Meisner Summer Intensive – Eddie Mata Interview

May 10, 20163 min read

The Meisner Summer Intensive at the Maggie Flanigan Studio is a professional training program that introduces actors to the Meisner technique. In this interview Eddie Mata discusses his experience in the six week actor training program.

Q: What did you think acting training was before you started the six-week summer intensive?

A: So I would, you know, pick up a script, and I’d be like, okay, I’m going to plan a line, I’m going to say it this way, I’m going to do a background story, It was like planning, you know? And I was like, does that really work?

Some people were telling me, Oh yeah this is how you work on a script, you plan stuff and you do this and I’m like, alright. And that’s what I thought acting was, you just pick up a script, do a background story, plan a line, and you’re in.

Q: And what happened during the Six Week Summer Intensive that changed your perspective on acting and training?

A: When I started the six-week program, I loved the Meisner technique because there’s no planning allowed, you know? You can’t say a line a certain way. You have to say it in a truthful way and what I love about this technique is that the listening and how the person is looking at you, that is more important than anything else. It’s what’s going on in the other person and I’m so glad that I’m involved in this training is to listen to the other person because it’s all about being spontaneous.

It’s the spontaneity and that what counts. That’s what really helped me with the Meisner technique with the six-week Summer intensive program.

Q: And what did you learn about yourself during the Meisner Summer Intensive that surprised you or changed you?

A: I got connected deep, deep with my emotions. I couldn’t believe it. There was like natural impulses coming out, which, you know, never happened to me before. Maybe once in a blue moon, but then it was like, kind of consistently and it's amazing when you just listen and: boom, it just comes out, you know, its so spontaneous, so I really love the technique, I think this is the best technique, especially for film and TV. I mean it’s unbelievable. Just to stay truthful moment. And there’s so many, um, you know there’s other techniques out there, but I’m just in love with this one. It’s perfect for film and TV.

Q: So why did you decide to enroll in the two year Meisner Conservatory program after the Meisner summer intensive?

A: I fell in love with the summer intensive and I said to myself, “I want to train like an Olympian, and if you’re a serious actor and you want to be a working actor, you going to train like there’s no tomorrow.” Because I look at it this way: If I don’t train, some other actor is going to take my spot as a series regular. So to me, I fell in love with the summer intensive and I had to do the two years because I was so in love with it, but there’s so much to learn. A lot more to learn.

And even when you graduate, you’re still going to learn more, you know? So, I love the program, I love the technique, I love Meisner. I wish he was still alive, I want to thank him. But yeah, that’s the reason why.