LA ACTING SCHOOLS

20 schools · verified listings

Acting Classes in North Hollywood and Studio City

North Hollywood and Studio City form the Valley's training and theater hub, centered on the NoHo Arts District and running along Lankershim, Magnolia, and Ventura. Every listing is researched from official sources and dated; see our methodology.

NoHo Arts District

Actors Workout Studio

NoHo Arts District institution of 30-plus years run by Emmy-winning coach Fran Montano, teaching Meisner-based ongoing classes with two in-house theaters and a genuinely free participating audit.

MeisnerStanislavskiAudit / trial
Alan Feinstein Acting StudioStudio City

Alan Feinstein Acting Studio

Studio City scene study and trademarked True Cold Reading classes taught by Broadway and TV veteran Alan Feinstein, whose Stanley in A Streetcar Named Desire was chosen by Tennessee Williams himself.

Eclectic / multi-techniqueOn-camera technique
The BGB StudioNorth Hollywood

The BGB Studio

North Hollywood on-camera and audition studio founded in 2012 by casting director Risa Bramon Garcia and coach Steve Braun, with application-based entry, a free intro session, and flat $295 monthly ongoing classes.

Eclectic / multi-techniqueMeisner$
Studio City

Creative Combustion Acting Studio

Joshua Finkel's Studio City coaching practice and master classes: Broadway-credentialed training in musical theatre auditioning, Shakespeare, cold reading, and college prep, for all ages at published hourly rates.

Eclectic / multi-techniqueOn-camera techniqueYouth programsAudit / trial$
Studio City

Cynthia Bain's Young Actor Studio

Studio City youth specialist where former young actor Cynthia Bain teaches scene study for performers who play ages 6 to 26, with camps, on-set coaching, and a waitlist-driven enrollment.

Eclectic / multi-techniqueImprov and sketchYouth programs
Elizabeth Mestnik Acting StudioNoHo Arts District

Elizabeth Mestnik Acting Studio

NoHo Meisner studio founded in 2001 by Elizabeth Mestnik, an MFA student of William Esper, running a traditional cohort-based two-year Meisner program plus beginner courses and voice work.

Meisner$
The Heller Approach Acting StudioNoHo Arts District

The Heller Approach Acting Studio

North Hollywood studio teaching Brad Heller's non-Method technique inherited from Group Theatre member Don Richardson, with published monthly pricing, a free intro class, and students accepted from age 13.

Eclectic / multi-techniqueYouth programsAudit / trial$
North Hollywood

Innovative Actor's Studio

NoHo Arts District studio where 40-year working actor Bob Caso teaches eclectic technique with on-camera work in month-to-month classes, administered by his actor son Vince, with a free first class.

Method (Strasberg)StanislavskiAudit / trial
Keep It Real Acting StudiosNorth Hollywood

Keep It Real Acting Studios

Commercial and on-camera specialist founded by actress Judy Kain in 2012, with a four-level commercial track, youth classes, self-taping services, and unusually transparent published pricing; currently running classes virtually.

On-camera techniqueMeisnerYouth programsAudit / trial$$
Lifebook Acting AcademyStudio City, Tujunga Village

Lifebook Acting Academy

Studio City academy at the Two Roads Theatre, founded 2005 by Allen Levin, teaching a use-your-life approach in tiered classes with fully published tuition from drop-ins to annual plans.

Eclectic / multi-techniqueImprov and sketch$
Los Angeles Acting StudioToluca Lake

Los Angeles Acting Studio

Irene Muzzy's small Burbank-area studio teaching her Hybrid Meisner approach, shaped by four years with Sanford Meisner at Playhouse West, with two weekly adult classes and free participating audits.

MeisnerAdlerAudit / trial
The Markland StudioNoHo Arts District

The Markland Studio

NoHo studio of coach John Markland, who trains Jeremy Allen White, Rami Malek, and Anna Sawai, blending Method acting with Jungian dreamwork and somatics; open auditing, evening classes Monday through Wednesday.

Method (Strasberg)Eclectic / multi-techniqueAudit / trial
Studio City

Marnie Cooper School of Acting

Studio City youth acting school led by Marnie Cooper, coaching since 1989, with age-banded scene study on Zoom and in person, a Disney/Nickelodeon comedy class, and published per-class pricing.

Eclectic / multi-techniqueOn-camera techniqueYouth programs$$
Playhouse West School and Repertory TheaterNoHo Arts District

Playhouse West School and Repertory Theater

North Hollywood Meisner school and repertory theater founded in 1981, where Sanford Meisner himself taught his final LA classes; flat $255 monthly tuition, free audits, and co-founding director Jeff Goldblum.

MeisnerAudit / trial$
Valley Village

Richard Lawson Studios

Valley Village school and 'empowerment academy' founded 2005 by actor Richard Lawson, a 30-year Beverly Hills Playhouse teacher, pairing Katselas-lineage scene study with career administration, fully hybrid for remote students.

Eclectic / multi-techniqueOn-camera technique
Seydways Acting StudiosValley Village

Seydways Acting Studios

Valley Village outpost of Richard Seyd's two-city studio: his Trigger Approach and Stretch Work taught in classes capped around ten, with a professionals-only master class under Seyd and a published per-class rate for the open room.

Eclectic / multi-techniqueOn-camera techniqueAudit / trial$$
Shari Shaw StudiosStudio City

Shari Shaw Studios

Studio City studio branding itself LA's comedy audition specialist: Shari Shaw's on-camera comedy and audition classes, youth camps, and a paid consultation-then-placement intake, with a live calendar and shop pricing.

Comedy techniqueOn-camera techniqueYouth programsAudit / trial$$
Cahuenga Pass

Theatre West

LA's oldest continuously running theatre company (1962), whose weekly acting, writing, musical comedy, and Shakespeare workshops are open to members only; admission by audition, dues published.

Eclectic / multi-technique
The Young Actor's StudioNorth Hollywood

The Young Actor's Studio

North Hollywood youth acting school founded in 1996 by Jeff Alan-Lee, teaching kids, teens, and young adults with a Stanislavski-based, individualized approach; weekend classes and summer programs.

StanislavskiEclectic / multi-techniqueYouth programs
North Hollywood

Young Actors Space

The original LA young actors school, founded 1979, now in North Hollywood under director Patrick Day: age-banded classes from Tykes (5-7) through adults, half improv and half scene study, with Fall 2026 enrollment open.

MeisnerStanislavskiConservatoryYouth programs$$

What this training is

The area combines small theaters, on-camera studios, and youth programs in a relatively compact stretch, and it sits close to the Burbank and Universal production lots. Rents are lower than on the west side, which historically supported a lot of small independent studios and stages.

Who it suits

Valley residents, actors who want proximity to the studios, and families with young actors, since several of the city's established youth programs are here.

What these listings show

Counted from the verified records on this page when the site was last built, on 2026-08-15.

  • Published pricing. 11 of 20 publish enough pricing to place them in a band: $ (6), $$ (5). The other 9 do not publish rates, so you have to ask.
  • Audit or trial. 11 of these 20 offer an audit or a trial class, which is the cheapest way to judge a teacher before committing.
  • Audition required. 1 requires an audition or placement before you can enroll, so plan for a step before the first class.
  • Levels. 17 accept complete beginners and 16 run advanced work (85% and 80% of this list).
  • Online options. 16 of 20 offer an online format as well as in person.
  • Private coaching. 15 also offer one-to-one coaching alongside classes.
  • Young actors. 8 of these serve kids or teens as well as adults.
  • Techniques taught. Most commonly Eclectic / multi-technique (17), On-camera technique (9), Meisner (8).
  • How established. 12 publish a founding year, the earliest 1962 and the most recent 2012.

How to compare them

This is one of the few training areas well served by the Metro B Line, which is worth weighing if you would otherwise drive over a canyon at rush hour. Parking is generally easier than in Hollywood. Check which side of the hill your other regular commitments sit on before committing to a weekly class here.

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