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Your profession is not your job. Your profession is what you’re put on this earth to do with such passion and intensity it becomes spiritual in calling.
-Vincent Van Gogh
If that’s how you feel about being an actor we’d like to help you.
Jim Jarrett
Founder/Director

Our Mission

We offer the premier acting classes in the San Francisco Bay Area and are dedicated to producing the finest trained actors of the Meisner Technique – not just in the Bay Area but in the world.

Under the guidance of our professional guest faculty, our students also receive extensive training in the business of being an actor - from auditioning for television and feature films to personal marketing to securing agency representation.

I have been around great actors for over fifty years. Jim is a great actor, director, and teacher and if you have the chance to work with him, you really should.
BARRIE OSBORNE
Academy Award-winning producer of Lord of the Rings, The Matrix, Apocalypse Now, Mulan, The Great Gatsby, The Big Chill, Dick Tracy, Peggy Sue Got Married, Cotton Club, Pete’s Dragon, Little Fish, Face/Off, Rapa-Nui ...

Classes

There are two ways to begin your studies at The Meisner Technique Studio - either the Formal Training or the Introductory Class.
We are now interviewing for the next available start dates for both classes.

At The Meisner Technique Studio, we present Sanford Meisner’s teachings exactly as he intended.

  • Acting classes meet twice a week for three hours
  • Class size is always kept small to guarantee individual attention every class
  • All classes are taught by Jim Jarrett
  • You must be invited to return after each session, ensuring the highest quality experience

The Meisner Technique Formal Training

Instructor: Jim Jarrett

The Formal Training presents Sanford Meisner’s teachings exactly as he intended, taught exclusively by Jim Jarrett, Sanford Meisner’s last teaching protégé.

  • Class meets twice a week for three hours per class
  • $1500 each 3 Month Session
  • Six three-month sessions
  • Class size is kept small, and students must be invited to return after each session

Introduction to the Meisner Technique

Instructor: Filaree Radich

The Introduction to the Meisner Technique offers a simplified approach to the foundation of the Meisner Technique

  • Class meets once a week for three hours per class
  • $750 each 3 Month Session
  • Two three-month sessions
  • Students who excel and wish to move forward with the Formal Training will be given the option to interview with Jim for the Formal Training

Which One Are You?

I’ve never acted before. I’m excited, terrified, and have no idea where to begin, but I know this is what I am supposed to do!
A dream should scare you a little and excite you a lot
-Joe Vitale

Most people who want to become actors can’t find the courage to even take the first step of doing basic research. Yet here you are so way to go!

Maybe your desire to become an actor has been inside you for a long time or maybe it’s new. Either way, you most likely have questions so let’s begin with the most common ones for anyone just starting out.

View Jim's Welcome Video
I took an improv class and loved it. Now I’m looking for more to see if I want to take things to the next level.

Improv classes are booming, and for good reason! It’s a chance to address your fears of getting up in front of others, to have a creative outlet that gets you out of your head and connects you to your gut, and most of all, it can be a lot of fun.

For some, it becomes something even greater. It’s the catalyst for taking things to another level and exploring whether you want to commit to becoming a working actor.

First of all, congratulations on taking this next step.

The good news is, you don’t have to quit your job, or move to LA to discover if becoming an actor is right for you. So if you’d like to take smaller steps, instead of diving in headfirst, reach out and schedule an interview to discuss your options.

View Jim's Welcome Video
I've always loved acting but quit and did what I was "supposed" to do, but I'm not happy. And acting made me truly happy.
When you grow up you tend to be told that the world is the way it is and your life is to just live your life inside this world – try not to bash the walls too much. Try to have a nice family life, have fun, save a little money. That is a very limited life.
-Steve Jobs

You are here because your love of acting will not die. Even though you’ve tried to run from it, hide from it, ignore it, belittle it, starve it, even shun it, after all these years, it’s still deep inside you. And you know it’s time to find out why your love of acting won’t go away. So congratulations, this is a huge deal.

One piece of advice – go after this with such conviction and resolution that you’ll finally know, once and for all, why this feeling has never left you.

Whether you choose to study with us doesn’t matter at all. What does matter is that you’re finally doing this. So from all of us at The Meisner Technique Studio, we wish you the very best!

View Jim's Welcome Video
I can't commit to the formal training right now, but I want to explore if The Meisner Technique is right for me.

If you clicked on this, we understand. The Meisner Technique is not for everyone, and the formal training is a huge commitment of time and energy.

This is why we offer the Introduction to The Meisner Technique. Class only meets once a week for three months, yet it’s a wonderful opportunity to see if the Technique is the right fit for you.

And if you discover that you love the Technique, and the timing can work in the future, you’ll be eligible to join the Formal Training and study with Jim Jarrett.

If this seems like a good first step, schedule an interview with Jim for possible acceptance into the Introductory class.

View Jim's Welcome Video
I am an actor. I have training, credits, and I work, BUT something is off and I want to take my career to an entirely new level.

If you’re here reading this, it means you want more. Even though you have previous training and credits, something is missing, and you can feel it.

You are in good company.

Most working actors with wonderful training still suffer from three major roadblocks to truthful work:

  1. Nerves
  2. Constantly in their head – thinking, judging, watching, criticizing
  3. Rarely present

Often the more training one has, the more one tends to be in their head.

The Meisner Technique is all about getting you out of your head and working from your impulses, instincts, and gut – not once in a while or because you’re “having a good night.”

This is the way you’ll work all the time because you are consistently present. When that happens, your nerves will go away. As Sanford Meisner once said, “It’s impossible to be nervous if your focus is off yourselves.”

But here’s the problem: to turn your instrument into a moment to moment, gut to gut, instinctive, impulsive machine requires time, patience and hard work.

Often actors who already have training and credits lack the humility to give themselves over to this level of training. Instead, they put a band-aide on the holes to their foundation by taking workshops or “intensives.” So to even consider this level of training feels like they’ve somehow failed or it’s a step backwards or even worse, they don’t have time because their “career is slipping away.”

Yet here you are because you do want more.

If that is you, we can help you.

View Jim's Welcome Video
I'm not really sure if I fit any of the descriptions - but I'm curious about acting and I'd like to learn more.

If you clicked on this, maybe you’re not sure if you really want to be an actor, but something is pulling you toward acting. Even though you keep thinking this feeling will go away, it doesn’t.

You are not alone. Over the years some of our greatest students have been stay-at-home parents, lawyers, real estate agents, venture capitalists – whatever. And they have  ZERO desire to quit their jobs and become actors, but SOMETHING is going on inside of them and they’d like to know what that is.

They just needed to find the courage to take it to the next step. Are you ready to step up and see what this feeling inside of you is all about? If so, schedule your interview today.

Do it. You deserve to know what’s going on.

View Jim's Welcome Video

Free Teachings

Video Teachings
Final Episode
Jim's Newsletters
Q&A with you, part 7
Jim's Blog Posts
An Actor’s Guide to Marketing Your Career, Part 1 of 5

Alumni at Work

#OurStudentsAtWork
Film Castings
Amy has been working in LA as an actress and a writer since graduating. Recently her film was selected for The Black List Feature Lab
#OurStudentsAtWork
Commercial Castings
MTS faculty recommended Connor for this huge national commercial. And he's in it with Chris Rock and Sylvester Stallone!
#OurStudentsAtWork
Alumni Updates
Check out Meisner Technique Studio alum, Carlos Alfredo Jr. on Netflix's upcoming show, Selena the Series!
#OurStudentsAtWork
Our Students
Conor has been hard at work for years since graduating the from Meisner Technique Studio, and we are so thrilled to see him on the big screen alongside Liam Neeson and Ciarán Hinds
Our Students
Our Students
Our Students
Our Students
Our Students
Our Students
Our Students
Our Students
Our Students
Our Students
Our Students

Testimonials

Deborah Cortez
Deborah Cortez Actor
Don't be like me! Don't think too much about it, just go for this training at The Meisner Technique Studio, and you'll come out a much better actor and person
Kathryn Acker
Jim’s inspiration and creativity are endless. His passion for teaching is unmatched. He is sensitive and understanding of the fact that each student learns differently. As Sanford Meisner would say, each actor has their own unique “instrument.” And Jim would be able to cater his teachings uniquely to each student’s needs.
John Hamil
John Hamil
Jim Jarrett is an incredible acting teacher and if you’re serious about this craft then look no further. Jim Jarret is a master teacher and there is a reason why Sanford Meisner chose him to carry on the Meisner legacy.
Larry Dorsey Jr
Larry Dorsey Jr Actor, Comedian, Radio Personality (106kmel #iHeartMedia), Content Creator
The Meisner Technique Studio taught me how to be a better human being, how to feel deeper, how to love with intensity. It transformed my life, and for that, I am forever grateful

News Bulletin

Classes
Classes
We're officially back with in-person classes! We can't wait to see our students and to welcome everybody into our new location!
Classes
Updates
The Meisner Technique Studio has a new home! We have expanded into a larger space at 38 Keyes Avenue in The Presidio, San Francisco. Come say hi!
Faculty
Faculty
We are thrilled to announce that actress Nia Peeples has officially joined our school as Adjunct Teacher. Welcome Nia!
#SocialMedia
Social Feed
We have SUCH exciting news! Jim has officially launched The Bay Area Actor Podcast - a podcast committed to helping any actor in smaller markets find more work. Check it out and let us know what you think!