“…HB Studio owns its three West Village properties, all bought in the 1950s and ’60s. It, too, has undergone some belt tightening. Founded by the actor Herbert Berghof, who was joined later by Ms. Hagen, the school and theater collective established a reputation for quality acting classes (its alumni list includes Robert De Niro and Jessica Lange) at famously low rates.
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News & Events
In Memory of Earle Hyman
HB notes with sadness the passing of Earle Hyman, formerly of HB’s faculty and a longtime HB friend. In addition to his regular acting classes at HB, Earle taught classes in Shakespeare and Ibsen.
Among his many Broadway credits, in 1957 he starred as Vladimir in Herbert Berghof’s all black production of Waiting for Godot opposite Mantan Moreland as Estragon. Earle’s career broke many boundaries. He was a brilliant actor, wonderful teacher and an extraordinary soul.
Benefit Series: Maricela De La Luz Lights the World
By Jośe Rivera.
Directed by David Deblinger.
Two Nights Only:
Friday, Dec. 1, and Saturday, Dec. 2, 2017 | 7PM
HB Playwrights Theatre | 124 Bank Street
$250 Premiere Tickets
$125 Priority Tickets
$25 HB Student Tickets
Join HB for a staged reading of Jose Rivera’s fanciful play, following the adventures of Maricela and her brother Riccardo as they save the world from weather catastrophe. Directed by David Deblinger, HB faculty member and co-founder of the Labyrinth Theater Company.
Featuring Vanessa Aspillaga – star of the Pulitzer-prize winning drama ANNA IN THE TROPICS on Broadway.
Also featuring the talents of Oscar A. L. Cabrera, Paula Pizzi, Johnny Sanchez, Ron Orbach, Glenda Delli, Beethovan Oden, and Satoshi Deleanu.
Don’t miss this exciting and fun, whirl-wind adventure! A portion of proceeds from this reading will be donated towards The Hispanic Federation’s UNIDOS Disaster Relief & Recovery Program to meet Hurricane Maria-related needs and recovery in Puerto Rico.
Lerner & Loewe Fall Event Series
This Fall, HB Studio presents a series of events celebrating the musical works of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe. Made possible by the generous support of the Frederick Loewe Foundation. Continue reading →
Winter Term Registration
Winter Term will run 10 weeks, January 8 – March 18, 2018.
Browse classes and register online here.
We also offer a variety of short-term workshops.
UNION DISCOUNT: AEA, AGVA, AGMA, SAG/AFTRA, WGA and Dramatist Guild Members can receive 10% OFF Winter Term Classes. To receive a union discount, you must present your membership card in the registration office, or email a copy to registration@hbstudio.org.*
INTAKE AUDITION / CONSULTATIONS: Interested in our upper-level classes? Audition & consult with a panel of HB’s faculty to discuss your goals, where you are in the work, and plan your course of study at HB Studio. For audition schedule, details and sign up info, visit the Auditions & Prerequisites page.
REEL SUBMISSIONS: Are you a working professional seeking a place to practice? Submit your reel and resume for placement into our studio practice classes.
(*Discount code must be mentioned when registering in person or on phone. Discounts valid for Studio Classes only; not valid for workshop offerings, full-time programs or merchandise. Discounts cannot be combined nor applied retroactively.)
Auditions & Union Discounts
INTAKE AUDITION / CONSULTATIONS: Interested in our upper-level classes? Audition & consult with a panel of HB’s faculty to discuss your goals, where you are in the work, and plan your course of study at HB Studio. For audition schedule, details and sign up info, visit the Auditions & Prerequisites page.
REEL SUBMISSIONS: Are you a working professional seeking a place to practice? Submit your reel and resume for placement into our studio practice classes.
UNION DISCOUNT: AEA, AGVA, AGMA, SAG/AFTRA, WGA and Dramatist Guild Members can receive 10% OFF Fall Term Classes through August 30, 2018. To receive a union discount, you must present your membership card in the registration office, or email a copy to registration@hbstudio.org.*
Fall Term will run 10 weeks, September 10 – November 18, 2018.
Browse classes and register online here.
We also offer a variety of short-term workshops.
(*Discount code must be mentioned when registering in person or on phone. Discounts valid for Studio Classes only; not valid for workshop offerings, full-time programs or merchandise. Discounts cannot be combined nor applied retroactively.)
HB Studio Performance Lab – Not Far From Where We Were Before: Scenes and Songs From Lerner & Loewe
Book & Lyrics: Alan Jay Lerner
Composer: Frederick Loewe
7PM | Fri, Sat & Sun | Nov 10, 11 & 12, 2017
HB Playwrights Theatre, 124 Bank St. | FREE
Directed by Robert McQueen
This autumn HB Studio presents a celebration of the work of musical theater writers Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe. Not Far From Where We Were Before features a company of actors from the HB Musical Theater Studio Practice program. The evening includes scenes and songs from Lerner and Loewe’s most iconic musicals, such as My Fair Lady and Camelot, as well as earlier, lesser known work. Join us for an evening that honors two of the most important, beloved and celebrated voices in the American musical theater canon.
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The HB Studio Library is Now Open to Students!
Are you looking for some new reading material? Are you searching for a new play to work on? The HB Studio Library has recently opened to students! We have over 3,000 titles on our shelves here on the third floor. For easier access, we just made it possible to request a book through the Librarika system. Browsing our library on the site is incredibly easy and efficient. Fall Term Library hours are Thursdays, 10am – 2pm.
Here is how you can create your own account:
- Log into https://librarika.com (if you do not have an account, signup for one first).
- Go to My Libraries
- Click on Request Member Access
- Enter Full Library URL(https://hbstudio.librarika.com/) you want to join and click Submit.
- You will see join confirmation message instantly.
- If everything is ok, you can go to the library URL and be able to log in right away.
To check out a book:
- Browse at hbstudio.librarika.com. When you find the text you want, select the option to request, which will be under the accession number on the book title’s detailed page.
- That Thursday, the Library Student Assistant will place the book in the ‘Check-Out Bin’ in the office, and will send you a confirmation email.
- Pick up your book from the ‘Check Out Bin.’ Books are due 14 days after they are placed in the ‘Checkout Bin’.
- Within 14 days, return your book to the ‘Check In Bin.’ You will receive a confirmation email that your book is successfully returned.
Please email library@hbstudio.org with any questions or concerns.
Enjoy browsing!
HB Studio Library Staff
Teachers and students are not permitted to retrieve books from the Library on their own. We ask that if a book is lost, stolen, or damaged you replace the book. You will be charged 25 cents a day for any late returns.
Student & Alumni News
Nancy Redman performs in You Can’t Teach a Fish to Whistle at The Secret Theatre. Performances run July 19–Aug 3.
J.B. Alexander performs in Cymbeline at Quest Players. Performances run July 11–21.
Elise Hansen performs in Macbeth at American Theater of Actors. Performances run July 24–Aug 11.
Tim O’Reilly performs in his play, Pop and Sons at New York Theater Festival. Featuring HB Alumni: Tim O’Reilly, Lauren Dudley, Noah Kleinberg, Ted Phillips and Director John Druzba. Three Performances only: July 17, 19 and 21.
Jonah Scott Mendelsohn performs in Sunday in the Park with George at Santa Fe Playhouse. Runs June 27–July 28. Following his performance in What the Constitution Means to Me with them.
David R. Nash, student of Michael Beckett, appeared as a recurring guest star on the last two seasons of the hit CBS police drama series, Blue Bloods playing serial killer, Sam Evans. David also recently appeared as a guest star on another popular CBS drama series, FBI: Most Wanted.
Mai Ozeki performs in Voice, a new play by Momo Akashi and directed by Kevin Cheng. Other performers include: Sudip Ulak, and Raymond Xavier. Performance is on July 5 at 3:00pm at The Chain Theatre as part of The Factory Series.
Max Casella, who studied with Michael Beckett, is a series regular on Sylvester Stallone’s Tulsa King. Season 1 premiered on Paramount Plus and will be broadcast on CBS on July 14 at 7 pm. Season 2 is expected to be released Fall 2024.
Moshe Henderson‘s play Velvet Rage is performing at The Tank’s Pridefest on June 27. The creative team includes: Allie Posner (Production Manager), Michael Dale (Performer), Amy Finkbeiner (Scenic Designer) Kiara Luna (Stage Manager), Mariya Chekmarova (Casting), ASH (Sound Designer), Kyle J. Artone (Costume Designer), Randy McHaney (Producer), Benjamin Lang (Understudy).
Time Capsule Project, a week-long Theatre Festival at Chain Theatre runs July 1–7. This festival is produced by a collective HB Studio artists with Ai Toyoshima, Producer & Executive Director. Their mission is to empower our participating artists to become the next generation of creative leaders in the theatrical industry both in New York and Japan. They provide an intimate, supportive network and a creative space that will serve to inspire and entertain our audiences. Our program includes a range of genres from a new play, dancing and music.
Nick Thomas performs in A Man Among Ye at The Player’s Theater. A raucous, rollicking, and quite unbelievable (semi) true story of pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read. Sword fights, sea shanties and mythical creatures help set the tone in this highly stylized and carnivalesque outrageous dark comedy. Performances run June 13–July 14.
Kevin Cheng performs in A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Script Club NYC at ART/NY Brooklyn Location. Only two performances July 5 & 6 at 7:00pm.
John L Payne is featured in the indie film, On Purple.
Charly Wenzel directs Identity, on May 26 at Theater for the New City. This performance is part of the Lower East Side Festival for the Arts.
Albert Insinnia performs in Heisenberg on May 28–30 at TheatreLab. This performance also features Irene Glezos and Faculty Member, Austin Pendleton as director.
Robin Berl will be directing the World Premiere of her play Dua: The Monster’s Story at Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center. Produced by Theatre Prometheus. Performances run May 10–June 1.
Peter Levine performs in The Dumb Waiter at Polaris North on April 26 & 27 at 7:00pm, April 28 at 3:00pm. You can email LeslieLynnNow@gmail.com to RSVP.
Connie Kirk plays Katharine Hepburn in The Hepburn Interview, a one act play and 2023 recipient of a William Faulkner Literary Award. Based on a true story set in 1944, Katharine Hepburn is interviewed by a young Army Intelligence agent from Portland, OR who is tasked by the FBI to flush out Hollywood communists. A spirited Katharine Hepburn fights back. Playwright, Thomas L. Mason, served in the Oregon Legislature for 14 years and authored the country’s first “vote by mail” bill in 1981.
Richard Lear is the Assistant Director for the off-Broadway production of 44 Lights. Performances runs May 15–25 at AMT Theater.
Burak Tatar‘s short film, Prime Real Estate won Best New York State Filmmaker and Audience Choice Award at the Blackbird Film Festival.
Franco Pistritto is performing in A.R. Gurney’s The Dining Room at Southampton Arts Center on April 26–28.
Albert Insignia is performing in Heisenberg at TheatreLab along side Irene Glezos. Performances run April 16–18.
Connie Kirk is performing in Heaven And Hollywood by Thomas L. Mason. at Lakewood Center for the Performing Arts. Based on a true story set in 1944, a young sergeant from Portland, OR tasked by the FBI to flesh out Hollywood communists. A spirited Katharine Hepburn fights back. Act II, as a stand alone work known as “An Interview with Hepburn” is a William Faulkner Literary Award recipient. One night performance on April 19 at 7:00pm.
Youlim Nam’s new play The Subway Play will have a reading with Axial Theatre at St John’s Episcopal Church on May 4 at 4:00pm. Featuring Dan Walworth, Tom Ryan, Pat McGuinness, Quinn Warren, Sergio Argüelles Catare, and Jessica Bonds.
Theatre for the New City presents Texas Gothic by Randy McHaney and directed by Paul Dederick. Performances run April 18–28, 2024 and features HB friends: Donna Svennevik, Amy Finkbeiner, Michael Lopetrone. Also involved in this production from HB are Lluvia Almanza, Stefan Diethelm, Moshe Henderson, and Allie Posner.
Ryan Czerwonko is performing in Sea Gull presented by Adult Film+Theatre. Performances run May 8–26 at Rutgers Presbyterian Church.
Leonard J. Altamura, Esquire, an attorney and philanthropist whose advocacy touched lives all over the world, died Tuesday, March 19 in New York City. He was 85.
Andrew Heinze‘s one-act play AT LEAST SLIGHTLY will be published in THE BEST TEN-MINUTE PLAYS, 2024 (Smith & Kraus), and will be produced in the “A Light in Dark Places” Theatre Festival in Dallas TX, Apr 5-13. An excerpt from Andrew’s full-length play THE RIMSKY-FOGELMAN will be published in THE BEST MEN’S STAGE MONOLOGUES, 2024 (Smith & Kraus). Continue reading →
PEOPLE WHO MAKE THEATER: The Musical Magic of Lerner & Loewe
A conversation with musicologist 
Dominic McHugh, a primary authority on the work of Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner, and Emily Altman, president of the Frederick Loewe Foundation. With songs performed by Tony-nominee Melissa Errico in a special guest appearance.
Mon, Nov 13, 2017 | 7pm | FREE
HB Playwrights Theatre, 124 Bank St
Join us for an in-depth conversation about the musical artistry and creative partnership of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, the genius pairing behind such classic works as MY FAIR LADY, BRIGADOON, CAMELOT, GIGI, and PAINT YOUR WAGON. Continue reading →