THE STUDIO WAS CREATED TO FILL WHAT MAGGIE SAW AS A SUBSTANTIAL GAP IN AMERICAN ACTOR TRAINING.
The Maggie Flanigan Studio is a two-year Meisner program rooted in the belief that a rigorous and inspiring NYC acting conservatory should remain small, intimate, and nurturing. We also challenge and demand of our students to commit to themselves as aspiring artists, striving to meet the highest professional expectations. Founded in 2001, MFS was built on Maggie’s reputation as the clearest and most definitive teacher of the Meisner Technique, which is the brilliant actor training created by Sanford Meisner. For more than two decades, the Maggie Flanigan Studio has evolved into one of the most respected professional actor training programs in the United States.
Led now by Maggie’s protege, Artistic Director and Master Teacher Charlie Sandlan, the Maggie Flanigan Studio has assembled an exceptional faculty with the experience and integrity to carry Maggie’s vision and high standards to a new generation of aspiring artists. Our NYC acting conservatory program has one goal: to produce a complete artist; actors who possess the skill, craft, and education necessary to work well into their 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. We accomplish this with a curriculum that goes beyond just offering acting classes in NYC. Movement, Voice & Speech, Theater History, Film History, Cold Reading, Script Analysis, and Stage & Film Combat develop actors who can compete with those graduating from the top MFA programs in the country. Additionally, our Professional Business Program has set the industry standard on how to properly prepare actors for the business. An optional third year, our nine months focus on becoming a professional actor includes a designed professional website, a demo reel shot and produced by ReelArc, an array of classes and workshops on the art of self-taping, in-person auditions, and on-camera technique. We are also committed to helping our students transition from the mindset of student to professional. Our students work all year with our in-studio life coach, receive in depth mentoring with a financial coach, social media consultant, and tax accountant. The program culminates in two months of professional auditions with the industry’s top agents, managers, and casting directors.”
Talent is important, but it is not nearly enough. To build a successful career, the best artists in all mediums have a solid technique that becomes second nature and serves as the floorboard for their talent.
It’s this belief that has given the Maggie Flanigan Studio the reputation for producing well-trained, professional actors who can craft a role. Trained actors know how to create rich, organic, and experiential behavior, consistently. But equally important, our actors also possess a strong work ethic, an inviolate sense of truth, and a passion for the art of acting: qualities we believe to be essential for a successful and respected acting career.
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FIRST YEAR MEISNER ACTING PROGRAM
Begins
January 7th, 2025
Call To Schedule an Interview
MEISNER TECHNIQUE
Developed by Sanford Meisner in the late 1930’s, the Meisner Technique is considered one of the greatest actor training methods in the world. Maggie Flanigan and Charlie Sandlan have dedicated their entire professional lives to preserving and accurately teaching the full two-year progression of Meisner’s training method.
The Meisner Technique is broken into two-years, Acting 1 and Acting 2. Year one is dedicated to the fundamentals of acting, which include getting out of your head, onto your spontaneous impulses, grounded in empathic listening and an ability to craft in a simple, specific and personal way. Year two is dedicated to approaching character, understanding the psychology of the role, and mastering the tools that go into carving out a major part. The Meisner Technique does not require actors to go into their past and dredge up past trauma. Meisner believed that Lee Strasberg’s Method was limiting and ultimately unhealthy. Meisner believed that the imagination was a far healthier and more creative place to work from, and his technique will teach you how to harness your ability to daydream and fantasize about your acting craft.
THE FACULTY
The success and reputation of any professional acting studio in NYC is reliant on excellent teachers. The Maggie Flanigan Studio has earned its reputation as one of the most respected NYC acting conservatories because of the faculty assembled by Artistic Director & Master Teacher Charlie Sandlan.
Our teachers are not frustrated actors killing time on the side between acting gigs. The Maggie Flanigan Studio believes that teaching is an art form, and must be approached in a dedicated and serious way. Our staff has been assembled with artists who approach their classroom with expertise, intellectual and artistic rigor, along with a passion and dedication to inspire, challenge, and mentor a new generation of serious actors.
TRAINING FOR PROFESSIONAL ACTORS
Acting is one of the most important art forms on the planet and has been for thousands of years. It is a beautiful and noble art form, which requires a lifelong dedication to illuminating the human condition. If you are searching for acting classes in NYC, or acting programs in New York, the Maggie Flanigan Studio is an option, but only if you are serious about busting your ass and playing full out with yourself. Our studio is not for the merely curious or part-time hobbyist. If you are passionate about acting, and have a deep desire to create organic, vivid, fully realized behavior for a living, then we are dedicated to helping you become a first-rate artist.
STUDENT TESTIMONIALS
“I was placed in the intense reigns of Charlie Sandlan. I became a better artist, actor, friend, sibling and daughter because of the studio. Even now, I crave the studio every day. What I learned is present in my work every day. I truly believe in everything they stand for.”
Jes Macallan
“After working for ten years, I did the 2 year program, and now feel that I have the tools I need to become the actor I’ve always dreamed of being. Maggie Flanigan instilled in me a clear sense of truth and a standard of perfection. I am a better actor because of this studio.”
Piper Perabo
“Maggie Flanigan and Charlie Sandlan helped me tremendously to become the working actor I am today. I booked my first off-broadway play with Signature Theater Co. I could not be more proud to call myself a student of the studio.”
