Intensive Acting Training

Join the TKS community and become a confident actor
for the rest of your life

Terry Knickerbocker Studio Acting Intensives

Every Fall, Spring, and Summer semester, TK Studio offers an acting intensive for adult actors of all experience levels. Intensives offer the students the opportunity to develop and nurture foundational acting skills rooted in the Meisner technique and Core Classes (including Movement and Voice & Speech work). For 4-5 days and 15 hrs per week, intensive students live and breathe acting, gaining expertise in:

  • listening on a profoundly deep level
  • improvising with a partner from moment to moment
  • accessing a range of emotions
  • tapping into and expanding their imaginations
  • discovering how to form a rich, truthful and personal connection to imaginary circumstances and scene work
  • exploring themselves as an acting instrument and a human being

Up Next: Summer Intensive! Beginning June 10th

img-1

Training at TK Studio is instrumental in helping actors across film, television, and the stage find success and discover their own personal creativity and craft.

Under the expert guidance of Terry Knickerbocker and our world class faculty, students will diligently practice Sanford Meisner’s teachings and learn to embrace our studio’s emphasis on excellence.

We don’t believe in a cookie cutter approach to actor training. Rather, we focus on the individual. Our approach is personal so each student can feel seen and encouraged to learn in the way that is most effective for them. TK Studio will meet you where you are, hold you to the highest of standards, and always offer the support, craft, and community needed to reach higher and connect deeper.

Who Should Apply To Our Intensive Acting Courses?

At TK Studio, we play hard and work hard. We seek students who are committed, generous, curious, playful, and collaborative, and who enrich the diversity of the Studio.

The Intensive courses are the first 18 classes of the 128-class Meisner curriculum, so you might consider them the first step into the water. An acting student comes to our Intensives for the same reason a young swimmer starts out learning to hold their breath and float on their back—to build the skills which will later allow them to swim the length of the pool, compete in swim meets, and even swim the English channel.

You won’t finish the Intensives ready to enter the industry; the first 18 classes of the curriculum are not a substitute for the full 128-class curriculum. You will, however, get the chance to experience the TK Studio-specific approach to the Meisner technique, develop new skills and expand your range as an actor, find artistic inspiration, and exceed your goals of personal and artistic integrity.

Additionally, our Intensives aren’t just for beginners—just as often as we have beginners dipping a toe in the water, we have actors who join us for a boost mid-career, and pros returning to their roots for a tune up.

The Benefits of the TK Studio Acting Intensives

img-2
Community

Each of our acting intensives is capped at 20 students in order to allow for a connected and close-knit cohort of learners. Each cohort is diverse in backgrounds, experience levels, and perspectives. We have seen the varying levels of experience in this course be a powerful benefit for our students, as experienced students impart hard earned knowledge and beginners bring new perspectives and approaches.

img-3
Beginning Foundation

The intensive experience will provide you with a beginning foundation from which to continue to pursue acting training, and will begin to equip you with the confidence and security to turn any script into rich and compelling behavior. The Intensive will form your introduction to the Meisner technique and prepare you to one day join the legacy of Meisner-trained professional actors like Viola Davis, Robert Duvall, and Sam Rockwell.

img-4
Varied Skills

TK Studio Acting Intensives are rooted in the Meisner Technique, but also include voice and speech classes, and Williamson movement classes taught by world class faculty. Our intention with these intensives is always to nurture the comprehensive actor and artist, and ready them to take the next step in their artistic journey and career.

Intensives Offered

Our intensive courses are offered in the fall (October-December, 9 weeks), spring (February – April, 9 weeks), and summer (June-Jul, 6 weeks). We have three different packages to choose from for each season. Please visit our Tuition page for more detailed information.

What Our Alumni Say

I participated in the Summer Intensive & it was one of the best decisions I've ever made! I am...

"I found myself surrounded by students and staff that were universally invested in my growth and...

"I cannot stress enough how this studio has made me a better actor/thinker...." If you are a...

"....this was one of the best learning experiences I’ve ever had...." Overall, I honestly feel...

If the intensive programs aren’t currently a fit for where you are in your career, we invite you to take a look at our Classes Schedule to see the full range of classes available this quarter, or reach out to Admissions and Enrollment to discover the best path forward with TK Studio.