The Actors Studio
The Actors Studio is a membership
organization for
professional actors located in the
Old Labor Stage at 432 West 44th Street in
New York City. Founded in
1947 by
Elia Kazan,
Cheryl Crawford, and
Robert Lewis, the Studio is known for its work refining and teaching
method acting, an approach originally developed by the
Group Theatre in the
1930s based on the innovations of
Konstantin Stanislavski.
The Studio came to worldwide recognition under the leadership of
Lee Strasberg, who took over the helm in
1952.
While at the Studio,
actors work together to develop their skills in an experimental environment, where they can take risks as performers without the pressure of commercial roles.
From September
1994 through May
2005, the Studio collaborated with
New School University in the education of Masters level theatre students at the
Actors Studio Drama School (ASDS). Beginning in Fall 2006, the Actors Studio will offer a three-year MFA degree program through
Pace University. [
1]
The
television program Inside the Actors Studio airs on the
cable television network
Bravo. It is hosted by
James Lipton,
Dean Emeritus of the Actors Studio Drama School, and provides in-depth interviews with actors, directors, writers, and other artists, some of whom are members of the Studio. The program was taped in front of the students of ASDS, and served as a class seminar for them, until the school's dissolution. Beginning with the twelfth season, in the fall of 2005, the
Inside the Actors Studio is taped at the
Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts at
Pace University's New York City campus.
Over its long history, many famous and successful actors,
directors and
playwrights have come out of the Studio, including:
*
Edward Albee*
James Baldwin*
Anne Bancroft*
Marlon Brando*
Ellen Burstyn*
Robert De Niro*
James Dean*
Jane Fonda*
Robert Ginty*
Harvey Keitel*
Martin Landau*
Norman Mailer*
Terrence McNally*
Steve McQueen*
Marilyn Monroe*
Paul Newman*
Al Pacino*
Geraldine Page*
Estelle Parsons*
Will Patton*
Sidney Poitier*
Julia Roberts*
Mickey Rourke*
Kim Stanley*
Maureen Stapleton*
Eli Wallach*
Tennessee Williams*
Shelley Winters*
Joanne Woodward*
Josie Davis*
PBS American Masters Series profile*
Inside the Actors Studio*
The Actors Studio MFA Program at Pace University*
Audio collection of the Actor's Studio from 1956-1969 at the Wisconsin Historical Society
