Actors Studio
Formation | October 5, 1947 |
---|---|
Type | Drama school |
Purpose | Organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights |
Headquarters | 432 West 44th Street Manhattan, New York City |
Region served | United States |
Key people | Al Pacino, Alec Baldwin, Ellen Burstyn (co-presidents) Beau Gravitte (artistic director) Estelle Parsons (assistant artistic director) |
Website | theactorsstudio |
The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights located on West 44th Street in Hell's Kitchen, New York City.
The studio is best known for its work refining and teaching
Notable actors and playwrights who have shared their work at the studio include Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando, who joined the studio in its first year, Lorraine Hansberry and James Baldwin.
While at the Studio, actors work together to develop their skills in a private environment where they can take risks as performers without the pressure of commercial roles.
As of May 2018[update], the studio's co-presidents are Ellen Burstyn, Alec Baldwin and Al Pacino. The artistic director in New York is Beau Gravitte, and the Associate Artistic Director in New York is Estelle Parsons.[3]
History
After an initial meeting held on October 5, 1947, at the
Around 700 actors auditioned in the studio's first year, with 50 actors selected to become its first group of members, including Marlon Brando.[5] Once actors pass the studio's audition process they become life-members who can attend sessions where members present work to each other. Some non-members are also invited to observe sessions, and on rare occasions non-members such as Marilyn Monroe have been invited to present.[5]
The studio has also provided opportunities for playwrights including Lorraine Hansberry, James Baldwin, Edward Albee and Tennessee Williams to develop new works.[6][2]
Location
Before settling in its current location in 1955, the Studio moved regularly over an eight-year period. It first opened in October 1947 at the Union Methodist Episcopal Church, located at 229 West 48th Street,[4] previously home to the Actors Kitchen and Lounge (maintained to assist actors and others unable to afford meals), and long a source of rental rehearsal space for local theatrical producers.[7][8][9]
In January 1948, it was a dance studio on East 59th Street. In April of that year, a move to the
Graduate drama school
From September 1994 through May 2005, the Studio collaborated with The New School in the education of master's-level theatre students at the Actors Studio Drama School (ASDS). After ending its contract with The New School, the Actors Studio established The Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University in 2006.
Lifetime members
Some of the more well-known Lifetime Members of the Actors Studio are (as of July 24, 2023):[12][13]
- Lou Antonio
- Michael Aronov
- Beatrice Arthur
- James Baldwin
- Martin Balsam
- Anne Bancroft
- Susan Batson
- Michael Bennett
- Marlon Brando
- Roscoe Lee Browne
- Ellen Burstyn
- Ellen Chenoweth
- Jill Clayburgh
- Montgomery Clift
- Miriam Colon
- Michael Cristofer
- Harold Clurman
- Bradley Cooper
- Common
- James Dean
- Robert De Niro
- Sandy Dennis
- Daniel de Weldon
- Robert Duvall
- Sally Field
- Jane Fonda
- Anthony Franciosa
- Ben Gazzara
- Carlin Glynn
- Lee Grant
- Beau Gravitte
- William Greaves
- Stephen Adly Guirgis
- Lorraine Hansberry
- Julie Harris
- Dustin Hoffman
- Celeste Holm
- Kim Hunter
- William Inge
- Salome Jens
- Elia Kazan
- Elizabeth Kemp
- Harvey Keitel
- Lyle Kessler
- Martin Landau
- Stephen Lang
- Cloris Leachman
- Melissa Leo
- Robert Lewis
- James Lipton
- Norman Mailer
- Karl Malden
- Peter Masterson
- Walter Matthau
- Steve McQueen
- Danny Minnick
- Marilyn Monroe
- Paul Newman
- Jack Nicholson
- Clifford Odets
- Geraldine Page
- Estelle Parsons
- Sidney Poitier
- Sydney Pollack
- José Quintero
- Jerome Robbins
- Teresa Ruiz
- Mark Rydell
- Mark Rylance
- Eva Marie Saint
- Maureen Stapleton
- Rod Steiger
- David J. Stewart[14]
- John Strasberg
- Lee Strasberg
- Eli Wallach
- Gene Wilder
- Shelley Winters
- Tennessee Williams
- Joanne Woodward
See also
References
Notes
- ^ ISBN 90-5702-185-4
- ^ a b c "Miracle On 44th Street: A Portrait of the Actor's Studio". American Masters. PBS. 8 July 1991.
- ^ "Who We Are: Leadership" Actors Studio website. Accessed: May 30, 2018.
- ^ ISBN 0-02-542650-8.
- ^ a b Kleiner, Dick (December 21, 1956). ""The Actors Studio: Making Stars Out of the Unknown"". Sarasota Journal.
- ^ Colbert, Soyica Diggs (14 October 2022). "Onstage This Fall, the Enduring Friendship of Baldwin and Hansberry". The New York Times.
- ^ Staff (March 29, 1935) "30c Dinners Offered to Actors by Church Planning Restaurant Operated by Them" The New York Times
- Washington Reporter
- ^ Staff (May 17, 1942) "Actors Kitchen in Church Closed". The New York Times
- ISBN 0-02-542650-8.
- ISBN 0-231-12543-7.
- ^ "Notable Members". The Official Site of The Actors Studio. November 8, 2019. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
- ^ view-source:https://theactorsstudio.org/who-we-are/notable-members/ (source of previous reference)
- ^ https://archive.org/details/playersplacestor00garf/page/284/mode/2up?q=david+j+stewart ; p 285, Note 25
Further reading
- Articles
- Gerard, Jeremy (April 8, 1988) "Frank Corsaro to Head Actors Studio," The New York Times
- Heimer, Mel (October 19, 1965), "My New York" Rochester Sentinel p. 2
- Kleiner, Dick (December 21, 1956) "The Actors Studio: Making Stars Out of the Unknown," Sarasota Journal p. 26
- Pogrebin, Robin (June 20, 2000) "Pacino, Burstyn and Keitel To Lead the Actors Studio," The New York Times
- Seligsohn, Leo (January 6, 1974) "Actors Studio Needs Cash Birthday Gift," Sarasota Herald-Tribune p. 6-B
- Smith, Liz (May 30, 1983) "Controversy Engulfs Actors Studio As Anna Strasberg Resigns," Sarasota Herald-Tribune p. 4-C
- Books
- Frome, Shelly (2001) The Actors Studio: a History. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-1073-6
- Garfield, David (1980) A Player's Place: The Story of the Actors Studio. New York: MacMillan. ISBN 0-02-542650-8
- Hirsch, Foster (1984) A Method to their Madness: The History of the Actors Studio. New York: WW Norton & Co Inc. ISBN 0-393-01783-4
External links
- Official website
- PBS American Masters Series profile
- Inside the Actors Studio
- The Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University
- Audio collection of the Actors Studio from 1956–69 at the Wisconsin Historical Society
- A brief history of the Actors Studio, including Lee Strasberg on its origin and purpose.
- David Garfield research files on the Actors Studio, 1947–2003 (bulk 1970–1982), held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts