Michelle Danner Los Angeles Acting School

Santa Monica, United States

4.3

Open now

20 reviews

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Telephone:
+1 310-392-0815
Website:
michelledanner.com
Address:
2437 Main St, Santa Monica, CA, 90405
Santa Monica
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
0.8 miDowntown Santa Monica
1.4 mi17th Street/Santa Monica College
1.9 mi26th Street/Bergamot
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Good for Kids
Yes

Today

Today 11:00 am – 7:00 pm
Open now
Local time (Santa Monica) 11:40 AM Friday, November 29, 2024

Business hours

Monday 11:00 am – 7:00 pm
Tuesday 11:00 am – 7:00 pm
Wednesday 11:00 am – 7:00 pm
Thursday 11:00 am – 7:00 pm
Friday 11:00 am – 7:00 pm
Saturday –
Sunday –

Description

Specialties

Michelle is a top acting coach in Los Angeles. Her acting school offers acting classes for students at any stage of their career, searching to develop their skills with one of the most experienced coaches in the region.

This Los Angeles Acting School’s philosophy is that artists can draw upon all different acting techniques and form a toolbox of their own, their very own Golden Box. Our actors develop a comprehensive set of «acting tools» when approaching a role or a scene whether it be for film, television or theater.

Michelle’s Acting School specializes in the techniques of Meisner, Strasberg, Adler, Hagen, Chekhov & the Stanislavsky Technique.

Michelle Danner’s acting school also offers beginning acting classes, professional level Scene Study and various workshops:

*Audition for Film & Television: On-​Camera Cold Reading

*Scene Study, Beginning/​Intermediate/​Advanced

*Improv Workout

*Script analysis

*Casting Director Workshop

*Voice intensives Level 1 & Level 2

*Breaking into Hollywood!

She is a renowned acting coach and works with many A-​List actors privately, as well as on set. These include: Chris Rock, Gerard Butler, Seth MacFarlane, Melanie Brown, Jamie Lynn Sigler, Penelope Cruz, Verne Troyer, James Franco, Marcia Cross, Christian Slater, Catherine Bell, Zooey Deschanel, Gabrielle Union, and many others.

History

Established in 2000.

Our drama school in Los Angeles was founded in 2000 by acclaimed acting coach Michelle Danner.

Acting in Los Angeles is more than acting techniques or simply taking acting classes. It’s finding out what you really want more than life and breath itself, and finding an acting school that treats it like more than a business but creation fueled by insight and wonder.

This Los Angeles Acting School’s philosophy is that artists can draw upon all different acting techniques and form a toolbox of their own, their very own Golden Box. Our actors develop a comprehensive set of acting tools when approaching a role or a scene whether it be for film, television or theater. our acting school in California is located in Santa Monica and we offer acting classes for beginner, intermediate and advanced actors.

Meet the Manager

Michelle Danner M.

Manager

She is a renowned actor, director and award-​winning acting coach. Her studio encompasses the following acting techniques: Meisner, Strasberg, Adler, Hagen, Chekhov, & the Stanislavsky Technique.

Michelle Danner works with many A-​List Actors privately and on set including Chris Rock, Gerard Butler, Seth MacFarlane, Penelope Cruz, Henry Cavill, Salma Hayek, Brian McKnight, Chris Martin, James Franco, Grant Bowler, Michael Pena, Isla Fisher, Common, Melanie Brown, Jamie Lynn Sigler, Christian Slater, Catherine Bell, Zooey Deschanel, Gabrielle Union, Justine Wadell, Rick Fox, and Michelle Rodriguez among many others. She has trained with Stella Adler, Uta Hagen and has been the managing director of the Larry Moss Studio now The Acting Studio at Edgemar for the last nineteen years. She teaches classes at The Michelle Danner Acting Studio www​.michelledan​ner​.com and teaches internationally in Toronto, Vancouver, Dubai, Sydney, Paris, South Africa, and New York the Golden Box and au

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20 reviews of Michelle Danner Los Angeles Acting School

No registration required
Place rating: 5
Sparks, NV
I really wanted a Meisner program so i came to an informational session 6 months ago to meet with michelle danner and i was happy to find out that her acting school and her teaching is based
on the Meisner Technique, Stella Adler, Stanislavski’s System, Uta Hagen, Lee Strasberg’s Method, and the Chekhov technique. Michelle Danner’s philosophy is to draw upon all different acting techniques so that we as actors can form our very own toolbox of our own that she calls the Golden Box. i signed up for the beginner well rounded acting training intensive and loving every minute of it. the school is very well connected to the industry and they have showcases for agents managers and industry. there are lots of networking industry events at the school. i have only been here for 5 months and have already participated in the comedy showcase and was invited to the red carpet premier of michelle danner’s latest movie, and i am currently shooting the web series the school produces. This week i received my film festival badge in order to attend cinema at the edge the yearly film festival the school produces. what i am striving for is to be ready to be accepted into the showcase that they perform every friday and saturday night.
Place rating: 5
Chicago, IL
The Golden Box with Michelle Danner is a class every actor/​actress should take. During this class you find out what your emotional triggers are, why some choices are more powerful than others.
The golden box does not only benefit actors but writers/​directors/​producers as well. You learn how to create characters that are layered and more in depth. I recommend the ”Golden Box” to every artist who wants to polish their craft. After taking the class I felt more in touch with my inner self. I could pull or imagine different scenarios in my life. Michelle challenges you to pull deep from within as well as the imagination.
Place rating: 5
Los Angeles, CA
Fantastic and great acting technique class for any actor wanting to go deeply into character analysis and learning to use their emotion at will!
Despite the fact that i am an advanced actor I loved the golden box acting technique with Michelle Danner, it was extremely useful. Michelle Danner will give you: a tool box every actor needs with dozens of exercises, hundreds of useful tips, great friendly and conversational atmosphere and thousands of smart words and thoughts. this acting technique class was well worth my time.
She is a respected top acting coach and you can see why after taking this 2 day intensive.
Michelle showed the actors in the class so many advanced and special ways of working on developing characters, and learning to go deeper emotionally and on finding literally ANY emotion to be used in developing in dept multi layered characters.
Both days passed so fast, that it was sad when it ended.
Place rating: 5
Los Angeles, CA
I am currently taking both the scene study and on camera audition class acting coach Michelle Danner.
Scene study with Michelle Danner is essential to understanding the fundamentals of what an actor must know in every scene, whether it be on stage or on camera. Students are paired together and given material to work on. Each week every pair of students will present their work in front of the class. They will gain an understanding of every aspect of a scene, including the wants and needs of their character, the relationship to your scene partner’s character, the moment before/​after, the arc of the scene, the triggers for your character, and so much more. There is no single class more valuable or necessary than scene study, it is the foundation for bringing the words on the page to life!
The on camera audition class is the most effective way for actors to see exactly what works and perhaps more importantly, what does not work for them in front of the camera. Students are placed in a mock audition simulation and given material from popular films and television series. They are given limited time before the first taped audition in order to sharpen their cold read skills. After each student’s audition has been taped, the recordings are watched and critiqued by the teacher and the other students. After the actors receive their notes and direction, they are given more ample time to work on the material and make adjustments. Above all else, watching your own read on screen amongst peers is the most valuable aspect of this class. This is the most essential and informative class to any and every actor wanting to pursue on camera work.
By Randy Blekitas
Place rating: 5
Los Angeles, CA
Michelle is a GREAT teacher. She works very closely with each student giving personal attention to everyone in class. She is VERY professional and knowledgeable in acting. I’ve been in her classes for the past two months and I have seen AMAZING progress in my acting and others as well. In addition, her school attracts students from ALL OVER THE GLOBE. Looking forward to more classes and new challenges.
Place rating: 5
Santa Monica, CA
the acting class I like most at the Michelle Danner Los Angeles
performing arts school is scene study. She has 2 beautiful theaters in santa monica, in which all the classes are held. as an acting coach she is very encouraging and she helps you push past your limits so that you can grow as an actor. Her acting class is demanding, and she requires a lot of discipline and dedication, which I love to see as an actor. Every class is prepared and planned, so that you have the opportunity to showcase and work on your abilities every class in a different way. Besides your own chosen monologues and material, she also gives you extra material to work on during the week like dialogues with partners or working on exercises. from the Meisner Technique, Lee Strasberg’s Method, Stella Adler, and the Chekhov technique.
Place rating: 4
Los Angeles, CA
For years, I have been jumping around from acting class to acting class but never felt like I was getting what I needed to book the job. I learned all sorts of techniques but nothing seemed to stick until I took michelle danner’s film technique. after the very first month i was able to use her techniques she teaches in her on camera audition class to make my auditions pop & come to life which is probably why my booking ratio has increased. For the first time, breaking down a script is actually an enjoyable process that makes sense. her technique has allowed me to feel confident in the audition room because for the first time I feel like I know what I’m doing. And the proof is in the pudding because I’m getting great feedback !
Place rating: 4
Santa Monica, CA
I came to meet with Michelle Danner at her informational session on Wednesday because of her reputation and because she has worked with a slew of other actors i highly admire. I was placed on a wait list for her Auditioning for film and television on camera which i thought would be a great way to increase my booking ratio. Once i finally got in i found this acting on camera class to be a terrific. Michelle Danner gives excellent feedback and tips on how to improve your performance and eliciting memorable performances out of her actors. The one drawback to the class was that one week she gave scenes to a film that my agent had already sent me out on! I consider this one of the best acting for film classes in Los Angeles and i just signed up for her golden box acting technique class.
Place rating: 5
Los Angeles, CA
Taking Michelle Danner’s Golden Box class was one of the best decisions that I’ve made in a long time. I went in there not knowing what to expect but walked out with a perfectly clear vision of what I want to do with my acting career. Michelle has a way of inspiring her students and peers in ways that other people simply cannot. She was able to connect with us by asking specific questions that helped me to analyze different issues deep within myself. I hadn’t even realized that I had forgotten why I ever wanted to start acting in the first place until I took this class. She asked us questions like why we still wanted to act and how we planned on achieving our goals. She made us think about what we wanted and had us imagine what it would be like to live our dreams. Most of all, she reminded us that we have to work hard in order to achieve those goals and dreams. She reminded us that «opportunity knocks on every persons door and when it knocks on your door will you step up to the plate? Would you have worked hard enough to be able to step up to the plate?» She then reminded us how emotional each and every person is and how easy it is to tap into those emotions simply by helping us open up. Every actor can get emotional and every actor can be great, all you have to do is allow yourself to open up and to never be afraid to take risks. I guarantee that you will walk out with a clearer idea of what you want and how you’re going to get it if you take this class. It’s awe-​inspiring and motivational and I highly recommend it.
Place rating: 1
San Jose, CA
1. Repeating classes without any syllabus
2. Most of the classes don’t have start and end dates. It is just continuous random classes.
3. Believe me, they don’t have ‘real’ classification in terms of Entry level, Intermedium, or advanced.
4. The administration is chaos. You better make sure you double check or triple check in very details about what your tuition is included. Exactly how many classes can you take with detail dates info. Make sure you are not being screwed by those U.S. Holidays which they ‘may’ cancel the classes and you may not have the right to be refunded depending on what types of ‘complicated’ programs you are in.
5. One of my friend’s FB review is disappeared after publishing a bad review about the school. No one has any idea why, but the point is lots of students got really unsatisfied or even very upset with the school. However, most of them afraid to speak out loud.
6. There are couple great teachers, but they would be better off when teaching in another more organized school so they can have the chance to put more effort into ‘design’ the class.
7. Suggestions to the school: in the short term it may look less profitable when you selective pick and classify students and carefully design the separated classes of Entry level and Advanced. In the long term, the school will have good reputation and more student will join.
8. To sum up, if you are somewhat good enough and you are here to seek possibility to make a connection/​chance to the industry, you ‘may’ have a small chance. If you are serious about learning techniques, you are really in the wrong place. I really feel sorry for some of the kid who had to take a loan for the tuition and felt they learned nothing out of this… Unless you are one of the rich kids and having lots of money to burn, it would be a great place for it. Because it is Santa Monica! Because it is a famous vacation spot!
Place rating: 4
Malibu, CA
I’m honored I had the privilege to take both Michelle’s Golden Box workshop and her Acting for the Camera class, because I really wanted to receive her acting expertise. As an emotional person, I’ve always struggled with being an emotional actor; it’s hard for me to be constantly emotionally ready. After doing my scene the first time, Michelle could obviously see this and asked me to step it up emotionally. I came back and did the scene again and tried to tap into my sensitive side and was able to raise the stakes. Although I felt better about it, I knew I still didn’t have this skill down. I don’t know about other actors/​actresses, but I love an opportunity to be challenged because I feel like my best work comes when people push me to the edge on something I’m struggling with. It makes me constantly want to come in and be better. I’m confident that taking these classes will help me strengthen my emotional weakness and get me ready for the industry. I’m grateful to be taking class with her.
Place rating: 5
Los Angeles, CA
There are defining moments in our lives in which shape us; that help plot our course. Meeting acting coach Michelle Danner and taking her golden box acting technique intensive and her auditioning for film and television class was one of the most profound and life changing for me. Using a combination of acting techniques such as: Michael Chekhov and Meisner technique.
This acting school may arguably be the world’s best acting school. She taught me to pull from my life experiences past, present and future, infusing into the work in a most profound yet effective way. This creates depth, coupled with the will to always win thus giving an actor a tried and true «formula» that always works. That in and of itself changed my entire career path and understanding of the actual craft and art of acting. She taught me how to understand humanity as well as to understand myself on a much deeper level.
Place rating: 5
Santa Monica, CA
Best Acting School in LA
Top Acting Coach Michelle Danner provides the necessary tools to become a skilled professional. I enjoyed the Golden Box so very much. The exercises were not only helpful but therapeutic. Addressing the techniques of Stanislavsky, Meiser, etc Michelle emphasizes finding a method that works best for you. By the end of the workshop I felt camera ready.
Place rating: 5
Los Angeles, CA
i have been an actor for 3 years and have studied with everyone in town from Ivana Chubbuck to Howard Fine ect. iam Meisner trained but found Michelle Danner’s approach to acting eclectic and comprehensive she doesn’t believe in just one method of acting her approach is not dogmatic and allows an individual to pick and choose from her vast techniques what works best given the role and situation.
I recommend taking her acting for film class to help with your auditions and her scene study which are the 2 class I have been taking for the past year. She is wise and incredibly passionate and teaches cutting-​edge acting tools that have helped me create realistic and dynamic performances. Michelle’s acting classes are challenging and she is personally invested in the growth of all her students. If you devote yourself to the work, you will leave her acting class with the confidence and competence to establish and maintain an artistically fulfilling acting career.
Place rating: 5
Garden Grove, CA
I took the golden box with acting coach Michelle Danner and i thought it was great. It really helped me get out of my comfort zone. I understand now being an actor i need to be able to connect with myself, and use my personal life in a character. It’s not about being myself, or being a complete different person, it’s about doing both. Combining myself and the character and making something amazing and believable. I cried during the acting intensive class. Not because it was sad. But because she was trying to get us connect with ourselves and learn how to relax our minds and focus. She gave me tools to create my very own «golden box,» full of triggers to utilize at any given moment so that I could be more emotionally connected as an actress.
After the class i wrote a list about the things i need to start doing to keep growing as an actor. This acting school is well worth the investment since I am now signed up for the improvisation acting class and will soon be signing up for auditioning for film and television so will keep you posted!
Place rating: 1
Glendale, CA
I paid for her 8 weeks intensive, and after 4 classes i stopped going, it was a huge waist of money, time and energy.
Michelle Danner is a very sweet person, but in my opinion, not a good teacher.
During class she kept «taking notes“on her phone, that to me seemed a lot like texting, while the actors were doing their cold reads, and her feedback were super fast, NEVER specific.
She twice had guests over during class and she would spend the whole time talking to them in the corner while we were doing our cold reads.
it just felt to me like she didn’t care.
i would not recommend her class if you are serious about the craft of acting.
Place rating: 5
PECK SLIP, NY
I posted a review before but now I don’t see it anywhere, so here it is again: I’m currently taking improv classes at the studio and couldn’t be happier. The instructor Derek is really attentive, fun and knowledgable about the subject. Through him, I was able to get a part on a theatre production. Improv has also helped me outside of class, I have no regrets.
Place rating: 5
Northridge, Los Angeles, CA
Taking acting classes at Michelle Danner acting studio has been a wonderful experience. Even for the short time I’ve been there I could notice changes in myself, and especially in my ability to speak, perform to a crowd and even breathe. Michelle Danner is an amazing acting coach and the other teachers are just as talented. I really enjoyed my classes with Christine Dunford. Beeing in the acting studio also allowed me to be part of the feature film The Bandit Hound, which opened my horizons and made me see all the sides of movie productions. The environment of the school is also very good, you meet people from all over the world and being in Santa Monica is a plus. Highly recommend this acting school!
Place rating: 2
Beverly Hills, CA
I took a 8-​week on-​camera cold reading class at the studio in May 2013.
What I liked: Great location in a beautiful theater complex. Easy parking across the street. And, that’s yet…
What I didn’t like: Michelle is a very sweet kind hearted lady but she talked way too much about herself. And I don’t mean about craft of acting. At least half of each class was dedicated to talks about her, her likes, celebrities she knows, her projects, her trips, her friends and other non-​acting related subjects. No kidding!
The class always started late. People walked in and out randomly and she never paid attention. The atmosphere was way too relaxed. She often ate during the classes, used her cellphone for texting WHILE looking at the scenes she just taped. I felt she did’t pay enough attention and was very bored. And the most important: the feedback that was given to me or any other actors in class wasn’t helpful for improvement at all. All she ever said was: «I liked it, well done», «It was your best work so far», «No you made wrong choices» She never went into details and never explained what was wrong.
I liked her cheerful personality and her friendliness but I didn’t learn anything from her during these 8 weeks. The only class I truly enjoyed while studying at Edgemar was a class when we had a substitute teacher. I believe his name was Mike but I can’t be sure since it’s been over a year now. He was great: sharp, gave direct notes and advices on how to make the scene work with the choices you made. Overall I expected much more from the teacher with such great reputation.
Place rating: 5
Los Angeles, CA
I am a filmmaker, not an actor and I LOVED THIS CLASS. Michelle Danner, the teacher of the Golden Box class, told me prior to the class that it is beneficial for any filmmaker to know how their actors work. I learned things in the class I couldn’t find in books. This class is applicable to any person in the film or theatre business. The class is personable and well formatted. Michelle is very friendly and eager to teach. She shared intimate stories about her life that made me want to dig deeper into my own to discover my truth. I learned a lot about myself as a human and filmmaker. I highly recommend this class to any aspiring actor or filmmaker.