The Meisner Summer Intensive at the Maggie Flanigan Studio is a professional actor training program in New York City, that runs once a year. In this interview Kyle Leibovitch discusses why he chose the studio, what the training was like and his experience with the Meisner technique.

What did you think acting training was before you started the six-week summer intensive?

A: Before I started the Meisner summer intensive, well I knew that acting training was like very specific and rigorous and definitely very professional, but the thing that was different when I came here was that it was, people were being held to a much higher standard. I feel like everyone was being held to a very high standard of professionalism. So much specificity, if that makes sense.

And what happened to you specifically during the Six Week Summer Intensive that changed your perspective on acting and training?

A: The way Charlie made it very personal and the way he though acting should be very personal and coming up with circumstances that were very personal to you, I kind of knew that that should be a thing in acting but I never had been taught how to really craft something that delved into myself to a point that it was very, that it made me very vulnerable and scared and challenged me so much.

Q: And what did you learn about yourself during the Meisner Summer Intensive that surprised you?

A: That the biggest block toward getting to my vulnerability was actually my rage. It was the opposite I felt like. In order to really get to a point of being vulnerable I had to get really angry and be comfortable with that towards another person because I’m usually a pretty friendly person. It really opened me up in other areas of my work as well.

Q: What would you say to someone who wasn’t sure about the Meisner Summer Intensive?

A: I think you just gotta go for it. I mean, I feel that at some point in anything you do, you might never feel like you’re fully ready but you’ll never be ready unless you actually commit to it and actually do it and try it. Because everyone is at a different point in their process and so you can only go forward, I feel like.

So why did you decide to train as a Meisner actor?

A: I have read like every single acting book that there probably is to read and I think that one that resonated the most with me was the Meisner technique, reading Sanford Meisner’s actual book and so I kind of looked up online where were the best places and I kept seeing Maggie’s name and so I came here to try it because I just felt that Meisner, the idea of putting your attention on something else or someone else was just the way to do it.

So why did you decide to enroll in the two year Meisner acting program?

A: I felt like in the summer intensive Charlie pushed me to a level that I didn’t think was possible and I just wanted to keep growing and growing because I mean this is a business it takes a long time, an art form that take a long time. I felt that I wanted to be the best that I could possibly be and I feel that here, with Charlie, he can really push me to that level, and beyond that level even.

Why did you choose the Maggie Flanigan Studio?

A: Probably because of Charlie, to be honest. There’s so many places out there but I feel that he has a way of pushing people and kind of seeing the buttons that they have and the limitations that they have and knows how to attack them in a smart way without breaking you down too much, but just enough.

There are many programs in New York city that provide actor training. To learn more about the Maggie Flanigan Studio and the Meisner Summer intensive call the studio today at (917) 794-3878.

Be sure to check out the interview with Sara Kohler to see what she has to say about the Meisner Summer Intensive.