Authentic Meisner TrainingAs Mr. Meisner taught it
The Meisner technique taught in the room, in the order it was built at the Neighborhood Playhouse — not a workshop version of it.
— Sanford Meisner
Markus Flanagan trained directly under Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, completing the full two-year programme — the only teacher in London to have done so under Meisner himself.
Our studio exists to carry that training across intact — the same exercises, taught in the proper order, here in London. Given out of order, a student will certainly leave confused and discouraged, instead of getting the benefit of the foundational tools Mr. Meisner created.
Mr. Meisner’s technique, taught as it should be.
Foundation
First Year takes us from day one repetition and the new skill of listening — putting the focus on our partner — through activities, the reality of doing, and on to the Meisner first scene exercise.
Character
Second Year builds on that foundation and adds relationships, Spoon River, Fairy Tales, Impediments and the final scene where you employ all those character elements.
“Your instinct is more honest than your thoughts.”
— Sanford Meisner
A new class is forming this autumn.
We start with day-one repetition, so everyone who joins is at the same level. If you’ve had some previous Meisner training, you will still start here. If you had a lot of previous Meisner training, perhaps you could fit into one of the classes in progress — email us for an appointment to discuss that.
Six-week blocks, in order.
One shared calendar for the whole school — Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday classes all run and break on the same weeks.
Markus Flanagan
In class, Mr. Meisner often reminded us that “the seed to the root of acting is the reality of doing.” Inspired by this philosophy, Markus Flanagan founded Westlake Acting Studio in 2008 with the mission of passing on the precise techniques he learned directly from Mr. Meisner.
This approach cannot be mastered by simply reading about it; it must be introduced, practiced, and thoughtfully reinforced in the classroom until the actor unites genuine, truthful, and spontaneous behavior with the writer’s words. That is the essence of living truthfully under the imaginary circumstances.
Markus holds a unique position as the only London-based teacher to have completed the full two-year program and graduated from the Neighborhood Playhouse under Sanford Meisner’s direct instruction. He considers it both a privilege and a responsibility to preserve the integrity of what he learned, teaching the technique with the same precision and care Mr. Meisner brought to his work.