Founding member of the famed Group Theater and friend, colleague, and later rival to Lee Strasberg, Sanford Meisner spent his life teaching a variation of the Stanislavsky-based Method acting that brought Strasberg so much fame. In this clearly written introduction to Meisner's techniques, Silverberg, himself a graduate of Meisner's Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theater, outlines a 15-week program of exercises designed by Meisner to help actors approach each performance with the playful spontaneity and excitement of an opening night. Despite the book's subtitle, this is no mere actor's workbook; rather, it is an ongoing discussion, periodically interrupted by acting exercises, of the great acting teacher's philosophy and worldview. Which means that those with more interest in Meisner and his place in the history of American theatrical acting will find the book at least as fascinating as will actors hoping to master Meisner's particular take on Stanislavsky-style naturalism. Jack Helbig
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Publisher: Smith & Kraus
Released: 1994
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