Maggie Flanigan

The Studio

Located in the heart of New York City, the Maggie Flanigan Studio is an established conservatory-based actor training program where talented young actors receive the highest quality of Meisner training. The Studio has grown into a community of practicing professionals and students working together in a challenging and supportive environment.

Maggie Flanigan is known for her uncompromising, razor sharp instincts as the clearest teacher of the Sanford Meisner technique practicing today.

The Mission

The Maggie Flanigan Studio is a conservatory–based, professional actor training school committed to the belief that acting, at its’ best, is a creative art and that excellence can only be achieved through mastery of the actor’s craft. The Studio is dedicated to training and developing talented actors in the Sanford Meisner technique within a professional and supportive environment. Maggie Flanigan is considered, by many professionals in the film and theatre community, to have a brilliant eye for the actor’s process and to be the clearest teacher of the Meisner technique today.

About Maggie

Maggie Flanigan has been teaching professional acting classes in New York City for over 23 years. She is the Artistic Director and Master Teacher of the Maggie Flanigan Studio.

Maggie trained as an actor and teacher of the Meisner work with William Esper and quickly became one of the most revered teachers at his studio. She served, with particular distinction, on the faculty of the Mason Gross School of the Arts Professional Actor Training Program (Rutgers University) for 18 years. While there, she taught in the MFA Acting Program and worked with the URTA auditions as well as the NYC Industry Showcase.

As Maggie discovered for herself the core of the Meisner work, she took time to document his teaching method in a unique way. She is currently working on a manual based on her writings and teaching experience.

It is widely acknowledged by actors familiar with Meisner that Maggie understands and teaches the work more clearly and precisely than any practicing Meisner teacher today.

Maggie established the Maggie Flanigan Studio to offer smaller classes and give individual attention to serious actors in a conservatory-based program. During the past 5 years, the Studio has become a magnet for, and a community of, talented actors interested in the Meisner work.

Throughout her teaching career, Maggie has had an astonishing impact on a generation of talented acting students. Maggie has become known and loved for her gift of clarity, her eye for truth and her ability to inspire actors and demand excellence from them.

About Meisner

Sanford Meisner was considered one of the greatest and most revered acting teachers of the 20th century. He has changed the face of American acting, along with his contemporaries from the Group Theatre, ever since he was first exposed to the ideas of Konstantine Stanislavsky. " He has become the most principled teacher of acting in this country for decades now, and every time I am reading actors I can pretty well tell which ones have studied with Meisner. It is because they are honest and simple and they don't lay on complications that aren't necessary." ( Arthur Miller, playwright, apeaking about Sanford Meisner)

The Faculty

The Faculty at the Maggie Flanigan Studio are seasoned actors and directors witha mastery of the Meisner technique and craft of acting. They run specific workshops in their areas of special interest which compliment the general curriculum.

Faculty Bios

Nathan Flower has been teaching physical technique academically and professionally for the last ten years. He has taught at the Professional Actor Training Program at Rutgers University, Actors Movement Studio (NYC), Marymount School (NYC), Columbia University, New York University and across the country with the Aquila Theater Company. He is currently on faculty at NYU’s Undergraduate Drama Program where he teaches and directs for the Meisner Studio. He has also coached actors privately for many years. He has worked as an actor Off-Broadway, regionally and nationally. Nathan holds an MFA in Acting from Rutgers University.

Hannah Fujiki DeVorkin currently teaches script analysis, western canon and actor/director lab for the Maggie Flanigan Studio. In 1998 she received her MFA in Directing from Rutgers’ Mason Gross School of the Arts Professional Theatre Training Program where she also received the John I. Bettenbender award for Outstanding Graduate Performance. She has taught courses in script analysis, theatre history, and western canon for colleges throughout New Jersey as well as at Rutgers, Rider and Drew Universities. She has worked for the Goodman Theatre, Arena Stage, Delaware Theatre Company, Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey, and George Street Playhouse. In 1998 she founded the Hallie Flanagan Women’s Play Series at Wings Theatre Company. As a writer/performer, she has appeared at venues including H.E.R.E. Arts Center, NJPAC, manhattantheatresource, and New York Theatre Workshop, where she is also a Usual Suspect. She is also a member of Circle East and has most recently received a Puffin Foundation grant for a new project called Boku to Mishima, which will begin workshopping in the Fall. As an activist for women’s issues, Hannah has produced benefit performances involving Laurie Anderson, Leslie Avayzian, Emily Mann, Velina Hasu Houston and Lily Tomlin.

David Haugen was trained as an actor by Maggie Flanigan and William and Susanne Esper. He is a graduate of the MFA training program at Rutgers University. He has also studied acting with Albert Salmi and Sonia Moore. As an actor David has worked in feature film (Vision Quest), independent film (The Curious Profession of Jonathan Hoag) and television (Law & Order, L&O Criminal Intent, Ed). He has appeared at numerous regional theaters, off-Broadway and toured East Asia. David was trained as an acting teacher by Ms. Flanigan.

Scott Hudson began working with Maggie Flanigan in 2001. He has taught First Year and Summer Intensive classes at the Studio. He continues to develop and teach classes that focus on the physical life and actions of characters. Other classes taught by Scott are Cold Reading and Auditioning with Monologues. Outside of the Studio, Scott works as a private acting coach and is referred by some of New York's prominent agents and managers. He has served as in-house coach for ABC's All My Children. As an actor Scott originated the role of Gail in Stephen Adly Guirgis's critically acclaimed Off-Broadway hit Our Lady of 121st Street, directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman. (Other credits include La Jolla Play house, Long Wharf, and George Street Theater. Scott is a member of the LAByrinth Theater Company. He holds an MFA from Rutgers where he trained under the direction of William Esper and Maggie Flanigan.

Danielle Liccardo began her theatre training as an actress in New York City where she studied professionally under the direction of Kathryn Gately and received extensive classical training at both The American Globe Theatre in New York, and at London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Ms. Liccardo has worked commercially, in voice-over, off-Broadway, regionally, and in film. New York roles include: Yelena in Uncle Vanya, the title role in Lysistrata, Carol in North of Providence, Gale in Life During Wartime (2001 NY OOBR award), Marla in Specter, Rose in Scarecrow, A Pretty Lady/A Crazy Woman in When Words Fail, Jackie-O in The House of Yes. Regional theatre: Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, The Chorus in Henry V, Gonerill in King Lear, Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Rosalind in As You Like It, Don John in Much Ado About Nothing, Katherine in Henry V. As a movement and style specialist she trained at Actors Movement Studio in New York under Mr. Loyd Williamson, and has coached such plays as Othello, Henry V, Macbeth, Tartuffe, The Elephant Man, A Hatful of Rain. Ms. Liccardo is currently on faculty at Mason Gross School of the Arts (Rutgers University) as a movement specialist in the BFA acting program and at Maggie Flanigan Studio. She teaches advanced acting at Drew University in New Jersey, and in the Shakespeare Ventures program at Fairfield University in Connecticut.

Mai Loughran strives to introduce the Meisner actor to the joys of classical text. She enthusiastically endorses the Meisner training and feels her own work has been deeply enriched by close cooperation with Maggie Flanigan whose clarity and commitment she greatly admires. Whilst living in Manahattan for 18 years, Mai ran a vocal ‘clinic’, “Breathworks”, for professional performers. She also worked for SUNY and NYU. Living near Edinburgh, Scotland, she continues to give workshops throughout Britain, and in NYC. Mai has been teaching and acting for 30 years. Graduating from RBTC Speech & Drama, she became an Associate of the British Drama Board (Ed.) in 1970, She is a master teacher of Voice and Speech & of Shakespeare. Her work has won awards in Britain and the US. She is the founder of the NY State Shakespeare Monologue Competition for the English Speaking Union. Mai was Head of Voice and Speech at Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University for 14 years.

Lenard Petit is a founding member of the Michael Chekhov Association (MICHA). He has been the Director of the Michael Chekhov Acting Studio since 1995, and for the past 15 years has been a core faculty member of The Theater Arts Program at Rutgers University.As one of a handful of teacher students trained by original members of Michael Chekhov's Theater School, his knowledge of the technique, coupled with his gifts have brought him to be recognized as one of the foremost teachers of this technique in the world. He has been invited to teach master classes at many American colleges including Yale and Princeton In Europe he has taught classes at the International School for Film and Television in Munich, and Helsinki University, He has also led acting workshops as well as clown workshops in Denmark, Amsterdam, Berlin, Zurich, London, Madrid, Riga, and Irkutsk Siberia. For 25 years Mr Petit has worked in New York as an actor with such notable directors as Julie Taymor, Richard Forman, Meredith Monk , and Ping Chong He has also directed and choreographed successful productions on and off Broadway.

Danton Stone currently teaches a film and television workshop for actors at The Maggie Flanigan's studio. His wealth of experience as an actor is an element of his ongoing teaching career. When Stone taught acting to film directors in Milos Foreman's film program at Columbia University for two terms, he continued to act in films by such international acclaimed directors as Lasse Halstrom, David leland, Martha Coolidge, John Sayles, and Andre Kancholovsky. He has worked extensively in the independent film world, as well as in Hollywood on television like "Sex and The City", "The Sporanos", "Oz", "Roseanne"., "thirty something", "My So-called Life". "The Jury", and "Grace Under Fire". As a stage actor, he has a national reputation from his work in the acting company of Circle Rep, creating roles in new plays by Lanford Wilson: "Angels Fall", "Fifth Of July", and with the Steppenwolf Theatre company of Chicago, the male lead in John Malkovich's classic production of "Balm In Gilead”. Other roles at the Mark Taper Forum, Center Stage, and Actors Theatre of Louisville followed. He was last seen on Broadway in "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest", and off broadway in "The Exonerated"

CURRICULUM

The curriculum at the Maggie Flanigan Studio is designed to train actors within the Sanford Meisner Technique so that they are fully prepared to work professionally with a well-developed craft.

FIRST YEAR:

The main goal of First Year is for the student to develop a fully alive and truthful acting instrument. This goal is achieved through the Sanford Meisner technique, which begins with the repetition exercise. This seemingly simple exercise develops over many months into an advanced improvisation that encompasses all the fundamentals of acting. During the year, students will work on 3 contemporary scenes chosen by the instructor. Scenes are not worked on for any performance value, but rather, for the value of the exercise work that is being learned and applied to text. By the end of First Year, students have all the tools they need to create a truthful reality. The fundamentals of acting are second nature by now and the actor is ready for advanced work.

In addition to the core acting class, the following classes are required during First Year:

Movement for Actors; Voice and Speech; Western Canon

SECOND YEAR:

Second Year is by invitation only and is based on the student’s talent, dedication, and how well the student has incorporated the fundamentals of First Year work. The goal is for the actor to learn how to fully craft a part and to develop a way of working that is organic, truthful, and consistent.

Second Year is the gold of the training, for it is here where students will begin character work. Students work with advanced scenes as well as specific character exercises, all designed to teach the actor the tools necessary to organically create a character for the stage and screen.

There are a number of required classes during Second Year that will help support and solidify the work:

Voice and Speech; Movement for Actors; Script Analysis; Cold Reading; Film & T.V.; the Actor/Director Relationship; Monologue Class; the Business of Acting, and Shakespeare.

MOVEMENT FOR ACTORS

This is an important four-semester course for the actor. This technique is designed to support the Meisner training. The goal of this work is to produce a free, released and aligned body that can process experience.

VOICE & SPEECH

The focus is on vocal technique with daily homework. Topics covered include alignment, finding and releasing your natural voice, organic breathing and correct sounds of non-regional Standard American English.

WESTERN CANON

This course is designed to acquaint the student with the major plays of the Western Canon, preparing them for Script Analysis in Second Year.

SCRIPT ANALYSIS

The class is designed to help the actor learn how to engage the text of a play by using basic script analysis techniques. Students will discuss 1 to 2 plays per class, all selected from the Western Canon. Each student is expected to read and digest the assigned plays and to bring the text to class. The actor discovers how a play functions as a whole and understands how the characters fit into the play and best serve it.

COLD READING

The course is designed to help the actor learn to apply the fundamentals of the Meisner work to the auditioning process so that the audition is a very alive and free experience. The class provides the actor with a transition from the classroom work to the professional world.

MICHAEL CHEKHOV ACTING WORKSHOP:

            PHYCHOLOGICAL GESTURE-CHARACTER

            The workshop introduces the actor to the principles of the Michael Chekhov             Acting Technique. Topics include character archetypes and psychological             gesture.

            PSYCHOLOGICAL GESTURE – ADVANCED

            A continuation of the introductory workshop described above, bringing the             psychological gesture to the action and the objective.

MONOLOGUE

The class is designed to help the actor learn to work on monologues. At the completion of the workshop, each student will have two monologues which can be used for professional auditioning.

ACTOR-DIRECTOR RELATIONSHIP

The goal of this class is to help the student bring their training from the classroom to the requirements of the professional rehearsal. The workshop is designed to help actors develop and strengthen their ability to work with different kinds of directors. Students will audition and be cast in 2 one-act plays. With each play, the director will be functioning in different directorial styles so that the student can begin to handle himself in different situations.

ACTING SHAKESPEARE

This class is an intensive course covering how to approach the reading, speaking, and acting of classical text. During the course, the student will learn to understand and to speak a sonnet as well as several speeches, one of which may serve as a monologue.

THE BUSINESS OF ACTING

This workshop is designed to help the actor understand the business. Some of the topics are: introduction to interview technique; evaluation of monologues and interview technique; individual work with cold reading and monologue; in-depth research of the business; individual feedback on pictures and resumes; and development of an individual goal and overall plan.

GRADUATE CLASSES

Master Class for Professional Actors

The Master Class is a place for working professionals to continue to hone their craft in a safe and creative environment.

Film and Television Workshop

This workshop teaches graduates how to adjust their acting technique to film and TV. The focus will be on making speedy and vivid choices. Actors will be videotaped in every class.

Performance Workshop

Using the fifteen-minute play form, actors will work with the director of the workshop to rehearse selected pieces in a professional setting, the goal being to perform these pieces for an invited audience. The focus will be on exploring the actor’s transition from classroom training to working professionally.

Private Class

Designed to the specific needs of working professionals; length and duration suited to actor’s schedule. (By request.)

Admissions

The Maggie Flanigan Studio is open to all students who have a serious desire to develop their craft as professional actors. Maggie has set the standards in the program very high and students must be able to work within a creative environment that is constantly demanding artistic excellence.

Admission to the Studio is based on a personal interview with, and an audition for, the director of the school, Maggie Flanigan. Second year students are admitted by invitation only.

The acting classes are limited in size to 16-20 students to promote the individual growth, development and uniqueness of each actor.

FAQ

The Maggie Flanigan Studio is open to all students who have a serious desire to develop their craft as professional actors. Maggie has set the standards in the program very high and students must be able to work within a creative environment that is constantly demanding artistic excellence.

Admission to the Studio is based on a personal interview with, and an audition for, the director of the school, Maggie Flanigan. Second year students are admitted by invitation only.

The acting classes are limited in size to 16-20 students to promote the individual growth, development and uniqueness of each actor.

What to prepare:

All students seeking admittance to the studio should prepare a two-minute contemporary monologue that speaks to the student and with which he can connect. Each student should also bring a headshot and resume.

What to expect:

The interview is an opportunity for Maggie to get a sense of what your goals are as an actor, who you are as a person, as well as any training you may have already received. It is also an opportunity for you to get a sense of Maggie as an artist and as a teacher.

Student requests for an interview can be made by calling the studio directly at 917.606.0982.

Do you allow auditing?

The Maggie Flanigan Studio does not permit auditing of any classes. The student’s exploration of the work is a personal and intimate process between the actor and teacher, requiring vulnerability and risk-taking. The presence of “visitors” would compromise the safe environment that is integral to the actor’s development and growth.

What advice do you have for students who would like to be considered for admittance?

The work that is taught at the studio is a rigorous, intensive training program intended only for the serious actor. The student must be dedicated to himself as an artist and committed to his own growth and development as an actor. Students should come to the initial interview on time and be prepared with any questions they may have.

Is there a housing plan available?

We can provide a list of housing options for you to pursue on your own.

I am currently a working professional. Is the class schedule flexible?

Many of our students are working professionals and every effort will be made to accommodate student’s professional demands. Schedule conflicts are handled on a case-by-case basis, and as Ms. Flanigan works very closely with her associate teachers at the studio, make-up classes would be available if necessary.

What are the class sizes?

Acting classes in the Full-Time Program are limited to 16-20 students. Supplementary class sizes vary- for example: the Cold Reading class is limited to 4 students; the Film/ TV Class is limited to 8 students. All classes are limited in size to promote the individual growth, development and uniqueness of each actor.

Are there any books I should read before studying?

While acting can’t be learned through reading a book, there is one book that offers the reader an overview of what to expect in the Tw-Year Training Program. The book is Sanford Meisner On Acting and is written by Sanford Meisner and Dennis Longwell. It should be available in most bookstores.

Do you accept foreign students?

Many foreign students enroll at the Maggie Flanigan Studio. Students from abroad seeking admittance can arrange to have the required interview conducted over the phone.

Formner Students

Maggie has had the pleasure of teaching many very talented actors during her long teaching career. Many of her former students have become widely recognized in their field. Below is a list of some of their accomplishments. Also visit our testimonials page to see what they have to say about the work they did with Maggie.

Alumni Credits – Film and Television

John Ales - The Nutty Professor / The Nutty Professor II / Spy Hard

Andrea Anders - Joey ( TV )/ The Stepford Wives / 50/50

Vanessa Aspillaga - My Best Friend’s Wife / Mr. Wonderful

Chris Beetem - JAG ( TV )/ As The World Turns TV )/ Black Hawk Down / Grace & Glorie

Leslie Bibb - Line of Fire ( TV )/ Popular ( TV )/ The Skulls / See Spot Run

Joelle Carter - Just One Time / High Fidelity / Swimming

Mike Colter - Million Dollar Baby

Kristin Davis - Sex and the City ( HBO )/ General Hospital ( TV )/ Black Top

Tim Dekay - Carnivale ( HBO )/ Swordfish / Big Eden

Calista Flochart - Ally McBeal ( TV )/ A Misdummer Night’s Dream / The Bird Cage

Isabel Gillies - Law & Order: SVU ( TV )/ Metropolitan / On Line / Nadja

Dion Graham - Thirteen Conversations About One Thing / Malcolm X

Marc Gray - The Matrix / Flirting / The Crossing

Eddie Kehler - Lost in Plain View/ Vampires Anonymous / Malcolm X

Catherine Kellner - Pearl Harbor / Shaft / Kicking and Screaming

Trevor Long - Don Juan DiMarco / Fat Cats

Chris Messina - Six Feet Under ( HBO ) / You’ve Got Mail / Rounders / The Siege

Molly Price - Third Watch ( TV ) / Pushing Tin / Sweet and Lowdown

Sam Rockwell - Confessions of a Dangerous Mind / The Green Mile / Charlie’s Angels / Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Gallaxy

Elizabeth Rodriguez - Desperado / Blow / Dead Presidents

David Russek - Guiding Light ( TV ) / Another World ( TV ) / The Young and the Restless ( TV )

Monte Russell - ER ( TV ) / Godzilla / Lily in Winter

Charlie Sandlan - 24 (TV) / Law and Order CI / Law and Order SVU (TV)

Dina Spybey - Freaky Friday / The Haunted Mansion / Striptease

Sally Stewart - The Lady Vanishes / Barbarians at the Gate / City Rhythms

Kadee Strickland - Fever Pitch / Something’s Gotta Give / Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid

Vicki Tanner - Acts of Worship / Happy End

April Thompson - The Exonerated (TV)

Tyrell Tilford - Guiding Light ( TV ) / Serenity ( TV ) / Jackson ( TV )

Daniel Travis - Open Water

Yul Vasquez - Bad Boys II / Runaway Bride / Traffic

Tara Westwood - My Best Friend’s Wife / Hoodwink

Scott Whitehurst - Kyoko / Malcolm X / Simple Justice

Dean Winters - Oz ( HBO ) / Law and Order: SVU ( TV ) / Hellraiser: Hellseeker / Undercover Angel

Scott Winters - Oz (HBO) / Mystic River / Goodwill Hunting

Alumni Credits – Theatre :

Andrea Anders - The Graduate ( Broadway ) / Proof ( Broadway )

Vanessa Aspillaga - Anna in the Tropics ( Broadway )

Chad Beckim - Choice of Amateurs ( Partial Comfort )

Chris Bowers - After The Fall ( Broadway )

Jeremy Davidson - Cat on a Hot Tin Roof / Nijinsky's Last Dance / Epic Proportions / La Terrass / Desire Under The Elms / Going Native

Ari Fliakos - Poor Theatre , To You the Birdie ( Wooster Group )

Calista Flochart - Three Sisters (Broadway with Julie Harris ) / The Glass Menagerie ( Broadway )

Dion Graham - Lobby Hero ( Playwrights Horizon )

Scott Hudson - Our Lady of 121st St. ( Off Broadway - LAByrinth Theatre ) / BFE ( Longwharf & Playwrights Horizon )

Eddie Kehler - Sideman / Risk Everything/ Wait Until Dark * Ethel Case Award Winner for Best Supportting Actor

Catherine Kellner - Hurly Burly (Off Broadway, w/ Ethan Hawke)

Trevor Long - Scotch and Water (London & New York Premiere ) / Den of Thieves/ In Arabia We'd All Be Kings

Kelly Mares - The Women ( Broadway )

Barrett Martin - Moving Out ( National Tour)

Chris Mixon - How to Succeed in Business... ( National Tour )

Susan Pourfar - The Last Sunday in June ( Off-Broadway ) / Proof ( Alliance )

Rudy Roberson - Working on T.O.B.A.

Sam Rockwell - The Last Days of Judas Iscariot ( LAByrinth, Public Theatre )

Elizabeth Rodriguez - The Last days of Judas Iscariot ( LAByrinth, Public Theatre )

Monte Russell - Prelude to a Kiss ( Broadway ) / Three Ways Home

Charlie Sandlan - Coriolanus / Twelfth Night / Two Rooms

Jay Snyder - Philadelphia Here I Come ( Broadway )

Dina Spybey - The Iceman Cometh ( Broadway with Kevin Spacey )

Vicki Tanner - Tantantalus / Stomp

April Thompson - Exonerated ( Off Broadway ) / Macbeth

Scott Whitehurst - Marvin's Room ( Off Broadway ) / He Stoops To Conquer / Waiting For Lefty

Wade Williams - Les Miserables ( Broadway ) / Guys & Dolls ( Broadway )

Scott Winters - Grapes of Wrath ( Off Broadway )

Contact Us

If you’d like to schedule an interview with Maggie, or have any other questions, please call the studio directly at 917.606.0982. Every effort is made to return calls promptly, usually within 24 hours.

You can also contact us through email at the following addresses:

info@maggieflaniganstudio.com      For inquiries regarding admissions, information about specific classes, or just general information about the studio and the training that’s offered.

  tech@maggieflaniganstudio.com If you have technical questions about the website, or to tell us how much you like the site.

This website and all its contents are original images produced by nancycreations.com in limited partnership with bazgroup llc, all imgery on this site was created by Nancy Lozupone and is copyrighted 2005, all writings on this site were done by Nancy Lozupone and Barry Kornfeld with the cooperation of Maggie Flanigan and her staff. Special thanks to all students who attended the photoshoot sessions and Maggie's fornmer students for their testimonials. For any questions regarding the design of this site or to contact the designer directly enail soup@nancylozupone.com and visit www.nancycreations.com