JOHN RUSKIN - Founder / Director

MICHAEL MYERS - Acting Faculty / Associate Director

MICHAEL LAURIE - Acting Faculty

JOHN COLELLA - Improvisation

MASHA STEINER - Alexeander Technique

DANIEL PASSER - Commedia dell'Arte & Viewpoints

JOHN FARMANESH - BOCCA - Movement

JOHN RUSKIN - Founder / Director

After graduating from the University of Colorado in Boulder, John Ruskin studied with the Yale School of Drama and the British American Drama Academy in Oxford, England.

He returned to New York, where he studied under Sanford Meisner at The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre and then on the West Indian island of Bequia. At Meisner's request, John became his apprentice and joined the acting faculty of The Neighborhood Playhouse, where he taught under Meisner's direction.

In 1986, while still teaching at The Neighborhood Playhouse, John founded his school of acting in Santa Monica, California. He now resides in Los Angeles full time, teaching the two-year program in The Meisner Technique. In addition, he founded and is Artistic Director of the Ruskin Group Theatre, a theatre company whose members are composed primarily of graduates from The Ruskin School and The Neighborhood Playhouse.

"It is difficult to put into words how profound my experience has been to be a teacher. When Sandy Meisner asked me to join the teaching staff at The Neighborhood Playhouse I was tentative. Having been an actor myself I didn't't want to deviate from my passion, yet something must have spoken deeper within me for I decided to give it a try. As I sat through years of Sandy's teaching I saw an unfolding taking place in each student. I recognized in them what had happened with me years before. The transformation that takes place in an individual as a human being directly relates to being a better actor. It is both moving and life changing to be a part of and to witness."

"The Ruskin School of Acting is particularly mindful of fostering a safe environment for actors to explore themselves in. We know that one's ability to reveal directly relates to the amount of safety they feel. We therefore do not allow anyone to audit our classes except at one time during the week which is set aside for that purpose. "

"There are these moments in repetition where I see generations of fear lifted from people's beings. The simple act of being seen in our most intimate places rocks people's worlds open. I witness it daily in my classes."

"When I was a student at The Neighborhood Playhouse I was grateful that Sandy had invented something to introduce me to the scariest parts of myself. I understood that acting was about revealing, but I didn't know how to access all parts of myself. The Repetition Exercise was the most profound awakening I had ever experienced. Repetition begins by placing your focus completely on another individual and in turn the other person is doing the same with you. This is the beginning of making contact. You look at your partner and notice what you pick up from their behavior, "You're listening to me". They in turn respond to what is the truth for them, or something they pick up from your behavior. As the exercise grows with time, there is no hiding from your partner or partners. This translates into the work people put up with their scenes. The more you are able to reveal yourself, the deeper your able to be as an actor." As George Bernard Shaw stated " Acting is self revelation brought to the optic of the theatre."

"I like to think of theatre as a place where people grow and learn about themselves. Actors that have moved me have an emotional honesty that pulls at the deeper threads of my being. When I leave the theatre feeling more alive, more full then when I walked in I know the world can change through art." As the great writer William Saroyan said, "As long as there is art war can kill nothing."

"All the exercises that we do in the two year program help the actor to experience new parts of themselves. This ownership is key to gaining confidence as an artist. If you have been able to experience your deepest pains, sorrows, joys fears, and then reveal them to another you are then free to utilize them in your work as an artist. This is the goal of all of artists, to help their audience experience the human condition. To do this actors must be willing to experience themselves and their feelings in ways other people are not willing. In doing this, they give their audience permission to do the same."

MICHAEL LAURIE - Acting Faculty

Born on the South Coast of England and classically trained by Vivianne Guignard of R.A.D.A, Michael Laurie is also a graduate of The London School of Singing and toured the UK on the Variety Club Circuit as one half of the comedy duo "Scott Free". Michael had a recurring role on TVS in "Gentlemen & Players" and wrote/hosted "Tattoo". In the late 80's Laurie relocated to the United Sates and over the next 11 years appeared as a Stand-up in some of this countries top Comedy Clubs. Laurie is also a graduate of The Actors Institute, NYC and The Ruskin School in Santa Monica class of 2002 after studying the Meisner technique. A founding member of the Ruskin Group Theatre in Santa Monica, Michael is also a creator/producer/director of The LA Café Plays. Michael Laurie's numerous theatre credits include: The Fir Tree, Mitigating Factors, Career, The Unsinkable Titanic, Androcles and the Lion, The King and I, Dial M for Murder. Film and Television credits include: Starwatch, Perish The Thought, Mystery ER, Diagnosis X and, Super Kids and Dad.

MIKEY MYERS - Acting Faculty

MASHA STEINER - Alexeander Technique

DANIEL PASSER - Commedia dell'Arte & Viewpoints

JOHN FARMANESH - BOCCA - Movement