Taught by Jim Jarrett - one of the last actors trained directly by Sanford Meisner himself.
Learn to be present. Fully.
Find the voice that's actually yours.
Take it with you into every room you enter.
"My commitment is to provide the finest acting training in the Bay Area. Students master the craft and gain the business skills every working actor needs: how to audition, how to market yourself, and how to get the representation your work deserves. The goal is simple - to set every student up for a lasting career, ready to work anywhere in the world."
“I have been around great actors for over fifty years. Jim is a great actor, director, and teacher and if you have the chance to work with him, you really should.”
Don't act. React. The foundation of all great performance is truthful, moment-to-moment living.Sanford Meisner
The Meisner Technique is all about truth, freedom, and authenticity.
Developed by Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York, the Meisner Technique trains actors to live truthfully under imaginary circumstances - responding genuinely to what is actually happening, rather than performing a pre-planned result.
Read more about the techniqueI've never acted before. I'm excited, terrified, and have no idea where to begin.
You don't need experience to start. You need curiosity and the willingness to be honest. That's enough.
I took an improv class and loved it. Now I want to know if I should take this further.
Improv is a great first step. The Meisner Technique is what comes next - the foundation of serious, disciplined craft.
I quit acting to do what I was supposed to do. I've never stopped thinking about it.
That pull doesn't go away. Coming back to it - on your terms, as an adult - is often when the real work begins.
I can't commit to the full training yet. I want to see if this is right for me first.
The Intro class was designed for exactly this. Three months, once a week - enough to know.
I'm trained, I work, I have credits - but something's off and I know it.
Nerves. Overthinking. Inconsistency. The Meisner Technique addresses all three at the root.
I'm not sure I fit any of these - but something keeps pulling me toward this.
The curiosity is the qualification. Follow it.
A 30-minute conversation about your goals. No audition, no pressure.
Interview nowSame material. Same standard. Different pace.
All formal training classes are currently full until April. Jim personally interviews all prospective students before admission. Request an interview, and you'll be contacted as spots become available.
Training at this studio doesn't stop at the classroom door. Students perform for casting directors, screen their work at our annual film festival, and hear from Academy Award-winning professionals - all while they're still training.
Immersive week-long intensives on the Big Island - full-day Meisner work in an environment built for deep focus.
Academy Award winners, working directors, and casting directors speak directly to studio students.
Teams conceive, shoot, and edit a short film in 24 hours - a test of instinct, collaboration, and craft.
Produced showcases for casting directors, agents, and industry professionals - performed by studio students.
An annual festival screening short films produced by studio students and alumni worldwide.
Focused film acting, audition technique, and the business of acting.
Full theatrical productions mounted by advanced students, open to the public.
Students write, shoot, and screen original short films while applying the technique on camera.
Each month, one graduate and the work they are doing now.
Be ready to learn, be happy to fail, have fun with being embarrassed.
Video teachings and articles on the Meisner technique, acting craft, and the business of acting. Straight from Jim.
Too Old to Do What, Exactly? The first thing I ask anyone who comes to me wondering if they’re too old is: too old to do what? To take a class? No. There is no age limit on wanting to develop a skill, on pursuing something you’ve always been curious about, on deciding that this […]
Every student begins with a personal interview. No audition - just a conversation about your goals and whether the training is the right fit.
