Fall Meisner Intensive Hannah Fernandez 02 - Maggie Flanigan Studio

The Meisner Intensive at Maggie Flanigan Studio teaches actors to work from the training of Sanford Meisner. In this interview, Hannah Fernandez discusses what she thought it meant to train and work as an actor before she came to the studio. Q: What happened explicitly during the six-week Meisner Intensive that changed your perspective on training? A: I think the change for me happened with the combination of the movement class and the Meisner acting class. I'm a dancer. I've been dancing my whole life. I felt like the movement was going to be okay. It was just going to be like; I don't know, getting comfortable in your body. That's what I thought it was going to be, and just making sure everything is motivated movement-wise. I was utterly blown away by what it was. I feel like the movement program helped me open up as a human being. I didn't realize all this tension that I was holding, and these places that I wasn't allowing myself to release from, which was keeping me back in the acting world, and in the real world also. The combination of movement and the acting class was beneficial because, in the campaign, you release your body, you get yourself open, open, open. You have to be comfortable with just feeling your feelings without any judgment. Then you go into the other room. You do your acting training, and you're hopefully staying open to what Charlie throws at you. I think that was most helpful, just getting out of my head. Charlie emphasizes getting out of your head, and that's the place where I like to be in my real life is in my head and making sure I'm doing things right, and all that. I felt like all the work at the door was helpful with just being open and taking it in and taking things personally. I think that's another thing that I didn't realize about acting was that, before I thought it was that we're pretending, but you have to actually take things personally. That's not acting when you take things personally from what someone else is saying to you, or how they're saying it to you. That's crazy different than what I thought it was. Q: What did you learn about yourself that was a surprise or that changed you over the course of these six weeks? A: I've always known that I was polite. I've always known that I was sweet and charming and all those things, which are great for some things. When I did my BFA, I knew that, and I knew my teachers knew it, but they couldn't figure out a way, and I couldn't find a way to get myself out of that for some things, and just finding a more versatile me. In this studio, you have to come to terms with every aspect of who you are. I realized that I was not comfortable with being upset. I was not comfortable being angry, or confessing that I was mad at the person I was acting with, or even in real life I'm not comfortable with that. That was a shock for me. It was tough having to combat that and having to face those fears of mine, but it ended up being great and freeing. It's released me in all my work. Even in real life, it's helped me as well. To learn more about the Meisner Intensive and professional training programs at the studio for actors, visit the registration and acting programs page on our website URL. Students who are interested in enrolling in our programs should contact the studio to arrange an interview. Call (917) 789-1599. Maggie Flanigan Studio 153 W 27th St #803 New York, New York 10001 +1 917-789-1599 www.maggieflaniganstudio.com/ goo.gl/maps/oxqqExybwL32 plus.google.com/112291205845820496849 https://flic.kr/p/2bGuuoz

via Fall Meisner Intensive Hannah Fernandez 02 - Maggie Flanigan Studio
by Maggie Flanigan