The Actor's Lab

Sanford Meisner 

 

Tracy Sloat and Sanford Meisner Before he died, Sandy (as his students referred to him) was asked...

"How do you want to be remembered? As a great teacher?"

He replied, "As an influence."

Tracy Sloat and Sanford Meisner in Los Angeles, California in 1994.

 


Sandy's Message

  • Always be specific

  • Every little moment has a meaning all its own

  • Stay in the moment

  • Live fully - moment to moment - that is reality

  • Listen, observe, listen, really look, listen, concentrate, listen

  • Don't do anything until something happens to make you do it

  • Act before you think - your instincts are more honest than you thoughts

  • There is no such thing as genial charm

  • An ounce of behavior is worth a pound of words

  • There is no such thing as nothing

  • Silence can say a lot - it can also cover up a magnitude of sins

  • Don't take anything for granted

  • Sandy's favorite from Goethe: "I wish the stage were as narrow as a tight rope so that no incompetent would dare walk on it."

  • Sandy's treasure from Shaw in reference to Duse: "Behind every broad stroke there was a human idea."

Find yourself in those things human which are universal

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last modified: 07/31/01
contact Tracy Sloat: actorslab@yahoo.com