Sanford Meisner on Acting

About The Author

As head of the acting department at the Neighborhood Playhouse for 40 years, Sanford Meisner was considered one of the greatest acting teachers of our time. As a founding member of the Group Theatre, Meisner also acted in many of its stage productions, including Awake and Sing!, Paradise Lost, An American Tragedy, Golden Boy, and Crime and Punishment. Some of the thousands of actors he taught in his classes at the Playhouse include Elizabeth Ashley, Barbara Baxley, James Broderick, James Caan, Keir Dullea, Robert Duvall, Lee Grant, Lorne Greene, Tammy Grimes, Anne Jackson, Diane Keaton, Louise Lasser, Darren McGavin, Steve McQueen, Gregory Peck, Suzanne Pleshette, Tony Randall, Jo Van Fleet, Jon Voight, Eli Wallach, and Joanne Woodward. Sanford Meisner died in 1997.After earning a degree in philosophy from Yale, Dennis Longwell studied acting with Sanford Meisner in the 1960s. He has also worked as an actor, teacher, and museum curator. His monograph, Steichen: The Master Prints, 1895–1914, published by the Museum of Modern Art in 1978, is the definitive book on the early photographs of Edward Steichen. Longwell is currently a visiting associate professor of history of art and design at the Pratt Institute.Sydney Pollack was an Academy Award–winning American director, producer, and actor. He directed dozens of films and television shows, and produced dozens more. He died in 2008.Jason Culp has been featured on television in Days of Our Lives and General Hospital and in the cult film Skinheads. His roles in regional theater include Trigorin in The Seagull. Jason has been an audiobook performer since 1996. After many years in New York, he has relocated to his hometown of Los Angeles to continue his acting and audiobook careers.Arthur Morey has acted in a number of productions, both Off-Broadway in New York and Off-Loop in Chicago. He’s won several Earphones Awards and has been repeatedly listed by AudioFile Magazine as a Best Voice over the years.