Meisner... Cont'd

On Monday, our focus for the class was "Synthesis." We started as a group to create a short scene that included a synthesis of some kind. It could have been a physical or a cultural or a sound synthesis. We decided to combine some such as vocal and physical synthesis.
We started all going around saying only one word, with different physicality and different voices. Then we came together to form the phrase "I am so happy."

Then we did some prop work by first balancing a stick on either the palm of our hands or on our finger/s. Then we had to balance the stick and say a line at the same time.
Once we got the grasp of that, one by one, we would have to balance the stick and have a conversation with someone else (the other person just observes the one balancing the stick. I had an advantage in this since in martial arts (in which i have some experience in), balance is essential, especially in kendo.

How is this related to Meisner?
Since Meisner believed that an actor has to live the moment, Mr. Evans thought that this exercise would help us. Since we were concentrating on the stick more, and only a little portion of our concentration was on acting, our voice became more natural.

On stage, it is unlikely that an actor would be balancing a stick, so instead, we tried having a conversation with something a bit more complex, like packing your bag neatly, or building a lamp. These actions are most likely to be happened on stage.


Later, we were given a script and tried to interpret it with some Meisner technique whether it was something we learned this lesson or a previous lesson. The script was a page from "The Lesson" by Ionesco (a Romanian and French playwright and dramatist who wrote many plays for the Theatre of the Absurd). We were paired up; I was with Sofia and Maria was with Sara.

Professor: Let us proceed a little further. What do two and one make?
Pupil: Three
Professor: Three and one?
Pupil: Four
Professor: Four and one?
Pupil: Five
Professor: Five and one?
Pupil: Six
Professor: Six and one?
Pupil: Seven
Professor: Seven and one?
Pupil: Eight
Professor: Seven and one?
Pupil: Still Eight
Professor: Very good answer. Seven and one?
Pupil: Eight again
Professor: Excellent. Perfect. Seven and one?
Pupil: Eight for the fourth time. And sometimes nine.
Professor: Magnificent! You're magnificent. Sublime!

I played the pupil and Sofia was the Professor. We made the cues very short and quick while looking through books. So we would go with the impulse, like Meisner said.
Maria and Sara went for a very different approach than us. They were both balancing sticks and saying their lines. The only difference was that Maria was walking around whereas Sara was sitting down.