Los Angeles Acting School

Meisner Shmeisner

2009-11-06T11:16:00.000-08:00

Knock, knock.

Who's there?

Sanford Meisner.

Sanford Meisner who?

Sanford Meisner who?!

Yeah, Sanford Meisner who?

Well, f*k you!

Yeah? Well, f*k you too!

(slam the door)

Sanford Meisner was the greatest teacher of acting that this country has produced. Tragically, Sandy died in 1997. If you go to an acting school with his name on the door he will not be there to watch your work, tell you what needs fixing, or how to fix it. Sandy wanted to be "an influence" and that he has become. Mr. Meisner has influenced every hack acting teacher in Los Angeles, and elsewhere, to use his name to sell their bogus acting classes. In their defense I will quote Mr. Meisner in saying, "Even when it's taught badly, it's still pretty good."

My G-d, what a lot of lame crap floats around L.A. under the guise of "The Authentic Meisner Technique." The Sanford Meisner technique is a technique for teaching and learning, not a technique for acting! That damned exercise he invented has no practical application in the real world of professional acting. The exercise exists as an exploratory tool for problem solving and to introduce the actor to himself and his acting partner, then to allow the personal discovery of one's own values, character, imagination, and creativity.

The problems all actors face in the beginning are that they will not listen or stop thinking about themselves. Mr. Meisner's invention eliminates these problems by replacing them with positive work habits: listening to, observing, and being affected emotionally by your acting partner; then permitting your instinctual, emotional responses. All great actors do those things irrespective of their training. The result of his approach is that every moment is inspired when you act.

Mr. Meisner was a classically trained pianist and understood, therefore, the need for the actor to have a repeatable exercise which cultivated imagination and emotional depth along with the fundamentals that all great actors shared. The fundamentals of acting are these: listening, observing, taking personally what you see and hear, and responding instinctually to that which is right in front of you. Call it, "Scales for the actor," that's the Sanford Meisner exercise.

Imagination, sensitivity, instincts, and emotional depth and range are the actors' stock in trade. That means that the actor who is most sensitive to his acting partner's emotional state, who permits what he sees and hears to affect him emotionally, and who instinctually permits the full measure of his emotional responses, all while being completely immersed in a purely imaginary situation, can bring the greatest depth of the human experience of a scene to life.

Acting is all about imagination, emotion and the human experience. Mr. Meisner understood those things and worked with students to get them to embrace and permit those characteristics habitually when they worked. He would use any tactic available to him to direct his students to the ideal of , "Living truthfully, under imaginary circumstances."

The hack or proficient actor (Stanislavski's terms, not mine) and those who are college trained, suffer a huge disadvantage in the professional arena because their training demands that they analyze and predetermine all their 'character's' feelings and responses, then execute them on cue. "Execute," is a good word for what they do because they immediately kill any honest response they may have by delivering stylized oratory and faked, forced or indicated responses. The human experience does not work that way.

Anyone who has ever broken off a relationship will tell you that no matter how many times they have rehearsed the break-up in their minds, it never went that way in the reality of the moment. Meisner, Stanislavski, and yours truly, are in agreement that the human drama and the staged drama must not be diverse from one another. It is the human experience that galvanizes the audience, actor, script, and screen. The actor is the catalyst for that vicarious experience.

Your truthful responses can be seen (and experts debate the actual time) in anywhere from 1/40th to 1/25th of a second. Film captures your responses in 24 frames per second and video in 29.9 frames per second, so the actor who permits his truthful, instinctual response looks absolutely real while the fake actor looks absolutely fake. That's where the college trained actor falls apart. He cannot, by definition of his training, permit an honest response. Furthermore, life's training does not permit an honest response. From the earliest possible moment you are trained to stuff your honest response in favor of the one that is polite, unaffected, and rationalized. Mr. Meisner saw this and spent his life training people to permit that which is organic and genuine (but only when you act). Acting, in other words, demands new training.

Sandy knew that the training took five years to integrate completely with the actor, though he never worked for more than two years (two, nine month periods) with a given class. If a student had the wherewithal to do so he might attend summer classes with Sandy in Bequis but for the most part, by his own confession, Sandy's ego could not tolerate students for more than two years.

Via the acting exercise of Mr. Meisner's invention the student could learn his most valuable assets: his values and his character. Identifying your personal values, those things for which you wish and want, reveals areas around which you can invent meaningfully via your imagination. It is your ability to invent meaningfully around imaginary circumstances that allows you to bring personal meaning to a scene. For the purposes of your training I will define character as those things you stand for and those things you will not stand for. Defining your character reveals your instinctual responses when you act.

Mr. Meisner's exercise also permits the student to cultivate his emotional depth and range by demanding that you find and repeatedly go to your personal and absolute limits in emotion. This is new training from what life permits. In life you stay off of the emotional roller coaster, staying in control and never letting them see you sweat. Acting demands the blood, sweat and tears, 15 takes in an hour, all day long.

The two biggest problems with learning to act via the Meisner Technique are the actors and the teachers.

The actor, especially the young actor who is new to the business, is impatient to get the recognition and rewards he believes he so richly deserves. The "Meisner Teacher" is impatient to get the money from the young actor. The student wants a 'quickie' course so he can start working and make millions of dollars and the teacher wants as many students as possible so he can satisfy his ego and buy a multi-million dollar home. The student does not take the time necessary to learn the whole of his craft and the teacher doesn't study teaching long enough or offer the student a long enough period of study for genuine learning to take place.

Sandy complained repeatedly that the teachers at the Neighborhood Playhouse only studied with him for the briefest of periods and never reviewed his classes to see what had evolved. He rebuked anyone who used his name to sell their classes. Mr. Meisner said that in order to see every answer to every acting question one would have to spend eight years in his classes. Very few "Meisner Teachers" ever did that and a great many of them in Los Angeles, and elsewhere, never studied with or even met the man.

What Mr. Meisner was conscious of was his role as one instance in a chain of the pursuit of truth. That is Socratic Teaching by definition. It was that pursuit of truth that earned him his legendary status. Though he was pedantic in that pursuit and autocratic in its execution, he was also clear that it was the propositions that he represented and not him as a person or a teacher that made them true. He did not teach great acting but pointed his students in its direction then guided them through every agonizing step while they learned it for themselves, by their own definitions, and turned themselves into great actors.

Let me be clear that I knew Mr. Meisner only slightly. He recognized me and knew my name only because of my association with Robert Carnegie with whom Sandy had the closest professional relationship. Mr. Carnegie sat by Mr. Meisner's side for over eight years studying the approach. I sat by Mr. Carnegie's side for nine years doing the exact same thing. On occaision I would sneak into Sandy's classes and watch but I never studied with him personally. I promised both Mr. Carnegie and Mr. Meisner that I would never use their names to promote my classes as, from the start, my intention was to become the best acting teacher I could become.

To say that I make uncorrupted use of Mr. Meisner's inventions should go without saying, but I said it just the same. My name is Joseph Dean Coburn and I teach acting in Los Angeles. It will take some work on your part to find the name of my school but not much. You will not find either Mr. Carnegie's or Mr. Meisner's names associated with your search results. I only put all our names in the same paragraph here as a matter of historical fact.

The point of difference between my training and any others you may see comes from maintaining the connection with your working partner and maintaining the discipline in your approach between your classes and your auditions. Mr. Meisner taught acting, as do I, but my professional experience in commercial broadcasting and the legitimate stage forces me to prepare people to work with (not to put too fine a point on it) me. If you can work with me, you can work.

In our classes we work toward working. Every class is a class in auditioning since that is what you will do every day for the rest of your life as a professional actor; audition. Scenes in my classes are no more than two or three minutes long because scenes are no longer than two or three minutes in film. Your job is to punch as much meaning as necessary to further the story into those two minutes. Instead of having weeks to work on a scene as you do in acting school you may have a few minutes merely. I train actors to work in such a professional environment.

You would work for two years with me just to establish a foundation. After those first two years you can start auditioning without fear of ever embarrassing yourself or damaging your reputation. Continue studying for another four years and every time you are seen you will be improved from the last time. At the end of six years of study with me you will have a rock solid reputation and be able to act any part for which you are right, no matter what the demands of that part. Since it takes eight to ten years to get your career established as an actor those first six years will be well spent.

I know that Mr. Meisner would have been supportive of my efforts as he aspired toward the same things toward which I assent. Part of the assent to truth is to prove the tenability of your approach and part of that assent is to prove the untenability of any other. Therefore, my critique of other schools and teachers is necessary.

Congratulations on having completed this article. Good luck on your career. The mission of my school is, "To Act and Inspire." Hopefully, having read this article, you are inspired to act. Just watch out for the Meisner promoters. It may say Tuna Fish on the can but because of the way they cast their net you might end up with a shark.

Thank you,

Mr. Coburn

Class Notes

2009-09-11T14:55:00.000-07:00

Here are some notes from class.

In reading them over you will divine their truths. This is how we talk about acting.

DID YOU HAVE A REAL EXPERIENCE OR WAS IT FAKE? DID YOU DECIDE LAST NIGHT THAT, WHEN YOU SAW YOUR PARTNER STARING AT YOU, YOU WOULD CRY?

WERE YOU GENUINELY CONCERNED? GENUINELY SENSITIVE?

BEGIN TO MAKE WHAT YOU ARE DOING IN THE SCENE MORE PERSONAL, WITH STRONGER CONSEQUENCES .. MORE WILL HAPPEN TO YOU ON AN EMOTIONAL LEVEL.

BE AN IMPULSIVE REACTOR . NOT AN INTELLECTUAL.

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THERE WERE SOME DIRE CONSEQUENCES TO IT'S ACCOMPLISHMENT?

DO MORE IN TELLING WHAT YOU GET OFF THE BEHAVIOR.

FIND A STRONG REASON TO SHOW UP - FILE IT AWAY IN YOUR GUT AND WORK OFF THE OTHER PERSON.

WHEN YOU FIND YOURSELF READY TO ANSWER LOGICALLY - SHUT UP - FILE IT INTO YOUR GUT UNTIL YOU NOTICE SOMETHING ABOUT THE OTHER PERSON'S BEHAVIOR, THEN LET IT OUT!

YOU WORK OFF THE OTHER PERSON MOMENT TO MOMENT TO MOMENT .. BEGINNING TO END. RESPONSES ARE MOTIVATED OFF THE OTHER PERSON'S BEHAVIOR. CALL IT A MOMENT TO MOMENT REALITY.

BEGIN TO DEEPEN YOUR REASONS...THAT ACTIVITY, YOUR REASON FOR COMING .. MUCH MORE PERSONAL. THIS WILL ENSURE MORE RESPONSIVENESS TO THE OTHER PERSON'S BEHAVIOR.

YOU HAVE TO LET HAPPEN WHAT'S HAPPENING EMOTIONALLY AND RESPONSIVLY .. EXPRESS HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT NOT BEING LET IN OR JUST LEFT STANDING THERE .. EXPERIENCE IT ..

HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT?

YOU HAVE TO EXPERIENCE THINGS ON A DEEP, PERSONAL LEVEL, AND LET THAT HAPPEN - LET OUT OF YOU HOW YOU REALLY FEEL ABOUT THAT .. THAT'S HOW THE GREAT ACTORS GAIN THEIR REPUTATIONS.

IMAGINE WHAT AN EXPERIENCE IT WOULD BE IF YOU TOOK PERSONALLY THE FACT THAT HE DIDN'T EVEN OPEN THE DOOR...?

IT'S YOUR JOB TO FEEL EVERYTHING ...

LET THE REALITY OF YOUR MOMENT TO MOMENT EXPERIENCE REALLY HAPPEN!

REALLY ALLOW THE OTHER PERSON'S SENSITIVITY TO ENGAGE YOU - TAKE INTEREST

(AFTER CASUAL EXERCISE) THERE WAS NO INVESTIGATION, IS THAT REALLY YOUR IDEA OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR? IF, IN LIFE, SOMEONE SHOWED UP SO UPSET AND YOU WENT BACK TO YOUR ACTIVITY, YOU HANDLE THIS LIKE AN EXERCISE INSTEAD OF LIKE REAL LIFE. IT'S AS IF, IN YOUR BACK POCKET YOU HAVE YOUR 'MEISNER ROOL BOOK' - WE MUST GET ACTING OUT OF YOU INSTEAD OF AN ACTING EXERCISE.

"YOUR INSTRUMENT" IS A CLICHE' WITH A CERTAIN GRAIN OF TRUTH IN IT. YOU ARE AN INSTRUMENT BUT THE OTHER PERSON PLAYS YOU.

"CHOICE" IS A CLICHE' WITH A CERTAIN GRAIN OF TRUTH IN IT. IF YOU MAKE UP SOMETHING ABOUT YOURSELF IN THE CIRCUMSTANCE, THAT EFFECTS YOU EMOTIONALLY, THAT'S A SERIOUS CHOICE. A CHOICE IS SOMETHING YOU IMAGINE THAT EMOTIONALIZES YOU, PERHAPS THROUGHOUT THE ROLE, PERHAPS ONLY IN A GIVEN MOMENT.

YOUR INSTRUMENT IN ACTING IS LETTING THE OTHER PERSON AFFECT YOU, THAT'S YOUR ACTOR'S TOOL .. WHAT THE OTHER PERSON IS SAYING AND THEIR BEHAVIOR SHOULD AFFECT YOU IN A WAY

THE CHOICES YOU MAKE ARE THOSE GUT REACTIONS YOU HAVE WHEN YOU IMPROVISE AND IF YOU'RE PRACTICED AT THIS WORK, THOSE GUT REACTIONS WILL HIT YOU WHEN YOU DO THE SCENE OR THE PLAY. BECAUSE YOU'LL HAVE DISCOVERED WHAT SOMETHING MEANS TO YOU .. SPECIFICALLY.

DON'T LET ANYTHING INTERFERE WITH THIS WAY OF WORKING. DON'T ALLOW ANY DISRUPTION OF YOUR LEARNING & SELF-EDUCATION.

IF THERE'S NO SUBSTANCE - IT'S GOING TO DISINTEGRATE INTO LOGICAL CONVERSATION.

THIS IS ACTING - WHERE YOU'RE ASKED TO LIVE TRUTHFULLY, THE IMAGINARY CIRCUMSTANCES ARE AT A HIGH LEVEL OF HUMAN INTESITY, YOUR TOOL TO PRACTICE THIS INTESITY IS IN THE EXERCISE .. SO YOUR EXERCISE MUST BE SO MEANINGFUL AS TO MOVE YOU FROM DEEP WITHIN.

DON'T DO THE DIALOG .. DO THAT WHICH PRODUCES THE DIALOG.

"TRUTH HAS IT'S OWN TIMING AND IT'S ALWAYS RIGHT."

PRIDE IN YOUR WORK, THAT IS WHAT YOU STRIVE FOR - TO HELL WITH ANYONE ELSES OPINION. DO WHAT YOU DO FOR THE SIMPLE PLEASURE OF DOING THE WORK.

IF YOU PUSH AND TRY TO GET RESULTS, YOU WIND UP WITH A HIGH SCHOOL PRODUCTION .. YOU HAVE TO REMAIN TRUE TO THE WORK.

THE WAY YOU'RE FUNCTIONING IN THE EXERCISE IS CONSISTENTLY THIS GOOD - WITH RARE EXCEPTION YOU BRING THIS VARIETY, DEPTH, SPONTANEITY, EASE AND LACK OF CONCERN FOR THE OUTCOME TO THE EXERCISE.

NOW IT'S TIME TO TAKE THIS EXACT WAY OF FUNCTIONING AND PLACE IT INTO A PRODUCTION, OUT OF THE CLASSROOM ... YOU WANT TO ACCOMPLISH THIS IN FRONT OF AUDIENCES.

THIS IS WHAT STANISLAVSKI AND THE MOSCOW ART THEATER ACHEIVED ... DANGEROUS, FRIGHTENING THEATER .. BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE IT'S GOING, JUST MOMENT TO UNANTICIPATED MOMENT .. YOUR GROWTH AS ACTORS NOW IS GOING TO COME FROM DOING THIS IN A PLAY OR MOVIE.

WILLINGNESS, DEDICATION TO ONE ANOTHER, YOU SACRIFICES TO ONE ANOTHER, YOUR WILLINGNESS TO TAKE THE SPOTLIGHT OFF YOURSELF.

IN ACTING YOU HAVE A LICENSE TO BE PASSIONATE

TAKE WHAT COULD BE RECITATION AND TURN IT INTO ACTING - THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT OF THESE EXERCISES. THEY SHOULD BE ACTIVELY DEMONSTRATED .. YOU MUST BE ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN THE "DOINGS" OF THE SCENE, THE SPEECH WILL FALL OUT OF THE REALITY OF DOING.

WHAT'S THIS SCENE ABOUT?

IN THE FIRST READING IT WAS CLEAR ABOUT HOW YOU FELT BUT APART FROM THE DIALOG WHAT WE HAVE IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO GROW IF YOU EXTRACT THE ESSENCE OF WHAT YOU'RE DOING.

ONLY WHEN YOU THROW OUT THE SCRIPT AND ARE FORCED TO LISTEN WILL YOU GET THE MOMENT - TO - MOMENT REALITY. THERE'S A RISK THAT IF YOU KNOW THE DIALOG YOU WON'T HAVE TO DO WHAT YOU CAME TO DO.

IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT THE DIALOG SAYS .. HOW YOU FEEL, THE UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT'S BENEATH THE TEXT (THE SUBTEXT IF YOU WANT TO BE FANCY), WHAT YOU'RE REALLY DOING IN WHAT THE SCENE'S ABOUT .. YOU DON'T WRENCH YOUR EMOTIONS AROUND TO MATCH THE TEXT - YOU COME IN TO DO SOMETHING. YOU HAVE A FEELING ABOUT IT AND YOU REALLY DO IT .. YOU CAN ACT THE DOING, YOU CAN'T ACT THE LINES.

YOU CAN'T ACT JUST BECAUSE YOU'VE LEARNED THE LINES .. IT'S HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IN RESPONSE TO THE OTHER PERSON!

VARIETY IS WHAT YOU GET WHEN WHAT HAPPENS COMES OFF OF THE MOMENT TO MOMENT EXPERIENCE OF DOING. NOT THE STORY.

GOOD LIFE - NO STORY - BIG VARIETY! VARIETY WHICH CAME OFF THE MOMENT TO MOMENT EXPERIENCE .. NOT THE STORY.

IT'S STILL THE MOMENT TO MOMENT BEHAVIOR WHICH MAKES THE ACTING CLEAR - THE DIALOG MIGHT BE ANYTHING, BUT THE REALITY OF DOING, THE ACTING MUST BE CLEAR

DON'T MAKE TOO MUCH OUT OF THESE DUMB AUDITIONS - JUST DO THEM AT THE LEVEL THEY'RE WRITTEN - YOU DON'T GO TO A SOAP BOX DERBY IN A ROCKET SHIP.

CAPTURE THE EXPERIENCE THEN PUT THE WORDS ON IT.

BEGIN IMPROVISING WITH NO IDEA, NO DIALOG, NO INTENTION - KNOW THE ESSENCE OF WHAT IT'S ABOUT - USE HOW YOU FEEL MOMENT TO MOMENT - BLENDS OF THE IMPROVISATIONS WILL SHOW UP IN THE SCENES.

RESEARCH ON A PART .. HAS TO DO WITH BEHAVIOR .. IN THE BEGINNING IT'S SUGGESTED THAT YOU STUDY MANUAL LABORERS TO SEE HOW THEY GO ABOUT DOING A THING .. WATCH THEIR BEHAVIOR WHILE THEY'RE INVOLVED IN SOME INDEPENDENT ACTIVITY .. SPEND A MONTH WITH THE D.A. AND WATCH HOW ATTORNEYS WORK .. NOTICE THINGS .. BEHAVIOR .. LOCALE .. SPECIFIC PLACES & TIMES ..

MOST IMPORTANT: THEIR EMOTIONAL CONNECTION TO THEIR JOB!

WHAT IS THIS SCENE ABOUT FOR YOU?

YOU NEED MORE OF AN EMOTIONAL COMMITMENT TO WHAT YOU'RE DOING.

LET THE OTHER PERSON TOUCH THAT NERVE IN YOU. IF YOU'RE REALLY TOUCHING THE NERVE .. SLIP IN AND OUT OF THE IMPROVISATION WHEN, IN YOUR WORKING OFF, YOU SEE THE OTHER PERSON NOT RESPONDING, GO BACK AND TOUCH THAT NERVE.

THERE COMES A TIME WHEN STUDENTS OURGROW THE EXERCISE AND NEED SOMETHING NEW TO GROW INTO.

NEVER TRY TO GET AN IMPROVISATION TO LOOK LIKE THE SCENE - THAT'S BACKWARD.

THE IMPROVISATION IS EXPERIMENTING WITH YOURSELF, FINDING OUT WHAT, IN THE SCENE, MEANS WHAT TO YOU THEN LEARNING WHAT YOU'LL DO IN THE SCENE.

TAKE THE SCENE, EXTRACT AN ESSENCE - THE CREATIVE EXERCISE OF COMING UP WITH AN EXAMPLE OF CIRCUMSTANCES THAT PARALLEL THE SCENE'S ESSENCES HELPS YOUR CHOICES ABOUT HOW YOU FEEL IN THE SCENE .. THROUGH THESE EXERCISES, IMPROVISE WITHOUT ANY SENSE OF ACHEIVING RESULTS - THAT'S BACKWARD

WHAT DOES YOUR INTUITION TELL YOU ABOUT HOW YOU BEHAVE IN THIS RELATIONSHIP?

YOU HAVE TO GIVE YOURSELF OVER TO THE CIRCUMSTANCES .. YOU CAN'T BE AFRAID OF BEING RIGHT OR WRONG .. BELIEVE IN IT - LIVE TRUTHFULLY UNDER THE IMAGINARY CIRCUMSTANCES .. LET IT SHOW IN YOUR BEHAVIOR.

You have to find the understading in the scene that has everything to do with you, then find a way to act that.

Find out how you feel about the situation in the scene, explore those feelings via the improvisations, then carry that behavior and background in your relationship as fuel to the behavior of the scene.

YOU NEED A SENSE THAT YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE UP TO .. COULD LIVE AND DO.

YOUR IMPROVISATIONS TOWARD SCENES ARE NOT LOOKING FOR ONE HIT .. YOU'RE FIDDLEING WITH ANGLES AND APPROACHES TO DISCOVER WHAT THE SCENE MEANS TO YOU .. BE INNOVATIVE AND IMAGINATIVE IN THE IMPROVISATIONS.

YOU MAY BE AMAZED AT HOW ANGER AND YELLING CEASE TO MEAN ANYTHING UNDER THE IMAGINARY CIRCUMSTANCES.

These are random notes from classes. I only publish them so that one could get a sense for what classes are like at LAACT(tm). http://los-angeles-acting-school.com

No Way as Way

2009-09-09T09:37:00.000-07:00

“No way as way, no limitation as limitation”
-- Bruce Lee

In art there is no method, no system, and without them there is nothing to teach. There is only art. Great acting is clearly identifiable. The challenge of training is in getting the student functioning the same way as great actors and not as slaves to some method or technique.

We teach one exercise that builds habits out of the fundamentals of good acting.
Those habits, repeated meaningfully over time, become second nature in the student. Before we ever begin to work on scenes the student will have already mastered the fundamentals of great acting.

Once this way of functioning is imbued in our students, all of their responses are free, truthful, emotional, and motivated only by the other actors' behavior. With nothing planned out or figured out in advance actors who work this way are able to function like any other artist, out of their talent and imagination.

Painters may intend to paint a picture of a mountain and may even have an idea of the feeling that this picture must get across -- they don’t know how they’re going to paint the picture until they are actually painting it and then the process is in constant adjustment until the desired feeling is unmistakable.

Old-fashioned acting, (pretending, indicating, forcing, faking, stylized oratory, etc.) is pre-planned, anticipated, and the results of intellectualization, and as such has nothing to do with genuine human experience, or with art.

Our approach to training for the actor is a process of self-discovery.

The only limitation in our approach is that there are infinite possibilities in the way the artist responds, so many in fact, that responses cannot be planned out in advance but must be left to the actors’ instincts. When the actor is functioning out of who he is as a human being he doesn’t have to think about anything when he responds. In reality we don’t have to think about how we’re supposed to feel when someone hurts our feelings, angers or saddens us, and the same is true of all great acting.

Students speak about their training and teacher, Mr. Coburn

2009-06-25T10:48:00.000-07:00

Take a look at http://LosAngeles-Acting-School.com/students.html and you can get a sense for their experience with our approach and teacher, Joseph Dean Coburn (JD).

There's even a gizmo that lets you post and share with others about acting in Los Angeles.

Here is a sampling of the things they've said:

JD's training is for the serious student. There is no shortcut or easy way to do things.You will do the work at every level until you know it in your bones, it will be your first nature (almost :)). He will ask more of you than you ever knew, while guiding you into new emotional and responsive depths in your own inner self. Trust him and you will learn that as an actor there is nothing you can't do, no scene too emotional, too raw or too hysterical. Your work will be free and spontaneous. Open your heart to JD and have a tremendously fulfilling acting experience, and please try not to break the furniture

JD as called by every one, Joseph Coburn is the only True Legacy in America who still carries the responsibility of training people not only for professional acting, but creates Good Human Beings who eventually become agents of positive change in this world. He is Simple, Subtle and to the point. I have never seen JD speaking more than needed. He infact is the only True Master who can train people in all dimensions of Art. His teaching is not verbal, but practical. He guides and navigates each student individually even a bigger group. He knows where each student is from class to class and gets the best out of everyone. His comments always positive and enlightening. He makes class so interesting that every moment becomes "Ahaa moment". He allows one to self discover the true human and allows one to bring the art of acting naturally from the Gut, rather than fake exercises and techniques which cannot create the reality on the screen or on stage. HisActing skills and the students he churned out during his career is a witness for his talent over a few decades. He makes Acting a fun and memorable experience. His focus is on building theacting muscle by regular practise, disciple and learning from the mistakes. His sense of humor and humanity is impeccable. I salute this Master who opened up the flood gates of creative energy in me, not only in becoming an Actor, but a write, director and most importantly a Human being who can become the positive change in this world. I only wish more and more people take his guidance and train under him to see good Art flourish all around the world. Thank you Sir for allowing me to say a fe words about you and your Achool. Long live Seattle Acting School, Los Angeles Acting School and Joseph Coburn. Dr.Suman Kollipara www.peacetree.ca

I am in the Army reserves where I work as a surgical tech. I however received my degree at Cal State Northridge in TV production. I have been around the industry a little and have some experience. The acting training by far is the best there is in the industry. I joke with people and call it boot camp for actors, because of its intense and serious approach to professional acting. Not to mention the commitment to the art of acting that is required. It is an approach that can shake out the not serious people. Which is really refreshing. This approach can lead to a professional career in acting if you are serious and stick with it. Its the same concept in any profession; such as surgeons for example. Surgeons are very serious and committed and dedicated to there profession. Really thank god for that. Who would want a half committed surgeon working on you? Well this approach to acting is the same. Its treated as a profession and a career endeavor, and the acting school challenges each individual to to be the best actor that person can be. It does not teach you to be like your favorite A-List actor, but trains you to be your own best unique actor. Do not go into this approach star struck; because it is a profession and it is going to be your career. This training will set you up for success and give you the tools as a professional that you need. The rest is up to you on how you develop your career. An actor as many have told me is running your own business, and to run it successfully you need the right training that will prepare you to be marketable in an industry that does have demand for good acting. Not just a pretty face but a rock solid actor with the confidance to bring any scene to life that is put in front of them. When you have this approach down, the competition seems limited. This training is by far the best and most unique I believe in the entertainment industry. I really believe in my opinion that we are lacking or are short of truly rock solid actors today that bring acting to new heights. Well this training will condition and challenge you indvidually to bring acting to new heights that leave people amazed!

Training in the craft of acting is like any other profession. You must learn what you are studying, past and present. That said, one of the first things that I heard Mr. Coburn say in class was "Acting is a twenty year apprenticeship, if you want to be a movie star and a celebrity, then this is not the class for you, leave now. We only teach acting here!" I have never met a man with as much integrity as JD, I feel very honored and fortunate to have studied the craft under him for 7 years. The strict passion of the craft, the consistent struggle to solve the acting problem and finding the work at unimaginable depths by simply listening. This is what I found most valuable in my studies with JD, it is not only the hardest, most demanding, highly intensified training you will ever encounter. It is by far the most seriously rewarding and humbling event of self-discovery that you will ever witness. This is the only serious training for the professional artist. Bar none. Not only will you discover what you stand for but most importantly, you will discover what you will not stand for. As JD says "Better people make better actors". It truly was a defining moment in my life…… and remember to practice, practice, practice and when in doubt, practice again

JD Coburn trains actors. Mr. Coburn was (and is) my teacher in Seattle for over three years. He is a master at what he does. I've learned so much from Mr. Coburn that words can't really express my gratitude. He's a passionate artist that creates environments that allow actors to grow and excel at their art. His guidance and commitment to the craft of acting is unique, kind, and demanding. I studied with him mostly because he's a good person who expects a lot from his students. If you're a person who is committed to learning the craft of acting, you will not find a better teacher, mentor, or friend. If you would like to discuss my experience in more detail, please feel free to contact me directly at ryan(dot)cooper(at)gmail(dot)com. I would be happy to share more about his approach,school, fellow actors, or commitment

He is honest and fervently passionate about guiding actors toward doing the Work. He provides a safe classroom environment that allows you to explore and build a solid foundation. It was Mr. Coburn's commitment and graciousness as a teacher that made me understand the value of bringing my original self to my acting. Since studying with him, I feel prepared to confidently approach each acting opportunity, because I know that I have the tools and ability to consistently do professional, engaging work.

For anyone in the LA area looking for training that will allow you to fully immerse yourself in youracting, this is the school and the teacher. It is the most serious program I have found and builds the actor brick by brick. From day one there is constant growth and encouragement. One thing JD does that not too many teachers around will is actually cater your instruction and your pace to where you are at and not just teach something generic to the class as a whole. It is an absolute privilege and honor to study there and if you have the desire to put in the work it takes to become great, this is the place to culture that

Whether you are just starting out or you need to break down all of those bad habits you acquired in college, but only if you are ready to bring true acting into your life. JD teaches with a passion that can't be ignored. His words are simple and forward and the more you hear them the more they ring true. He has shaped me as an actor and a person. His wisdom will find it's way into everything I create for the rest of my life. This is not a workshop or resume fodder. There is no shiny certificate at the end of this training, in fact, there is no end to this training. This is one of the few places left where you can take a journey into the craft of acting for the sole purpose of finding the art. A journey you will continue for the rest of your career. This training, and the network of other actors I have grown with and sacrificed with, is the most priceless foundation I could ever have. The best part is knowing there is always a place for me at the school, where I can continue to work and practice with actors who train seriously and professionally

JD Coburn, who founded the Seattle Acting School, and now the LA Acting School provides a structured foundation to acting that will accelerate your career as a talented professional. 'Slow and steady wins the race' is a way to describe the process, and with dilagence and a keen eye and ear for your talent, he will take you to the next level of your abilities as an actor. I am not the same person I was since I began training in this method, and have completed numerous creative projects-video, audio, stage and screen since beginning this work. I highly recommend this school to anyone serious about a career in the acting profession. Eileen Dey, MA www.reikitrainingprogram.com

JD is hands down the best, most passionate acting teacher you will find. Though I only trained with him for 2 years in Seattle, I learned more about acting and about myself in that 2 years than I would have anywhere else. He trains you to be a PROFESSIONAL actor with actual, authentic skills and talent that many so-called actors lack. It would be folly to pass up the opportunity to train with him.

Training For a Career As An Actor

2009-06-24T11:41:00.000-07:00

Learning, irrespective of the discipline, takes place through meaningful repetition of the fundamentals, over time. By practicing the same fundamentals that all great actors share you create those same habits. This is not new principle. Practicing those fundamentals in a way that will cultivate your talent requires a specific approach in training.

What are those habits? What are the fundamentals of acting? Exactly what is the talent of the actor?

Another word for the talent of the actor is, humanity. The ability to be affected emotionally and motivated by something you see and hear. When an actor is permitting his or her talent you can see the experience really happening. If, for example, you see an injured person by the road and are compelled to stop and help, but the driver of your car says, "They'll be fine," and keeps going, then your driver has no talent for acting.

Cultivating your sensitivity and permitting your honest responses requires practice in a specific direction and environment.

You have to practicing listening, taking personally what you see and hear, letting it affect you, then letting out your emotional response. You have to practice all that until you do all those things, automatically, without thinking (and ONLY when you ACT). Along the way you must become increasingly willing to be emotionalized by what your practice partner is feeling and doing. Those things are fundamental to acting.

Since all acting takes place in meaningful imaginary situations, students of acting must have a healthy way to invent meaningfully and become immersed in their imaginary circumstance. A strong imagination is also fundamental to acting.

Emotional depth and range have to be conditioned. They are the actor's stock in trade. The actor with greater depth and range of emotional responsiveness can be cast in more roles than his counter-part. This too is a fundamental shared by all great actors.

Speaking in one's optimal pitch, walking straight, hitting your mark, even memorizing lines are superficial requirements without having learned the fundamentals. Emotion and behavior are the vocabulary of acting, the words ride out on top of those things. Without the emotion and behavior all you're doing is reciting lines.

The hack actor will make a habit of planning out 'how' to say his lines, without regard for the way his scene partner is behaving. The great actor listens to and takes notice of his scene partner, takes personally what he sees and hears, and permits his honest emotional response; the words ride out on that human response. That's what the audience sees, an honest human response. The response that happens to you, not the one you happen, that's what the camera catches.

Look at 'feeling' and what a feeling really is. Let's say you are 57 years old, 5'-6" tall, and overweight; you walk into a bar where everyone is dressed in leather and boots, sporting large tattoos, and is over 6' tall. That feeling you got when you saw where you were was your 'passive' or honest response. It was organic. Then, like any good 57 year old, you immediately stuffed your emotions and tried to be charming. That is an 'active' response, one that you created. You were faking and everyone in the bar knew it. You had an instinctive emotion (fear, anxiety, submission, etc.) but you habitually suppressed it. Permitting your feelings when you act is a habit all great actors share. Developing that habit is fundamental to acting.

The path to your career looks something like this: First, learn to act. Do this before you start auditioning or you will embarass yourself and damage your reputation. After you learn to act (a couple of years of training) then you start to audition. Audition like crazy. You learn how to audition by auditioning. Audition five days a week. As an actor you will audtion for the rest of your life. Getting your next job IS your job. A couple of years of auditioning and you will have established a reputation and you might start working. You should work with Central Union / Central Non-Union during this time to get experience on a set (Registration information in Burbank: (818) 562-2755) and to meet the requirements of your Union Membership. When you start working a lot you'll get an agent, they will find you, you don't have to find them. You get a job offer and walk into any agent's office with a contract to negotiate and they will take the work. Somewhere between eight and ten years of this effort and your career will begin to take off.

I go into greater detail on http://www.losangeles-acting-school.com and you are free to visit there and read further.