The Neighborhood ϳԹ
Our History
The Neighborhood ϳԹ School of the Theatre is a full-time acting conservatory in the heart of New York City and the home of the Meisner Technique.
About
The Neighborhood ϳԹ School of the Theatre is a full-time acting conservatory located in the heart of New York City. Our approach focuses on the artistic growth of the actor through technical training in acting, movement, speech, and voice. The Neighborhood ϳԹ offers the serious acting student what few other acting schools can provide – a rich tradition of excellence in actor training coupled with the practical skills for building a career.
The Neighborhood ϳԹ remains the only conservatory where the faculty was trained to teach acting by Sanford Meisner himself. Given the passion and skill of our instructors, it’s no surprise The Cambridge Guide to Theatre (Cambridge University Press) described The Neighborhood ϳԹ School of the Theatre as the most respected acting school in the country and first among all professional training programs.
The Neighborhood ϳԹ School of the Theatre is a non-profit, tax-exempt school of training for actors, accredited by the National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST).
“Perhaps the best way to define the impulse that found expression way back in the early efforts [of the Neighborhood ϳԹ]… was theatre as idea rather than theatre as institution. An idea must be free, free to take on such form as cycles demand, free to speak through an individual, free to follow the dynamic dictates of its necessary limitations of a definite form – a more or less static outline within which individuals move, create, assemble, formulate.”
~Irene Lewisohn, 1930
Our History
The Lewisohn Sisters & The Neighborhood ϳԹ Theatre
The Neighborhood ϳԹ School of the Theatre traces its origins to The Neighborhood ϳԹ Theatre, which, in turn, was rooted in The Henry Street Settlement. The theatre's founding sisters, Alice and Irene Lewisohn, were introduced to Lillian Wald and her work at Henry Street by their father in 1900 and were immediately captivated. Over the next decade, they collaborated with Henry Street, developing dance, theatre, and festival programs that engaged the Lower East Side community. Their passion for the performing arts led them to acquire land at 466 Grand Street, where they built The Neighborhood ϳԹ Theatre. On February 12, 1915, the theatre opened its doors for its first performance. Today, the theatre continues to operate as the flagship of the Abrons Arts Center.
From the theatre grew a desire to focus on training and, in 1928, The Neighborhood ϳԹ School of the Theatre opened its doors. The Lewisohns entrusted the direction of the school to Rita Wallach Morgenthau, a long time board member and advisor to their theatre. The first class, comprised of only nine students, had the privilege of being taught by theatre luminaries Agnes DeMille, Louis Horst, Laura Elliott, and Martha Graham.
Martha Graham
Martha Graham was one of the foremost pioneers of modern dance and is widely considered one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. She began working at the Neighborhood ϳԹ in 1921 and joined the faculty upon the school’s inception. Today, her tradition is carried on with modern dance classes for both first- and second-year students.
Sanford Meisner
In 1935, Sanford Meisner, one of the founding members of The Group Theatre (along with Stella Adler, Bobby Lewis, Harold Clurman, and Lee Strasberg), joined the faculty of The Neighborhood ϳԹ. Over the years, he developed and refined what is now known as the Meisner Technique, a step-by-step procedure of self-investigation for the actor now globally recognized and among the foremost of modern acting techniques.
Meisner believed that the study of the actor’s craft was rooted in acquiring a solid organic acting technique. It was a cornerstone of his teaching that this learning process occur not in a theoretical, abstract manner, but in the practical give and take of the classroom, where as he once said, “the students struggled to learn what I struggled to teach.” Through that struggle the gifted student, over time gradually begins to emerge solidly in his or her work.
In 1965 Broadway giant Robert Whitehead, who, over a 50-year career produced landmark productions of everything from Arthur Miller to Euripides to Terrence McNally, and who received a 2002 Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement, became the President of the Board of Directors.
Sanford Meisner retired in 1990 and served as Director Emeritus of the Acting Department until his death in 1997. Today his legacy lives on in the continuation of his training, being taught to incoming students each year in The Neighborhood ϳԹ’s Two Year Program.
On October 18, 2018, The New York City Council honored The Neighborhood ϳԹ School of the Theatre and Sanford Meisner with a Proclamation in recognition of The Neighborhood ϳԹ’s 90 years of outstanding work and the profound contributions of Sanford Meisner. The Neighborhood ϳԹ also remains the only conservatory where the acting faculty has been trained by Mr. Sanford Meisner.
Our Community
US Veterans
At The Neighborhood ϳԹ soldiers, sailors, airmen, guardians and marines seeking professional actor training have excelled and played a vital role in establishing and maintaining our legacy of excellence. We have had the honor of many US veterans attending over the years under the GI Bill® and presently under the Post 9/11 GI Bill®. Many US Veteran graduates have become outstanding members of the entertainment community and some have become Hollywood stars and cinematic icons such as Robert Duvall, Steve McQueen, Albert Paulsen, Gerard O’Laughlin, and Tucker Smallwood to name a few.
Diversity & Inclusion
The Neighborhood ϳԹ School of the Theatre is committed to cultivating a culture of diversity and inclusion within our organization, and for the community that it serves. The Neighborhood ϳԹ School of the Theatre strives to promote diversity and inclusion by upholding an environment where all individuals are appreciated and respected.
“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction whatsoever at any time. There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.”
~Martha Graham, in a letter to Agnes DeMille
Important Facts & Dates in ϳԹ History
“We at The Neighborhood ϳԹ School of the Theatre believe that training in the voice and body movement are important tools for the actor as the means of conveying the most important element of our courses in dramatics – the ability to see into, understand and breathe life into a stage character. The thing about acting that moves audiences is the emphatic sense of the reality of the human being who is being portrayed.”
~Sanford Meisner
Location
340 East 54th Street
New York, NY 10022
Learn More About The ϳԹ
Contact Admissions to learn more about The Neighborhood ϳԹ School of the Theatre and its professional actor training programs.