Actors Conservatory

We develop the actor with sense memory technique. Our work is based on sense memory techniques devised by Constantin Stanislavski in the Russia of the early 1900′s. Lee Strasberg further developed these techniques for theatre and film actors in 20th Century America. Elaine Aiken, a student of Lee Strasberg, founded Actors Conservatory in 1987. She and fellow actress teacher Lily Lodge set up the school to provide a safe haven for actors to fine-tune their craft. Actors Conservatory continues to train actors in the Method tradition, encouraging use of the five senses – taste, touch, smell, sound, sight – and many variations.

With sensory awareness and behavior modification, the actor becomes a human being on stage or screen, willing to pour himself in to the special eccentricities of a character. These preliminary techniques take a while to master, leading as they do to new behavior patterns. Our actors develop the use of emotion memory techniques, making choices that are innovative and surprising.