Our Fall Intensive runs Monday-Friday, 9am-6:30pm.

The program includes:

• Daily Actor Therapy: our signature class focused on song interpretation, selecting the right “cuts” for auditions, and seeing every actor as an individual to unlock the artist within. (Read more about our approach here!)

• Daily Acting Classes - focused on the basics of storytelling and how to approach a text, from monologue to scene study.  

• Daily Dance Classes with the industry’s most accomplished dancers and choreographers, focusing on musical theatre, jazz, and contemporary styles. Students will be assigned into classes based on level, so there’s something for every level of experience! 

• Daily Master Classes with top Broadway Stars, NYC Casting Directors, Writers, Directors, Tony Award Winners, etc. 

  • Recent Master Classes have included: L. Morgan Lee, Derek Klena, Amber Iman, Eden Espinosa, Christy Altomare, Elizabeth Stanley, Jay Armstrong Johnson, Julia Mattison, Shaina Taub, Krystina Alabado, Talia Suskauer, Jessie Mueller, Kate Baldwin, Jason Gotay, Natalie Weiss, ARC Casting, Holly Buczek Casting, Heath Saunders, Emily Kristen Morris, Jordan Tyson, Britney Coleman, Wojcik Group Casting, Wesley Taylor, The Telsey Office, Afra Hines, Jason Styres Casting, Drew Gasparini, Ben Fankhauser, TRC Casting, Ben Crawford, Anne L. Nathan, Julia Murney, Bryan Perri, Kerstin Anderson, Murnane Casting, Samantha Williams, and more…

• Daily Art & Biz - an Actor Therapy exclusive, go get your business-mind focused and bolster your heart for the long haul! Navigating the “Biz” aspect of showbiz is a HUGE part of what we do, since we are all essentially our own small business…and it ain’t easy! We’ll focus on your strategies, your branding, your marketing, finances, time-management, and more. We’ll also talk about your heart and spirit - how do we stay sand and emotionally grounded in this business - especially after a global pandemic and worldwide theatrical shutdown? 

• Voice Lessons throughout the intensive focusing on vocal technique, health, and pedagogy with top NYC voice instructors. 

• Headshots with renowned NYC photographer Ethan Carlson of Green Otter Design. 

  • Or, if you’ve already got great headshots, opt for a Lifestyle Shoot instead! 

• All students will receive a 30+minute session with multiple looks, and at least one fully edited and retouched digital photo file of your selected shot (with more retouching options available at a separate cost). These shoots will take place over the weekend, in between the two weeks of the intensive. 

• A final Showcase for a small panel of invited agents and industry professionals, highlighting the student’s growth during the program—each attendee will provide written feedback for every performer.

  • We’ll also have a “friends and family run” for your people!

• Professional Video Reels filmed of your final Showcase cuts (for your website, social media, etc!)

• A Written Evaluation by your daily instructors AND written feedback from our industry showcase guests—focusing on your growth, with a final assessment and notes for the future, so you can keep up the work even beyond these two weeks!

The regular cost for our two-week program for NEW STUDENTS*  is $3,999.00 USD, which includes everything listed above. All students will be considered for a need-based scholarship, if applicable, and notified on the timeline indicated below.

Returning Students: 

• Returning students who have previously taken ONE OR MORE TWO-WEEK ACTOR THERAPY INTENSIVES $2,999, and those students will still be considered for scholarships.

• The cost for RETURNING STUDENTS WHO HAVE PREVIOUSLY TAKEN ONE OR MORE 5-WEEK ACTOR THERAPY COURSES is $3,499, and those students will still be considered for scholarships.

Interested students will complete an online application, found at the bottom of this page. Information on the application will include: 

• YOUR BASIC INFORMATION (name, age, location, etc.)

• VIDEO RECORDING(S) of you singing. Any quality is acceptable. All videos must be via dropbox or another file LINK. Any genre is okay! Musical theatre, pop, anything. If you send more than one video recording, please try to demonstrate range or contrast. We prefer audition cuts, rather than performance clips, but will accept either. Please do not send links to more than three recordings/videos. 

• YOUR HEADSHOT AND RESUME. Any quality is acceptable. Students who do not yet have a professionally shot picture may send any photo that best represents them now. Students who do not yet have a professionally formatted resume may send an actor bio up to 200 words.

• ADDITIONAL SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION. If you would like to be considered for a need-based scholarship, include that here.
  

• OPTIONAL: Send us a video of a monologue and/or you dancing, if you’d like. Reels are okay. Any genre is okay!

You will be notified of your application’s status within two weeks of submission. Once a student receives confirmation of their admission/scholarship, they have one week to place a non-refundable $350 deposit (to hold your spot) through a PayPal link given to admitted students. If the deposit is not made within one week, the spot and/or scholarship may be forfeited. Please make sure to review our Terms and Conditions before making your deposit.

If you are interested in consideration for a need-based scholarship, you’ll provide the relevant information in your application.

Scholarships are awarded on a tiered system using the following deadlines: 

FIRST SCHOLARSHIP DEADLINE - AUGUST 31st, 2026: Most/largest scholarships will be given at this time.

SECOND/FINAL SCHOLARSHIP DEADLINE - SEPTEMBER 18th, 2026: Most remaining funds will be given at this time.

LATE SUBMISSIONS - SEPTEMBER 19th, 2026 AND BEYOND: Please feel free to apply, though scholarship funds are usually extremely limited.

*Please note, we are unable to offer full scholarships to any of our intensives.

Our intensive brings together a diverse, international community of musical theatre artists. Most students are between 20 and 28, though participants have ranged from 17—with special permission—to middle age and beyond. Past students have traveled from across the United States and around the world, including Germany, Australia, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Poland, and many more.

Experience levels range from talented beginners to current and former BFA students, working professionals returning to musical theatre, and adults pursuing a lifelong dream. Everyone is treated as an individual and challenged according to their own goals, experience, and artistic journey.

We will be housed in midtown Manhattan at Open Jar Studios, AMDA Studios, or a similar studio nearby (somewhere between West 34th Street and West 54th Street.)

While Actor Therapy is unable to directly provide housing to students during their time in NYC, we do work with a student housing coordinator who MAY be able to assist you with your housing needs.  Student Housing Associates and their “Dancer Dorms” are a popular theatre-district resource that helps students find safe housing close-by in midtown Manhattan. Dorms are occupied by dancers, actors, singers and other artists here to study and take class in the city. To inquire about this housing option,  please contact us here.  Bear in mind, we do not provide housing and cannot guarantee availability. THE COST OF HOUSING IS NOT INCLUDED IN YOUR TUITION, EVEN IF YOU BOOK THROUGH STUDENT HOUSING ASSOCIATES. Of course, students are welcome to arrange their own housing here in NYC, or live a commutable distance (i.e., Long Island, Westchester, Connecticut or New Jersey, etc), as long as they appear on time to class every day.

As long as you have some level of experience in singing and acting, it’s totally normal to have strengths or weaknesses, and this program is perfectly designed to help students with their individual needs. For students who have little experience in dance, that’s okay, too — our beginning level dance classes are designed just for you!

16-24 students will be enrolled in the Intensive, and all classes will be split into smaller groups (based on enrollment) to allow for maximum 1-on-1 time with our amazing faculty.

Can you?  This is ideal for you! We know a lot of very talented people who decided the college route is not for them (like Lindsay Mendez herself!), and it worked out pretty darn well. :)

We allow pre-approved conflicts on a case-by-case basis. (Known conflicts must be submitted at time of application or while making your deposit.)

Don’t be nervous! Our beginning dance class is designed to help student develop a positive and rewarding relationship with starting-level dance techniques. For those students with more dance experience, our Intermediate/Advanced class is designed for very strong movers and students with a few years (or more) of dance training. 

Any or all sheet music in use by the student; some clothing options to showcase in; headshot/resume if applicable; dance/athletic attire and basic shoes for dancing (no ballet shoes or tap shoes will be needed, and dancers who do not own traditional dance shoes are encouraged to wear gym shoes or socks.)  Students should also bring any medications that they are prescribed, and water in a reusable bottle every day as workshops will be physically demanding. You’ll also receive an Actor Therapy tote bag to carry things, an official Actor Therapy t-shirt, and a notebook and pen for taking notes throughout the weeks! #merch

Students will have a break for lunch every day and are welcome to bring food with them or will have time to purchase lunch from a local business.

Up above! We also post faculty announcements on our Instagram page.

RSO and Lindsay personally select each teacher/artist based on their knowledge and skill level in their related area of expertise relating to theatre and performing arts. They are our friends, our colleagues, and truly—the best of the best.

The balance for each student’s session is due one month before the starting date.  If you are interested in discussing a payment plan, you can email actortherapy@gmail.com, subject: ATWI Payment Plan.

Yes! AEA actors receive a 5% discount off their post-scholarship balance. Simply email us proof of your equity status when making your deposit.

Both the deposit and the balance, once paid, are non-refundable and non-deferrable.  That said, if a student must cancel their attendance between paying the deposit and paying the balance, then only the deposit is forfeited. Please make sure to review our additional Terms and Conditions before making your deposit.

Email us at actortherapy@gmail.com!