EAST Acting Studio · Fall 2026

Don't think.
Do notice.

Meisner Foundations is a 10-session introduction to listening, truthful response, and getting out of your own way.

For actors, improvisers, returning performers, and curious adults. No Meisner or previous acting experience required. For all levels. 12 students max.
Students working together in Meisner Foundations at EAST Collective
Fall cohorts are open

Choose your section.

10-session series $497 12 students max
Monday
6:00–8:00 PM
Starts September 21

Ten sessions at EAST Collective in East Nashville.

Register Monday →
Thursday
6:00–8:00 PM
Starts September 24

Ten sessions at EAST Collective in East Nashville.

Register Thursday →
Friday
12:00–2:00 PM
Starts September 25

Ten sessions at EAST Collective in East Nashville.

Register Friday →
Payment plan available: enroll for $200, then two payments of $161 at approximately weeks 5 and 9. Payment-plan total is $522, including a $25 installment surcharge.
You're listening.
Now let it affect you.

Most acting problems begin with self-consciousness.

We try to be emotional. Interesting. Funny. Convincing. We think about how we're coming across instead of paying attention to what's actually happening in front of us.

Meisner training shifts the attention somewhere else: onto the other person.

Through simple, demanding partner exercises, you'll practice listening deeply, responding instinctively, and noticing what happens inside you when something genuinely hits you.

Less performing. More responding.
What we work

The other person is the scene.

  • Repetition exercises
  • Cold reading
  • Truthful response
  • Listening and receiving
  • Emotional availability
  • Less planning. More presence.

The work is not about flattening instinct or making you less spontaneous. It is about noticing where the response actually lives before the head edits it.

Improvisers may recognize some familiar muscles: presence, spontaneity, attention to a partner, and responding instead of planning. Meisner puts a different emphasis on those instincts and stays with them longer.

All emotions welcome. No pressure to manufacture one.

From the Spring cohort

What students noticed.

“I learned a lot about how to let what’s actually happening inside me come up and affect my partner. I’m excited to apply this to my scene work!”
Izzie H. · Spring 2026 Cohort
“The Art of Listening became a weekly place for me to let go of daily distractions, get out of my own way, and reconnect with my inner humanity and the humanity of others through simple, grounded, present attention.”
Prema Cruz, MFA · Yale School of Drama · Spring 2026 Cohort
Who it's for

You don't have to arrive as an actor.

  • Actors who find themselves getting stuck in their heads.
  • Improvisers who want scripted work to feel as alive as improv.
  • Returning performers reconnecting with the craft.
  • Singers, writers, and other artists curious about acting.
  • Adults taking an acting class for the first time.
  • Anyone willing to listen, respond, and do the work with a partner.
Meisner Foundations · Fall 2026

Trust the impulse.
Notice what it does to you.

10 sessions · Monday, Thursday, or Friday · 12 students max · $497

Choose Your Section →

EAST Collective · Eastside Station · 805 Woodland St · East Nashville