Michael Howard Studios

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Michael Howard Studios is a work and study center for professional actors located in the Chelsea arts district of New York City at 152 West 25th Street.

Founded in 1953 by actor and director Michael Howard, the Studio is best-known for its intimate process of workshopping material with established actors in scene study classes. A protégé of both Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse and Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio, Howard established his Studio grounded in the dramatic innovations of Konstantin Stanislavski, but it has evolved to incorporate many schools of thought and techniques from around the world. The Studio’s core belief is that "there cannot be one way to act, that all actors must develop their own method." ^[1]

1 Studio philosophy
2 Studio history
3 Notable alumni
4 Notes
5 External links

[edit] Studio philosophy

Despite many famous alumni in theater, film, and television, the Studio has cultivated an under-the-radar reputation, priding itself on providing a safe haven for professional actors to work on their material. It is notably not a "school" but a "studio" because Howard has said repeatedly over the years that his is first and foremost a home for professional actors. Consequently the Studio schedules its scene study classes, workshops and even its one-year conservatory, so that class members have time for auditions and performances.

The Studio embraces a unique training philosophy that is based in the techniques of Konstantin Stanislavski, but which also incorporates the work of Sanford Meisner, Lee Strasberg, Michael Chekhov, and other notable teachers. The general belief is that no one method is perfect for all actors, that no two actors are the same. Each actor must explore and experiment and discover a method that works best for him or herself. Howard explains the philosophy at the Studio thus: "The vast majority of actors who study at this studio have a goodly amount of previous training. And the teachers who teach here come from very different backgrounds. I think we would all agree that our job is to help them define their own method. Young actors today ask me, 'Do you do Meisner?' or 'Do you do Strasberg?' It's all rather faddish. When I'm asked, 'What is Michael Howard's method?' I run. I say, 'I don't have a method of acting. I suppose I have a method of training.' I think it's a bit slick but I think it's true. We work with actors individually to develop their own method." ^[2]

[edit] Studio history

The Studio’s roots lie in the soil of New York Theater’s most fertile era. In 1931, Harold Clurman, Cheryl Crawford, and Lee Strasberg founded the Group Theatre in New York, beginning a watershed period in American Theater. The Group Theatre brought together Elia Kazan, Stella Adler, Sanford Meisner, Frances Farmer, Clifford Odets, Irwin Shaw, and John Garfield (among many others). Their creative commune introduced America to the revolutionary teachings of Konstantin Stanislavski, and it set in motion new schools of thought that would dominate acting for the rest of the century. The Group Theatre closed its doors in 1941, and its visionary members set out in new directions.

In 1942, Michael Howard joined the Neighborhood Playhouse as a scholarship student under Sanford Meisner. Howard vigorously pursued his studies and absorbed everything Meisner had to impart. Howard then served in World War II, and upon returning, joined Equity in 1947. Lee Strasberg invited Howard to study with him, and soon he was asked to become a member of the Actors Studio. Howard began a long career of hundreds of roles on stage and screen, including Odets’ "The Country Girl" on Broadway and Marlon Brando’s debut film "The Men." Acting led to directing and, in 1952, to teaching, when Sidney Lumet asked Howard to replace him at the High School of Performing Arts. The next year, in 1953, a group of actors asked Howard to lead their sessions, and Michael Howard Studios was born.

The Studio grew over the years—changing locations as space was needed—but it was always Howard’s intent to keep the Studio intimate, so that training remained personal. Howard’s mentorship under both Meisner and Strasberg gave him the unique ability to tailor techniques for his students, allowing them to discover the methods that worked best for them. Over the next five decades, Howard’s teachings expanded to the Yale School of Drama, the Juilliard School, the American Conservatory Theatre, and Boston University. Many students of the Studio have become working actors, while some have advanced to celebrated heights of stage, film, and television.

[edit] Notable alumni

Michael Howard Studios has been home to a number of performers whose work has been recognized with Tony Awards, Emmy Awards, and Academy Awards. Some of the notable actors who’ve studied under Michael Howard’s banner include: