“Act before you think – your instincts are more honest than your thoughts.”
(Sanford Meisner)
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This quote exemplifies the Sanford Meisner theory of acting, a theory brought manifest in the development of the Meisner Technique, which focused on getting actors “out of their heads” and acting based on instinct, rather than a hyper-focus on the words their character speaks.
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Sanford Meisner (August 31, 1905 – February 2, 1997) was a legendary actor and acting teacher and was one of the original actors who formed the famous Group Theatre, along with other legends like Lee Strasberg and Stella Adler. He is perhaps most famous for developing a series of acting exercises, which built on the work of Constantin Stanislavski and his “system”. Meisner’s series of exercises became known as the Meisner Technique.
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