The Actor's Studio of Orange County

The Actor's Studio of Orange County offers beginning acting classes, intermediate acting classes, advanced acting classes, private coaching, career mentoring, industry workshops, reel intensives, audition technique, film technique, voice-over, voice and speech, and a teen program. The teen program uses the same technique as the adult classes, and the studio says its teen program is the most challenging in the region.

Programs

• Beginning acting classes — teens and adults · Study Seven Pillars Acting technique; students must first train in the Beginning Level for 6 months before becoming eligible to apply and audition for Intermediate.
• Intermediate acting classes — teens and adults · Scene study course; students must train for 3 sessions before becoming eligible.
• Advanced acting classes — teens and adults · Prepare for a professional showcase in LA; advanced students must have at least 1 session completed before being eligible for the Industry Showcase.
• Private coaching — teens and adults · Individualized attention for auditions, career coaching, dialects and more.
• Career mentoring — teens and adults · Free career mentorship in the student's 2nd semester and on through studio owner Sonya Cooke.
• Industry workshops — teens and adults · Work with LA agents, managers, casting directors and seasoned pros.
• Reel intensives — teens and adults · Tape an Audition, Audition Reel, and Full Reel packages.
• Teen program — teens · Teen students study the same technique as adults; the teen program is described as the most challenging in the region.
• Audition Technique — teens and adults
• Film Technique — teens and adults
• Voice-Over — teens and adults
• Voice and Speech — teens and adults

At a glance

• Ages: 13–18 years old
• General schedule: 4 sessions of training year round: Fall (September to November), Winter (January to March), Spring (April to June), and Summer (July and August). In December there is an acting intensive. Professional skills courses and workshops are offered throughout the year.

About the provider

The studio is led by owner Sonya Cooke. Its teachers are working actors from Los Angeles, and the studio says they have high degrees in acting and teaching and master’s degrees in acting. The mission is to be Orange County’s number one source for excellence in acting training by offering creative and challenging classes, private coaching, mentoring, workshops, business events, corporate events, and intensives. The studio is described as the #1 film school in Orange County and the premier studio for film and television training in the OC, and it says Seven Pillars Acting originated there.

All class sizes are capped. 12-week courses are capped at 14, 10-week courses at 16 maximum, higher level classes at 12, and some specialty courses at 10. Intermediate classes are by audition only. Advanced students must have at least 1 session completed before becoming eligible for the Industry Showcase. Students with considerable prior training and professional experience may audition to surpass the progression of classes.

What families say

“Studying acting at ASoOC has been absolutely life-changing for me! Sonya's 7 Pillars Method' gives me all the tools I could possibly need to craft my characters!” — Melody Gulsen

“ASoOC is a phenomenal place to study for both new and experienced actors. There are classes for everything; you can learn the basics of how to act while also learning how to break into the industry. I highly recommend it.” — Victor Adame

Last updated October 22, 2026.