Acting Conservatories
Our conservatories are professional training programs
designed to prepare actors for careers on stage, film, and television
Our conservatory actors have appeared on every major network, in films released by most major studios, and on premiere stages, including Broadway. Our industry showcase caps off a performance-oriented training sequence to launch our full conservatory actors.
"Michael Howard Studios gave me the individual attention I needed to hone my skills. Their focus on all elements of acting was vital to the development of my personal craft."
-Anson Mount, (CBS's Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, AMC's Hell on Wheels, Marvel's Inhumans)
Summer Conservatory
The Summer Conservatory at Michael Howard Studios is a six-week intensive of daily acting classes from the end of June into the beginning of August. Often embraced as an actor's boot camp, the program offers an exciting array of hands-on training Monday through Friday. The instructors in the Summer are many of the same expert instructors that teach in the One Year Conservatory, a diverse group of industry professionals with years of real-world stage, film, and television experience.
Many actors participate in the Summer Conservatory while on their college break, an ideal six-week intensive to keep their fundamentals sharp and expand their skill sets before returning to BA or BFA degree programs (actors often say they learned more in six weeks than they do in four years!).
More experienced, working actors also join the Summer Conservatory as a refresher course or as a safe place to explore new techniques and styles. It's a wonderful and intense month and a half of nonstop daily acting, and many Summer participants return for the One Year Conservatory to dive even deeper into the work.
One Year Conservatory
The One Year Conservatory at Michael Howard Studios is a challenging and intense program of daily acting classes. From September to June, actors are fully immersed in a variety of stage, film, and television training. All instructors are industry professionals with years of real-world experience to thoughtfully impart. The Conservatory is production-based, so most classes are in preparation of shows that are performed throughout the year, including an industry showcase at the end of the program attended by agents, managers, casting directors, artistic directors, and more.
Actors from all stages of professional life enroll in the One Year Conservatory. This includes those who have worked but return to focused training so they can strengthen skills and practice their craft among peers. Others are newer to the field, seeking formal structure to build their processes and develop practical techniques. Many actors enroll after completing a four-year BA or BFA Acting degree (though it's not required), leveraging the nine months in New York City as a bridge from the academic world to the professional world of acting.
Young Actor Conservatory
The Michael Howard Studios Young Actor Conservatory is a professional training program for the serious young actor. It provides an intense training experience in one of New York City's most respected and renowned professional acting studios. It is geared toward the student under 18 who wants to expand his/her acting skills in theater, film, and television, and develop as an artist in a safe, positive environment. Our Young Actor Conservatory promotes self-esteem and a "can do" attitude through our specially-designed courses, taught by an expert and nurturing faculty of artists who have extensive experience working within the professional realm of Michael Howard Studios. We are proud to offer a program that builds confidence and helps to develop the young actor into a whole person and artist.
Independent Acting Conservatories for College Credit
Would your students benefit from professional classes and networking opportunities in New York City? Through the Michael Howard Studios Independent Conservatory, students from colleges across the country have received invaluable exposure to the entertainment industry while receiving college credit and establishing Michael Howard Studios as their artistic home in New York. We are now accepting proposals of all shapes and sizes for the Michael Howard Studios Independent Conservatory.