Playhouse West
Address: 4250 Lankershim Blvd,
Toluca Lake, CA 91602
(818) 881-6520
Website: https://www.playhousewest.com/
Authentic Meisner Training
Playhouse West provides authentic Meisner Training. In addition to being an Acting School, they are also a Repertory Theater showing several staged productions year-round. When students make it to the Advanced level, they can start working on plays in their entirety in class with the option to put the play up. Some are published plays, while others are original works that have been workshopped in class. We very much encourage our students to exercise their creativity and skills. We also often have the honor of Scott Caan returning to Playhouse West to share his original works.
Our students have gone on to achieve success at all levels of the Industry: from Academy Award nominees, Golden Globe & Emmy Winners and nominees, to film producers and TV show creators, our students have had incredible success in film, television, and Broadway.
Whether you’re a student, an artist, an arts enthusiast, or simply enjoy a night out catching the latest production, here there is something for everyone. From published works to original works, we strive to provide outstanding performances to our audiences, and the highest training for our students.
The Playhouse West Film Festival screens films which involve their current or former members. All films must either have a Playhouse West member in a leading or primary supporting acting role, or as the director, writer or producer.
Every summer is held The annual Playhouse West film festival. A three day event at the historic El Portal Theater in North Hollywood, CA, showcasing the filmmaking and acting talents of the our students, both former and current. As a Meisner-based acting school (Sanford Meisner taught there late in his teacher career), we are the only acting school which not only inspires its acting students to take control of their careers by making their own projects, it hosts a top notch festival where they can show off their work.
The Festival is sponsored by the Playhouse West Arts Foundation, a 501(c)3 Non-Profit organization dedicated to the inspiration, education and development of motion picture and theater artists of independent vision, and to the exhibition of their work. By sponsoring programs such as the Playhouse West Film Festival, we can also educate the public about the art of filmmaking, and introduce them to the work of aspiring new film artists of the future.
The Festival is well-known as one of the most positive, filmmaker-friendly festivals in the country. Each year we hear more and more from filmmakers that our festival has been their favorite. From our well organized, run-on-time format, to our unique Q&A’s after each screening block, giving filmmakers a platform to discuss their films at length with our audience, we take great pride in making our festival a fantastic experience for filmmakers.
As an institution, Playhouse West leads the way in encouraging young filmmakers. Playhouse West members from Los Angeles, Philadelphia produce over 250 films per year, many which go one to be accepted and win awards at film festivals around the country and world.
