Tony Barr's Film Actors Workshop may be the oldest continuously operating on-camera acting program in Los Angeles. Barr, a CBS Entertainment vice president who oversaw Dallas and Lou Grant, founded it in 1960 and literally wrote the book on screen acting: Acting for the Camera remains a standard text. He pioneered video-based actor training in 1970, and when he retired in 1994 he handed the workshop to instructor Eric Stephan Kline, who has run it in Santa Monica since.
The format is distinctive: a two-week cycle in which week one is a private cold-read session over Zoom and week two is a three-hour in-studio session rehearsing, shooting, and reviewing feature-film scenes on a professional two-camera 4K setup. Classes cap at fourteen so every actor works every session. Published tuition is $85 per cycle, which on a per-hour basis is close to the cheapest professional on-camera training in this directory. Free parking, too.
Kline teaches alone, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. The site carries some stale legacy pages with old addresses and pricing, so trust the homepage or call, a small caveat on an otherwise remarkable value.
Techniques taught
- On-camera technique: Camera-specific craft: frame awareness, stillness, commercial and film/TV set behavior.
Class types
Enrollment and schedule
Contact by phone/email to join; no published audition/audit policy. Schedule: Tue 7-10pm and Wed 7-11pm; 2-week cycle (private Zoom cold read week 1, in-studio shoot/critique week 2). Duration: Ongoing, enroll by 2-week cycle; no long-term commitment.
Published pricing
| Program | Published price | Source, as of |
|---|---|---|
| Class tuition (per 2-week cycle) | $85 | 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
- Eric Stephan Kline, Owner/Teacher. Took over from Tony Barr on his 1994 retirement; M.A. Television Production; visiting drama lecturer at UC Irvine
Practical notes
Parking: Free parking at studio (per official site)
Location
Questions actors ask
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Does Tony Barr's Film Actors Workshop teach children or teenagers?
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When was this information last verified?
Sources and verification
- Tony Barr's Film Actors Workshop - Home, accessed 2026-07-16
- FAW Contact, accessed 2026-07-16
- Yelp - Tony Barr's Film Actors Workshop (corroboration only), 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.
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