Orange County Actors Collective in Action
Sanford Meisner
Our training is formally rooted in Sanford Meisner's acting technique, also known as the Meisner Technique, is a comprehensive acting approach that helps actors create believable behavior:
- Emotional preparation: Actors prepare emotionally through daydreaming and fantasizing.
- Repetition exercises: Actors repeat lines or physical actions from their scene partner's point of view. For example, if an actor says "You have a black shirt," the other actor would repeat "I have a black shirt".
- Independent activity: Actors engage in independent activities.
The Meisner Technique's goal is to help actors connect with their scene partners and respond instinctively to stimuli. Actors are encouraged to focus on the other actors in the scene, rather than on themselves or their internal thoughts. The technique aims to help actors act before they think, allowing their authenticity to surface. Meisner developed the technique after becoming disillusioned with "Method" acting. He believed that American actors needed an American approach to achieve the goal of "living truthfully under imaginary circumstances". Many well-known actors have trained with the Meisner Technique, including Gregory Peck, Grace Kelly, Robert Duvall, Alec Baldwin, and Diane Keaton
Sanford Meisner (August 31, 1905 – February 2, 1997)
UTA HAGEN
The Uta Hagen Technique is an acting method that focuses on using personal experiences and emotions to create authentic and believable performances. The technique was developed by actress and teacher Uta Hagen, who was known for her ability to bring complexity to her characters. Some key elements of the Uta Hagen Technique include:
- Substitution: Actors use personal experiences and memories to evoke genuine emotions. For example, actors might recreate a memory as themselves, and then recreate it as the character.
- Object exercises: Actors use exercises to understand their characters' motivations and objectives. For example, actors might add imagined details to an object to make it more valuable.
- Sense memory: Actors recall and recreate sensory experiences from the past.
- Through line of action: Actors track the overarching storyline of the character throughout the play.
- The Fourth Wall: Actors use the visual area of the audience to create an engaging and interactive experience.
- Relaxation and concentration exercises: Actors use these exercises to access their emotions.
Hagen's technique encourages actors to avoid over-intellectualizing their processes and instead observe daily life.
Utah Hagen (June 12. 1919 – January 14, 2004)
Declan Donnellan
Declan Donnellan's acting technique is centered around the idea that actors must plug into the space and make a mental adjustment to inhabit the world of the play. Donnellan believes that actors should first focus on creating a new space for their character, rather than simply "acting" by pouring energy into the performance.
He also believes that the more dangerous or dynamic the space, the more alive the actor will be. Donnellan's ideas are outlined in his book The Actor and the Space, which is structured around a rehearsal of Macbeth. The book is intended to help actors and directors create a fertile space for rehearsals, and to help audiences understand what happens behind the scenes as a script becomes a living performance.
Donnellan also wrote a book called The Actor and the Target, which outlines seven uncomfortable choices that actors must make to free themselves up and create truthful performances
Declan Donnellan