The Michael Howard Studios is an acting studio for the performing arts located in at 152 West 25th Street in

Chelsea, Manhattan Chelsea is a neighborhood on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. The area's boundaries are roughly 14th Street to the south, the Hudson River and West Street to the west, and Sixth Avenue to the east, with its northe ...

, New York City; the studio was founded in 1953 by actor/director Michael Howard.

History

A protégé of both Sanford Meisner at the

Neighborhood Playhouse A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural ar ...

and

Lee Strasberg Lee Strasberg (born Israel Strassberg; November 17, 1901 – February 17, 1982) was an American theatre director, actor and acting teacher. He co-founded, with theatre directors Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 1931 ...

at the Actors Studio, Howard established his Studio in 1953 grounded in the work of Konstantin Stanislavski. Over the years, the studio incorporated many schools of thought and techniques from around the world. The Studio attributes its existence to the Group Theatre. In 1931,

Harold Clurman Harold Edgar Clurman (September 18, 1901 – September 9, 1980) was an American theatre director and drama critic. In 2003, he was named one of the most influential figures in U.S. theater by PBS.

, Cheryl Crawford, and Strasberg founded the Group Theatre in New York, beginning a watershed period in American Theater. The Group Theatre brought together Elia Kazan,

Stella Adler Stella Adler (February 10, 1901 – December 21, 1992) was an American actress and acting teacher.
''

Sanford Meisner, Frances Farmer,

Clifford Odets Clifford Odets (July 18, 1906 – August 14, 1963) was an American playwright, screenwriter, and actor. In the mid-1930s, he was widely seen as the potential successor to Nobel Prize-winning playwright Eugene O'Neill, as O'Neill began to withdra ...

Irwin Shaw Irwin Shaw (February 27, 1913 – May 16, 1984) was an American playwright, screenwriter, novelist, and short-story author whose written works have sold more than 14 million copies. He is best known for two of his novels: '' The Young Lions'' ...

, and

John Garfield John Garfield (born Jacob Julius Garfinkle, March 4, 1913 – May 21, 1952) was an American actor who played brooding, rebellious, working-class characters. He grew up in poverty in New York City. In the early 1930s, he became a member of ...

(among many others). Their creative commune introduced America to the revolutionary teachings of Stanislavski, and it set in motion new schools of thought that would dominate acting for the rest of the century. The Group Theatre closed its doors in 1941, and its visionary members set out in new directions. In 1942, Howard joined the Neighborhood Playhouse as a scholarship student under Sanford Meisner. Howard vigorously pursued his studies and absorbed everything Meisner had to impart. Howard then served in World War II as a parachutist, and upon returning, joined Equity in 1947. Strasberg invited Howard to study with him, and soon he was asked to become a member of the Actors Studio. Howard began a long career of hundreds of roles on stage and screen, including Odets' '' The Country Girl'' on Broadway and the film '' The Men'' with Marlon Brando. Acting led to directing and, in 1952, to teaching, when Sidney Lumet asked Howard to replace him at the High School of Performing Arts. The next year, in 1953, a group of actors asked Howard to lead their sessions, and Michael Howard Studios was born. Over the next five decades, Howard's teachings expanded to the Yale School of Drama, the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

, the American Conservatory Theatre, and Boston University while continuing his master classes at the Michael Howard Studios. The studio is now in its 55th year in continuous operation making it the longest running private acting studio in New York. In honor of the 55th anniversary of the studio, the studio received an official proclamation from Mayor Michael Bloomberg, declaring May 4, 2009, Michael Howard Studios Day "in honor of the studio's contribution to New York's rich theatrical history".

References

''An Actor's Guide''
by Glenn Alterman, Allworth Press, 2002 *WOR News Talk Radio – Community Concerns 11.17.08 *Taped Lecture @ Michael Howard Studios 07.08 *The New Generation of Acting Teachers, Eva Mekler, January 2008 *Acting Teachers of America, Ron Rand, January 15, 2007

External links

* *
Finding aid to the Michael Howard papers at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
{{authority control Drama schools in the United States 1953 establishments in New York City Educational institutions established in 1953 Arts organizations established in 1953 Performing arts education in New York City