Tuesday, November 1, 2011

A Safe Place to be Vulnerable - Two Year Acting Conservatory

By Maggie Flanigan


The conservatory method is the name most commonly given to the two year acting program in NYC. These programs are highly sought after by professionals who recognize that being a successful actor requires continuous improvement through study. The tradition of a master training an apprentice has been in practice for centuries. A two year program is a wonderful choice for both new as well as experienced actors who wish to correct their weaknesses and enhance their career.

Actors who are true professionals know that the process of studying is never over. Years of training are the only way to become a "natural" actor. Separating yourself from the distractions in life and dedicating your time solely to study requires dedication and strength. Two year acting programs can make all the difference between being just an "hobby" actor and a professional.

Meisner training is an essential component to two year acting programs. This method is a sequential one, meaning that the students first learn basics and then build their skill sets from there. Meisner training is very rigorous and can feel almost military in intensity. Students have to face the stripping and rebuilding of their identities and beliefs.

The goal of military training is to repurpose the soldier's identity around the military. These programs draw actors out of themselves so that they are better able to analyze their thoughts and beliefs. Actors are then better able to control their own emotions and become one with their portrayed character.

Emotions and desires are an integral part of the human person. These qualities can be both an advantage as well as a disadvantage to actors. Acting requires that actors understand their personalities and be able to control them so as to better portray their intended character.

It is all too common for actors to develop poor habits. In short classes, actors might be able to partially address these habits. In contrast, two year programs give actors the time and opportunity to completely address these issues and form better habits. Correcting bad habits and forming new ones is not an easy chore and doing so requires that the actors make themselves vulnerable and truly bare their souls and true personalities. A two year acting program challenges students to bare their vulnerabilities and put themselves under the microscope all in an effort to make them more capable of creating lifelike characters for the audience. Two year programs allow students to correct bad habits and build more effective ones so that they can work well with fellow actors and create believable characters.




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