Maggie Flanigan Studio, based in New York City, has announced that they are welcoming Tina Mitchell to the faculty. She will be teaching various classes such as the movement class for actors New York residents can attend. Tina is from Australia and is a graduate of the Adelaide College of the Arts. She also holds a Masters of Arts Practice degree, with specialization in Performance, from Charles Stuart University. The Movement Training for Actors class is based on the Maggie Flanigan Studio’s belief that the development of the physical body is vital in helping the actor express emotions like rage, joy, heartbreak, grief, and fear.
Charlie Sandlan, Executive Director of the Maggie Flanigan Studio, says, “I have been wanting to offer Viewpoints and Suzuki for many years, but haven’t, until now, found an exceptional teacher. Tina Mitchell has mentored under Anne Bogart, and is a master of both disciplines. Her energy, her high standards, and her passion is just what we want at MFS. Our students are incredibly lucky to have her.”
Tina Mitchell’s experience includes being a New York based actor, director, theatre maker, and teaching artist. She is co-Artistic Director of Australian based Chopt Logic Productions. She has also worked for several international companies, such as the English National Opera, La Fura dels Baus, The Brooklyn Philharmonic, Collegiate Chorale at Carnegie Hall, the Adelaide Festival of Arts, and The Metropolitan Opera.
Aside from the movement classes for actors New York residents can attend, there is also the Summer Acting Program. At the heart of this program is the Six-Week Meisner Summer Intensive. This program starts in early June and runs until the end of July. In these classes, students are introduced to the first third of the Acting 1 Meisner Technique, while being immersed in six weeks of serious professional actor training.
The Summer Conservatory includes Voice 1, Movement 1, and at least one of the auxiliary classes. The auxiliary classes include Commercial 1, On Camera, Playwriting, Mask & Character, Self-Care for Actors, and Nutrition. However, Summer Conservatory students usually choose more than one auxiliary class. They get priority in enrollment and in the selection of class times.
Meanwhile, the Meisner Technique was developed by Sanford Meisner, who was one of the founding members of the Group Theatre in New York City. The Meisner method is much like the technique developed by the famous Russian actor and director Konstantin Stanislavski. It is a systematic approach to the craft of acting using exercises to build upon each other as the actor progresses in his acting skills. The Meisner technique is partly based on the belief that in order to achieve “real” acting performances, the actor must react in a particular moment to the other actors and the play as whole as it unfolds onstage. Thus, Meisner actors avoid the memorization of lines with gestures and vocal inflection.
Meisner actors need to spend a lot of time imagining the events of a play in very specific ways and practice exercises that can help them develop a deep knowledge of themselves and the character. This practice of actively “daydreaming” about events will result into actors starting to build a repertoire of emotional responses that they can draw from as a play is acted out on stage.
Maggie Flanigan Studio was established by Maggie in 2001. Maggie was William Esper’s most distinguished teacher for 18 years both at the MFA acting program of Rutgers and in his New York City classroom. Maggie and Charlie Sandlan had worked together to develop a comprehensive and rigorous MFA caliber training program. As such, their Script Analysis, Theater History, Anatomy for Actors, Film History, and Business I and II classes have helped in making the studio achieve the reputation as the gold standard of professional actor training.
People who are interested in the movement for actors New York classes, the summer acting program, and other programs at the Maggie Flanigan Studio can visit their website or contact them by phone or by email.
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For more information about Maggie Flanigan Studio, contact the company here:
Maggie Flanigan Studio
Charlie Sandlan
(917) 789-1599
studio@maggieflaniganstudio.com
153 W 27th St #803 New York, New York 10001
