16th Street Actors Studio

I found this acting school very, very professional. My first experience with this school from the time I emailed my interest to participate in one of the workshops to the completion of the workshop, is nothing but very pleased and satisfied. This school should win awards for efficiency. customer service and professionalism and the quality of the teachers. I recommend this school to everyone. I compare this school to others where it will take days to get an answer via email.
5 9 years ago (22-06-2016)

As a student at the school I've never felt more desire and motivation to work hard and participate in class. Every teacher has a tremendous amount of experience and are more than willing to help out on any issues a student might be having with their work. Also the special guest teachers that the school brings to Melbourne from around the world is incredible and is worth every minute of time you spend in their classes participating or auditing. This is without a doubt one of the premier acting schools in Australia.
5 11 years ago (03-12-2013)

The teaching is world class and the faculty are open and supportive. I have been studying weekly with Kerry Armstrong and the growth I have seen in my own work and in my classmates is incredible. Love love love.
5 9 years ago (28-09-2015)

As a graduate of the Part Time Program, i spent the last 18th months practically living within the walls of this school, never has a school been so warm, welcoming, safe and engaging, both the full and part time programs are something i'd highly recommend to anyone wanting to pursue acting in their life. The term classes are fantastic, and a great opportunity for people to introduce themselves into the acting world in a safe and open environment, not once throughout my entire journey there as a student did i feel unwelcome or unsafe, and since graduating i frequent the school weekly for classes and other professional artistic reasons, it has become a hub for not only myself but many others to continue to help better themselves and push the limits of what they can do. I have been fortunate enough to both participate and audit masterclasses and i have each and every experience profound and highly engaging leaving me inspired and wanting to do more each and every time. I have never had any issues with the studio and cannot speak highly enough of it, it is in my opinion, the best actors studio and program in country and that is a statement i defend with honour.
5 11 years ago (04-12-2013)

This school has a reputation to be premier, and the number of students who fanatically praise its programs and teachers is out there and obvious. Hence why I thought I should leave this review as a warning to other actors contemplating attending classes here. I would advise any actor to be cautious of schools like this, as they are not certified for a reason. The school is known for pushing personal boundaries for the sake of the, 'craft' and semi qualified teachers turn into unqualified therapists. There are other schools out there which will teach the acting craft similar to that in Los Angeles/New York (Strasberg, Hagen, Meisner, Adler) this is NOT the only school. Sharing your personal issues to a group of wannabe actors does not make you a better actor, or 'courageous,' as they train their students to believe. They are not qualified to deal with the depths of personal trauma, or have a right to probe, judge or advise. Many of the teachers, possibly unconsciously, display an obvious favouritism with students and will show an obvious impatience with others. Coupled with their failure to separate the boundary between mentoring students on their acting craft/technique and mentoring students on their 'emotional blockages' and 'life,' it spells disaster for any vulnerable young actor who believe they are at a premier school. Class sizes are quite large, and for the money you pay, you only get to work one-on-one with the teacher 20-30 minutes a week (technique class) or one hour every 3 weeks (scene study.) They justify it by saying you 'learn more by watching.' But it's still very expensive, when you realise how much time you get with the teacher to work on your craft individually. When you decide you want to drop out of their programs because you realise how irresponsible the teaching is, and how egotistical it really is , they'll come knocking on your door demanding payment for the full course. They will fly in top-notch, famous acting coaches in from the US, and charge struggling actors a foot and a leg under the guise that the inspiration offered by these coaches is priceless. If you try to speak to them about your observations of unethical teachings... they'll put it back on you as if it's your personal issue with authority. Sound cultish? It still gets an 'It's Okay' rating from me because, despite all of the above, the teachers are passionate about passing on the craft as taught by the greats and do aim for a high standard of acting not seen in Australia. Possibly as it's still a new school, they're naive about their teaching methods and don't realise the danger of coming across as therapists, or realise the importance of the student-teacher relationship. If you're an already established actor, with enough belief in your own craft and self to not be swayed by nonsense and take the 30% of gold from teachers, have enough money, then the school is okay for drop in classes to tune up your instrument. But again, there's more valuable options out there.
3 11 years ago (24-07-2014)