The Meisner Technique Program
"Acting is behaving truthfully under imaginary circumstances"
Sanford Meisner
Wondering what makes some actors so great?
The secret is in their reliable technique.
A great actor has talent, intelligence, and passion, and technique is the glue that brings them all together into a dynamic, truthful performance.
At The Elizabeth Mestnik Acting Studio our roots are deep in the Meisner Technique. Renowned for its simplicity and directness Sanford Meisner created a step-by-step process to help actors get out of their heads, reduce self-consciousness, expand their imaginations, and broaden their emotional range. It develops complete freedom of expression and confidence in your abilities. The EMAS Meisner Technique is a traditional Meisner program, and we follow the syllabus that Sandy Meisner developed & William Esper refined.
Our expertise is in helping actors use the Meisner Technique to connect in a truthful and meaningful way to themselves, their acting partners, their imagination, the text, and the imaginary circumstances demanded by the script.
Starts January 8th, 2025
Year 1 is a series of improvisational exercises that take you step by step through Sanford Meisner’s syllabus. The focus is on learning the truthfulness of you in an imaginary circumstance. Learning about yourself and developing listening skills, imagination, and concentration, you will build a technical foundation you can depend on for the rest of your career. At the end of Year 1, each student should have access to the full range of their emotions and be able to live truthfully in any imaginary circumstance given to them.
If the first year is about finding the truthfulness of you in the imaginary circumstances, then the second year is about creating characters different from yourself. But they have to be just as honest, spontaneous, and interesting. The Year 2 work moves into more advanced improvisations, character work, and script analysis of increasingly complex and emotional scenes.
EMAS’ 5-week Summer Intensive is an opportunity to explore our Professional Meisner Technique Program. You will explore the step-by-step process that Sanford Meisner created to train actors to listen deeply, respond truthfully, and express honest emotional life. Enrolling in our Intensive is the best way to try out our studio and the technique to see if it’s a good fit for you.