Master Class for Actors with Maggie Flanigan

Master Class is a ten week, 10 class scene study class taught by our Artistic Director and Master Teacher Maggie Flanigan. This class is filled through a personal interview with Maggie, and is geared toward well trained, professional actors who are looking to challenge themselves with rich, complicated material from the greatest playwrights of the theatrical canon.

Professional actors often find that years out of a classroom working and pursuing an artistic career can slowly corrupt the fundamentals necessary to creating a character. The majority of issues that come up for an actor can be traced to fundamentals. Maggie Flanigan’s Master Class will reconnect an actor to these important components of an actor’s technique; placement of concentration, listening from unanticipated moment to unanticipated moment, crafting in a specific, simple, and personal way, and breaking down beats into clear actions and line intentions. It can be very easy for actors to become general as the months and years of working on poorly written contemporary conversation erodes their craft. Over time, actors often take short cuts, gradually becoming lazy or forgetful when approaching a script. Master Class is a format for the experienced actor to isolate these problems, and work to eliminate generalities.

The Master Class for Actors will present you with the challenge of working on a major part from great playwrights, an opportunity to rekindle the love of acting and the joy that comes from artistic process. You will be challenged to once again operate outside your comfort zone, tackling much better material than you have most likely been auditioning for. Actor’s can often get pigeonholed into types, whether comic or dramatic, and haven’t been given the opportunity to stretch their artistic muscle. The scenes chosen for you will be discussed and agreed upon by you and Maggie, and subsequently paired with another professional actor in class. You will be encouraged to look at style, period, and heightened language when looking at scripts. The requirement for class is attendance, and a willingness to rehearse at least twice between classes with your partner. Maggie founded her studio on the highest of standards, and her Master Class students will be expected to bring substantial work into each class.

Master Class for Actors with Maggie Flanigan (917) 789-1599

Maggie’s lifetime work is of course rooted in the Meisner Technique, and anyone considering interviewing for this class must have a strong technique rooted in fundamental skill and a working vocabulary that well trained professional actor’s possess. Maggie expects absolute seriousness and dedication to the ten-week class, with a true willingness to explore the human condition, a desire to function from a vulnerable and empathetic place, and a commitment to the work and to fellow classmates, which reflect the qualities of a serious, professional artist.