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| Michael Mendelson |
"There are currently 17 of you. Some of you will not be asked back at the end of this year. And of those who make it to the Second Year, not all will work as actors...To give you a frame of reference, there were ten students in my graduate acting company at the University of Washington. Four are still working."It was bad enough that none of the girls were wearing makeup and the boys all had to shave off any facial hair - Michael's required "undress code" for Meisner's brutal honesty.
But then came something even scarier: sitting in front of an audience with nothing to do.
You'd be surprised how nerve-wracking this "simple" exercise is: sit in a chair for three minutes facing the class. Know how long three minutes is? A heck of a long time when you're being looked at. Nervous ticks start to emerge at about 40 seconds, then excruciating pain at minute two. By minute three, it's not unheard of to be experiencing some serious, and very unexpected, emotions.
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| Image courtesy Joanne Baron / D.W. Brown Studio |
Like manna from heaven, Michael then gives the hotseat-scalded student something to do. It is a simple activity, like separating and counting coins or rolling for a Yahzee! (what's that? they say).
Instantly, the face previously contorted in attempted control becomes relaxed, expressive. Kind of like you want to feel on stage...
Who WAS this Meisner guy and what was he thinking?
Start here.
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