Beverly Hills Playhouse — Local services in Beverly Hills

BHP is a special place if you're looking for a supportive community of passionate actors and creative types, if you have motivation and initiative to take advantage of all the great resources made available, and if you are ready to commit a lot of time and energy toward developing yourself. This isn't for the casual hobby actor. I found the beginning weeks of class a hard pill to swallow, wondering at times if I had stumbled into a cult. Over time I realized no, this is a supercharged group of talented people. There's a need to crack open your brain and let what they teach seep in. If you're not doing that, you're not getting the benefit of studying here. There's some unique and fresh approaches to acting laid down by Milton Katselas that are carried on after his passing through his books and through students/teachers who have been around BHP for decades. My purpose for seeking out and joining BHP was for what Milton called "admin" which refers to taking the reigns for your own life and career. BHP provides guidance and coaching from folks more experienced than you to enlighten what kind of steps you may take to get some traction toward starting an acting career. There's business in show business and this might seem a mystical thing for most folks like me whereby the career motion doesn't start until you score an agent lottery ticket style, however BHP challenges you to put yourself in motion so you're not wasting time looking at the clock wondering when you'll magically be represented. This is done with tangible tasks and goals with a nice support mechanism of fellow students who hold each other accountable and celebrate "wins" (such as having an audition, getting a role). I haven't seen this level of camaraderie in acting before. And there's advanced students with career established who continue studying at BHP to keep sharp, expand their casting, continue to grow, and share their knowledge and experience with others. BHP is indeed a...

EASILY THE BEST ACTING SCHOOL IN LA. First off, calling BHP just an acting school is a disservice to what it actually is; it is a place where artists come together to support each other and work towards… I really wanted to say excellence here, but that’s subjective and that is not the point. What really happens in class is fearless acting in a safe environment. And that safety means everything. That safety of possible “failure” (as we actors always like to call it in our minds) allows you to want to do things you would never want to do and that is so important for your growth. Sure, we can all do self-portrait versions of ourselves on self tapes and maybe, just maybe book that co-star, guest star, or even a recurring. But then you realize those particular goals are pretty arbitrary, much like the way this industry functions. Kobe Bryant once said, "Those times when you get up early and you work hard, those times when you stay up late and you work hard, those times when you don't feel like working, you're too tired, you don't want to push yourself, but you do it anyway. That is actually the dream. That's the dream. It's not the destination, it's the journey. And if you guys can understand that, then what you'll see happen is you won't accomplish your dreams, your dreams won't come true; something greater will."

Train harder than the game and enjoy practicing the art, and that's what you get to do here at the Beverly Hills Playhouse. So if and when you get that opportunity for that dream role you've always wanted, you'll step into that room... sharp, confident, and fearless. People here are kind, thoughtful and smart. And we enjoy spending time with each other all the time, outside of class and rehearsals. I am lucky and thrilled to be a...

I waited to review this school for a long time because I wanted to see what the process is like to go from the beginning steps of becoming an actor to seeing what the next level is after.

I started in the orientation class, which is their entry-level program. A month ago I moved up to the intermediate class. It took me a little over a year, granted I came in with little to no experience, and it took me a long time to open up and be vulnerable enough to perform difficult scenes.

Which brings me to the main reason I give this place 5 stars. I'm 35 years old and I like to work at my own pace. This is a very self-driven environment. Your growth is entirely dependent on how much effort you put in. We create our own schedules, we pick our own scenes, and the teachers critique our performances.

They tell me all the things that went well, encouraging me to continue those same choices.

They tell me the areas I can improve for next time, I can work on the notes they give, and bring the performance back to see if I was able to incorporate what I learned from last time.

They ask me to explain what I got out of the experience so that I keep learning.

Once I got to the Intermediate class, the students helped me with the administrative part, how do I get headshots, how do I build a reel, how do I find what websites to use. The teachers are also willing to spend one on one time to help you pick which headshots are good too!

All in all, I've got a lot of work ahead of me, and I'll update my review later, but I...