8 WEEK ON CAMERA INTENSIVE SESSIONS

PRIVATE LESSONS

For those who want more individual focus in addition to the group acting classes or to dig deeper into their training with one-on-one sessions when there are fewer school extra-curricular activities, these lessons will be individually tailored for each student.  Lessons will be scheduled at standard times to ease teacher and student schedules.  If there are students who are focusing on similar skills, we are open to discussing a small group of two or three students.  Discounted rate available only to students currently enrolled in Sunday or Wednesday classes and adult students.

Private lessons will be scheduled by session.  

Weekly one-hour sessions (10 Lessons during winter session)  $600 per session – SIGN UP FOR WEEKLY PRIVATE LESSONS (one session)

Bi-weekly one-hour sessions (5 Lessons during winter) $375 – SIGN UP FOR BI-WEEKLY PRIVATE LESSONS (one session per sign up)

SAVE THE DATE – SUMMER FILM PROGRAM

Pre-IFP Short Film Program – expanding to two weeks this year!

Week One: Monday-Saturday, July 15 – 20 (Saturday, July 20 is a rain date), 10 am-6 pm

Week Two: Monday-Saturday, July 22-27 (Saturday, July 27 is a rain date), 10 am-6 pm

This unique program brings students of all ages together to produce a series of professional short films (2-5 minutes). Guided by a professional crew, our college and high school directors will bring their own scripts or the scripts of our middle school writers to life, starring our elementary and middle actors (high school actors may participate in week one). Everyone involved will have professional short films to keep forever (and for use for college applications or professional reels).  See below for more information. 

Independent Feature Film Program

July 29-August 11 (all dates mandatory – August 11 is a rain date)

The Independent Feature Program is for students committed to pursuing or already pursuing a career in the entertainment industry. IFP allows a limited number of high school writers, actors, designers, and technical crew members to work alongside a small crew of working professionals to create a feature film. Throughout the summer, participants will be required to participate in every aspect of filmmaking, from writing to pre-production to post-production experiences, with the core experience being the filming of the film conceived and written by the participants alongside professional writers, directors, and crew. 

ABOUT THE SUMMER PROFESSIONAL FILM TRAINING PROGRAMS

Our summer film program is an in-depth and rigorous training program that allows students to learn about every aspect of filmmaking in front of and behind the camera! It is also a tremendous amount of fun as we bring all our students of all ages together to create films that will last forever! Students can participate in the short film program(for one week or two weeks), the feature film program (two weeks), or both (with a discount, of course.).

Because our students participate in every aspect of production, from writing the scripts to post-production, they are building their skills and their resumes. All of our films are shot on professional cinema RED Komodo cameras – the same cameras that studio and professional feature films are shot on. We use multiple professional cinema cameras (RED, Canon, and Blackmagic), a professional grip kit, and additional equipment for our feature film, including a jib, dolly, and gimbal. Last summer, most scenes were shot with a five-camera setup.

Students can learn and use all of this equipment – something that is not provided even in some of the top university undergraduate film programs.

New this year: 

When not filming, all students will be scheduled for workshops with our fifteen-person professional crew members.  Our on-set teacher will coordinate with the students to facilitate this teaching. Workshops will include cinematography, editing, and equipment skills training.

Our new paid internship program for college students will expand the community of artists and give our high school students a chance to work with future peers from top film schools. 

We have produced 27 short films and four feature films in the last four years. Our films have received over sixty film festival selections or honors.  Our industry resources have allowed our high school students to serve as production assistants on professional films after participating in the summer film program.

Our films have been recognized by film festivals including – All American High School Film Festival, Blackbird Film Festival, Woodstock Film Festival, Boston International Kids Film Festival, Ridgefield Independent Film Festival, Amsterdam International Film Festival , The Hollywood First-Time Filmmaker Showcase, Sarasota Film Festival, Atlanta Children’s Film Festival, KIDS International Family Film Festival, San Diego International Kid’s Film Festival, Newcastle International Short Film Festival, Brooklyn International Short Awards, New York International Film Awards, Hollywood Independent Filmmaker Awards & Festival, Santa Cruz Independent Film Fest, New York Independent Cinema Awards, Highland Square Film Festival, LA Indies, Independent Shorts Awards, Dallas Movie Awards Festival, Brooklyn International Short Awards, Dallas Shorts, Niagara Falls International Short Festival, Miami short Film Festival, Vegas Shorts, Indie Short Fest, Screen Test Student Fest, and New York Arthouse Film Festival.

Our high school writers and directors in our short film programs have used the films as part of their college applications and have been accepted to programs at top film schools such as NYU, UNC-School of the Arts, Emerson, Depaul, Columbia College, UT Austin, SCAD and Ithaca. Our actors have used the footage for professional reels and college applications and have been accepted to top acting and film programs at universities such as New York University, University of Southern California, Emerson, Chapman, Loyola Marymount, UT Austin, PACE, Ithaca, DePaul, Berkeley, North Carolina School of the Arts and UCLA.

We are one of the few programs in the country offering an in-depth immersion in feature filmmaking (in fact, we haven’t found any others that use our model).  The program has drawn participants from New York, Connecticut, California, and Pennsylvania.  We look forward to expanding this opportunity for professional training to an even broader geographic range.

PROFESSIONAL COACHING

Private Coaching for Professional Auditions

$125 per hour including self-taping and editing of tape.

Most agents and managers recommend professional coaching for auditions.  Currently all TV and film projects start with a self-tape or are cast from tape.

Dialect Coaching

$100 per hour.

Sam Lilja is a Juilliard trained dialects coach and actor.  His most recent project was Greta Gerwig’s Little Women starring Emma Watson, Saoirse Rohan (Oscar nomination) and Timothée Chalamet. Past coaching credits include the films Humor Me, Let the Dogs Go Home, and The Sunlit Night, television shows New Amsterdam, Elementary, Blindspot, and Madam Secretary as well as many New York Stage Productions. As an actor Sam has worked in TV and Film as well as on Broadway, off-Broadway, and on regional stages.  Listen to Sam’s recent interview with NPR about his work on Little Women

Private Coaching for Advanced Skills

$100 per hour

Do you want to dig deeper into your emotional life as an actor; prepare to look for professional representation; get ahead on selecting your college audition material; or just work on a specific skill you may want to develop? Private coaching is tailored to each student’s request.

Individual and group coaching can be scheduled by contacting The Acting Gym.

ACADEMIC COACHING

 College Pre-screens and Auditions

$375 

To be scheduled with individual student

For those who are preparing for college auditions, we provide coaching and consultation throughout the process. We want to make sure each student is fully prepared for their auditions. Because this year most students will be auditioning virtually, our college prep package has been expanded and now includes – selection of up to three monologues and three hours of one-on-one coaching (virtually or outdoors and in-person, socially distanced); filming/editing of three monologues within the coaching period; an hour of interview coaching and consultation on room prep for virtual interviews.  Prior to actual auditions we include up to five separate 15-minute Zoom prep refreshers. 

Additionally, we can consult, film, and edit personal statements required by many programs. 

We also offer consultation on applications for those applying to film and theatre programs with a focus other than acting. 

Specialized consulting or additional coaching beyond three hours is $75/hour.

Sign up for College Audition Prep and Training

Summer Academic Program Auditions

$150. 

Additional coaching is $75 per hour.

Summer programs at colleges and universities offer students excellent opportunities to study new skills, make new friends, and enhance future college applications.  We offer consultation on programs., a selection of up to two monologues, and one hour of coaching.