Worskhops for Acting Students

  • This workshop/residency will comprehensively teach your students about the Meisner Acting Technique and The Gonsalves Method, and how you can use both methods to be the best, most truthful and authentic actor you can be. Your students will learn Meisner’s famous repetition exercise and the theories behind his work, The Gonsalves Method (a performance method rooted in Meisner’s works) including its 5 conditions, as well as many other useful exercises and tools that will be the only tools they will ever need to be a connected, engaging, authentic and moment to moment performer. These skills can be applied to any text or any performance.

    This workshop/residency can be delivered on a full time basis, or a part time basis delivered as a series of weekly workshops over a set period of time.

    DURATION: Negotiable

    COST: Negotiable based on duration

  • This course will teach your students how to use Meisner's theory of “acting is reacting” to discover the infinite freedom within the apparent constraints of Shakespeare's text. They will learn about the Meisner Acting Technique including his famous repetition exercise and the theories behind his work, and how they can use The Gonsalves Method and its 5 conditions to put his technique into practise. Your students will discover how they can use both methods to create connected, responsive and moment to moment performances, as well as genuine, truthful connections between actors and audience, using Shakespeare's timeless words.

    Many of the topics and exercises covered in this course are outlined in our book Shakespeare and Meisner which makes the perfect accompanying resource.

“To become a better actor, it's widely accepted that years of training is compulsory, however, after just a couple weeks of intensive training (and then performing) using The Gonsalves Method, I have felt myself come on greatly as an actor. The best thing I have found with The Gonsalves Method, it's simple and effective. Having used this method on both stage and screen, it's something I will absolutely refer to for the entirety of my career.”

— Aaron Mackenzie, University of Northampton

“Working using the Gonsalves Method has been such an eye opening experience for me and has changed the way I act for now and evermore. By always having your attention out so you can see clearly, respond honestly from your point of view ensures you are completely out of your own head. The 5 conditions make each performance real and different. I’m never going back to any other way of acting, it’s real, truthful and most importantly to me, it’s fun! Anyone that wants to be an actor NEEDS to be taught this method - it is gold dust.”

— Chloe Jarrett, University of Northampton