you saw a complete level of commitment with each and every actor in his class. Everyone took notes, everyone listened intently, and everyone took his word as gospel. Mind you, you won't recognize a lot of his students in star power(Around that time, the most recognizable one I saw was Frances Sternhagen, who is best remembered as Ma Clavin on Cheers), but you could see how good they were.
Yes, I know that times have changed, and you can fart in JUST the right direction on youtube and become a celebrity. Good for them, and I'm not one to knock that because I'm looking for my break too. But should that be a copout excuse for being lackadaisical?
It's not all, and I'm probably generalizing a little too much here, but it's becoming a lot more common. There's PERFORMING and there's ACTING. In high school and, for the most part, college, you PERFORM. Most acting teachers at that level wouldn't know Meisner's teachings from a hole in the wall, and their idea of instruction is "STAND OVER THERE", and "READ YOUR LINES LIKE THIS!"(Huge pet peeve of mine at ANY level. DON'T DO THE ACTOR'S JOB FOR THEM!). This is purely the reason why the performers(won't call them actors yet) get killed when they hit New York or L.A.(with exceptions). They go into auditions with all the confidence in the world. Their local paper or their school paper gave great reviews of their performance, and they were ready to hit it big. Then 14 seconds later, they are stopped cold at their first audition because it just plain sucks. They were performing, and most theatre directors won't give them the time of day till they improve. Soon enough, the same thing happens over and over again, and they end up crushed and go back home. People say it's rough competition, and it is, but in those cases, it's improper preparation.
You should not be able to get away with performing in the mega markets, but if you watch television shows, it's obvious that expectations are getting lower. Not on the stars, mind you.....they've earned their spot, and for good reason. The expectations are getting lowered on the day players, and it shows in their performance. Let me explain.
Legendary actor Tony Randall once told a story about the Russian art house theatre when they came to America. Before they came, Americans knew a cruder version of theatre, one that hadn't changed with the times, and one filled with performance over beautiful acting. The Russians show up and display a level of acting never seen before. Most of all, the most MINUTE parts were played brilliantly. We're talking one scene, a couple of lines. Still played brilliantly.
That's called dedication and commitment.
So when you notice the tiniest roles on television now, it's obvious that most actors are treating it like "YAY, I'M ON TV! IT'S A CREDIT!", instead of making things look good. Yes, it's one thing if you have "More Pie, Ma'am" as your only line of dialogue. Can't do much there. It's another when you have one scene and have the same mindset. I told a buddy of mine once, who always told me that he'd do better at work if he made more money, that you should always have a psychology of kicking ass no matter the job. If you don't have the psychology of kicking ass in the crappiest of jobs, the tiniest of situations, or the smallest of roles.....it's pretty much guaranteed you won't have the kick ass psychology when things get better. Just because your paycheck got fatter, or responsibilities got better, doesn't mean excuse making goes away.
As I said, this could be a bit generalized because not everyone is like that, and I admit it, but it is more evident. If you watch guys like William Hung get 15 minutes of fame for sounding like a dying cat getting dragged down the interstate, then you too can light a firecracker up your ass and become famous. With that ease ends the higher expectations and the commitment, and that's too bad.
Because one thing is for certain. You watch the mega-stars on TV or film these days, the one difference between them and "More Pie, Ma'am" actress is, besides a little bit of luck and a break they needed?
Simply hard work and preparation. They want it more than anyone else.
I always tell people to live as if they were ten years old. You never hear ten year olds wanting to be fast food restaurant managers. They want to be doctors, lawyers, surgeons, actors, ballplayers, etc..... Some get to follow their dreams, and some marry early, get fat after four kids, and hope they can retire in this economy. Everyone has different ways to live life.
At 10 years old, everything's a dream. At 20 years old, it's a sacrifice.
How much are you willing to sacrifice.
How bad do you truly want it?
