The first year is about introducing students to the process of Method Acting and Lee Strasberg’s work. Students will gain a basic understanding of the exercises, a comfortability with the foundations of relaxation and sense memory, and an idea of how the training relates to scene work. Students will become aware of the habits of in-expression, areas of physical tension, and feel a strengthened imagination through sensory and improvisation. In addition, students will develop a neutral and supported voice and a strong understanding of their bodies through Vocal Production, Speech, Dance and Tai Chi.
| First Semester | Second Semester |
|---|---|
| Method Acting (4 Hrs) | Method Acting (4 Hrs) |
| Method Acting (4 Hrs) | Method Acting (4 Hrs) |
| Ballet (2 Hrs) | Jazz (2 Hrs) |
| Vocal Production (2 Hrs) | Vocal Production (2 Hrs) |
| Speech (2 Hrs) | Speech (2 Hrs) |
| Tai Chi (2 Hrs) | Tai Chi (2 Hrs) |
| Improvisation I (2 Hrs) | Improvisation II (2 Hrs) |
The second year is about integrating the basics developed in the first year into more advanced work. Students will be asked to use information from the play to fuel the imagination and use the sensory work to fulfill the demands of more challenging scenes. The addition of Singing challenges students to apply basic vocal production skills to a more rigorous technical form, asking students to maintain relaxation and technique while performing. Dialects integrates vocal production and speech work into a more specific function, testing the student’s command of previous skills, and provides an important tool for character work. Movement classes emphasize the further understanding of the body and the reduction of habits to allow for free expression and connection to the work.
1st Semester |
2nd Semester |
Method Acting (4 Hrs) |
Method Acting (4 Hrs) |
Method Acting (4 Hrs) |
Method Acting (4 Hrs) |
Jazz (2 Hrs) |
Tap (2 Hrs) |
Movement (2 Hrs) |
Movement (2 Hrs) |
Singing (2 Hrs) |
Singing (2 Hrs) |
| Dialects (2 Hrs) | Dialects (2 Hrs) |
| Script Analysis (2 Hrs) | Script Analysis (2 Hrs) |
Advanced Professional Training at Strasberg emphasizes the application of the technique to more complex scenes and new forms. Students will develop a greater understanding of how to apply the sensory work to film and television as well as to the development of characters. Students will learn to cater their process to audition scenarios and leave with an understanding of the demands of the industry. The elective system used in Advanced Training allows students to choose classes in acting, voice, and movement which will best further their personal growth and encourages them to individually tailor their remaining semesters. The Transfer Track at Strasberg is a unique program for new students to start their relaxation and sensory training from the beginning of Lee Strasberg’s curriculum while trusting their Primary Training and striving for growth in advanced electives.
CORE CLASSES:
Method Acting, Method Acting, Acting Film and TV
MOVEMENT ELECTIVES*:
Advanced Dance, Stage Combat, Movement
ACTING ELECTIVES*:
Audition, Building a Character, Developing your Career, Shakespeare
VOCAL ELECTIVES*:
Singing, Dialects
*Subject to change
The Practicum Program focuses on the professional demands and expectations of the industry. At the forefront of the program is the Clifford Odets Ensemble Play Commission, a collaboration between the Clifford Odets Estate and the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute. The students in the Practicum Program form a company, are interviewed by an emerging playwright, and become the original cast of a new play written for this specific ensemble. Together with a professional director, the company develops the new work over the course of the semester, ultimately building toward the play’s world premiere and an industry performance and gala. Elsewhere in the program, students will have the opportunity and challenge of working with visiting directors and casting directors from both stage and screen. Students will be confronted with new ways of working and learn to manipulate and translate the Method technique to fulfill the demands of each individual director and scene. This semester is about applying breadth of artistic and technical skills gained in previous years to a full-scale production and preparation for a career in the industry.
CORE CLASSES:
Method Acting, Method Acting, Working with Stage Directors,
Working with Casting Directors
MOVEMENT ELECTIVES*:
Stage Combat, Movement, Advanced Dance
VOCAL ELECTIVES*:
Singing, Dialects
*Subject to change
Students who study at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute for their Primary Training are guaranteed casting in a project by the end of their second year. Second Year and Advanced Professional Training students also have the opportunity to audition for additional productions each term, including a full-scale spring musical in collaboration with the snstitute’s conservatory students.
StrasbergTALKS is a lecture and workshop series designed to provide students with inspired knowledge of the Lee Strasberg Method, its application in a professional setting, as well as insights into the professional demands of the industry. Guests range from actors and alumni to directors, writers, agents, and casting directors. Past guests include: Sally Field, Al Pacino, Kelli O’Hara, Vincent D’Onofrio, Vanessa Redgrave, Michael Imperioli, Estelle Parsons, John Leguizamo, Clare Danes, and more.
Students are given the opportunity to present scenes prepared in class for critique by Mrs. Anna Strasberg, the Artistic Director of the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute. These events are curated periodically throughout the year and are often the first steps taken in translating class work into performance. Scene Day is a part of a long-standing tradition of faculty and students collaborating to collectively grow their intellectual and practical understanding of Lee Strasberg’s Method Acting technique