Meisner Technique: Nail More Auditions in 2024

In this guide, you'll learn everything you need to know about Meisner Technique. I'll also go into depth on how to use it to improve your acting ability and start booking more acting work.

Meisner Technique can work for both new and experienced actors alike to help them deliver natural, subtle performances casting directors prefer, which can vastly improve your booking ratio!

In this guide, you'll learn:

• What Meisner Technique is and how you use it to improve your acting ability right away
• Famous actors who use Meisner Technique, and what types of actors should NOT use Meisner Technique
• The difference between Method Acting and Meisner Technique, and where you can study Meisner Technique in depth
• Do you really need to spend countless hours researching your character before every audition?
• And much more...

Sanford Meisner, creator of "The Meisner Technique"

Meisner Technique

​What is Meisner Technique?

In a nutshell, Meisner Technique is a form of training that encourages actors to respond to stimuli using their own natural instincts. Rather than going deep into sense memory and making choices ahead of time for every moment (or "beat") in a scene, you're simply meant to respond to external cues in a natural way without thinking too much

Sanford Meisner developed this technique to help actors get out of their own heads and stop overthinking their performances. The technique was considered groundbreaking because of how easy it was and how little effort was required to "act."

It's a fantastic, quick way for actors who audition but have trouble booking the role to up their game and start booking more gigs quickly.

There are three main principles to the Meisner Technique:

1. ​Emotional Preparation – As with all styles of acting, there is prep work to do, which involves research and decision making. Creating a backstory and making specific choices about the character before the scene begins allows your performance to be more truthful to the character. The one caveat is that these decisions can only be made up until the point where the scene begins. From there on out, everything that takes place must happen on the spot – Meisner Technique is meant to be entirely reactive (meaning your performance will likely change slightly from take to take).
2. Repetition – Meisner employed repetition in the form of word games, where each actor would say the same line over and over, but with a different emotional tone, in response to however the actor across from them said it. More on repetition soon.
3. Improvisation – Since so much of Meisner Technique is based on reaction and instinct, almost all actors' performances are based in improv (except for the choices they make before the scene starts).

These three principles work together to allow actors to give organic, instinctive performances that look fantastic on screen.

​What is the Essence of Meisner Technique?

Put simply, the essence of Meisner Technique is to respond and react instinctively to stimuli presented to you in the scene. Most other forms of acting require delving deep into memories, creating artificial worlds, etc., but Meisner Technique is based primarily on reacting to whatever the other actor(s) give you.

​How to Use the Meisner Technique to Start Booking More Work

Meisner recommended that actors learn their lines without adding inflection or focusing on the delivery of those lines. Practicing for auditions in this way should allow your performance to be more truthful and natural in the moment.

But the fastest way to get used to responding instinctively is to use Sanford Meisner's Word Repetition Game. It will help you learn to respond naturally to other actors and get better at listening, which is one of the main qualities casting directors look for in actors at auditions.

​Instead of practicing a long monologue or dialogue, two actors will face each other and continuously repeat the same line over and over again, solely modifying their tone, intensity, and emotion. Slight line modifications are allowed, but you'll generally say the same thing over and over again, aiming to react authentically and naturally to however the other actor said their line.

One actor might say, "You're wearing a hat." Then the actor across from him would repeat or slightly alter the phrase, "I am wearing a heat."

Each time, as the actors go back and forth, slight changes will be heard as the vocal inflections take the emotional tone to new places. Words can slightly change as actors notice things about one another, such as, "You just took your hat off," or "I like your hat," etc.

Prop usage and movement repetition can be employed in more advanced versions of the game.

The Word Repetition Game is a fantastic exercise to help actors get out of their own heads and practice actively listening to one another. Meisner described it as a "ping pong game that is the foundation for emotional connection."
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If you want to dive deeper on other Meisner games and exercises to improve the authenticity and subtlety of your performances during auditions and on set, I highly recommend checking out this Meisner Technique Exercises PDF.​

​Watch the video below to see the Word Repetition Game in action:

​Why Use the Meisner Technique?

The Meisner Technique is one of the best forms of training for screen actors because of how natural and subtle the results are. Facial expressions and gestures are realistic and don't feel forced on screen, where the camera captures everything.

Another advantage of the Meisner Technique is that it can help actors who tend to experience analysis paralysis when preparing for a scene. It can almost cut the time spent prepping in half because there is no need to make decisions for every beat and moment in the script – the only analysis and decision making needed is for the backstory before the scene actually starts. Related: How to Prepare for an Audition Quickly & Easily
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​Because of its reliance on instinct instead of training, newer actors often find it easier to understand and use than other forms of training. It doesn't require a deep understanding of drama and years of practice, and many Meisner actors say it allows them to create honest performances without having to spend hours ​"dredging up torturous personal emotions."

The downside to the Meisner Technique is that its subtlety can make it look flat on stage, where there is no closeup camera to pick up the subtlety on the actor's face. Actors who perform on stage should consider studying classical acting techniques and improvisational methods such as the Spolin Technique to supplement their Meisner training.

Researching Your Character

Now that you have a basic understanding of Meisner Technique, let's dive a bit deeper on the "research" aspect, which is the more time-consuming part.

In order to gain a fuller perspective on the character, it is generally recommended that you do some research into their background:

• Determining the character's backstory. Reading anything you can get your hands on that could give you more context into the character's life can be helpful. If the full screenplay is available, you should read it. If there are other works out referencing the character, you should read them as well. Having an understanding on the character's background will help you better understand their decisions, emotions, reactions, and thought process.
• Interviewing people or reading about others who have had a similar experience to the character. In addition to reading materials available on the specific character, you can also find people in real life who might have a similar backstory to the character. You can ask them about their history and why they made the decisions they did. For example, if the character you're auditioning for is living in a Nazi concentration camp, you can attempt to find a survivor and ask them if they'd be willing to share anything about their own experience. Alternatively, you can visit a Holocaust museum or research online the stories of individuals who lived through that horrible experience. This deeper knowledge of what your character is going through can give you additional insight into how they might react from moment to moment.
• Meditating on the character's experience and emotions. Spend a few hours with your eyes closed thinking and reliving what the character went through prior to the scene to better understand the emotions they experienced.

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This type of research will give you a more complex and full understanding of your character so your reactions and instincts are more truthful to the character's history and perspective on the world.

That being said, I don't always recommend you spend a lot of time doing in-depth character research. Towards the bottom of this article, I will explain when it makes sense to skip the research entirely and just focus on authentically and instinctively reacting.

​What Famous Actors Use the Meisner Technique?

Some famous Meisner actors include Stephen Colbert, Alec Baldwin, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Amy Schumer, Jeff Goldblum, Jon Voight, Naomi Watts, Tom Cruise, Jeff Bridges, Tina Fey, Gregory Peck, and Michelle Pheiffer.

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​Where Can I Study the Meisner Technique?

There are plenty of ways to get into a Meisner Technique acting class or to learn the approach in more depth. They include:

• The Neighborhood Playhouse in NYC (where Meisner initially taught)
• The Sanford Meisner Center in LA
• Many undergraduate and graduate acting programs around the country
• Books including:
  • Sanford Meisner on Acting by Sanford Meisner & Dennis Longwell
  • The Sanford Meisner Approach by Larry Silverberg
  • The Actor’s Art and Craft: William Esper Teaches the Meisner Technique by William Esper

Meisner Technique vs. Method Acting – What's the Difference?

While Meisner Technique focuses on reaction to external stimuli, Method Acting goes in almost the entirely opposite direction. There is a strong focus on internal motivation and memory/emotional recollection to develop the character.

Method Acting is perhaps more well-known because of the crazy stories of lengths some method actors have gone to give authentic performances, including starving oneself, spending weeks in a wheelchair, etc.

​Here are some crazy stories of method actors who almost went too far.

​​Is Meisner Technique acting?

One could say that Meisner Technique is the opposite of acting. It's reacting.

The only "acting" required is the prep work done for the scene – the research and making of specific choices. Once the scene begins, the entire technique is focused solely on reacting authentically to whatever you're given!

Can I Skip the In-Depth Character Research?

​At the end of the day,  an honest, truthful performance in an audition can be delivered a multitude of ways, but the Meisner Technique is one of the fastest ways to get there to start improving your bookings.

Many so-called "experts" in the industry will recommend you spend countless hours researching and reading full-length screenplays to prepare for auditions, but I like to think different (or as I call it, "think 'outside the industry'").

I believe that when it comes to auditions, most casting directors are going to choose an actor who naturally fits the role over an actor who does tons of research and attempts to become something he or she is not. The amount of effort required to completely change yourself and truly "become" someone you're not can be almost impossible within the standard audition prep time frame of just a few days.

For that reason, I suggest you keep your research to a minimum and instead focus on auditioning only for roles for which you're naturally a fit, especially if you've only been acting for a year or two.

Over-preparing is one of the biggest ways that actors get in their own way and block themselves from booking roles they really want.

I believe that you only spend additional time in research and preparation after you've booked the role.

Instead, I encourage you to play each character as yourself and respond as you would in real life. This means you must be very clear on your Types and Brand, and spend most of your time auditioning for roles that fit within them.

If you're not yet clear on your Types and Brand, I have created a completely free guide you can download:

​Find Your Type... in Just 10 Minutes
Download our Free "Find Your Types" Guide

​The clearer you are on your Types, the easier it will be for you to nail every audition. This guide shows you how to shortcut the process of finding your Type from months to minutes.

​Here's what's included:

• A little-known Google hack to find people who look like you and discover what their Types are
• An in-depth list of over 76 Types that casting directors are actively looking forin 2021 and 2022, plus how to know which ones apply to you.
• The 2 biggest mistakes actors make when discovering their Types, and how to avoid making them yourself
• BONUS Video: Upgrade Your Type to a Brand – this 18-minute video workshop (originally sold for $99) shows you how to truly stand out to casting directors by upgrading your Types into an elegant, easy-to-remember 5-Word Brand

Find My Types!

​My "outside the industry" perspective is that you should use the "reactive" and "instinctive" parts of Meisner Technique to give authentic performances in auditions, but not worry so much about spending all your time in research and deep understanding of the character until you actually book the role.

This will save you tons of time but still give you 80-90% of the results. You can then opt to spend that extra time on more training or responding to more casting calls and getting WAY more auditions.

In summary, film directors and casting directors who cast for screen love actors who study Meisner Technique because of the simple fact that Meisner actors tend to be more natural on camera.

Therefore, I highly recommend taking some Meisner Technique classes because it's an indispensable tool that will absolutely help you book more acting work.

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Enjoyed this article?
​
Book more work by thinking "Outside the Industry."

​As someone who has worked with people in thousands of industries (through my headshot business), I've been able to take growth strategies that work for businesses and apply them directly to actors – to help them grow their careers faster than most would think possible  (examples: one of my clients landed his first-ever Broadway role in just 4 weeks of working with me, and a brand-new actress signed with a high-level agent in just six weeks of working with me).

I'd like to invite you to my free insider newsletter where I share my best material, including:

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​Martin Bentsen (author of this guide) is an actor marketing coach who uses “outside the industry” thinking to help actors book more work. He’s helped over 6,000 actors with their careers and actor headshots since 2009 and his photography studio City Headshots is ranked #1 on Yelp. He’s spoken at NYU, The New England Theater Conference, The Actor’s Green Room, and other venues.
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Want to book more acting work by thinking different? Start with his free Actor’s Toolkit to create new opportunities right away, or visit his website at www.martinbentsen.com.

Further Reading:

If you enjoyed this article, you might be interested in some of these:​
​

• ​How to Memorize Lines: The Ultimate Guide
• How to Become an Actor: The Ultimate Guide
• How to Create a Compelling Actor Resume, Even if You Have No Credits