The Meisner Technique. Philippa Strandberg-Long.

The History of Actor Training in the British Drama School.

In this episode Robert discusses the Meisner Technique its practise and place in the British Drama School with Dr Philippa Strandberg-Long.
Philippa has published several excellent papers on the Meisner technique : Mapping Meisner – how Stanislavski’s system influenced Meisner’s process and why it matters to British Drama School training today and The reaction in counter-action: how Meisner technique and active analysis complement each other. Which can be found here :
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/20567790.2018.1437956
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/20567790.2019.1576114
Philippa Strandberg-Long is an acting teacher, director and researcher, originally from Stockholm, Sweden. In 1998 she moved to London to undertake the BA Acting programme at Italia Conti Academy before going on to gain experience as both an actor and director within London’s theatre world. In 2008 she decided to focus on the training process itself, and has since taught Stanislavski-based acting and scene study – as well as directed productions – at many of London’s drama schools.

In 2011 Philippa began her service in the Italia Conti faculty, which she continued for nearly a decade. During her time at Italia Conti she co-created their Foundation course programme, whilst undertaking practical research on the Meisner technique, devising and developing a number of her own exercises along with a pedagogical foundation to underpin the technique. Philippa received her MA in Actor Training from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in 2012, specialising in the teaching of the Meisner technique.

In 2016 Philippa was awarded a full 3-year PhD scholarship from the University of Kent to study the Meisner technique and the psychology of attention. During this time, she combined her research activities with teaching and directing, allowing her to see the practical effects of her studies and providing valuable empirical data for her research. Philippa’s doctorate was awarded in early 2020, and her research has significantly furthered our understanding of the Meisner technique and its interplay with attention, self-consciousness, action-perception theory and mind-wandering. Her articles have been published in the UK, Europe and the US, and some of them in association with practitioners such as the late William Esper and the renowned Stanislavski scholar Sharon Carnicke.

In 2019 and 2020 Philippa was the Course Leader and Head of Acting of Fourth Monkey’s two-year actor training programme – a programme underpinned by the ethos of Meisner’s principles and the concept of ‘play’. She continues to develop both her research profile and her studio practice, always putting the individual’s creative potential in focus. She is currently lead acting tutor on Rose Bruford’s MA in Actor and Performance Training.

Support the show