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Actors Studio

Coordinates:40°45′36″N73°59′34″W/ 40.760068°N 73.992654°W/40.760068; -73.992654
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(Redirected fromThe Actors Studio)
This article is about the professional association. For the television series, seeActors Studio(TV series).
Actors Studio
FormationOctober 5, 1947;76 years ago(October 5, 1947)
TypeDrama school
PurposeOrganization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights
Headquarters432 West 44th Street
Manhattan,New York City
Region served
United States
Key people
Al Pacino,Alec Baldwin,Ellen Burstyn(co-presidents)
Beau Gravitte (artistic director)
Estelle Parsons(assistant artistic director)
Websitetheactorsstudio.org

TheActors Studiois amembership organizationfor professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights located on West 44th Street inHell's Kitchen,New York City.

The studio is best known for its work refining and teachingmethod acting.It was founded in 1947 byElia Kazan,Cheryl Crawford,andRobert Lewis,and later directed byLee Strasberg,all former members of theGroup Theatre,an early pioneer of the acting techniques ofConstantin Stanislavskythat would become known asmethod acting.[1][2]

Notable actors and playwrights who have shared their work at the studio includeMarilyn Monroe,Marlon Brando,who joined the studio in its first year,Lorraine HansberryandJames Baldwin.

While at the Studio, actors work together to develop their skills in a private environment where they can take risks as performers without the pressure of commercial roles.

As of May 2018,the studio's co-presidents areEllen Burstyn,Alec BaldwinandAl Pacino.The artistic director in New York is Beau Gravitte, and the Associate Artistic Director in New York isEstelle Parsons.[3]

History[edit]

After an initial meeting held on October 5, 1947, at theLabor Stage,located at 106 W. 39th Street (formerly thePrincess Theatre), in which goals and ground rules of the new organization were discussed, the studio officially opened for business the following day.[4]

Elia Kazan,Cheryl Crawford,andRobert Lewiswho founded the studio, had all been members of theGroup Theatre,which had been an early adopter ofmethod actingin the 1930s.[1]Based on acting techniques first taught byConstantin Stanislavskyat the Moscow Art Theatre, Method acting or the “Method” was further refined at the Actor's Studio, including byLee Strasberg,who had closely studied Stanislavski's theories at the Group Theater and who became director of the studio from 1952 until his death on February 17, 1982.[2]

Around 700 actors auditioned in the studio's first year, with 50 actors selected to become its first group of members, includingMarlon Brando.[5]Once actors pass the studio's audition process they become life-members who can attend sessions where members present work to each other. Some non-members are also invited to observe sessions, and on rare occasions non-members such asMarilyn Monroehave been invited to present.[5]

The studio has also provided opportunities for playwrights includingLorraine Hansberry,James Baldwin,Edward AlbeeandTennessee Williamsto develop new works.[6][2]

Location[edit]

Before settling in its current location in 1955, the Studio moved regularly over an eight-year period. It first opened in October 1947 at the Union Methodist Episcopal Church, located at 229 West 48th Street,[4]previously home to the Actors Kitchen and Lounge (maintained to assist actors and others unable to afford meals), and long a source of rental rehearsal space for local theatrical producers.[7][8][9]

In January 1948, it was a dance studio on East 59th Street. In April of that year, a move to theCBS Buildingat 1697 Broadway, near 53rd Street, established some semblance of stability; the Studio would not move again until the summer of 1952.[4]From that point, the oldTheatre Guildrehearsal rooms on the top floor of theANTA Theatrebecame home, as they would remain until October 1954, when theatre renovations reduced the Studio to renting space twice a week. This it did at the Malin Studios at 1545 Broadway, Room 610. This arrangement continued throughout the 1954–1955 theatrical season, even as the Studio was acquiring and renovating its current venue.[10] In 1955, it moved to its current location at432 West 44th Street,aGreek Revivalstructure which was built for the Seventh AssociatePresbyterian Church,in 1858 or 1859. It was one of the last churches to be built in that style in New York City.[11]

Graduate drama school[edit]

From September 1994 through May 2005, the Studio collaborated withThe New Schoolin the education of master's-level theatre students at theActors Studio Drama School(ASDS). After ending its contract with The New School, the Actors Studio established TheActors Studio Drama School at Pace Universityin 2006.

Lifetime members[edit]

Some of the more well-known Lifetime Members of the Actors Studio are (as of July 24, 2023):[12][13]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Notes

  1. ^abWarren, Larry (1998)Anna Sokolow The Rebellious Spirit.New York: Routledge. pp.89–94.ISBN90-5702-185-4
  2. ^abc"Miracle On 44th Street: A Portrait of the Actor's Studio".American Masters.PBS. 8 July 1991.
  3. ^"Who We Are: Leadership"Actors Studio website. Accessed: May 30, 2018.
  4. ^abcGarfield, David (1980). "Birth of The Actors Studio: 1947–1950".A Player's Place: The Story of The Actors Studio.New York: MacMillan. p.54.ISBN0-02-542650-8.
  5. ^abKleiner, Dick (December 21, 1956).""The Actors Studio: Making Stars Out of the Unknown"".Sarasota Journal.
  6. ^Colbert, Soyica Diggs (14 October 2022)."Onstage This Fall, the Enduring Friendship of Baldwin and Hansberry".The New York Times.
  7. ^Staff (March 29, 1935)"30c Dinners Offered to Actors by Church Planning Restaurant Operated by Them"The New York Times
  8. ^Driscoll, Charles B. (December 2, 1939)"New York Day by Day"Washington Reporter
  9. ^Staff (May 17, 1942)"Actors Kitchen in Church Closed".The New York Times
  10. ^Garfield, David (1980). "Strasberg Takes Over: 1951–1955".A Player's Place: The Story of The Actors Studio.New York: MacMillan. pp.111–114.ISBN0-02-542650-8.
  11. ^Dunlap, David W.(2004).From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship.New York:Columbia University Press.p. 292.ISBN0-231-12543-7.
  12. ^"Notable Members".The Official Site of The Actors Studio.November 8, 2019.RetrievedJuly 22,2023.
  13. ^view-source:https://theactorsstudio.org/who-we-are/notable-members/(source of previous reference)
  14. ^https://archive.org/details/playersplacestor00garf/page/284/mode/2up?q=david+j+stewart;p 285, Note 25

Further reading

Articles
Books

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toActors Studio / 7th Associate Presbyterian Church (Manhattan).

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