Hi SAM - I'm currently trying to research excellent acting classes in LA, but my head is swimming due to the sheer number of classes offered and the tons of "watch out for scams" notices. I would love to know what you and others feel are excellent acting classes/teachers...those who help an actor grow and refine their craft as well as someone who is trustworthy. Teachers who scream, degrade or try and sell their books or beliefs are certainly off the list. Yes, no cults please. Naturally affordability is helpful, but you get what you pay for a lot of times right? I'm preparing for the move to LA and am trying to get a leg up on where to start my training. I appreciate everyone's opinion.

Your location says you're LA bound so I'm going to assume you just got here or you're in the process of moving here. Either way, it would be a smart move to get into a good, respected audition class before you start looking for an acting school. I would suggest Brian Reise. He has an excellent audition class that has a good reputation in the industry. You should probably try it for a few months and then you can move on to an actual acting class or whatever else you might need. I don't know anything about you so it would be impossible for me to be more specific.

Welcome to the party!

I've heard/read good things about the following coaches:
Janet Alhanti
Arthur Mendoza
Cameron Thor
John Sudol
Piero Dusa
Howard Fine
Lesly Kahn

I asked before if anybody has worked with any of them, and if so, are their actors working? What about cost? Anybody know?

I moved to LA a while ago.

Best thing to do is before committing to any class, go an audit as many classes as you can. Get a feel for the different classes.

It's not just about whether they're reputable, but whether the class itself FITS your own individual needs.

Some of the more reputable ones (by no means exhaustive):

- Carter/Thor studios (Alice Carter and Cameron Thor)
- Lesly Kahn
- Howard Fine
- Michelle Danner (Larry Moss' studio)
- Brian Reise
- Doug Warhit
- John Kirby
- Scott Sedita
- William Alderson
- Playhouse West (Robert Carnegie)
- Milton Katselas
- Eric Morris
- Ivana Chubbuck
- Harry Mastrogeorge
- Margie Haber

Note that this is by renown or reputation - doesn't mean that they will be good for you (in fact, some of these folks on this list may simply rub you the wrong way).

One of the things I found is that you'll never really know which class to sign up until you audit the class (if they let you, although most will). Some have small classes, ensuring you work every class; others have big classes, where you may work every other week.

Cost for most acting classes in LA are around $200-250 per month for weekly classes.

Start with this list, and then go from there. I'm sure I'm missing a few, but these are the ones off the top of my head.

Some are more audition/cold reading/on-camera (Margie Haber). Others are more traditional scene study w/ little on-camera. It depends on what you feel you need to focus on right now.

I agree worth Don Q that it's not just about finding a good class, it's about finding the class that fits your needs best. Deferent people find different teaching methods effective. I don't think there is one "right" class. Though there are some "wrong" classes.

I love the classes I took at The Acting Corps... but there are probably some people on the board that would disagree. And on the other hand, I don't care for Brian Reise at all, but he does have a following (including SAM).

quote:

Originally posted by Knowngangmember:
I've heard/read good things about the following coaches:
Janet Alhanti
Arthur Mendoza
Cameron Thor
John Sudol
Piero Dusa
Howard Fine
Lesly Kahn

I asked before if anybody has worked with any of them, and if so, are their actors working? What about cost? Anybody know?

I read most-if not all that you listed-on Bonnie's columns, however, some require that you be recommended to take the class. How do you get over that hurdle?

I appreciate everyone's input....I'm not in L.A. yet, but will be soon. I'm working on getting my proverbial "ducks in order" before I get out there. I'm one of those "older" actors whose was bitten by the acting bug later in life (40s). I'm a musician as well (20 yrs.) so I know all to well what hard work means and I definitely embrace it! Thx SAM and to all who responded...I look forward to the challenge!