Thoughts on Meisner so far

This week was the first Meisner class, and it's a bit of a change for me. Not an acting class, per se, it's about authenticity in emotion and communication, and matching emotional and acting levels for every performance.

Some of the things said or done that are sticking with me (not necessarily saying I agree):

• "Drink the KOOL-ADE."
• "My goal is to get your emotion and acting at the same level, and raise that level. The minute your acting at a level above your emotion, you're a liar. The minute your emotion is exceeding your level of acting, you're a liar."
• "Questions aren't allowed."
• We're supposed to figure out this Meisner thing on our own, interpret and articulate it based on the experience, and not by having us told what it is. Interesting. Hard, but interesting.
• For me, "yes" means "yes", "no" means "no", and "maybe" means "maybe". I sometimes use "OK" to mean "Yes". "OK" is not acceptable answer for "yes" for my coach. He told me in no uncertain terms.
• I will likely cry in this class. By "cry" I mean "blubber uncontrollably."

Huh ...