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OUR CLASSES

PROFESSIONAL BUSINESS
PROGRAM

The majority of actors who finish a training program are thrown out into the world with no real idea of how the professional business of acting functions. Our Professional Actor Business program is a full year dedicated to providing our students with all the tools necessary to excel as a professional actor.

Finishing a conservatory acting program is an incredible accomplishment. The anticipation of actively pursuing a professional career can feel daunting and overwhelming. How do I start? What do I need to know? How does the business work? These questions and many others can sometimes cause actors a great deal of anxiety and worry. Too often, actors finish their actor training and then are left on their own to navigate the business. They spend 5-8 years figuring out what and who they need to know, spending thousands of dollars in the process. We want our students to not only be well-trained actors. We also want them to hit the ground running, fully educated on the business and armed with the tools needed to actually make a living with their art.

This optional third year program is another example of what makes the Maggie Flanigan Studio the most comprehensive professional actor-training program in the United States. We believe that a serious actor ultimately needs to excel in two areas: craft and business. After spending two years focused on the Meisner Technique and the art of acting, it’s now time to learn about the business, including the expectations placed upon professional actors. The first few years of an actor’s career are crucially important. Most aspiring actors arrive in NYC and LA, get bad headshots, type up a hodge-podge resume of high school and college theater roles, some scene study classes, and start looking for auditions. They are untrained, unprepared, and wonder why they can’t get work. First impressions however, are incredibly important when meeting casting directors, agents, managers, etc. We created our Professional Business Program with the goal of reducing the years of struggle that most actors experience when pursuing their career. The Maggie Flanigan Studio Professional Business Program provides the knowledge and insight most actors acquire over 5-8 years, in only two semesters.

We are passionate about sending out true professionals. First impressions only happen once. As you begin to pursue professional auditions, it’s important that you can walk into that room with confidence, not just in your artistry, but bolstered by the vast amount of information you have received from casting directors, working actors, playwrights, directors, producers, agents, photographers, and managers that we bring in to share their insights and expectations. No one will take you seriously if you don’t take yourself seriously first. The Maggie Flanigan Studio provides the artistic and business tools you need to make that a reality.

Our Professional Business Program includes the following:

  • A Personally Curated, Professional Actor Website
  • Professionally Edited Reel Made in Collaboration With ReelArc
  • 6 Monologue Classes
  • 5 Classes on Comedy Auditions
  • 10 Classes on TV/Film/Theater Auditions
  • 4 Classes With Social Media Consultant
  • 8 Classes With Financial Coach
  • 16 Classes on Growth Mindset and Accountability
  • 10 Classes on the Art of Self-Taping
  • 4 Classes on How To Make Your Own Content
  • Continual One-on-One Mentoring
  • 4 Q & A Nights/Workshops With Working Actors, Directors, Playwrights, Producers, Stylists, Make-Up Artists, and Headshot Photographers
  • 8 Professional Auditions With NYC/LA Agents, Casting Directors, and Managers

Previous Guests have included:

  • Marci Philips – Exec. Director of Casting at ABC
  • Ross Myerson – Tucker/Myerson Casting
  • David Caparelliotis – Casting Director
  • Stevie Boothe – Manager
  • Kelly Gillespie – Assoc. Casting Dir. Manhattan Theater Club
  • Jessica Daniels – Casting Director
  • Erica Hart – Casting Director

DARIUSH KASHANI

Dariush Kashani received his MFA in Acting from Rutgers, Mason Gross School of the Arts, where he trained with Maggie Flanigan & Bill Esper. Kashani’s career as an actor includes the Tony Award winning productions of The Band’s Visit (Barrymore Theater) & Oslo (Vivian Beaumont Theater / LCT). He also received an Obie Award (Outstanding Cast) for the off-Broadway production of Oslo (Mitzi Newhouse / LCT).

STUDENT TESTIMONIALS

“With the business program coming to an end, I find myself reflecting on how rewarding it has been. The years it would have taken to learn everything in the program, is just one reason why it’s worthwhile. I grew exponentially as an artist and as a professional.”

Makana Ching

“I’m so eternally grateful that this third year / business program exists! It has given me the perfect structure and tools to take my career to the next level. Charlie Sandlan should be proud of what this studio has put together.”

Seth Andrew Miller
Seth Andrew Miller

“Kate knows practically everything there is to know about what’s going on in the Business on any given day. Her feedback is always tremendously helpful.”

Sean Kaufman
Sean Kaufman