The Actors' Gang, founded in 1981 with Tim Robbins as founding artistic director, performs a signature ensemble approach it calls The Style, rooted in Commedia dell'Arte with influences from Theatre du Soleil, Grotowski, and Viewpoints, and its education programs teach exactly that from the historic Ivy Substation in Culver City.
Adult training runs in eight-week workshop cycles taught by company members, enrolled by email, with dates announced to the list rather than published, an artifact of ensemble culture more than secrecy, but budget a query before planning. The youth side is concrete and dated: fall Saturday classes for ages 8 to 12 at a published $600 for ten weeks, a two-week teen summer camp at $1,200 that hit its waitlist for 2026, and genuinely free after-school and in-school programs serving hundreds of LA County students. The company's separate Prison Project has brought this work into California prisons for decades.
August 2026 brought a family Shakespeare production to the season alongside the classes. For actors drawn to physical, ensemble, mask-adjacent work rather than camera craft, this is the deepest such well in the directory, attached to a company that actually stages it.
Techniques taught
- Improv and sketch: Improvisation and sketch training: agreement, spontaneity, and ensemble play.
Class types
Enrollment and schedule
No audition is required. Youth: register via official form; adult training: email training@theactorsgang.com for enrollment. Schedule: Kids Saturday classes 9:30am-12pm; teen camp weekdays 9am-3pm; adult workshops run in 8-week cycles (dates announced by email). Duration: Adult workshop: 8 weeks; summer camps: 2 weeks; Saturday classes: 10 weeks.
Published pricing
| Program | Published price | Source, as of |
|---|---|---|
| Teen Summer Camp 2026 (2 weeks, ages 13-17) | $1,200 | source 路 2026-07-16 |
| Fall Saturday Classes for Kids 2026 (10 Saturdays, ages 8-12) | $600 | source 路 2026-07-16 |
| After-school programs | Free | source 路 2026-07-16 |
Prices are the school's own published rates on the dates shown. We never estimate prices. Always confirm before enrolling.
Instructors
- Tim Robbins, Founding Artistic Director. Leads/oversees ensemble training in The Style
- Cynthia Ettinger, Teaching artist. Named on official training page
Location
Questions actors ask
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How much do classes at The Actors' Gang cost?
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Is admission to The Actors' Gang by audition?
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When was this information last verified?
Sources and verification
- Education - The Actors' Gang, accessed 2026-07-16
- Training - The Actors' Gang, accessed 2026-07-16
- The Actors' Gang class/camp registration form (official), accessed 2026-07-16
- The Actors' Gang homepage, accessed 2026-07-16
Researched 2026-07-16, last verified 2026-07-16. Facts above come only from these sources. Anything we could not confirm is simply not shown. Report incorrect information or claim this listing if you represent the school.
Nearby schools
The Actors Circle
Culver City workshop founded 2003 by Marcie Smolin teaching film and TV craft with improv as half the curriculum, in a positive-feedback-only room serving ages 5 through adults at published per-class rates.
Downtown Santa MonicaBaron Brown Studio
Meisner technique studio in downtown Santa Monica, established 1975 by Joanne Baron, teaching a traditional two-year sequence plus intensives, on-camera audition work, and master classes.
Santa MonicaKids On Stage, Inc.
Santa Monica youth musical-theatre institution since 1987, running no-audition production classes, camps, improv, and parent-and-me programs for ages roughly 3 to 18, with sessions ending in full shows.
Related by technique
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Sherman Oaks school founded 2006 teaching its own proprietary technique in a strictly no-criticism classroom, with published 2026 session dates and pricing for scene study, intensives, and improv.
NoHo Arts DistrictActors 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.