Today we’d like to introduce you to Tamra Meskimen.
Hi Tamra, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I was raised in LA and got introduced to theater at school. I did a lot of plays and realized that this was something I was very passionate about.
In 1984, I moved to New York City to get into theater. I soon joined an improv community that was unique in that it was very supportive. While in New York I performed in hundreds of improv shows and off-Broadway with a group called Split Second Theater that improvised one-act plays, did TV and radio commercials, soaps and films.
I moved back to Los Angeles in 1993. I have a goal to help other artists, and while LA has many acting schools, I felt the need to create a similar supportive community to the one I experienced back in New York. It had been so helpful to me as an artist, and I also saw how it had helped many others.
I started a new improv group, The Really Spontaneous Theater Company that improvised one-act plays to rave reviews in LA.
I then collaborated with my partners Christopher Smith and Eric Matheny to create The Acting Center in 2008, a place where actors would have an opportunity to learn the craft of acting without having to delve into the past to create emotions or be subjected to criticism of their work.
Since that time we have trained thousands of actors, from beginners to seasoned pros (even some Oscar nominees) from all over the world and helped them expand their acting careers in a supportive environment.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
We’ve had a pretty smooth road under the circumstances. We’ve never lacked for students interested in upping their game in a friendly atmosphere.
Our main struggle in the beginning was establishing a complete curriculum that would give an actor all the practical tools they would need to master the various demands of acting; preparing characters and roles, emotions, memorizing lines, etc., all without using the traditional teacher/guru structure.
We wanted to do that because that traditional approach is not supportive as it relies on criticism and evaluation of the student, which we believe is harmful and unnecessary in teaching acting. We factually spent two years developing and refining our curriculum before we ever even opened our doors. And then we had to find doors to open!
We needed an aesthetic, affordable space to teach classes in Los Angeles, which was challenging. Our first studio was an office space in Sherman Oaks over a 7-Eleven! We eventually moved to Hollywood for a number of years and then back to Sherman Oaks, where we currently have a beautiful, renovated and spacious acting studio.
Covid, of course was a major obstacle to our in-person classes. We had to shut our doors. However, while everything was shut down we went into action to develop ways to teach our curriculum online… We started with free classes for our current students over Zoom, and then when we were ready to launch our online curriculum fully, it gave us the opportunity to actually expand and reach people all over the world. All during the pandemic, we were able to keep teaching!
We now have our in-person classes back up and running, as well as Zoom classes, and many people who started online with us have now joined us at the studio.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about The Acting Center?
What we offer is unique. Students work during the entire class. They are practicing the skills of acting and aren’t just sitting around waiting to perform. It’s unlike any other acting training I’ve ever seen, and it works. The results are evident in the successes of our students; the jobs booked and the confidence they have at auditions and on set.
Among the services we offer besides scene study classes are improv, special intensives for auditioning, commercials and our famous Breakthrough Intensive, which jumpstarts creativity.
We also provide private coaching and career coaching, as well as showcases for our students so they get practice working out in front of an audience.
What matters most to you?
I feel artists are so important to society. Artists create so much of our world. Everywhere you look there is something that was thought of or created by an artist. They create all our entertainment! I think that they deserve the utmost respect and help in their endeavors. That is why I have dedicated so much of my life to helping artists with The Acting Center.
Contact Info:
- Website: theactingcenterla.com
- Instagram: @theactingcenter
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/theactingcenter
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/theactingcenter
- Youtube: youtube.com/@theactingcenterlosangeles
- Yelp: https://s.yelp.com/nb9lcVCvXt
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@theactingcenter
Image Credits
Tandam Photo
