ABSTRACT
Meisner training recognizes the need for a heightened emotional vibration in illuminating character on the stage. The training recognizes that the moments of life reader act on the stage are by definition dramatic. While the Meisner approach provides a pathway for acting truthful spontaneous moments, students often face challenges when acting in plays that are stylized, historical, or call for them to expand their sense of natural human behavior. It is important for students to understand that Meisner and his contemporary master acting teachers developed their approaches during the twentieth century, when film became the primary and most popular medium of the narrative form. When it comes to working outside naturalistic roles, some works require the ability to amplify or modify physical, vocal, and emotional modes of actor communication. The undergraduate students the author encounter are often challenged in the transition from the acting studio to performance in larger main-stage venues.
