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Without making direct comparisons to other NYC acting studios, we can say that MFS is not a factory. We do not have 300 students, and we are not throwing you into a class with unqualified teachers who are pulling out notes from classes they took ten years ago. Every single person who applies has a direct, in-person meeting with Artistic Director & Master teacher Charlie Sandlan. You do not interview with our studio manager or their assistant. If you are accepted to MFS, you are also guaranteed to be trained in the Meisner Technique by Charlie himself. We also do not make you purchase a book in order to meet with us. We are a boutique studio with one of the best reputations in the United States for training and developing serious actors and artists. You will not be therapized in class, nor will your personal life issues be used to embarrass or humiliate you. You will be provided a safe and nurturing space to play full out with yourself and make mistakes. You will also be held to high professional expectations. Every teacher at MFS is a master of their craft and has actually dedicated their professional career to the art of teaching. You will be surrounded by other students who are passionate, dedicated, and serious about why they are here. We will teach you, mentor you, listen to you, and be available for you not only while you are here but long after. If you are accepted, we want MFS to be your artistic home for as long as you want it to be.
Sanford Meisner created his renowned actor training method in the late 1930’s. A member of the legendary Group Theater, Meisner created a two-year technique that instills in the actor all of the necessary fundamentals required to consistently create organic, vivid, fully realized human behavior, consistently. The Meisner Technique will actually teach you how to act. You cannot learn how to act in a scene study, monologue, or on-camera class. This acting training will get you out of your head and onto your spontaneous impulses, fully present in the moment, listening with empathy, vulnerability, and sensitivity. You will learn how to truthfully do under imaginary circumstances, craft in a simple specific and personal way, break down a script, and emotionally prepare, all while fully grounded and centered every time you act.
MFS has created three program options for you to choose from: the Bare Essentials, the Core Program, and the Professional Actor Training Program (PATP). Every student here has work and financial concerns that greatly influence how they approach their acting training in NYC. The decision on which program to choose will depend on your financial flexibility and the class load you are capable of taking on. The PATP is every class offered here at MFS, the Core Program is a selection of important classes needed to enter the industry, and the Bare Essentials is what we believe is the absolute minimum needed in order to realistically pursue and sustain a long and stable acting career. Both the Bare Essentials and Core Program allow students the flexibility to add additional classes when they are interested. These classes are then added to the overall balance due.
It does not matter if you have acted before or have never taken an acting class in your life. The Meisner Technique was developed for all levels of experience. All students start at the very beginning of training and progress through class collectively, step by step. You will not be able to tell who has experience and who hasn’t. In truth, there are benefits to beginning this training with no experience; you aren’t riddled with bad habits or confused by previously bad teachers.
MFS offers an optional third year of training rather than a showcase. Our Professional Actor Business Program is unlike anything offered in the United States. Students receive professional headshots, a personally designed professional actor website, and a demo reel shot and edited in conjunction with REELARC. Students work with life coaches, a financial coach, a social-media consultant, a PR expert, and a branding consultant. We will also teach you how to create your own content with classes in producing, directing, cinematography, editing, and screenwriting. Other highlights of the PABP include learning how to self-tape, how to tackle comedy, procedural dramas, guest star & series regular auditions, one and two-camera techniques, and the dos and don’ts of the business. The program culminates in a month of auditions with the top casting directors, agents, and managers in the industry. Any student who completes the full three years of training at MFS is not only a seriously well-trained actor but also knows how to run their business. They are ready to compete at the highest levels of the industry.
We have been designated by the United States government to provide an M-1 Visa to qualified international students. The M-1 is a 12-month student visa that would be renewed again for the second year of training.
Absolutely. Actors will often say they have taken Meisner because their college acting class did a few days of repetition. The Meisner Technique is a specific, methodical approach to actor training and progresses over two years in a very profound way. There are only a handful of teachers in the United States who teach the full progression of the technique the way Sandy Meisner taught it. Charlie Sandlan is a direct descendant of Sandy’s classroom. He belongs to a prestigious pedigree of master teachers that started with Sandy, then to William Esper, who trained and mentored Maggie Flanigan, and finally to this generation in Charlie, who is one of the clearest and most accurate teachers of the Meisner Technique in the United States. It is important that all students are on the same page. For this reason, all students who are accepted into MFS must begin with Acting 1.
Every year, we have a number of acting students approach us about transferring into our conservatory from another NYC Meisner Studio. Charlie alone makes the decision to admit a student who wants to transfer. It’s important that you would make a good addition to our community, that your work ethic and professionalism are in line with our values, and that the training you have received to this point is adequate for the high standards set by Charlie and the rest of our faculty.
No, it does not. The Meisner Technique is a foolproof way of training an actor. If you are dedicated, work hard, and play full out with yourself, you will learn how to be a first-rate actor and artist.
With occasional exceptions, all classes are held in person at our NYC studio. The current online classes available are Theater History, Script Analysis, and Dialects.
The Maggie Flanigan Studio is not a university or accredited degree program. We are a private business. You do receive a certificate of completion of your selected program when you have finished your training.
Charlie offers Advanced Scene Study during the year. This is a six week/six class option available to alumni of MFS, or anyone with professional training (MFA, BFA, or a similar two-year conservatory program).
The work done in Acting 1 and Acting 2 requires a tremendous amount of vulnerability and risk. Our policy is to keep our classes private, nurturing, and safe for our students to play full out with themselves. As a general rule, we do not allow the watching or auditing of classes. On rare exceptions, an accepted student who has interviewed with Charlie may be allowed to watch a first-year class.
There are auxiliary classes available that are 7 to 20 weeks long. Movement, Voice, Dialects, Chekhov, Film History, Theater History, Breathwork, and Script Analysis would fall under this time frame. It is possible to take these classes without being enrolled in Acting 1. However, priority would go to our conservatory students when it comes to securing a place in these classes. Auxiliary class students would still need to submit a Single Class application and meet with our Artistic Director & Master Teacher, Charlie Sandlan. Acceptance to the Maggie Flanigan Studio is only for the first year of training. Acceptance into Second Year is by invitation only and is based on a student's work ethic, professionalism, and commitment to themselves as aspiring artists.
We do not require an audition in order to be considered. Every person who submits an application will receive a tour of the studio and a one-on-one interview with Artistic Director & Master Teacher Charlie Sandlan. Charlie teaches every single student who enrolls in the Meisner Program. Charlie is looking for a few qualities: Do you love acting? Are you willing to be taught? Are you interested in playing full out with yourself? Are you up for stepping outside of your comfort zone? An in-depth conversation between you and Charlie will give each of you an opportunity to get a sense for each other and determine if you are a right fit for MFS and if the studio is a right fit for you.
MFS offers five BIPOC scholarships each year, which covers part of a student’s overall balance, as well as two work-study opportunities per semester. Work-study is offered to second year students, and in exchange for the daily cleaning and upkeep of the studio space, a weekly credit is applied to their overall balance.
We have a number of students who balance a full-time job with their artistic training. All classes in our Bare Essentials Program offer day and night time options. If you have a 9-5 job, and are willing to commit to yourself as an aspiring actor, you can successfully train at MFS.
Acting 1 begins every September and January. The September start will conclude at the end of May. The January start goes until the end of July. All Acting 1 students would then begin Acting 2 in September, after their summer hiatus.
We offer private coaching to anyone who has a professional audition, or has been cast in a role and needs help. We also offer professional self-taping with high end lighting and camera, along with one of our coaches to work with you on the process
Our acting training is offered in our Acting 1 and Acting 2 Meisner Technique classes. We do offer workshops throughout the school year. Some examples include workshops on self-taping, on-camera technique, clown & mask, voice-over technique, commercial auditioning, and breathwork.
If you want to train at MFS, we will work with you to create a payment plan that fits your needs. The biggest savings is to pay in full at the time of enrollment. We offer payment plans that can extend to 12 months.
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147 W 25th St 5th Floor
New York, NY 10001
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ACTING STUDIO NEW YORK NY
The Maggie Flanigan Studio is the leading acting studio in New York City where professional actors train for long careers. The acting programs at the drama school are based on the Meisner Technique and the work of Sanford Meisner. The two year acting program includes acting classes, movement classes, voice and speech for actors, commercial acting classes, on camera classes, cold reading, monologue, playwriting, script analysis and the Meisner Summer Intensive.
Call to Schedule an Interview
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS