Last week Steph ran the 4 day course delving into the importance and relevance of mental & physical preparation, we experimented and explored monologues (including taking them out onto the streets, in the freezing cold) and then tested ourselves with two mock auditions with 4 wonderful and generous industry experts: casting director Nicci Topping, longstanding Hollyoaks actor Nicole Barber-Lane, theatre director Kash Arshad and film producer Andy Start. We discovered the importance of T R U S T I N G Y O U R S E L F & that you can't predict or guess what people want from you so the best thing is to be brave, jump and give everything you've got which means being fully prepared too. We laughed, we cried, we froze, we warmed up (eventually!). Thank you fabulous actors for guiding each other and for giving everything you did. See you soon :-) x

The day before and the day of my first day training with Both Feet I was beyond nervous. Like proper nervous!!!
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What was I getting myself into?
What if everyone thinks I’m terrible? (I definitely used another word)
Do I even belong in a place like this?
Who am I to call myself an ‘Actor’? (I mean I have a headshot and professional credits so that counts right?)

Impostor Alert!!

And then all my worries and self deprecating thoughts kinda disappeared, if not just temporarily!
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Throughout the first part of my training it was as if I’d finally found my ‘thing’. I haven’t been to drama school, to cut a long story short - I got in but just couldn’t afford to go which for awhile was harder than I imagine getting an actual no. This then meant I spent a lot of time wondering what type of training was out there and what would help me progress as an actor - Both Feet was everything I wanted and more.

I’d never felt as free before, to just ‘do’ and not expect an outcome or have any specific expectations. 

Having had all kinds of exercises with emotions flying all over the place (one fiery and anger fueled exercise in particular sticks to mind) the thing I find the most cathartic is having the ability to sit back down to watch other fantastic actors work and not still ‘feel’ after, what I felt in those moments. I could leave it all behind in the work.

And speaking of jobs, I am currently working at the Leeds Playhouse on ‘Airplays’ which was due to Steph recommending me to the director. I was and still am hugely grateful to Steph for putting her neck out for me as I believe recommendations are a big thing to live up to! And also the fact that Both Feet can potentially be a place for you to get work opportunities from is amazing.

​I could describe my experience within an inch of my being but for you to really appreciate and experience the Meisner Technique with Both Feet, you have to be in it. 
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I’m so excited for what else training with Both Feet will unlock and if you have the opportunity to do so, don’t hesitate!! 

~ Alyce x

Recently, our teaching practice was questioned (via social media, the standard way to challenge people these days) over a photo which, to this individual didn’t look like “traditional Meisner”.  It was a strange instance because I find it very hard to look at a photo and gain the exact context of when it was taken, what was happening, what stage of training it was etc.  If you were to think of rehearsal photos in a theatrical programme, what may look like an actor deep in thought about their craft, or deep in thought within a scene may in fact have just been a great candid photo of an actor choosing between Pret or Nando’s for lunch.  Without context, we’ll never know!  In any case, the apparent misunderstanding was cleared up and on we all went with our lives, happily until I had the idea to write this blog, not based on challenging the person who questioned the photo, that’s irrelevant, more on the idea of “traditional Meisner”.
 
Nobody teaches The Meisner Technique 
Whenever I teach this work, I make a very keen effort to stress that we do not teach “The Meisner Technique”, in fact, our website sub heading is ‘Meisner BASED training for professional actors’.  To go further than that, I would suggest that only one person ever taught the Meisner Technique and that was Sanford Meisner himself.  Those practicing today teach their interpretation of the work, probably based on how it was taught to them plus a refined process of their own experiences whilst teaching the work, wider reading and research.  I have my own ways of explaining concepts, my own examples of exercises and acting/life circumstances. Whilst the sequence of exercises, the bricks we add in building up actors brick-by-brick to become truthful and authentic humans/actors is incredibly faithful to Meisner’s work, my teaching is my teaching, and that’s really how it should be.  To call oneself a “purist” is a little tricky in that, if you were trained by Meisner himself and you’re a purist, that’s great, but are you regurgitating his words without really getting to grips with or grasping the concepts and the ideas of it?  Or even further, if you are a purist to a teacher who isn’t Meisner himself, are you being pure to Meisner’s technique, or the technique taught to you by your own teacher, who in turn probably had their own interpretation of the work.
 
I believe that knowledge passed down through generations should not only be enriched by experience but also the current day needs of the actor, and what’s going on in the world today.  For instance, there has been a ton more research in to the way in which the human brain and body respond to situations and trauma, the functions of various parts of the brain and so on.  Knowledge and research which Meisner wouldn’t have had access to at the time.  I’d be careless not to now include that in the work as I can give my students a different level of understanding.  Thus enriching the work, rather than diluting it.  
 
Our influences 
At Both Feet, our training stays faithful to the core principles of the technique. We feel we have a responsibility to the work, but also to actors coming to us to train in The Meisner Technique.  We have a common teaching influence between all of us in Scott Williams.  Scott trained with Meisner himself and successfully teaches the work in the UK and abroad with the Impulse Company.  What makes Scott an exceptional teacher of the work is that he has taken what he learnt from Meisner and refined/synthesised the work in to a crystal clear, no nonsense form which is exactly what most actors need in today’s industry.  He doesn’t simply regurgitate Meisner’s work verbatim, he is his own teacher.  Our work is primarily influenced by Scott however, we all have a series of other influences to draw upon between us including working with Moment to Moment Acting, The William Esper Studio and The Neighbourhood Playhouse.  Therefore to say we teach purely “Meisner’s way” is a falsehood, we have a load of influences, never mind our own journeys in teaching the work which shape how we do things today.  I feel no shame in saying I was not trained by Meisner himself, in fact, I’m blessed to have such a wide pool of influences to draw upon so that, when a student has a problem one language can’t fix, I have something else in back up.  Not only that, but I have training in other ways of working, beyond the Meisner Technique, which can become useful if a student is struggling.  The wider your toolbox as a teacher, the more tools you can give your students.
 
Collaboration
Speaking of a widening toolbox, we are huge fans of collaboration.  In the last year we have been working on integrating the practices of The Meisner Technique with Fitzmaurice Voicework, in collaboration with Fitz teacher Matthew Dudley and the results have been phenomenal.  There are a load of other practices out there in the world with which I want to experience and attempt to twin up with this work.  Meisner didn’t own the market on good and truthful acting, there are other ways, and I’m excited about all the things we can explore alongside our practice.  Other things which can enrich and push the boundaries further, ‘to boldly go where no one has gone before’ to borrow a phrase.  Whilst this might scare traditionalists, I am nothing but excited at the potential.
 
Meisner spent 55 years at the Neighbourhood Playhouse refining his work, in that time I’m sure he tried new exercises, failed a ton, tweaked, played, tinkered with all aspects of his work.  If I am still regurgitating the teaching I am doing now in 55 years, I dread to think how bored I will be of myself saying the same words, our aim at Both Feet is to drive the work forward and that is what we are trying to do, consistently.  It’s the search for perfection, that keeps the artist chasing, and we are as much artists as the actors we teach.
 
1+1 = 3
One of my teachers at drama school, Paul Barker, taught me an extremely valuable lesson on my fist day.  1+1 = 3.  What he meant by that was that when you combine 2 elements, you can create something which has value greater than the sum of it’s parts.  Music plus lyrics becomes a song, song plus story becomes a musical etc.  I like to remind myself of this when I am teaching and looking for inspiration.  I’m very confident that, in searching for something, I will make mistakes or an exercise won’t quite work. But it’s worth it for the moment something really clicks.  I’m very fortunate that our students at Both Feet trust our teaching enough to try something fully, without fear.  They are wonderful, open actors and human beings (hey industry, you should hire them and keep hiring them, they’re wonderful).

​By Adam Stadius

About 8 months ago we decided to start a Both Feet blog, it's been a while in the making but it's finally here. Over the coming months we’ll have top tips, musings and discussions coming from us (me, Adam and Laura) and casting directors, theatre and film directors, agents, writers, photographers, actors and whoever else we can pull in. If you're in the industry or figuring out if there is a place for you, we'd also love to hear from you. If you have a blog relevant to our industry burning inside you, we'd love to read it, and if it feels right, we'll get it up. Perhaps it's a struggle you've faced or something positive that's happened that you want to share or a question you'd like to pose. If you’d like to get involved, we’d love to hear from you: stephanie@both-feet.co.uk

One thing at the forefront of our classes is “cutting through the bullsh*t”. In class we tend to be referring to acting and this concept of “performing” and the forcing of emotions. Actors trying to be interesting. But it resonates through everything for me. I really struggle being in places where everyone is putting on a show or working a room (you know what I’m talking about). I’d rather just cut through that bullsh*t and have a real and honest conversation with someone. Anyone who’s ever been to an “event” with me knows what I’m like. My mum used to say “but you’re an actor Stephanie, you should be better at this” when referring to my attempts at lying or my struggling in bizarre fake situations, so I know I’ve always been the same. I believe if we could just be honest with each other we’d have more energy, more time, people’s mental health would be better and we’d generally just be happier human beans.

SO the aim is to keep these blogs honest. Which may work against us, because people can tend to not like honesty, I don’t know (oop a song just started in my head, see below). We’ll see how we go. Hopefully some interesting conversations will start up. That would be ace.

​Steph x