meta class

META CLASS FAQ

+ Who is the Meta Class for?

HOW TO WORK WITH ACTORS is for all kinds of artists, educators, consultants, and facilitators who work with actors and who want to get amazingly good at doing that.

This includes film/television/theater directors, teachers and acting coaches in professional and/or academic settings and those in private practice, specialists in scene study/acting technique, classical and contemporary styles, auditioning, camera technique, cold reading, voiceover work, voice, speech, dialects, singing, movement, dance, ensemble work, experimental/environmental/site-specific/audience-interactive work, video game and virtual reality production, mask/puppet technique, comedy, and improvisation… all the things!

It also includes performance artists, screenwriters, playwrights, stage managers, agents, managers, casting directors, intimacy coordinators, fight directors, and choreographers at every level of the industry, as well as educational theater/TIE professionals, drama therapists, and life/career coaches. And actors. If you want rich understanding, athletic ease, great headspace, incredible enthusiasm, and consistently spectacular results from the acting artists in your world, HOW TO WORK WITH ACTORS is for YOU.

+ What's the Meta Class like? How is it structured?

HOW TO WORK WITH ACTORS is available four times this year as an in-person Weekend Intensive and six times this year as a 4-Week Course via Zoom on Wednesday afternoons. Every Meta Class is its own unique experience—sign up for as many sessions as you like. All in-person Meta Class sessions are in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.

Each in-person Weekend Intensive is 10:00 am to 5:00 pm ET on Saturday and Sunday with a break from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm. Each virtual Wednesday Course is 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm on four consecutive Wednesdays.

When you register, we’ll ask you to tell us a little bit about your experience and interest in working with actors and your specific goals. If you have a Working Slot, we’ll use that information to pair you with one (or two, or more) of our brilliant Studio Actors. We’ll prepare them for working with you, you’ll meet them in class on the day, and they’ll have a range of material/exercises/acting tasks/actor training scenarios for you to choose from in the moment.

We work in classic master class format with a Meta Twist: Working Slot Participants take turns directing/coaching/teaching/advising our Studio Actors in front of the class in real time. We all work together on whatever they need to work on, while the rest of the class actively observes. Each Working Slot is a case study: as we do in the Master Class, we organize around diagnostics, carefully examining every part of the collaborative process, highlighting key working principles, considerations, and best practices for everyone along the way.

+ Will the Meta Class work with my distinctive teaching/coaching/directing style and goals?

Yes it will. The Meta Class is designed to meet you where you are, and adapt to your unique experience, needs, and circumstances. We custom-tailor the approach in each moment to suit your own distinctive style and support your specific goals and creative voice. Your style and approach will definitely evolve; you’ll definitely grow in the craft and discover new paradigms and new ways of doing things, but the Meta Class is here to lift YOUR creative work with actors to its highest potential.

+ How many attendees are in the Meta Class?

In each Weekend Intensive and in each 4-week Wednesday Course, we have a maximum of twelve spaces for participants, and six spaces for artists/directors/coaches/educators who would like a Working Slot as well. This is a custom-tailored ‘hands-on’ individual coaching/teaching/directing experience working in front of the class directly in real time with Ken and our amazing Studio Actors. *Please note: Meta Class Working Slots go fast—register early if you’d like one!*

+ Can I audit the Meta Class?

To ensure a safe, concentrated working environment, we only allow registered participants in Meta Class sessions. But we do have specially scheduled Open Houses for our Master Class, where you can see our approach in action! These are FREE, and they are great opportunities to observe the work. Join Us at Our Next Open House. If you are unable to attend an Open House, but would like to get a sense of what it’s like to work with Ken, another great opportunity is a FREE First Coaching Session. Schedule your Free First Coaching Session here.

+ Do I have to audition or interview to take the Meta Class?

If you’re already working with us, you can sign up for any of the Meta Class sessions anytime. If you’re new to the Studio, click here to schedule a virtual interview with Ken. The interview is a chance for us to meet briefly, talk about your specific goals and how the class works, and determine if you and the Meta Class would be a good fit for each other.

+ What's the difference between a participant and a participant with a working slot? Can I upgrade to a working slot later?

All participants in the Meta Class engage in active observation and discussion of the Meta Work. Participants who opt for a Working Slot also receive an in-class custom-tailored ‘hands-on’ individual coaching/teaching/directing experience working in front of the class directly in real time with Ken and our Studio Actors. There are only a small number of Working Slots available per Meta Class, and they do go fast, so it's a good idea to register early if you’d like one. We do keep a waiting list for Working Slots—if one becomes available after you’ve registered, you can choose to upgrade for the difference in price.

+ Can I take more than one Meta Class session?

Yes! HOW TO WORK WITH ACTORS is available as a single Weekend Intensive, a single 4-Week Course, AND in packages of two and four sessions. Like our ongoing Master Class for Actors, every Meta session is a unique experience that stands on its own AND connects with other Meta sessions and the larger arc of your creative career. You’ll gain powerful and practical tools, vocabulary, working principles, and skills from just one Weekend Intensive or 4-Week Course, and you’ll gain more with every additional in-person or virtual Meta Class session you take.

+ If I have a working slot, do I need to prepare anything?

Nope! Whatever knowledge and experience you already have is all you’ll need for the Meta Class Working Slot. When you register, we’ll ask you to tell us a little bit about your experience and interest in working with actors and your specific goals. We’ll use that information to pair you with one (or two, or more) of our brilliant Studio Actors. We’ll prepare them for working with you, you’ll meet them in class on the day, they’ll have a range of material/exercises/acting tasks/actor training scenarios for you to choose from in the moment, and we’ll begin!

+ Who are the Studio actors?

Glad you asked! Our Studio Actors are volunteers from our Ken Studio Master Class and Ken’s private coaching practice; they are each specifically chosen and prepped to work with you. Every one is a keen artist athlete with marvelous creative capability, an extraordinarily rich and nuanced technique vocabulary, lots of experience with many different kinds of actor training situations, and a sense of humor. They’re excited to work with you!