What is Method Acting?

Question

Hey there!

I'm in the process of applying to Colleges / Universities and one of the programs I'm apply to is Drama. I wrote one school to inquire about their Drama program and they informed them that they teach Method Acting, which suggests (to me) that there are other methods of acting. Is this the case? If so, what are the other methods and how do they differ from Method Acting?

Thanks to all of you in advance for answering.

Wow! I really need to read over my posts before I hit the 'submit' button....

Answer 1

Method Acting is way of deveoping the charector from the inside out. The "Method" was first brought to our shores by Stella Adler after she had a brief six week interlude with Constantine Stanislovsky. She had brought a chart of his system to the Actors Studio in New York. Lee Strasberg focused on Sensory Work, Herb Bergoff went into the direction of finding actions or tasks on the stage and Sanford Meisner stressed the third wall. Robert Lewis has a book called "Method or Madness" wherein he breaks down the technique into units, beats and objectives.
All of the above Acting gurus claim to be teachers of the Method although you'll find that their approaches vary. The bottom line is that the method actor would live the role rather then act or "indicate" the role.

Answer 2

Method acting is an acting technique in which actors try to replicate in real life the emotional conditions under which the character operates, in an effort to create a life-like, realistic performance. "The Method" typically refers to the generic practice of actors drawing on their own emotions, memories, and experiences to influence their portrayals of characters.
Some consider method acting difficult to teach. Partially this is because of a common misconception that there is a single "method." "The Method" (versus "the method" with a lowercase m) usually refers to Lee Strasberg's teachings, but really no one method has been laid down. Stanislavski himself changed his method constantly and dramatically over the course of his career. This plurality and ambiguity can make it hard to teach a single method. It is also partially because sometimes method acting is characterized by outsiders as lacking in any specific or technical approach to acting, while the abundance of training schools, syllabi, and years spent learning contradict this. In general, however, method acting combines a careful consideration of the psychological motives of the character, and some sort of personal identification with, and possibly the reproduction of the character's emotional state in a realistic way. It usually forms an antithesis to clichéd, unrealistic, so-called "rubber stamp" or indicated acting. Mostly, however, the surmising done about the character and the elusive, capricious or sensitive nature of emotions combine to make method acting difficult to teach.

Answer 3

Acting done by Method Man. Red Man can't act!

Answer 4

nah nuffing much in it, its just teqhnical way to enhance your facial and emotional aspects of acting, there are many different art performances in drama, i have just finishd me degree in drama, and now working on a new thearter craze show!