The Meisner Extension
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The Meisner Extension is an acting studio within New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. It is run by Vicki Hart, a fierce, demanding, insightful, amazing woman. She is helped by Nathan Flower, a tall, intimidating, slightly odd, fantastic teacher. The program is a primary studio at Tisch and lasts for two years. It is a program known for its rigorousness, the small intimate class size and environment, and the excellent standard of actors it produces.
Harold Clurman, a founding member of The Group Theatre, a great theatre man and contemporary of Sanford Meisner's said that, a good actor must have a lively temperament, a rich imagination, a strong flexible body with a wonderful voice and articulate, clear speech.[citation needed] The training is divided into two distinct years, the first year, serving to prepare the acting instrument for the second year, acquisition of the craft. In the first year the goal is to help actors to become a lively and vivid, truthful and expressive version of themselves in the imaginary world so that they are comfortable living through the kind of crisis that exists in dramatic material.
In the second year, students acquire the tools that allow them to transform and become the character the material asks them to bring to life. The foundation for all of Meisner's exercises is "the reality of doing". That a good actor does not pretend but truly experiences what his character lives through. Elia Kazan, the great director said, "acting is turning psychology into behavior."fact In this second year, the focus is on understanding the psychology of the character; learning how to decipher the clues buried in the script so that the text becomes inevitable and the actor's behavior becomes authentic to the character. This is a "building block" progression; very specific and responsible to the actor addressing the core of what makes a good actor, his imagination, his temperament and his ability to be affected by the other moment to moment as he lives through the events of the play.
[edit] Faculty
The faculty has developed a curriculum which includes the Meisner technique of acting; voice and speech, to acquire clear and articulate speech and to strengthen the vocal instrument; movement classes in both yoga and Williamston Technique, to develop a strong flexible and expressive body, free of restrictions; work with mask, which is sourced in Michael Chekhov's technique; work to use the body improvisationally, to explore character as a group; and script analysis to acquire information they need to prepare them for scene work in their process of preparing for our final production.
Head of Studio Vicki Hart
Acting Vicki Hart
Voice and Speech Donna Germain
Voice Scott Flaherty
Accents and Dialects John Van Wyden
Movement Nathan Flower
Clown Lucas Calaeb Rooney
Stage Combat J. David Brimmer
Script Analysis and Acting Physical Fritz Ertl
