Kid Playing Dolls Has Figured Out the Meisner Method?

by Allyson Stathers. @allysonstathers.

LANCASTER, KY — Ten year-old Bella Halstead has reportedly figured out the Meisner Method while playing with her Barbie dolls.

“I just wasn’t believing my Barbie’s performance,” stated Bella as she highlighted her doll’s lines in her tiny little script. “She knew all her lines and all the blocking, but I could tell Ken wasn’t receiving what Barbie was saying. It was as if Barbie was just saying her lines just to keep the scene going, not to elicit a reaction from her scene partner.”

Maddie Blanton, Bella’s best friend and gymnastics teammate, shared her thoughts about the use of the Meisner Method during play time.

“Meisner has helped my doll’s performance,” claimed Blanton in between trying to get her Barbie to do lip trills. “I’d have my doll say, “Let’s go to the pool!”, and Bella would repeat, “Let’s go to the pool?” and it’d make me question all my character’s choices. Did my Barbie really want to go swimming? Was my doll truly living in the moment? Now both I and the doll are listening more actively.”

Pat Halstead, Bella’s mother, had her own opinions about her daughter using the Meisner Method.

“The scenes become intense after they do their repetition exercise,” noted Pat Halstead as she sewed a sequin Barbie dress, wondering what lived-in experiences it might inspire. “There have been times overhearing Bella play that has brought me to tears. It just feels so much more real after she helps the dolls become more present in the moment. Barbie and Ken have become truly powerful performers.”

Bella Halstead claims that her dolls are ready for other techniques to further perfect their craft.

Along with the Meisner Method, she plans on having her dolls write out the Uta Hagen nine questions before every scene to truly understand who their characters are. However, she does not believe her dolls are ready for anything Stanislavsky.