In this video students have added shared circumstances to the improvisation, where the person entering now has something they need from their partner. Elizabeth shows how important it is not to lose contact with your partner just because you have an objective.
Category Archives Acting Studio
3 Minute Meisner Monday: Emotional Preparation in Scene Work
The fifteenth video in our 3 Minute Meisner series, our students are encouraged to express their emote their lines as a genuine reaction to their partner and the scene. This is accomplished only through true vulnerability and openness, skills (qualities) that are honed through training and practice.
Movement 1: Honing Physical Expression for Actors
Movement 1 2018/2019 Course.Register now
Movement 1
October 3rd – December 12, 2018 & January 9th – March 13th 2019
Great actor training focuses on the whole instrument: voice, mind, heart, and body. A strong physical presence is crucial to the professional actor being fully aware and open in terms of physical habits, postures, gestures, body language and voice and sound.
Movement I is designed to develop the actor’s physicality. It will release the constrictions of the actor’s instrument and free the actor’s emotional life; to move away from pedestrian, every day, socialized behavior and to embody a more authentic, expansive, and unbridled expression.
Throughout the twenty-week period, students go through a variety of exercises drawn from the Williamson Technique. They will begin to understand how this technique is the physical component of the acting work they are doing in their Meisner classes. It is a chance for students to immediately move beyond physical constrictions and use the body as a full acting instrument that can interact unimpeded with all the senses, to the world around them and to the other “players’ in that world..
Students will explore where tension is held in the body and how the body responds when it is emotionally alive. Simultaneously, students will be building a sense of grace, flexibility, strength, stamina, and vulnerability. The goal is to effortlessly apply these principles to making clear physical choices in the acting work.
Class Schedule:
Wednesdays at 7pm
Tuition:
$940 ( Weekly classes over a 20 week period ) 50% deposit required to register.
Instructor:
Caitlin Rigney
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If you would like more information, please call Elizabeth at 323-528-6280, or [email protected].
Conservatory Course: An alternative to BFA/MFA in Acting
Conservatory Training Program 2018/2019. Register Now
EMAS is excited to announce our new Conservatory Training Program (CTP).Created to be an affordable alternative to BFA/MFA Acting programs,this option offers actors the ability to develop their actor’s instrument, learn to analyze text as well as acquire their acting craft.The Conservatory Training Program will consist of the following courses:
- Meisner Acting Technique
- Fitzmaurice Voice Work
- Movement for Actors
- Shakespeare
This is a rare opportunity for student actors to get professional training at a fraction of the cost of a conservatory. We believe that the focused, daily nature of conservatory –style training helps make actors more competitive in the entertainment industry.
CTP will begin in the fall of 2018.
Tuition for the 9-month program is $4800.Payment Plans available.
Admissions are through Interview only.
About The Elizabeth Mestnik Acting Studio
EMAS is a dynamic acting training program for those who want to study the craft of acting in a challenging and inspiring environment. Our reputation is for producing exciting and spontaneous actors with reliable acting technique. That is why The Elizabeth Mestnik Acting Studio is ranked as the top acting program in Los Angeles by CBS and Backstage, among others. our Professional approach, as well as the individualized commitment to each student that has earned us the reputation as on of L.A’s most respected acting schools.
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If you would like more information, please call Chase at323-528-6280, or [email protected], or register now
3 minute Meisner Mondays : Leave Yourself Alone
The fourteenth video in the series. Elizabeth talked about how fear and anger are intertwined,and how the delicate and fragile happy emotion would be popped up against. Students tried to perform such conflicts. Acting is not merely showing emotions,however. Watch Elizabeth giving advice right now.
3 MINUTE MEISNER MONDAYS: PART XIII OF THE REPETITION EXERCISE
The thirteenth video in a series of 3 minute segments of a Meisner class. The student tried to perform the trickiest emotion:Happy. How to bring the happy emotion to life through the somehow pedestrian actions is challenging.Watch Elizabeth giving advice right now.
Now Enrolling: Summer Meisner Intensive
The Elizabeth Mestnik Acting Studio (EMAS) has now opened registration for our 2018 Summer Meisner Intensive Class.
Located at our Hollywood studio, the Summer Intensive offers 3 classes per week over a 5 week period to give students an immersive introduction to the philosophies and structure of Meisner-based training.
At the heart of the Meisner Technique is a tangible, step-by-step approach to acting training with each exercise building on the last. Not only does this give actors a dependable process to draw on but, ultimately, actors are taught to work truthfully, employing their genuine impulses and talent rather than working intellectually.
Our Summer Intensive course guides students through the beginning steps of the Meisner Technique in just over a month. Classes meet three days a week for three hours at a time. Sessions are scheduled both in the morning and in the evening to avoid scheduling conflicts. We’re invested in your development as an actor and, as such, attendance is mandatory.
Summer Meisner Intensive Info:
June 25 – July 31, 2018
5 weeks/3 classes a week
Session A: Mon, Wed, Sat at 10:00AM
Session B: Tues & Thurs at 7:00PM, Sat at 2:00PM
Interviews for the Summer Intensive are ongoing. There is no deadline, however, once classes are full we will continue to hold interviews for a wait list. The earlier you interview, the more likely there will be availability for a spot in a class.
In order to schedule your interview, please apply on our registration page. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email us or call the studio at 323-528-6280.
More information about the Meisner Technique can be found on our Meisner Class Page or on our Blog.
Now Enrolling: ‘The Script’ Scene Study Acting Class
Whether you’re just beginning or are an experienced actor, it all starts with the script. If bringing the words to life is what makes us actors, learning to convey subtext, nuance and genuine emotion is can make us great actors.
The Script is an 11 week scene study class offered at EMASLA that emphasizes the role of text in an actor’s performance. Techniques are offered that help the actor make character choices, play objectives, and relate emotionally to world created by the scene. Furthermore, actors are taught to understand the voice of the writer in different genres and styles, allowing them to better connect with the intentions and vision of the writer as they express their own emotions through the words of others.
Both beginning and experienced actors who wish to improve their text analysis and script reading are encouraged to apply.
All EMASLA class sizes are limited in size to ensure one-on-one interaction with instructors. Visit our registration page to reserve your place one of our two time slots for The Script.
Where:
When:
April 4th – June 14th, 2018
Wednesdays at 2:00pm
Or
Thursdays at 7pm
Winter Shakespeare Acting Class: Playing the Bard
The Elizabeth Mestnik Acting Studio (EMAS) is happy to announce open enrollment for our Winter Shakespeare acting class, Shakespeare I: Playing the Bard.
Many of today’s most admired and celebrated actors have their roots in playing Shakespeare, proving that The Bard is more relevant than ever to today’s entertainment industry.
This 8 week class aims to introduce the core elements of playing Shakespeare to LA actors. In class, students will:
- Investigate how Shakespeare directs actors through the structure and rhythm of his texts
- Examine the differences between verse and prose and discover when Shakespeare chooses to write in each form
- Explore iambic pentameter and phrasing and learn a process for analyzing Shakespeare’s texts
- Experience how a slight change in emphasis can alter the emotions and meaning of a scene
- Learn to link language with your physical and vocal instrument to incorporate your full body into your acting
Classes held at EMAS on Sundays at 7:00 PM. January 28th through March 18th, 2018.
The Instructor
Now based in LA, Diana Jellinek is an actress and an acting coach with extensive experience on stage and screen, including The Old Globe Theatre, London’s Royal National Theatre Studio, and the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington DC. Learn more at:
Diana Jellinek’s Website
Diana Jelinek’s IMDB Page
Best Movie Performances of 2017 (According to Me)
Guest Post by EMAS Community Member, Joanna Enright
2017 is coming to a rousing conclusion as far as great film performances go. The year got off to a slow start, but it is building up great momentum as the big films of the year come through in time for the end of the year holiday season. This year, the competition for awards will be fierce, especially in the Best Actor category, as we’re seeing some major (and new) stars taking on highly challenging roles and bringing them in with everything they’ve got.
I’ve singled out a few of my favorite performances from 2017 (so far) to highlight here. The actors in these roles are all, in varied ways, with different approaches and styles, working at the top of their game, with passion for what they do and calling on their highest intelligence and craftsmanship. All of this is why each of these actors can offer a lot to those who love and are inspired by the art of acting.
Dustin Hoffman, The Meyerowitz Stories
Academy Award-winner Dustin Hoffman (Tootsie, The Graduate, Midnight Cowboy) is back in top form in Noah Baumbach’s ensemble comedy about a family that comes back together after years of dysfunction to celebrate their artist father’s career retrospective. Working with a script (by Baumbach) that is both hilarious, trenchant and at times painfully heartbreaking, Hoffman offers a singular character performance as the ego-driven yet utterly emotionally unaware patriarch of the Meyerowtiz clan. The tiny details in Hoffman’s performance, as he glides through fractured interchanges with his sons, wives, and (secretly envied) artist friends are hilarious. Hoffman wonderfully captures the quiet egomania of a New York artist who keeps propping himself up in the face of his failure as an artist and a father, and yet keeps on going. This highly watchable film also features uniformly great performances by the ensemble cast, including Ben Stiller and Adam Sandler as Hoffman’s estranged sons, who are unable to stop competing for their dad’s attention, even in middle-age.
Gary Oldman, The Darkest Hour
Gary Oldman (Sid and Nancy, Immortal Beloved, The Dark Knight) delivers a towering performance as Prime Minister Winston Churchill in director Joe Wright’s The Darkest Hour. The film is the riveting story of Churchill’s leadership in the stark early years of the Second World War, as France was being overtaken by German forces and England was beginning to realize the enormity of the threat they were facing. Oldman’s character work in this film is indelible, as he captures Churchill’s persona as a brilliant yet eccentric leader who was tasked with leading the English public (and parliament) towards support for entering into war with Germany.
Oldman, wearing heavy prosthetic makeup and extra weight, comes through with incredible emotional force as Churchill, from the high moments of his great speeches to the English people, and also in the small moments when he faces his fears over England’s possible fate. This stirring performance by one of the best actors of our time is a must-see for any actor working today.
Mark Rylance, Dunkirk
Mark Rylance is one of the most arresting and skilled actors working today, and this Academy Award Winner (Best Supporting Actor-Bridge of Spies) brings an emotional center to the searing story of Dunkirk. Christopher Nolan’s rendition of this key battle during the early days of World War II (in events also covered in “The Darkest Hour”) is a fast-paced epic that offers few breaks from the unrelenting tension of the story. As the film cuts between scenes of the war’s horrors on land, sea, and in the air, Rylance brings a feeling of emotional stability to the story. As an Englishman who sails a small yacht to the village of Dunkirk to help with the rescue of British troops, Rylance, with minimal dialogue, offers an emotional gravity and sensitivity in his scenes that is brilliant and heartbreaking. This is another must-see performance in a year of great ones.
Timothee Chalamet, Call Me By Your Name
Timothee Chalamet delivers a breakout performance in the sensitive and ultimately heartbreaking love story, Call Me By Your Name. As the teenage Eliot, a student and musician in 1981 Italy, Chalamet captures the painful longing of first love, as he and the graduate student living with his family (Armie Hammer) fall into a forbidden love affair they know must ultimately come to an end. Hammer and Chalet are gorgeous together, and their tasteful love scenes together are beautifully rendered.
There’s no doubt this year will be remembered for a host of great films marked by amazing writing and cinematography, but more than anything, it’s the performances by some of the best actors working today in these films that will leave a lasting impression on me.
– Joanna Enright
