The Maggie Flanigan Studio, a prestigious acting conservatory based in New York, has announced an upcoming one day acting workshop in Washington, DC. The class will be taught by master instructor Charlie Sandlan, the executive director and the head of acting at the Maggie Flanigan Studio. This will be a rare opportunity for those who are considering becoming a professional actor and who have questions they would like to ask of an acting professional who is renowned, and to work with him directly in class.
In addition to a “question and answer” session about professional acting and a lecture by Sandlan, all attendees of this class will have the opportunity to actually do some acting. This is a three-hour long class, which will give plenty of time for participants to engage and to learn.
The class will give an introduction to the Meisner Technique. This famous technique assists the actor in learning to take their attention off of themselves, truly get in contact with another human being, respond from authentic spontaneous impulses, and to listen. Sandlan said, “Learning to listen is one of the most fundamental skills in acting. Listening, answering, and truly responding is the bedrock of being a true actor.”
In addition to the one-day workshop, the Maggie Flanigan Studio also offers a summer acting program for adults. These classes are rigorous and are not simply for the casual actor – they are professional preparatory classes that actually prepare students for the full-time conservatory that the Flanigan studio offers.
Everything the students learn during the summer classes will help further their work in the future, and all of the students who are accepted into the summer program will have a standing acceptance into the MFS two-year conservatory program.
Sandlan teaches all first-year acting students and helps them lay the groundwork for all their future acting and directing endeavors. He graduated from Rutgers University, Mason Gross School Of The Arts, where Maggie Flanigan herself trained him in the Meisner technique. Over more than a decade, Mr. Sandlan and Ms. Flanigan worked together and Sandlan was immersed in the Meisner technique. Ms. Flanigan chose Sandlan to carry her studio forward and he became the Executive Director of the Maggie Flanigan Studio in 2012.
“There are a lot of misconceptions about the Meisner acting technique,” Sandlan said. “Some people think it is simply improvisational, but nothing could be further from the truth. At its core, it is a technique which requires actors to be in the moment, and to create a character that literally comes to life on stage, in the play as it is at that moment.”
For example, Meisner actors will respond from imagination rather than memory. Instead of memorizing the need to take a particular gesture or to take a particular tone at a certain spot in the script, the actor learns to imagine and bring to life the character and how he or she would literally feel and behave at that moment in the play. And this character would have the ability to help create and respond to a new reality moment by moment, during each performance.
“Like everything of value,” Sandlan said, “It’s far easier said than done.” Sandford Meisner developed his technique in the 1930s. It is often discussed alongside the better known “Method” acting techniques as taught by Lee Strasberg. Both of these techniques are based on the work of revered Russian teacher Konstantin Stanislavski.
The Maggie Flanigan Studio is considered one of the premier acting conservatories in the country and the reviews from past students are very positive.
Former student Mike Colter said, “Maggie helped me find my sense of truth, which is an actor’s greatest asset. Maggie is an expert at instilling that vital ingredient, which allows an actor’s potential to become limitless. My work will forever be rooted in the clarity and honesty she helped me develop.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCCfgqi94ds
The class will take place from 11 am- 2 pm on Saturday, April 18 at Synetic Theater at Studio Violet, in Arlington, Virginia. The cost is $50. Those seeking more information should call (202) 517-8020 or email studio@maggieflaniganstudio.com.
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For more information about Meisner Technique Studio: Washington DC, contact the company here:
Meisner Technique Studio: Washington DC
Charlie Sandlan
(202) 517-8020
meisnertechniquemaryland@gmail.com
700 12th St NW Ste 700-PMB01
Washington DC 20005
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