From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights located in the Old Labor Stage at 432 West 44th Street in the Hells Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Founded in 1947 by Elia Kazan, Cheryl Crawford, and Robert Lewis, the Studio is known for its work refining and teaching method acting, an approach originally developed by the Group Theatre in the 1930s based on the innovations of Constantin Stanislavski.

The Studio came to worldwide recognition under the leadership of Lee Strasberg, who took over the helm in 1952.

While at the Studio, actors work together to develop their skills in an experimental environment, where they can take risks as performers without the pressure of commercial roles.

From September 1994 through May 2005, the Studio collaborated with The New School in the education of masters-level theater students at the Actors Studio Drama School (ASDS). In 2005, New School President Bob Kerrey chose not to renew a contract with the Actors Studio, ending the collaboration and causing much controversy.

Since fall 2006, the Actors Studio has offered a three-year MFA degree program through Pace University. [1]

The television program Inside the Actors Studio airs on the cable television network Bravo. It is hosted by James Lipton, Dean Emeritus of the Actors Studio Drama School, and provides in-depth interviews with actors, directors, writers, and other artists, some of whom are members of the Studio. The program was taped in front of the students of ASDS, and served as a class seminar for them, until the school's dissolution. 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 University's New York City campus.

Over its long history, many famous and successful actors, directors and playwrights have come out of the Studio, including:

• The official web site of The Actors Studio
• PBS American Masters Series profile
• Inside the Actors Studio
• The Actors Studio MFA Program at Pace University
• Audio collection of the Actors Studio from 1956-1969 at the Wisconsin Historical Society