ORIGIN OF SANFORD MEISNER'S “MEISNER TECHNIQUE” :

Sanford Meisner is one of the most important and influential acting teachers of the Twentieth Century. He defined acting as doing things truthfully under imaginary circumstances. By 1930, the most respected and influential theater company in American history formed called The Group Theater assembling such luminaries as Harold Clurman, Lee Strasberg, Stella Adler, Clifford Odets, Morris Carnovsky and Sanford Meisner. They were pioneers of what would become an “American acting technique” derived from the teachings of Russian actor and director Constantin Stanislavski. The "Stanislavski System" inspired audiences with performances of raw power, realism, and emotional truth.

While Strasberg focused on the Sense Memory technique using events in one’s past as a way of emotionalizing, Meisner developed his technique using Stanislavski’s revised method. Rather than delving exclusively into one’s past memories as a source of emotion, one could more effectively summon up the character’s thoughts and feelings through the concentrated use of the imagination and the belief in the given circumstances of the text. Meisner defined acting as doing things truthfully under imaginary circumstances and his technique is still known for its depth, reliability and balanced approach.

Sandy Meisner taught at the legendary Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City for more than 50 years. His students include Paul Newman, Robert Duvall, Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton, Joanne Woodward, Eli Wallach, Anne Jackson, and Steve McQueen. Joanne Baron studied under Sandy Meisner in his private class. William Esper, head teacher at the Playhouse for 14 years, eventually formed the William Esper Studio in New York City. Joanne Baron was one of his students then became a teacher under Esper for a number of years. She later began her own school in New York to immediate acclaim.

Today, the Joanne Baron/D.W. Brown Studio has relocated from New York City to Santa Monica, California, continuing this legacy and teaching the same body of work that Meisner and Esper taught: a specific training program designed to create an emotionally alive actor of depth, imagination, and truth.