THE OBJECTIVE

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"An ounce of behavior is worth a pound of words." -- Sanford Meisner

WORK IN PROGRESS

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"An ounce of behavior is worth a pound of words." -- Sanford Meisner

ACTON, WHY (THE STAKES), CONTACT, LISTENING

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"An ounce of behavior is worth a pound of words." -- Sanford Meisner

KONSTANTINE STANISLAVSKY

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Stanislavsky -- "To be without a sense of humor is indeed a scary thing . . . A sense of humor bespeaks the ability to see all facets of a subject; its lack betrays blindness or narrowness of vision."

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"An ounce of behavior is worth a pound of words." -- Sanford Meisner

ON CONTACT BETWEEN ACTORS: DON'T TAKE THE OTHER PERSON FOR GRANTED

Sara Krulwich/The New York Times

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Frances McDormand and Morgan Freeman as a suffering couple in the revival of "The Country Girl" at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theater.

". . . It’s a law of theatrical physics that electricity is generated onstage only when a connection is made: between actors and audience, yes, but first of all among the actors themselves. And for whatever reason, everyone in “The Country Girl” seems to be operating on his or her own isolating frequency."(To read more.)

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"An ounce of behavior is worth a pound of words." -- Sanford Meisner

WILLIAM ESPER INTERVIEW

". . . The next step in the training is learning Emotional Preparations.

Is that different form prior circumstances?

Yes, in a way. It’s the way the actor relates himself emotionally to the prior circumstances. Let’s say the actor is doing a scene and ten lines into the scene his stage wife says to him, “What are you so happy about?” His line is, “Honey, you are looking at the new vice president of the Crocketsville National Bank.” The audience then thinks, “So, that’s why the actor was so happy.” Emotional Preparation is what the actor does offstage to bring himself alive so that he is emotionally related to his prior circumstances when he comes to the first moment, the moment of his entrance. " (To read more.)

William Esper along with Phil Gushee (Tom Cruise) were my first teachers at The Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theater.

"Among the professional actors with whom Mr. Esper has worked with include: Kim Bassinger, Jennifer Beals, Kristen Davis, Kim Delaney, Calista Flockhart, Peter Gallagher, Jeff Goldblum, Glenn Headley, Patricia Heaton, William Hurt, Christine Lahti, John Malkovich, Gretchen Mol, David Morse, Sam Rockwell, Michelle Shay, Paul Sorvino, Mary Steenburgen, Patricia Wetting, Richard Schiff, Dule Hill, Timothy Olyphant, Molly Price, Roger Bart, Tonya Pinkins, Dean Winters, Aaron Eckhart, Wendy Malik, and Tracee Ellis Ross."

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"An ounce of behavior is worth a pound of words." -- Sanford Meisner

LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN

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"An ounce of behavior is worth a pound of words." -- Sanford Meisner

MATCH A "WISH" TO AN ACTION

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"An ounce of behavior is worth a pound of words." -- Sanford Meisner

THE TASK (ACTION) MUST HAVE A SENSE OF URGENCY: STAY OPEN

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"An ounce of behavior is worth a pound of words." -- Sanford Meisner

YOU MUST UNDERSTANAD WHAT IT MEANS TO BE IN REAL CONTACT BETWEEN TWO PEOPLE - THAT'S ALL.

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"An ounce of behavior is worth a pound of words." -- Sanford Meisner

DON'T ANTICIPATE ANYTHING

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"An ounce of behavior is worth a pound of words." -- Sanford Meisner

REALLY LISTEN, REALLY ANSWER

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"An ounce of behavior is worth a pound of words." -- Sanford Meisner

CONCENTRATION ON THE TASK

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"An ounce of behavior is worth a pound of words." -- Sanford Meisner

ACTING IS DOING. THE "CHARACTER" IS "HOW" YOU DO IT.

Sanford Meisner

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"An ounce of behavior is worth a pound of words." -- Sanford Meisner

IT'S IN WHAT THE ACTION DOES TO YOU

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"An ounce of behavior is worth a pound of words." -- Sanford Meisner

ANTICIPATION

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"Suit the action to the word, the word to the action." - William Shakespeare, Hamlet, III.II

ON DOING

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"An ounce of behavior is worth a pound of words." -- Sanford Meisner

[THE] BASIC UNIT IN ACTING IS THE MOMENT

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"An ounce of behavior is worth a pound of words." -- Sanford Meisner

THINK IN TEREMS OF SOLVING A PROBLEM

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"An ounce of behavior is worth a pound of words." -- Sanford Meisner

90% OF THE ACTING PROBLEM IS UNCONSCIOUS

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"An ounce of behavior is worth a pound of words." -- Sanford Meisner

ONE THING THAT COUNTS IS YOUR HONESTY

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"An ounce of behavior is worth a pound of words." -- Sanford Meisner

HEPBURN - "ACTING IS LISTENING"

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"An ounce of behavior is worth a pound of words." -- Sanford Meisner

September 27, 1976

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"An ounce of behavior is worth a pound of words." -- Sanford Meisner