The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 West 44th Street in the Clinton neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded October 5, 1947, by Elia Kazan, Cheryl Crawford, Robert Lewis and Anna Sokolow who provided training for actors that were members.[1] Lee Strasberg joined later and took the helm in 1951 until his death on February 17, 1982. It is currently run by Al Pacino and Ellen Burstyn. The Studio is best known for its work refining and teaching method acting. This approach was originally developed by the Group Theatre in the 1930s based on the innovations of Constantin Stanislavski. 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.
The group initially met in a rehearsal space in the Princess Theatre.[2] In 1955 it moved to its current location in the former Seventh Associate Presbyterian Church, built in 1859.[3]
In 1965 the Actors Studio opened its West Coast branch in West Hollywood, California. The Actors Studio West is run by artistic co-directors Mark Rydell and Martin Landau and is the only official branch of the Actors Studio in the world.
President[4]
Artistic Directors (New York):[5]
From September 1994 through May 2005, the Studio collaborated with The New School in the education of masters-level theatre students at the Actors Studio Drama School (ASDS). After ending its contact with the New School, the Actor's Studio established The Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University in 2006.
The television program Inside the Actors Studio first aired in 1994 on the cable television network Bravo. Its host was and still is James Lipton, Dean Emeritus of the Actors Studio Drama School. The program provides in-depth interviews with actors, directors, writers and other artists, some but not all of whom are members of the Studio. The program is taped in front of the students of the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University, and serves as a class seminar for them. Beginning with the twelfth season in the fall of 2005, Inside the Actors Studio is taped at the Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts at Pace's New York City campus. The show now has a new set with a gritty backstage feel, designed by Will Rothfuss.
Over its long history many famous and successful actors, directors and playwrights have come out of the studio, including:[6][7]