Really glad I ignored some of the reviews here, and a thread on Reddit. I have since shifted focus from acting to art full time, but I started the Meisner beginner course this past January, and it was the best decision I've ever made. I had a fellow artist friend highly recommend the program and James Price. The class really opened me up, and is good not just for actors, but those trying to get better with improvisation and public speaking, or even learn to stop caring what others think and just live as you. After I finished the beginner class I was invited back to be on the conservatory track. I took two other courses, Voice and Singing, both led by great teachers as well. Oh, and every class I took was more than reasonably priced. I 1000% would be continuing if I had the time to focus on acting at the moment. They also have acting labs that are open to all students several times a month. I never once saw any teacher behave unprofessionally. The big problem with the dramatic arts is there tends to be a lot of narcissists that end up in the field. These types usually make the class about themselves, and their teachers just an obstacle to their inevitable success for which they are willing to put in none of the effort or work. These are the types that seem to have an issue with James, and post for the world to see. We had just one person drop a class I was in, the Meisner intro (it wasn't their idea of what an acting class should be--did you research even an iota?) and they were easily the laziest in the group, skipping out on all the required between-class work (which will help you so much!). To those looking to dip their toes into acting, or novice actors looking to level up their skills, I would highly recommend checking out The Acting Studio. Really easy location by Penn Station and Herald Square. If you come ready to do all the work and then some, you're gonna have an amazing time. If you're not willing to leave your ego at the door for a minute, you'll probably end up here writing a bad review. read more

I took an intro to Meisner class over the pandemic. I've always wanted to add it to my resume and the timing was right and the price was reduced. I must say that I didn't do my review research ahead of time but it probably wouldn't have changed my mind because the negative reviews that I found on The Acting Studio and James Price in particular are hidden or have been removed. I found out by word of mouth after being insulted more than once by James in class for no apparent reason. I'll be honest and detailed Our class on Fridays which is taught by James is supposed to end at 10pm. He goes well over sometimes close to midnight with no regard for our personal lives. If you say that you have to go early, which is really on time, he insulted you by saying that everyone has things to do. Most of the class is filled with his stories of his past roommates or his rants and fights with his young husband Aong who is from Thailand. James makes assumptions about you based on your looks and ethnicity. Facts: He called me a BITCH in class because I stood up for myself after begin belittled for asking a question. He apologized to me later in front of the class and with only a month to go until our last class... he once again belittled me for asking if I could ask a question. His response was: No you can't. You are always disrupting the flow of class. Even if this was true... should this have been told to me in front of class? A good teacher explains things the first time so that the students don't always have to ask what do you mean by that? To add insult to injury, he has a young male student from Italy who told me to get over it and then proceeded to jump on James' bandwagon. James has made reference to me having a hard life without even knowing my background. I could go on but let's just say that his class isn't for an intelligent, WOKE, AA woman. He's a coward and he needs an audience to showcase his off the wall behavior which can change from crying to laughing to yelling to belittling in a second. I question his mental state. No one in class is ever sure of what our assignments for the next class are. Everyone is afraid to go first because no one is ever clear on his directions. The class doesn't have to be 9 months. We do the same thing over and over each week which drags the class out and I suspect for money. Take your money and go elsewhere. read more

The Acting Studio - A private DM screenshot photo form a former student of James Price. - Performing Arts Near Me - New York, New York

I was a student at the Meisner Summer Conservatory and it was the best thing I could have done for my career. This was where I really fell in love with acting and fine tuned my technique. The relationships I made with my peers and teachers are ones I still value today. If you're looking to take your craft to the next level, I could not recommend it more. read more

James Price is a basically a coward. He will take your money and if you are struggling not tell you how or where there is room for improvement. Every class is repetitive and there is no guidance as to how to prepare yourself to seek out a legitimate career in acting (IE my goal was to pay my bills with acting gigs). He will cut you with no legitimate explanation after taking your money, no matter how hard you work. I would like to see a list of "successful" actors that actually can pay their bills as a result of this program. The main problem is that so many people in the NYC area would like to make a living being an actor, so this place is a constant revolving door of bright eyed and bushy tailed people with ambition. Therefore James Price is going to make money hand over fist no matter what and doesn't actually care about teaching or nurturing those people that are willing to put in the work. That's why he can say he "doesn't care" about cutting people from the program. He is always going to have students. I strongly suggest to not seek out to learn from those who never made it. Don't let their web page fool you! The class is a total waste of time and money. read more

If you want to be a working Actor RUN don't walk to The Acting Studio NYC. James Price taught me early on in my career "Acting is the ability to live truthfully under imaginary circumstances and that good actors don't come on stage to play a scene, they work off of behavior." Something I have brought in to every audition to BOOK that film, theater gig or television show. I HIGHLY recommend ANY of the classes at The Acting Studio NYC! read more

The Acting Studio - Performing Arts Near Me - New York, New York

This school offers a variety of wonderful classes that are great for both beginners who do not know where and how to start as well as professionals who want to refresh their education and keep perfecting their craft, I took classes in person and over zoom and it was a great experience all around, James Price and his talented team of teachers are very knowledgeable and great at what they do, you will learn everything there is to know about Meisner technique which I found very useful for myself as an actress. Highly recommend read more

The Acting Studio located in NY is a very unprofessional studio. Let's start off where the main "director" James Price continues degrade and disrespect his students. He doesn't respect anyone's opinion or choice to speak up about anything. Any little thing is a threat and curses just rolls off his tongue. He told me to "sit the f*ck down" then proceeded to tell me to "get the f*ck out". He is very disgusting. He has made a student cry before for judging her accent. This man should be cancelled. He is too rude and doesn't deserve to be an acting teacher or whatever he claims himself to be. On top of that I'm paying $680 for an in-person class to be disrespected when I can pay for a cheaper online class, save y'all money!!!! read more

I took James Price's Intro to Meisner class last year, and found that it really helped my performance abilities. I have never taken any acting classes prior to that, but what better introduction is there than to be taught by one of Sanford Meisner's proteges? I am currently enrolled in Meisner Technique 1, and am continuously amazed by James' thoroughness in his teaching and his dedication to the craft of acting. As a stand-up comic, I've also found the Meisner method to be more helfpul in my comedy than any improv or stand-up writing classes I've taken in the city. read more

I recommend this place for everyone who wants an acting class. Very professional and on point. At the end of the class you get to have a confidence in acting on . I am actually getting moré classes very soon read more

I decided that it would be fun to take some acting classes a while back. I always had a huge passion for theater. So I decided to take an introduction to Meisner a while back with these guys. The teacher was James, who is the artistic director of the studio (and founded it like over 20 years ago). It is a Meisner based studio so the Intro class had a lot of repetition exercises. The class was really interesting for people who want to be professional actors but not fun for people who just want to take acting classes for personal enrichment, confidence, or public speaking. Also, James is downright mean sometimes. So you have to be ok with having your ego crushed over and over again. Which, I guess is what will happen if you become a professional actor, but not really necessary if you just want to pursue acting classes for your own leisure. read more

Met James Price at The New York Film Academy as my first Meisner teacher. The man taught me to "Live truthfully under imaginary circumstances," and from there I was able to let go of the idea of acting and just focus on my scene partner and react off of them. I was hooked, post graduation I continued my study with The Acting Studio. A nice space located in Shetler Studios with a collection of necessary classes for the young actor and progressive fundamentals for the working actor. I have taken both James Price and John Grabowski's class and they truly are a great balance. James shows you tools, setting you up with the basic mechanics of Meisner, basically deprograming you from everyday life and gets you to listen and concentrate on the moment. John takes it to the next level. As a working actor I have used the knowledge from James' class and brought it to my approach. I have come back numerous times for John Grabowski's advance scene study classes, and I always discover something knew, often reminded that there is always more to learn, and as throughly convinced of the actor family the Acting Studio provides. John helps you develop a "directors eye", an important tool for a working actor to gauge rehearsals and develop a more refine craftsmanship to the work, the character, the scene, the relationship, the moments, etc. I see actors here I have seen in Acting Studio productions and take classes with them. You learn as much from James & John, as much as you do from your fellow actors. Come here for a education. Build a network and community. Come back and keep learning! read more

i'm a happy go lucky girl with a sense of humor and let me tell you the director, James Price, immediately was not a fan of me. he told me that all standup comedy is not funny (which is hurtful because i write standup). as i proceeded in the classes, this teacher named chris was completely unhinged and would go on rants about bs and waste time in the class with his anger issues that he would take out on us and degrade us. everytime i tried to complete my acting exercise, he would literally stop me at any mistake i made and never allowed me to ever complete the exercise without completely degrading me in front of the entire class. one time i was feeling faint in class, so i started munching on a pretzel (which i totally understand that it can come off as rude) but my blood sugar was low and i didn't know what to do. chris then proceeded to, not only lose his cool with me, but make an example out of me for 15 straight minutes about how this behavior is unprofessional, like we got it dude stop wasting our time we are paying for. (i was also bullied in grade school and this reminded me of that feeling a little bit- the teachers gave me a hard time and so did my classmates) the classes started to, not only kill my mood/vibe, but started to trigger some trauma and bad mental health for me. after james price expected us to have our lines prepared fluently (i have adhd and he gave me the longest/hardest script) and would call me up to say my lines, even if i wasn't prepared and honestly it sucked and i was embarrassed. i usually never have a hard time memorizing lines, but i felt so disconnected with everything going on that i just couldnt. james started saying some toxic stuff at the end of one of the classes and i kept trying to talk to him about my mental health but he kept interrupting me loudly and rudely to the point where it literally broke me and i told him basically that these classes make me legit wanna unalive myself, then i quickly slammed the door and exited. (it's funny because i'm actually not the first person to get pissed and storm out of the class). james basically chased me down as i was running to the elevator to escape, trying to convince me of some bs but i really needed space because my heart was racing and he was not respecting that at all when i was telling him that i'm literally done. would give it zero stars if i could. cut the negativity bs and start showing some love to your paying students. read more

I was always interested in acting but never actually took a class or let alone knew where to begin. I was studying music in Boston and I decided when I do go back to NY I would take a class. I did a lot of research and decided on The Acting Studio. One weekend, I came down from Boston to meet with James Price, The Artistic Director and we had a lengthy interview. Later, I received a letter saying I was accepted to the introduction to Meisner Class. Well, I fell in love with acting and The Acting Studio and after 2 years I graduated from the school. I studied under James for two years, absorbing everything. With James's experience and being Mr. Sanford Meisner's protégé I felt very fortunate to be in his classes. He really knows how to pull things out of you, that you thought you were not able to do. Taking an acting class is fun but it's very hard. I believe he is one of the greatest acting teachers out there today, which in turn makes his school one of the best. The classes are small about 10-15 people per class. This makes everyone get the attention they need as students. James's teachings, direction and honesty really help shape you as an actor. I later returned after graduating and studied about another year or so (scene work) under James as well with the Studio Director, John Grabowski who happens to be another excellent teacher at the studio. Both James and John really give you the personal attention you need as students. They really have a strong passion about theatre, acting and teaching! If you're serious about taking an acting class and want to give it a real try. I highly suggest The Acting Studio. read more

James Price is a teacher in the truest sense of the word, and by being his student, my life (acting and otherwise) has been permanently changed for the better. I have just commenced on the long road to understanding the "truth" of what acting really is, and I am blessed to have James guide me through that process. I would wholeheartedly recommend his class(es) to anyone really interested in first understanding and then perfecting the craft of acting. read more

I took the 6-week conservatory at this studio and I recommend it for anyone who wants to pursue a career in acting. The studio is Meisner based and 3 of the instructors including James Price and Bruce Herman have worked with Meisner himself which I found invaluable. During the 6 weeks we had about 10 different instructors with different focuses from Text Analysis to Singing. I learned a great deal from each and they all overlapped and understood the spectrum of techniques and abilities that other instructors specialized in but were careful not to step on their toes. They understood what they were teaching and tried to stay within that realm. Most of the instructors are also working actors/directors so they're in tune with the industry. They know where it is and have significant understanding on where it's going. I find the reviews about Bruce and James confusing as our class reported no such issues. Bruce's class may feel long but that's what happens when 2 people are working on a scene. Acting maybe one of the few fields where you learn more by seeing others work. I read Mark J.'s review of the class and looked forward to the "tough love" attitude he described James to have. I prepared for the worst which is maybe why I didn't get the same experience. James is a wise and insightful man and seems to understand peoples personalities and felt comfortable enough to joke with me which took pressure off of acting which can be nerve inducing. An unexpected plus from the course were the students in my class. It has been a little over a year since we've taken the class and we continue to have a group chat updating each other on career successes. There were also people from all over the world and different ages. Finding your artistic tribe is a great asset in this industry and taking the class gave me another community. I've had breakthroughs in each of the classes of varying size. Things I use to this day. The class prepared me to get into one of, if not, the most prestigious apprenticeship in the country at Actors Theatre of Louisville and it has also served as a foundation for me in preparing and being completive for the top grad school programs in the country. I will definitely be going back for more! read more

I absolutely loved this class. Bruce is a grade-A professional who puts his heart and soul into his teaching. Great experience!

If you truly want to develop yourself as an actor and aren't afraid to put in the work, this is a great place to start. I took Intro to Meisner (6 weeks) with James, Price, and then Tech 1 (9 months) and the Monologue Workshop with Bruce Hermann. I've also worked with John Grabowski closely as part of two Chelsea Rep productions. They're all smart, incredibly passionate and committed to the craft, with their own unique approach / perspective. Intro got me started on the basic Meisner exercises, which teach you how to stay present and connected (obviously a lifelong journey, but Intro is a crash course on this). I continued on to Tech 1 and it was one of the most intense and transformative experiences I've had. Bruce is an amazing teacher who pushes you regardless of your perceived level. I've seen students who were very shy / inhibited tap into talent that they didn't know existed, in large part because Bruce believed and invested so much in them. He's really good at identifying your specific weaknesses, framing them in a way you'll understand, and helping you overcome them. That said, YOU have to be willing to put in the work to see progress. If you're not, all the encouragement and feedback in the world won't help you. I feel really lucky to have found this place, not only because of the quality of teaching and overall value, but because there's a real sense of community and you get SO many opportunities to grow and to learn about producing, directing and acting on stage. Last year I worked with John, and Andrea Navedo (from Jane the Virgin) as an assistant director on Other People's Money, which is insane because I've always admired Andrea and she was one of the reasons I became interested in the studio. This year I worked with John again as part of the cast of 'Pentecost' - this lovely, incredibly ambitious play that has so much political relevance to today. It was perhaps the most difficult and rewarding experience I've ever had. I owe this and so many other opportunities to the studio, the teachers, and the community that surrounds them. Highly recommend! read more

I took a beginner's Meisner acting fundamentals course taught by Bruce Hermann. Bruce was an informed actor with a dedication to the course. However, be sure to ask about the composition of the course in the summer. I was thoroughly disappointed that approximately 1/4 of the students did not have an adequate mastery of the English language, which made exercises often tedious and frustrating. Also, although Bruce was an a good lecturer, he often arbitrarily gave critical feedback to some while in an attempt to encourage others, let the same errors go with many. His obsessive-compulsive review of the class rules was not totally necessary at the first class, and he failed to have class members introduce themselves briefly at the first class, but rather droned on about rules as if we were third graders. He did not set limits with young and at times unstable students who used the class to express the life angst. It was, overall, a very promising experience, but I ended up leaving after a rather unfortunate practice session where one student went crazy "in role," but actually was startlingly actually raving rather than acting. In his quest to seem very open to every emotion, he failed to stop the student from going on, and as a result I left the class and found a group of more mature, fluently English speaking students. read more

I started with Introduction to Meisner and just completed the 6 week summer conservatory. I received amazing training from incredible teachers. You receive personalized attention from professionals who want to see you succeed. The studio director studied directly under Meisner himself and takes so much pride in his methods, teachers, and studio. I will be continuing my studies here. read more

Loved it !!!! Best course I've ever been to. James is the best Lovely staff. Very homey. Got a good education read more

I've grown so much as an actor taking Intro to Meisner and Tech 1 with James. He is a wonderful teacher! He's hard enough to get you to where you need to be but not soul crushing. These classes are a lot of work so you need to be 100% committed. read more

James Price is a New York treasure. Anyone looking for clear and complete training as an actor should consider Mr. Price.

This is in response to Mr. Price's reply to my review as a student of The Acting Studio. First, EVERYTHING I said in my comment is 100 percent true. Second "Henry B." is the pseudonym I use for any online site I may comment on which are few. So what. Many people use a pseudonym online for reasons that should be blatantly obvious to anyone with a brain. My real name is John H Boscarino and Mr Price might want to fix his record keeping system because whoever the heck he's talking about isn't me. I was in the intro class and that's it. I left voluntarily before the intro class was over (I never even went on to the advanced class) because I lived in Long Island at the time and it was a very long trip from way out east especially after working all day. The fact that I lived way out there also made it difficult to meet with another student for these outside of class exercises, because the other students all pretty much lived in the city and the outside exercises were necessary because they became part of class and were integral to learning. All this bullshit about me calling and harassing this student is just that...complete and unadulterated bullshit. I never called her once. We exchanged a few texts in order to arrange to meet to do the exercises but that's it. Other than that we NEVER communicated. As far as me being a paranoid schizophrenic and it being something that I inherited from my mother...yeah right James. You know what James, you should have went into comedy because that's the most ridiculously laughable load of lies I've heard in quite some time. Either that or like I said you need to get your records straight because it wasn't me. And in regards to you working with Tony Danza... good for you. I couldn't care less. The truth is what I said happened...happened. Period end of story. There were 10+ other students there who witnessed it. If you're gonna make something up Mr. Price you might want to temper it otherwise people are going to know it's b.s. and think you're crazy. By the way I still teach in NYC in a public school as a NY state certified teacher ELA teacher. Not too many paranoid schizophrenics working as such. I told the truth that's it. Best of luck to you and Tony. Best, John H Boscarino read more

I was very excited to take this class, I have a great passion for theater I had the displeasure of taking a Meisner class with Bruce Herman at the Acting Studio a year and half ago. I cannot speak for the rest of the staff but I will share my thoughts on my experience with Bruce. First day of class he walks in, looks at the class and tells us he sees a lot of age in the class. I can only imagine he was speaking of the few over 30's students there were in the class. He then gives us a hand out with a laundry list of his rules and recites them to us one by one as though we were a room full of children. As the class progresses Bruce decides that we need to know details about his failed marriage to a southern belle, the lesbian that he tried to hit on but was not interested in him and a lot of other gross intimate details that have nothing to do with acting. He ogles every young female in the class and gives them over sexualized characters to play. Bruce seems to have a disdain for women if they are what he deems old. As a man I can say there were moments where I felt protective of the young girls in class and felt embarrassed at his complete lack of self awareness and behavior. By the middle of the class he had his favorites which were surprise surprise the young pretty girls. These girls by no fault of their own received the most time to play out and work on their scenes ( up to 40 minutes each) while everyone else had maybe 10-15 minutes....If Bruce does not like you, he dismisses you. You play out your scene and off you go. He does not take the time he does with his favorites, he has no real feedback and does not let you work it out. Bruce highlights recap: yelling at students if they need to go to the bathroom( he made one girl cry in the middle of the class by belittling her because she needed to use the bathroom) she later confided in me she had recently had a miscarriage and was having physical problems because of it . Locking students out of the class room if they were even a second late coming back from break. I could go on and on but I think I have said enough. I am sure someone will come on here and have a rebuttal of my review. I am just telling it like it is. Bruce Herman is an ego maniac who has no business teaching a class in anything but delusions of grandeur 101 read more

There are numerous studios professing to teach some form of Meisner or other, and each trying to convince you with a fair amount of marketing and flash that theirs is the best. What I loved most about my experience at The Acting Studio is that James never had to convince us that he knew what he was talking about - from the beginning of the first class to the end of the last he set about shaping us into more skilled actors (and to be honest, more skilled human beings). For anyone eager to learn more about the craft of acting I can't recommend this studio strongly enough. read more

I took John Grabowski's Directing Class and it was fantastic! John is very thorough in his approach and the homework is designed to give you a real-world experience of formalized directing technique. This is a great course for the director who wants to understand script analysis and how to approach actors. read more

After I retired from the Police Department, I thought I would try my hand at acting and while looking for a good and affordable school, I came across The Acting Studio. After an interview with James Price, the Directer and founder of the school, I sat in for the first Intro class with some hesitation and doubts. By the end of the class, I knew that i was on the right path. It is a very reasonable priced school, and compared to some of the more known School, a bargain. As another reviewer stated before James can be tough, but it is his job to push us to do better and find the actor in us. I am almost done with the 2 year program and have been able to get out of my shell and audition start on a second career. I am very lucky to have the school and hope to continue to train with James and the Acting studio. read more