The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre is a full-time professional conservatory for actors in New York City. First operational from 1915 to 1927, the school re-opened in 1928 and has been active ever since. It is the birthplace of the Meisner technique of acting, named for American actor and acting teacher

Sanford Meisner Sanford Meisner (August 31, 1905 – February 2, 1997) was an American actor and acting teacher who developed an approach to acting instruction that is now known as the Meisner technique. While Meisner was exposed to method acting at the Grou ...

History

Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre building on Grand Street in 1916

The Neighborhood Playhouse had originally been founded as an

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

theatre by philanthropists

Alice Lewisohn Alice Lewisohn (1883–1972) was the founder of the Neighborhood Playhouse with her sister Irene Lewisohn. Alice was also an actress. Biography She was the daughter of Rosalie Jacobs and Leonard Lewisohn. In 1905 she and her sister, Irene Lewis ...

and Irene Lewisohn in 1915, but closed in 1927. The following year, it re-opened as The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre with the addition of Rita Wallach Morgenthau. Neighborhood Playhouse joined

American Academy of Dramatic Arts The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a private performing arts conservatory with two locations, one in Manhattan and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related art ...

and Pasadena Playhouse as the only major professional training schools for the performing arts in the United States.

joined the faculty in 1935 from the Group Theatre. Meisner used his study of Russian theatre and acting innovator

Konstantin Stanislavski Konstantin Sergeyevich Stanislavski ( Alekseyev; russian: Константин Сергеевич Станиславский, p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin sʲɪrˈgʲejɪvʲɪtɕ stənʲɪˈslafskʲɪj; 7 August 1938) was a seminal Soviet Russian ...

system A system is a group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment, is described by its boundaries, structure and purpose and express ...

to develop his own technique, an alternative to Lee Strasberg's method acting. The faculty also included Louis Horst,

Agnes de Mille Agnes George de Mille (September 18, 1905 – October 7, 1993) was an American dancer and choreographer. Early years Agnes de Mille was born in New York City into a well-connected family of theater professionals. Her father William C. deMill ...

, and

Martha Graham Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991) was an American modern dancer and choreographer. Her style, the Graham technique, reshaped American dance and is still taught worldwide. Graham danced and taught for over seventy years. She ...

. In 1939, when actor

Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood ...

enrolled, there were approximately 90 students at the school. Playwright

Horton Foote Albert Horton Foote Jr. (March 14, 1916March 4, 2009) was an American playwright and screenwriter. He received Academy Awards for his screenplays for the 1962 film ''To Kill a Mockingbird'', which was adapted from the 1960 novel of the same name ...

met actor Robert Duvall at Neighborhood Playhouse when Duvall starred in a 1957 production of Foote's play, '' The Midnight Caller''. Foote recommended Duvall to play the part of Boo Radley in the 1962 film, ''

To Kill a Mockingbird ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' is a novel by the American author Harper Lee. It was published in 1960 and was instantly successful. In the United States, it is widely read in high schools and middle schools. ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' has become ...

''. The New York City Council honored the 90th anniversary of Neighborhood Playhouse with a proclamation.

Educational programs

The school offers a two-year certificate program, with admission to the second year dependent upon unanimous approval of the faculty. There is also a six-week summer intensive program. The Neighborhood Playhouse also offers Playhouse Juniors, a Saturday training program for children in grades 1–12. Children attend a fixed curriculum of singing, acting, and dancing classes in a non-competitive environment.

Alumni

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Agnes Morgan Agnes B. Morgan (October 31, 1879 – May 25, 1976) was a director, playwright, actress and theatrical producer. She is most known for her association with the Neighborhood Playhouse where she was a director and functioned in numerous other role ...

Nancy Addison Nancy Addison Altman (March 21, 1946Born 1946 as peSocial Security Death Index website accessed August 20, 2014. – June 18, 2002), also known as Nancy Addison, was an American actress noted for her appearances in soap operas. She first attra ...

* Helen Arthur * Elizabeth Ashley * Dorothy A. Atabong * Ashlie Atkinson * Harold G. Baldridge * Barbara Baxley * Kim Basinger *

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* Amanda Bearse *

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* James Doohan * Illeana Douglas *

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Griffin Dunne Thomas Griffin Dunne (; born June 8, 1955) is an American actor, film producer, and film director. Dunne studied acting at The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City. He is known for portraying Jack Goodman in '' An Amer ...

* Robert Duvall *

William Esper The William Esper Studio was founded in 1965 as a school for the performing arts in Manhattan, New York. The school is dedicated to the acting technique of Sanford Meisner. Its founder, William "Bill" Esper, is often referred to as the best-known o ...

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* Mary Fickett * Joe Flanigan * Meg Foster * Leonard Frey * Edith González * Julie Garfield * Betty Garrett * Brian Geraghty * Jeff Goldblum * Jonathan Goldsmith * Farley Granger *

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* Andre Gregory *

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* Tammy Grimes * Wynn Handman * David Hedison *

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* Allison Janney *

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* Diane Keaton *

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* Ken Kercheval * Walter Koenig * Peter Leeds *

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* Irene Lewisohn *

Christopher Lloyd Christopher Allen Lloyd (born October 22, 1938) is an American actor. He has appeared in many theater productions, films, and on television since the 1960s. He is known for portraying Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown in the ''Back to the Future'' tril ...

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* Sky Lakota-Lynch * Daniel Mann * Kathleen Martin *

Dylan McDermott Dylan McDermott (born Mark Anthony McDermott; October 26, 1961) is an American actor. He is known for his role as lawyer and law firm head Bobby Donnell on the legal drama series ''The Practice'', which earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best ...

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* Peter Miller * South Miller * George H. Morris (Olympic Equestrian) * Les Moonves *

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* Leslie Nielsen *

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* Edmond O'Brien * Susan Oliver * Chris Paine *

* Joanna Pettet *

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* Amanda Plummer *

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* Antoni Porowski *

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* James Price *

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* Sally Jessy Raphael *

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* Doris Roberts * Wayne Rogers * Jean Rosenthal *

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* Sherie Rene Scott *

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* David Sobolov * Scott Speedman *

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* Tom Stewart * Kenneth Tobey * Paula Trueman * Tom Tryon *

Brenda Vaccaro Brenda is a feminine given name in the English language. Origin The overall accepted origin for the female name Brenda is the Old Nordic male name ''Brandr'' meaning both ''torch'' and ''sword'': evidently the male name Brandr took root in area ...

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* Eli Wallach * Jessica Walter * Al Waxman * Geoffrey Weglarz * Jerry Weintraub * Elizabeth Wilson * Joanne Woodward * Fei Xiang * Otis Young

References

External links

Official website

Neighborhood Playhouse records, 1897-1967, 2004
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Neighborhood Playhouse costume and set designs, 1916-circa 1931
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts {{authority control Theatres in Manhattan Drama schools in the United States Performing arts education in New York City Lewisohn family Educational institutions established in 1928 Turtle Bay, Manhattan Arts organizations established in 1928 1928 establishments in New York City