The Formal Training
Sanford Meisner’s last teaching protege and the Founder/Director of The Meisner Technique Studio, Jim Jarrett with be your teacher throughout the Formal Training.
The class is open to anyone, at any level – from beginners to those with extensive careers – who is passionate about becoming a working actor and who – in spite of their fears, doubts, and insecurities – is ready to put both feet in and fully commit to their dream.
The Formal Training is for those who have tremendous respect for their dream and how competitive the profession is and realize their best chance to work at the highest level is to invest in world-class training.
The formal training consists of six three month sessions. Class meets twice a week, three hours per class for three months.
Acceptance to the First Session of the Formal Training does not guarantee acceptance into the Second Session. Each session stands alone. All students must be invited to return.
Introduction to The Meisner Technique
The Introduction to the Meisner Technique is taught by Maeve Montgomery.
The biggest differences between the Formal Training and the Introduction Class are time commitment and cost. The Introduction to the Meisner Technique only meets once a week for three hours, and there are only two three-month sessions, instead of six.
Since class meets less frequently and for not as long, the cost for each three-month session is $600.
Students who finish the two sessions of the Introduction Class will be in the exact same place in the training as those who have completed the first session of the formal training.
If those who complete the Introduction wish to continue to the Formal Training, they will be given priority interviews for the next available class with Jim.
It’s simple:
- You’re passionate about your dream
- You’re humble and open to learning
- You’re professional in every sense of the word – this means you’re never late for class, you never miss class and the work you do outside of class with your partners is just as professional and respectful.
If this describes you as a student, you’ll be invited to return every session.
The school’s Founder/Director, Jim Jarrett, teaches all Formal Training classes. Maeve Montgomery teaches the Introduction to the Meisner Technique.
The maximum number of students in each class is twenty-two students. The class size is kept small as it’s imperative that students work consistently each week in class.
Additional professional classes are taught by our guest faculty, including Nia Peeples, John Hunter Nolan, Andrew Juncker, Michael Meehan, and Kyla Jarrett.
There are many acting programs who claim, “We are the best acting training in San Francisco” or “We are the #1 acting school in the Bay Area.” This implies it’s possible to be the best for everyone and every acting dream. The Meisner Technique Studio is not for everybody. However, we for anyone who wants to call themselves an actor and have it truly mean something.
Our students are passionate, professional, humble, resilient, and committed to taking their dream to entirely new levels. We have a community of actors, writers, directors, and filmmakers who have the same standards and respect for their dream and their investment as you do. Not only does the quality and caliber of our students makes us different but so does our location.
The MTS is located in the heart of the historic Fort Mason Center where parking is safe, abundant, and free. One final area that makes The Meisner Technique Studio extremely unique is this: When you complete the Formal Training from The Meisner Technique Studio, you’ll receive private coaching for all your auditions for the rest of your careers from Jim Jarrett – free of charge.
The Meisner Technique Studio was founded by Sanford Meisner’s last teaching protégé, Jim Jarrett. He is the only teacher in the Bay Area personally trained by Sandy to teach The Meisner Technique. His school is also the only Meisner training in the Bay Area with Sanford Meisner’s personal blessing to teach his way. There are many fine teachers of The Meisner Technique in the world. Only a handful present the teachings in the same order as Sanford Meisner did. Since this technique is meant to be a brick-by-brick development of the actor’s instrument, Jim believes it is imperative that the information is presented in the exact order and in the exact way that Sandy intended.
If you’re meeting with anyone who claims to have studied with Sanford Meisner, ask them the following questions:
- When did you study with Sandy?
- How long did you study with him?
- Did you actually complete the full training with him?
- Were you personally trained by Sandy to teach?
Trust your gut. You’ll know.
The Formal Training consists of six three-month sessions, but students can only commit to the first session upfront. Beyond that, students must be invited to return every session.
The Introduction to the Meisner Technique consists of two three-month sessions. As with the Formal Training, students can only commit to one session at a time and must be invited to return for Session Two.
There are many reasons why students are not allowed to miss class. In this video, Jim outlines the main reasons for this policy, established by Sanford Meisner during his teaching tenure.
Tuition for the Formal Training is $1,500 for the three-month session. Tuition for the Introduction to the Meisner Technique is $600 for the three-month session.
Tuition is due at the start of each session and may be paid by cash, check, or credit card.
Tuition is non-refundable for two reasons:
- When you’re accepted into The Meisner Technique Studio, you’re committing to a three-month session of professional training. So, like any other professional training program, if you quit at any point you don’t receive a refund.
- Secondly and more importantly, you are going to be pushed, pulled, and stretched, and you will struggle. When people struggle with something new, many quit. WE DON’T WANT YOU TO QUIT during the growing pains of the training. Our hope is that in being clear about our refund policy, it may help you through the uncomfortable on your way to the comfortable.
We do not provide housing for students, but any time a student moves to the Bay Area to study with us, we do everything possible to help with their transition. We will spread the word to our entire network – students, faculty and alumni – to hopefully help you find a comfortable, safe, affordable place to live as well as a job.
Unfortunately we cannot at this time. Although we have students from around the world studying with us, unless they have dual citizenship and/or a valid long-term visa, they can only study for as long as they are allowed in the United States.
It depends. Please schedule an interview with Jim. He will determine which class is best for you based on an assessment of your foundation and your current level.