A Brief History of Meisner
Basics of Meisner
The Repetition Exercise
The repetition exercise is a foundational Meisner Technique activity designed to train actors to really listen and respond impulsively in the moment.
How it works:
Partner up – Two actors sit or stand facing each other.
Make an observation – One actor makes a simple, truthful statement about the other based on what they see (e.g., “You’re smiling”).
Repeat the phrase – The other actor repeats the exact words back.
Continue the exchange – The line is repeated back and forth, with both actors allowing their emotional responses to naturally influence how they say it.
Let it evolve – If the reality of the moment changes, the words can shift to reflect the new truth (e.g., “You’re smiling” might become “You’re laughing” or “You look upset”).
Stay present – The focus is on truly listening, noticing changes, and allowing honest, unplanned reactions — rather than “acting” or forcing a performance.
Purpose:
To allow you to live in the moment without anticipation of what the other actor will do next. In a scene, it is essential not to anticipate or "pretend" to do anything, unless the other actor makes you do it.
The Imaginary Circumstances
Next, actors start building an imaginary circumstance into the repetition exercise. This means they pretend something is true — like they’re late for an important meeting, or they’ve just heard exciting news — and then keep doing the repetition while acting as if that situation is really happening. The new pretend situation changes how they feel and respond, making the exercise more real and alive.
The goal is to stay focused on the other person, keep listening, and let your feelings change naturally because of what’s happening in the imaginary world.
The Independent Activity
Next, one of the two actors in the scene is tasked with doing an independent activity that is tricky to complete, urgent, and important within the given imaginary circumstances. Meanwhile, the other actor comes to the door:
Coming to the Door
Coming to the door means that one of the actors arrives at the scene needing something from the other person within the given imaginary circumstance. Then, they act out the repetition exercise within the circumstances of the actors respective 'door' and 'activity'.
Relationships
When the actors first start doing the doors and activities exercise they act as if the other actor is a complete stranger to them in the imaginary circumstance. Once the actors become more comfortable in the technique they start building imaginary relationships into the scene.
Coming Home to be Alone
Next, actors work on a new type of activity called coming home to be alone. Here, they learn to feel comfortable being themselves on stage, even though others are watching. The focus is on public solitude — behaving as naturally as you would in private — and on leaving yourself alone, trusting that your real thoughts and feelings are enough without trying to “perform.”
The Impediment
In this exercise, actors take on a physical or emotional challenge — such as an injury, limited vision, or a mental health problem — and explore how it might affect a person’s behaviour. The goal is to honour and be sensitive to the real challenges of human life, approaching the work with respect and curiosity. Actors research the challenge earnestly and then behave truthfully within it, allowing it to naturally influence how they move, feel, and respond.
The Spoon River
This exercise draws from The Spoon River Anthology, a collection of short poems in which people who have passed share one final time about their lives. In Meisner training, actors choose a poem and speak it as if they are the person, revealing their truth for the first time. The aim is to connect deeply with the character’s feelings, beliefs, and experiences, and to speak with honesty and urgency — as if the audience truly needs to hear it one last time.
