Sanford Meisner
Harold Clurman. Cheryl Crawford. Lee Strasberg. As theatre artists, and students of
drama, these names should be so familiar to us by this point that it is like writing our own name.
There is a word for people like these- visionaries, idealists, dreamers. Although their story has
already been told, there is one individual whose hasn’t, or at the very least, a mere mention of his
name we’ve heard. As we travel back in time, we find Clurman at a trial performance of the
Guild Theatre’s production of Pirandello’s Right You Are if You Think You Are. It was here,
Clurman spotted two men whom in time he would become well acquainted with, and hold a
comraderic friendship with in the Group Theatre. Lee Strasberg was one of them, and the other
was none other than Sanford Meisner. (Clurman 9) It was by no random chance that Clurman
was with the Theatre Guild at that time, or for Clurman and Meisner to meet. A friend of
Clurman’s, Aaron Copland met Meisner and immediately recognized his talent and his musical
background. Copland wanted to introduce Meisner to a man whose passion about theatre was as
dynamic as his personality- Clurman. (Smith 11) Soon after these two men met, they were most
likely to be found in the “Double R”, a shoddy establishment across from the Belasco Theatre
where the coffee was terrible, yet was a suitable place for two young artists to talk about their
dreams of what theatre meant and should be to them. (Smith 12)
Sanford Meisner was born August 31st, 1905. He graduated from Erasmus Hall in 1923,
and attended the Damrash Institute of Music. His original intentions were to become a concert
pianist. (The Meisner Center) Yet, there was something inside him- his digging feeling which he
could not touch, or was unsure of what it was- until he talked his way into a job as an extra for
the Theatre Guild. (Smith 11) Meisner finally discovered that it was acting that was giving him
this charge. His parents, Hungarian-born Jews preferred Meisner to join them in their fur
business, but Meisner insisted that acting was for him. (Smith 11)
In 1928, Clurman approached Meisner and actor Morris Carnovsky about establishing a
group with no set agenda other than to broaden their experiences as actors and to experience and
examine full length plays and their possible potential. (Bigsby 159) This plan failed. However,
out of the failures of this plan arose the blue prints of the idea of the Group Theatre. In May of
1931, after some long discussions, debates, and $1000, Clurman, Crawford, and Strasberg joined
into partnership the Group Theatre. Standing with them in this, was Sanford Meisner, Morris
Carnovsky, the Adlers, and a few others. This new company of families and friends was the
Group Theatre.
Meisner’s experience in the Group Theatre was influential in his life and style. He felt as
if he belonged to something. Meisner once stated in an interview, “The main thing was being
part of a real theatre, where one worked in a serious way, in depth, where one had the
opportunity of developing one’s capacities. It was the difference between being in show business
and being in a real theatre- even though it only existed for ten years- that was the unique
experience of being in a Group Theatre. Where else was there a real, continuous theatre based
on theatrical and creative objectives? We American actors- we were quite young in those dayswe didn’t know anything like that.” He continues to say, “One of the objectives of the Group
Theatre was always to do plays that had to do with the meaning of contemporary life in America.
I was very influenced by these aspects for a while.” (Looking Back 501-502) Commenting on
social life inside the Group Theatre, Meisner stated, “Life in the Group Theatre- well-it wasn’t
an ideal society, not by any means. We were all rebels, you know. The Group was rather
cliquey. There was a group that centered around Harold and Stella. There was a group that was
headed by Morris Carnovsky.” (who Meisner nick-named the “Dean.”) “The relationship
between the people was friendly, but sometimes not as friendly as one would imagine it ought to
have been. The thing that always brought everybody together was the play. Once the play went
to work, then everybody worked together.” (Looking Back 503)
Meisner stayed with the Group theatre until it’s disband in 1941. In this 10 year run,
Meisner worked in such shows as The House of Connelly, Men in White, Awake and Sing,
Paradise Lost, and Golden Boy. (PBS.org) He also directed and co-directed shows such as
Waiting For Lefty and Golden Boy. (IBDB.com) While still working for the Group Theatre,
Meisner went on to head the acting department of New York’s Neighborhood Playhouse School
of Theatre where he taught his variations and theories of Stanislavsky’s method. Meisner’s
greatest teachings consisted of “the reality of doing” and the repetition exercise. (PBS.org)
Why Meisner? Because Sanford Meisner is a revolutionary. He went blindly into this
thing called the Group Theatre. He took a risk, and a step of faith, not knowing where he was
going or where he was going to end up. This is what separates good theatre artists from the great
ones. We can recognize those of us who are bold, daring, and willing to take a risk. We can
recognize those of us who are not afraid to try something new and are willing to stare failure in
its face. This is why we recognize the names of Clurman, Crawford, Strasberg and Jones. They,
along with Meisner have made the theatre that we know, embrace, and pursue in our life, dreams
and career.
Works Cited
Bigsby, C.W.E.. A Critical Introduction to Twentieth-Century American Drama. New York, NY:
Cambridge University Press, 1982.
Clurman, Harold. The Fervent Years. New York, NY: Hill and Wang, 1957.
Meisner, Sanford. "Looking Back: 1974-1976." Educational Theatre Journal 28(1976): 501-505.
"Sanford Meisner." American Masters. PBS. 26 Nov 2006
<http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/meisner_s.html>.
"Sanford Meisner Credits on Broadway." Sanford Meisner Credits on Broadway. Internet
Broadway Database. 26 Nov 2006 <http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?ID=15637>.
"Sanford Meisner." Sanford Meisner Bio. The Meisner Center. 26 Nov 2006
<http://www.themeisnercenter.com/meisnerBio.html>.
Smith, Wendy. Real Life Drama: The Group Theatre and America, 1931-1949. New York, NY:
Grove Widenfeld, 1990.