First Take Acting Program
15466 Los Gatos Blvd., #109-58, Los Gatos, CA 95032
About
First Take Acting Program offers on-going eight week sessions of acting classes that use the First Take Method. In these classes, students work with a curriculum that includes the First Take Method, Business, Networking, Psychology, Personal (Growth) Truth in Process, and Relationship Building (Culture). Students are given the overall structure at the beginning of each on-going eight week session and are trained in the consistent application of the First Take Method, which provides tools to dissect the few pages of material usually given in an audition and make it come to life realistically and believably.
• Ages: 13–18 years old
• Schedule: On-going eight week session of classes
Nancy Berwid’s First Take Acting Program states that it provides a holistic approach to acting. The program offers a no nonsense, realistic overview of the acting business, including information on headshots, resumes, getting seen by casting directors, and tools for marketing an acting career in the LA market. The school teaches networking skills, including the DO’s and DON’Ts of correspondence and marketing skills an aspiring actor must have, and addresses psychological aspects of pursuing acting, such as coping with rejection and uncertainty and emphasizing the rarity of super-stardom and realistic goal setting. Students are encouraged to find their own unique gifts and cultivate them, in and out of their First Take acting classes, and First Take students are described as enjoying a unique culture and camaraderie with one another, with an environment of equality, humility and respect amongst peers, and no hierarchies or rankings.
The acting school offers a free 3-part video training series titled “Could I be a Working Actor?”, “How to Enter and Exit an Audition”, and “How to Dress for an Audition.” Prospective students can sit in on one of the classes for free. The school offers online classes and has students attending from all over the world, and states that its actors work in major film and television projects in LA. First Take Acting school describes itself as THE BAY AREA’S #1 ACTING SCHOOL.
The leadership team includes Founder and Acting Teacher Nancy Berwid and Office Manager Deborah Feisa. Testimonials from students and actors include comments such as “You learn to not only grow as an actor but also as a person” (Tamera Mowry-Housley), “First Take is a gracious gym for your acting and creative muscles” (Siua Ikaleo), and “First Take is a safe place to do dangerous things” (Cameron Britton). Other testimonials note that “Her industry connections in LA are invaluable” (Robert Wu), “Without the things I’ve learned from class and from other actors’ stories, I wouldn’t have gotten that letter!” (Rex Wheeler AKA Lady Camden), “Nancy insists that we always exercise our courtesy, poise and integrity at every moment” (Carolyn Power), “First take has played a huge part in my development as an actor” (Shonte Akognon), and “The classes are so much fun and I am able to meet new friends, and do what I love, which is acting” (Riley Smith).
Last updated April 30, 2026.
• Ages: 13–18 years old
• Schedule: On-going eight week session of classes
Nancy Berwid’s First Take Acting Program states that it provides a holistic approach to acting. The program offers a no nonsense, realistic overview of the acting business, including information on headshots, resumes, getting seen by casting directors, and tools for marketing an acting career in the LA market. The school teaches networking skills, including the DO’s and DON’Ts of correspondence and marketing skills an aspiring actor must have, and addresses psychological aspects of pursuing acting, such as coping with rejection and uncertainty and emphasizing the rarity of super-stardom and realistic goal setting. Students are encouraged to find their own unique gifts and cultivate them, in and out of their First Take acting classes, and First Take students are described as enjoying a unique culture and camaraderie with one another, with an environment of equality, humility and respect amongst peers, and no hierarchies or rankings.
The acting school offers a free 3-part video training series titled “Could I be a Working Actor?”, “How to Enter and Exit an Audition”, and “How to Dress for an Audition.” Prospective students can sit in on one of the classes for free. The school offers online classes and has students attending from all over the world, and states that its actors work in major film and television projects in LA. First Take Acting school describes itself as THE BAY AREA’S #1 ACTING SCHOOL.
The leadership team includes Founder and Acting Teacher Nancy Berwid and Office Manager Deborah Feisa. Testimonials from students and actors include comments such as “You learn to not only grow as an actor but also as a person” (Tamera Mowry-Housley), “First Take is a gracious gym for your acting and creative muscles” (Siua Ikaleo), and “First Take is a safe place to do dangerous things” (Cameron Britton). Other testimonials note that “Her industry connections in LA are invaluable” (Robert Wu), “Without the things I’ve learned from class and from other actors’ stories, I wouldn’t have gotten that letter!” (Rex Wheeler AKA Lady Camden), “Nancy insists that we always exercise our courtesy, poise and integrity at every moment” (Carolyn Power), “First take has played a huge part in my development as an actor” (Shonte Akognon), and “The classes are so much fun and I am able to meet new friends, and do what I love, which is acting” (Riley Smith).
Last updated April 30, 2026.
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