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MC² Actors Studio [Los Angeles | New York City | London], founded by master acting teacher, director and playwright Mario A. Campanaro, is a conservatory-based and ensemble-oriented acting studio dedicated to the cultivation of The Craft Of Acting for The Professional Actor. MC² Actors Studio has been welcomed into the highly respected School & College Listings World Wide Directory as an esteemed performing arts school for professionals.

“Our studio is all about exercising the actor’s instrument. It is about going to the gym, artistically speaking. It is not about trying to ‘prove’ oneself as an actor/artist…or about playing a ‘result’ of performance…or about having the pressure to ‘perform’ for an audience while training…or about ‘getting the job’…or about being ‘perfect’…or about being addicted to adjustments to ‘get you there’. It is for you, the professional actor, as a safe space to cultivate The Craft Of Acting…to be courageous…to take risks…to get messy…to get specific… to struggle when there is struggle…and to celebrate diving into all the obstacles and blocks that may be experienced in the work equally as celebrating all the breakthroughs and successes! It is not about ‘hoping’ your work goes well and it is not about being ‘lucky’ if it does. It is all about The Craft Of Acting and how it supports the actor consistently. And within that, it is also about knowing that there is not always ‘The‘ way to get there. But there always is ‘A‘ way! And that way will resonate with you and stimulate your instrument to do honest, truthful, exciting, sophisticated, and very human unpredictable moment-to-unknown moment work in relation to the circumstances at hand. That is a craft that will never fail you. It will always have your back. It will support you in your knowing and therefore open the door to that delicious desired freedom within the unknown of the moment. That is the craft that you want to cultivate! That is the craft that you want to continue to work with!” ~Mario A. Campanaro, Founder and Master Teacher

Talent is a very precious gift that can only take the actor as far as they are willing to cultivate it, nurture it, invest in it, and put it to good use. The actor’s talent can only take them as far as the professional accountability they maintain to do something remarkable with it. There are not many professional acting jobs out there where the actor is not expected to come in well-prepared to do the work they were hired and getting paid to do. So why in the world would a professional actor ever train without the intent of those same professional demands?

The Craft Of Acting allows for the actor’s talent to be married to skill. It provides the ability to be CONSISTENT in the work. It provides the backbone of confidence for the actor to know that it will go well each and every night or each and every take. That cultivated skill makes it possible for the actor’s instrument to experience the freedom of living the character’s life as it unfolds moment to unknown moment…as opposed to their hope white knuckling onto luck that it will all go well and the magic “might” happen. That professional consistency supports the actor’s ability to truly listen through the filter of the character’s circumstantial wants and needs, to overcome circumstantial obstacles and therefore have stimulated justified circumstantial responses, reactions, instincts, impulses and spontaneity within the gap of the unknown of the moment. 

When the actor really experiences that kind of freedom in the work, the initial passion, love, and inner joy that attracted them to this glorious art-form…The Craft Of Acting…inevitably grows stronger and brighter. That is what craft does. But it is a craft. It is a skill. It is a profession. One that demands constant learning, exploration, discovery, experience, growth and evolution.

We at MC² Actors Studio believe that when an actor commits to training at our studio, they must always hold the intention of training, studying, exercising and doing the work with the same accountability, commitment, work ethic, investment, responsibility, respect, professionalism, standard, skill, consistency and demand that the professional world expects and demands. There is no point in training, studying, exercising and doing the work unless what is being learned, exercised and cultivated is applicable for the professional actor to do professional work for when professional opportunities arise.

Whether it be in-person or online, our studio sets a very high standard when it comes to our training program and what we offer all of our students. Our instructors use their powerfully effective and intuitive individual teaching style in combination with the ingenious methods of Stanislavsky, Hagen, Adler, Strasberg, Meisner, Chekhov, Freedman, Linklater, Rosenburg, and Alexander.

All MC² Actors Studio classes are structured for the professionally oriented actor. We are excited about working with diverse, professionally-minded actors that are passionate about nurturing their talent and committed to The Craft Of Acting. All ensemble members are invited to study at the studio based on a New Ensemble Member Studio Entry Enrollment Interview. The interview consists of a 10-15 minute conversation with one of our masterclass teachers to learn about the prospective ensemble member’s background, training and relationship to the work before receiving an invite into one of our ensembles and to study at the studio. There is also the opportunity during the interview process for the prospective ensemble member to ask any questions they may have about the studio, its approach to the work and the expectations as an invited ongoing MC² Actors Studio ensemble member.

All actors are placed into a specific ensemble based on their studio entry interview. Each ensemble is carefully put together based on the actor’s acting background, experience, skill, training and professional objectives. This is to be sure that each class is solidified working at a congruent level allowing for a forward momentum as the work and ensemble progress.

Once each ensemble is formed, that specific ensemble comes together each week to wholeheartedly cultivate and strengthen the craft..and all aspects of what an actor’s work demands. Actors are paired up by their specific instructor and then have to choose or are assigned a scene/exercise that excites, stimulates, and challenges his or her or their instrument. Scene work will always be from a well-written play that is age-appropriate, well-characterized, and contains a multitude of stakes and challenges within the circumstances.

Actors will receive their scene partner, assignments and/or acting exercises two weeks before their first class on that specific text. Each group is then required to do all the necessary work on their scene or exercise. That includes all of the text analysis, the breakdown of given circumstances, becoming grounded in the character’s spine/through-line/super-objective, identifying the action of the scene, formulating actable objectives, identifying obstacles, understanding intentions, viscerally endowing the stakes/relationships/objects/environment, creating environment, making strong and specific physical/vocal/psychological/emotional choices, choosing appropriate character attire and then marrying all that work with personalization, imagery, substitution, emotional recall, as if’s, all the crucial endowment work for all of the aforementioned…In other words, any and all necessary steps an actor must implement to bring any given text alive.

Actors must significantly rehearse their scene or exercise with their partner(s) before getting up into the space in order to get the most out of their time. This is to test the work the actor has done on their own and then, more importantly, trust it so as to live and experience what all that work has done for their instrument in relationship to the circumstances within the unknown of the moment with their partner(s). It is required for all scenes to be off book for the first week. Actors remain with their scene partner(s) exploring the world of each assigned play and scene for four weeks. Each ensemble’s class meets once a week and each class is four and a half to five hours long. There are always four classes in each month unless a holiday happens to fall on a given class day.

When the actor truly begins to understand the craft of acting in a visceral, practical, tangible, executable, HUMAN way…and how it mirrors the way we humans live in this beautifully complex thing we call LIFE…they can begin to experience the delicious breath of freedom it provides.

MC² Actors Studio Online Classes!

MC² Actors Studio’s specific approach to professional actor training within our online platform has gained worldwide attention, respect and enthusiasm from actors, industry professionals and the media. 

The camera never lies, and with close-ups in mind (or even a self-tape), it demands that the actor fully endow the utmost truth and authenticity within all of the givens of the text and the unknown of each and every moment. It challenges the actor to go deeper and deeper in order to honestly reveal the life of the givens through their one-of-a-kind instrument.

Our studio implements the use of green screens for all scene work so that our ensemble members continue to explore the environment in a new and exciting way while also developing this necessary skill clearly happening in our modern digital/CGI film and television mediums. 

★ Please note that MC² Actors Studio does not offer audit classes. 

★ Please also note that all MC² Actors Studio classes, including MC² Actors Studio Masterclass, may be at full capacity. We only allow for 20 actors max per ensemble. Should you be invited to study at the studio after your New Ensemble Member Studio Entry Enrollment Interview and there is not a spot presently available in one of our ensembles, you will be placed on our waitlist and contacted once a spot becomes available. 

★ Please note that you must have already been invited to study at MC² Actors Studio through our New Ensemble Member Studio Entry Enrollment Interview process before paying for class here. For information and to be scheduled for your studio entry interview, please contact our studio administration at assistant.mc2@gmail.com.