“Meisner was very opposed to Strassbergs use of Emotional Memory. He believed that depending on one’s own life experiences for emotional connection limited what the actor might be capable of playing. If an actor did not have a wealth of dramatic experiences from which to draw from, they would be at a disadvantage. He also feared that continually drawing on traumatic experiences from the past was not a healthy way to work. Meisner preferred for actors to expand their imaginations so that they could connect to the imaginary circumstances of the play and stay in character, always working from what the actor’s truthful response to imaginary circumstances. He discovered that the body often responded to a fully lived fantasy in the same way they responded to real life events.”
learn more from the Elizabeth Mestnik Acting Studio on the Meisner Technique
