Six consecutive three-month sessions – as pure, legitimate, and authentic as Meisner intended. Twice weekly, three hours a session. Students advance by invitation after each session.
The Meisner technique is a brick-by-brick, step-by-step process where each class builds on the one before it. That’s exactly how the introductory class is taught.
Each three-hour class starts right on time. There’s a brief introduction to the next element of the technique, and then you’re up on your feet immediately working with a partner. Your teacher will stop you, give you notes and adjustments, and you’ll go again. Then you sit down, another pair comes up, and you keep learning by watching. You’re not waiting your turn. You’re working the whole time.
Practice between classes matters. Sanford Meisner once told a student, “You’re under the impression you’re here to work. That’s a falsehood. You’re here to show me the fruits of your work.” Class is where you receive the next brick. What you do with it between sessions is up to you.
Session One isn’t about scripts, monologues, or camera work. There’s none of that yet. Other classes throw you in front of a camera with a script on the first day. Sandy felt that was a disservice. Before you can handle someone else’s words, you need to be present, focused, and free from the self-consciousness that kills authentic work.