The conservatory method is the name most commonly given to the two year acting program in NYC. These two year programs are targeted towards professional actors who recognize their need for continual study and improvement. The practice of a master taking an apprentice under his wing is a tradition long respected by many cultures. Aspiring as well as professional actors seek out this type of program to improve their skills and set themselves apart from the competition.
Any successful actor must realize that they can never know everything. Years of training are the only way to become a “natural” actor. Separating yourself from the distractions in life and dedicating your time solely to study requires dedication and strength. However, when it comes to being an actor in New York, taking the time to study is what will make the difference between hobby and career.
The Meisner technique fits in quite nicely to two year acting programs. The technique teaches students the basic methods first with the lessons become more and more complicated as each skill is mastered. Meisner training is very rigorous and can feel almost military in intensity. Students have to face the stripping and rebuilding of their identities and beliefs.
The military strives to give the soldier an identity that will survive difficult situations and be an asset to the armed forces. Long-term programs in New York that teach Meisner require student actors to learn more about themselves. This allows actors to become one with their characters instead of allowing their own emotions to hinder their performance.
Emotions and desires are an integral part of the human person. These personal traits can either help or hinder an actor. In order to allow the character to shine through, it is absolutely necessary for actors to be aware of and know how to control these traits.
Unfortunately, actors are prone to falling into poor habits. These habits can partially be addressed in short-term classes. However, two year programs are far more successful in doing so because the actors have more time to break down their bad habits and build better ones. Correcting bad habits and forming new ones is not an easy chore and doing so requires that the actors make themselves vulnerable and truly bare their souls and true personalities. A two year acting program challenges students to bare their vulnerabilities and put themselves under the microscope all in an effort to make them more capable of creating lifelike characters for the audience. Coaches in quality two year programs work with the student actors to help them to rid themselves of their poor habits and build better ones, allowing them to create better characters and work well with the other actors in the production.
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