The Acting Studio

What The Acting Studio does

The Acting Studio - New York LLC is a private acting conservatory founded in 1983 by James Price, a direct protégé of Sanford Meisner. The company provides professional training for actors, directors, and playwrights from its single location at 248 West 35th Street in Midtown Manhattan, within the Shetler Studios & Theatre 54 Complex. The studio primarily serves aspiring professional actors, working actors refining their craft, stage and film directors, playwrights, teen performers (ages 11-17), and a smaller secondary cohort of business professionals seeking presentation and accent-reduction coaching.

The studio's core pedagogy is the Meisner Technique, transmitted through Price's 14-year direct association with Sanford Meisner. The product portfolio centers on the 6-Week Acting Conservatory ($3,000; 180-192 hours), the multi-month Meisner Technique 1 ($3,600 over 9 months) and Meisner Technique 2 ($2,000 over 4.5 months) tracks, and the Intro to Meisner 10-week class ($700). Surrounding these are ~15 specialized workshops covering voice/speech, voice-over, singing, stage and screen violence, monologue audition, commercial and on-camera audition technique, script analysis, MFA audition prep, On-Set Survival 101, directing, and playwriting. James Price also teaches a proprietary Scene Study / Rehearsal Technique class that integrates Meisner principles with approaches learned from Tony Award-winning director Vivian Matalon (who trained with Meisner from 1948-1950). Student-facing technology is limited to Zoom for online class delivery, YouTube Live Stream for select workshops, and Dropbox for sample sharing; no AI, app, or SaaS layer exists.

Revenue is generated primarily through per-course tuition (ranging from $225 for a teen workshop to $3,000+ for the conservatory), multi-month conservatory subscription programs, and hourly private coaching ($95/hr, or $425/$800 for 5/10-session packages), with additional ticketed revenue from Chelsea Repertory Company — the studio's wholly-owned producing subsidiary that has mounted public Off-Off Broadway productions since 1984. Go-to-market is community-led: alumni referrals, Time Out New York earned media recognition, social media (Facebook, Instagram, X), and the public visibility of Chelsea Rep festivals (Summerfest, e-Merging Artists). The studio is independently owned, has no disclosed outside investors, and operates without any funding rounds or institutional capital.

Name

The Acting Studio

Legal name

The Acting Studio - New York LLC

Website

https://actingstudio.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Acting Studio - New York LLC is a private acting conservatory in Midtown Manhattan providing Meisner Technique-based training for aspiring professional actors, directors, and playwrights, with affiliated production opportunities through its Chelsea Repertory Company subsidiary.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Acting School / Performing Arts Training

NAICS

Fine Arts Schools (61161), Fine Arts Schools (611610), Performing Arts Companies (7111), Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers (711510)

SIC

Services-Allied To Motion Picture Production (7819), Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAMAAAG

Theater & Drama Education (Acting, Improvisation, Musical Theater)

Education/Supplemental & Enrichment Programs (Arts, STEM, Language)/Arts & Creative Enrichment (Visual Arts, Music, Theater, Dance)

SECONDARYEDAAAGAE

Performing Arts (Acting, Improv, Theater)

Education/Adult & Continuing Education/Personal Enrichment & Hobby Learning (Arts, Crafts, Music, Cooking)

SECONDARYEDAMAMAD

Playwriting & Scriptwriting Workshops (Stage)

Education/Supplemental & Enrichment Programs (Arts, STEM, Language)/Creative Writing Workshops

SECONDARYMPAIAHAK

Rehearsal & Pre-Production Studios (Rehearsal Rooms, Backline)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Music & Audio (Recording, Publishing, Streaming)/Music Production Services (Studios, Producers, Session Musicians)

Keywords

• Acting classes
• Meisner technique
• Acting conservatory
• Audition coaching
• Performing arts training

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Tuition - Acting Classes: The studio generates revenue primarily through tuition fees for various acting classes and programs. These include single-course enrollments ranging from $225 (Teens workshop) to $3,000 (6-Week Conservatory), as well as monthly payment plans for longer programs.
2. Private Coaching: One-on-one coaching sessions offered at $95/hour, with discounted package pricing ($425 for 5 sessions, $800 for 10 sessions). Covers areas including audition prep, monologue work, directing, foreign accent reduction, public speaking, singing, and voice-over.
3. Performance Tickets: Revenue generated through ticket sales for Chelsea Repertory Company productions and festivals including Summerfest and e-Merging Artists One-Act Play Festival.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Acting Studio delivers professional acting, directing, and playwriting training grounded in the Meisner technique, structured as a conservatory (Intro to Meisner, Meisner Technique 1, Meisner Technique 2, 6-Week Acting Conservatory) alongside specialized workshops (Voice/Speech, Voice-over, Singing for Actors, Stage and Screen Violence, On-Camera Audition, Script Analysis, Directing I, Playwriting Workshop, MFA Audition Prep). Practical stage experience is offered through the Chelsea Repertory Company and free monthly Chelsea Rep LABS in Acting, Playwriting, and Directing.

Product overview

The Acting Studio New York is an acting conservatory offering a comprehensive portfolio of Meisner-based training programs and performance opportunities. The core product is the Acting Conservatory Program, which progresses through Intro to Meisner, Meisner Technique 1 (9 months), and Meisner Technique 2 (4.5 months), culminating in the intensive 6-Week Acting Conservatory. Specialized actor training includes Commercial Audition On-Camera, On-Camera Film & TV Audition, Voice-over Workshop, Voice/Speech, Singing For Actors, Stage and Screen Violence, Script Analysis, Monologue Audition, and On-Set Survival 101. Supporting programs include Directing I, Playwriting Workshop, Private Coaching, and MFA Audition Preparatory Package. The Chelsea Repertory Company serves as the practical performance arm, providing fully staged productions since 1984, with associated Chelsea Rep LABS (Acting, Playwriting, Directing) offering free monthly laboratories that culminate in the e-Merging Artists and Summerfest One-Act Play Festivals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Chelsea Rep LABS: Monthly laboratory sessions for actors, directors, and playwrights to develop new work outside of regular classes
• Chelsea Rep Playwriting LAB
• Summerfest
• e-Merging Artists One-Act Play Festival

Products and services

• 6-Week Acting Conservatory
• Intro to Meisner - Acting Technique

Quantifiable outcome

• Julianna Margulies: 10 Emmy nominations, 2 Emmy wins, 2 Golden Globes, 8 SAG Awards across ER and The Good Wife careers
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature3 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• HB Studio: Long-standing NYC acting school offering multi-level training for professional actors. Comparable in history (decades-old institution), NYC-only footprint, and broad acting-class curriculum.
• Atlantic Theater Company Acting School: NYC acting school attached to the Atlantic Theater Company, training professional actors in the Atlantic technique. Competes for the same aspiring professional actor and conservatory enrollment pool in NYC.
• Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute: Iconic NYC acting school offering Method-based training for professional actors. Direct competitor in the same NYC conservatory market, with comparable tuition and conservatory-style programming.
• Stella Adler Studio of Acting: Major NYC acting conservatory with a different technique (Adler/Stanislavski-based) but serving the same aspiring professional actor segment. Competes directly for NYC-based conservatory enrollment.
• William Esper Studio: NYC Meisner-based acting school founded by William Esper, a Meisner student. Closely overlaps with The Acting Studio on Meisner curriculum, conservatory structure, and professional-actor clientele.
• Susan Batson Studio: NYC-based private acting and audition coaching studio serving working professionals. Comparable niche in high-end private coaching and selective audition preparation for film/TV actors.
• Maggie Flanigan Studio: NYC Meisner-focused acting studio offering conservatory-style programs and scene study. Direct technique-overlap peer serving professional actors in the same NYC market.
• T. Schreiber Studio: NYC acting school offering conservatory-level training in acting, voice, and movement for professional actors and directors. Overlaps on curriculum breadth and NYC professional-actor target market.
• Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre: NYC conservatory historically anchored in the Meisner technique (taught by Sanford Meisner for decades). Most direct competitor to The Acting Studio given shared methodology and NYC professional-actor target market.

Broad incumbents

• NYU Tisch School of the Arts: Large, established NYC performing arts school with undergraduate and graduate acting programs (including Stella Adler and Atlantic affiliations). Competes for the top tier of aspiring professional actors and MFA applicants, with broader institutional resources.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ActingStudioNY
• Facebookfacebook.com/actingstudiony
• Instagraminstagram.com/theactingstudiony
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-acting-studio-new-york

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Acting Studio