UNIT TITLE
Acting Methods and Styles
LESSON TITLE
Sanford Meisner and Quiz
CLASS
Drama 4
DURATION
75 Minutes
EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVE
Students will demonstrate their understanding of basic Meisner Technique by completing the “connect, respond, and speak” activity.
NATIONAL STANDARDS
CREATING
• TH:Cr1.1.HSIII.a
o Synthesize knowledge from a variety of dramatic forms, theatrical conventions, and technologies to create the visual composition of a drama/theatre work
• TH:Cr3.1.HSIII.b
o Synthesize knowledge from a variety of dramatic forms, theatrical conventions, and technologies to create the visual composition of a drama/theatre work.
PERFORMANCE
• TH:Pr4.1.HSII.b
o Apply a variety of researched acting techniques as an approach to character choices in a drama/theatre work.
• TH:Pr5.1.HSIII.a
o Use and justify a collection of acting exercises from reliable resources to prepare a believable and sustainable performance.
MATERIALS
• White Board and Dry Erase Marker
• Empty Playing Space
• The Great Acting Teachers and Their Methods by Richard Brestoff
TEACHING PRESENTATION:
Hook:
Have the students follow you up on to the stage.
Step 1: Warm-Up/Group Practice Remind the students that Meisner is all about living truthfully under imagined circumstances. He accomplishes this by never saying or doing anything unless they feel compelled to. Explain that we have worked on the living truthfully part of his technique when we did the repetition with our partners during Shakespeare scenes. Today, we are going to work on the imagined circumstances part. Ask for two partners, and have them do the “Knock on the Door” exercise from Brestoff’s book (pg. 133). Explain the activity as it is explained in the book, but give the students their circumstances: one student is carefully and clumsily gluing a vase back together before his parents get home. She needs to be very careful and precise, but she is also clumsy. Go through the rest of the exercise as outlined in the book.
Step 2: Group Practice Explain to the students that they will split into partners and complete the same exercise. They will decide who is knocking, and who is working on the hard task. Explain that they will decide on their own task, but explain that the task should be something really difficult and requires a lot of attention (e.g. last minute paper due in 5 minutes, your complicated taxes, building a model airplane, etc.). Have the student split into groups, then perform the same exercise.
Step 3: Discussion Lead a brief discussion, based on the exercise, using the following questions:
• What happened? What was that like?
• Any discoveries during the exercise?
• Were you surprised by anything?
• How were imagined circumstances informing your exercise?
• How can this apply to your work as an actor?
Step 4: Directions Explain that we are now going to work on the other important part of the Meisner technique: don’t do anything until something happens to make you do it. Ask students to think briefly about the very moment before their monologue starts. What does their partner say to them to make them start their monologue?
Step 5: Individual Practice Talk students through the process of picking a cue line:
• What did your partner just say to you?
• What specifically? What are they exact words? What is the quote?
• Why does that set you off into your monologue?
Step 6: Directions/Modeling Explain that they will now take this cue line and have a partner give it to them. However, we are going to add one little technique to help motivate us truthfully into the monologue. They will start facing away from their partner. Then, they will connect (turning and visually connecting with the partner), respond (some kind of physical/vocal response to what was just said), and speak (the start their monologue. If the cue line isn’t strong enough to motivate the monologue then a new on must be chose. Demonstrate the process for them
Step 7: Group Practice Practice “connect, respond, and speak” in partnerships. Wander through the room offering some coaching. Explain that they should try it several times. Keep working until they are told to stop.
Step 8: Directions Explain that they will now perform these for the class, without their partner. We will just quickly go around the room and see everyone’s “connect, respond, and speak.”
Step 9: Performance Have students before their connect, respond, and speak and have them say the first line of their monologue. Have students perform one right after the other, swiftly. Briefly give some feedback on the strength of their moment before as you go through the performances. Take note of students who may be struggling with concept for further coaching work.
Step 10: Discussion Lead a brief discussion using the following questions?
• What happened? What was that like?
• Any discoveries during the exercise?
• Were you surprised by anything?
• How were imagined circumstances informing your exercise?
• How can this apply to your work as an actor?
Step 11: Directions Have students take out a piece of paper. Explain that we are going to quiz today on what we’ve learned so far. Explain that this is open note, but not open neighbor. Should they have taken good notes, they will be fine! Take them through the following questions on the next page.
Step 12: Quiz Administer the quiz to the class verbally, allowing them time to complete each question. Again, they may use their notes.
• Who is Konstantin Stanislavski and, in broad terms, what is his contribution to Theatre? (Russian Actor and Acting theorist/teacher. He developed a system that is still adapted in used in modern acting styles.)
• Name 3 additional parts of the Stanislavski System and briefly describe them.
o Given Circumstances
o Concentration
o Emotional Memory Recall
o Sense Memory
o Objective
o Script Analysis
o Units
o Super Objective
• Multiple Choice: Who started the Group Theatre in New York City?
o Cheryl Crawford, Harold Clurman, and Lee Strasberg
o Harold Clurman, Konstantin Stanislavski, Stella Adler
o Cheryl Crawford, Uta Hagen, Stella Adler
o Lee Strasberg, Anton Chekov, Uta Hagen
• Why was the Group Theatre created? (Created to adapt and incorporate the realism of Stanislavski in a repertory environment, similar to the Moscow Art Theatre of Stanislavski and his colleagues.)
• Pick two of the following individuals and briefly describe their contribution to Theatre.
o Stella Adler
o Uta Hagen
o Lee Strasberg
o Harold Clurman
o Sanford Meisner
• What is one Main Point of the Meisner Technique and briefly describe it: (Answers will vary: Live truthfully under imagined circumstances OR don’t do anything until you FEEL you must).
• What is one thing that you can pull from this realistic acting unit that you can put into your actors toolkit?
Assessment
Students can be assessed on their presentation of their “connect, respond, and speak” exercise. Additionally, the quiz will allow you to assess what students are remembering about the methods and artists covered so far. The quiz is worth 40 points.