Young Actors Classes
The Ruskin School of Acting, 2800 Airport Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90405
About
Young Actors Classes offers acting classes, online acting classes, and private coaching that include Meisner Technique, Spolin Exercises, and Scene Study. The program also offers a Filmmaking Summer Camp and Media Training as part of its specific activities. In Young Actors Classes, material is tailored to support each child’s or teen’s dream, such as getting into a top university, booking more auditions, or feeling more confident.
• Ages: 8–18 years old
• Schedule: Classes follow the school calendar and are run by semester; enrollment is ongoing and students are welcome to enroll at anytime.
• Price: Children’s 60 min classes $35 per class; Children’s 90 min classes $45 per class; Teens 90 min classes $45 per class; Teens 2 hour classes $55 per class.
In Young Actors Classes, age-appropriate Meisner Technique is taught, with children’s classes from age 8 combining Meisner Technique, Spolin Exercises, and Scene Study, and teen classes deepening Meisner Technique training with scene study from age-appropriate work. Both online and in-person classes are available, and enrollment is ongoing with tuition prorated for students who enroll at any time, with semester pricing and scholarships available. Coaching is available for roles, auditions, self tapes, or one-on-one training, and the Ruskin School also offers a Scene Study with Master Teachers Class that allows actors to work with industry professionals, as well as transformative acting classes in Los Angeles and online.
The Young Actors Classes are part of The Ruskin School of Acting, which was founded in 1986, and Amy launched the Classes for Young Actors program in 2009 at the Ruskin School. The mission of Young Actors Classes is to provide acting classes for children and teens in the Meisner Technique to support them as they start their careers and develop deeper confidence in themselves. The leadership team includes Amy Ruskin (Director / Young Actors Teacher / Media Training), Laurel J. Barham (Young Actors Teacher), John Ruskin (founder of the school), and Dylan McDermott (actor and Scene Study with Master Teachers instructor).
Amy earned her degree in Theatre Arts & Comparative Literature from Brown University and trained in programs with Juilliard, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and Shakespeare & Company, supervised many network reality series including FOX, NBC, USA and E!, and wrote scripted children’s shows. Laurel is a graduate of The Ruskin School of Acting Two Year Meisner program with more than 25 years in the theatre, performance credits in more than 30 musicals and plays, experience directing over seventy five one acts, plays, musicals and revues, and producing and directing short films and a documentary. Laurel is an award-winning director for “Starmites,” “Scarlet Pimpernel,” “Measure for Measure,” “Twelfth Night,” and “Smokey Joe’s Cafe,” and is a facilitator in the Youth Education Series program at the Disneyland Resort. John Ruskin is one of the 21 teachers since 1936 who were hand-picked and trained by Sanford Meisner himself to teach the Meisner Technique. Her students can be seen on Broadway, National Tours, Independent Films and Commercials, and the program’s power has created a strong artistic community that usually continues to work together after graduating from the two-year program.
Parent and student feedback about Young Actors Classes and The Ruskin School of Acting includes comments from Jane Keller, who describes her 13-year-old son’s experience with Meisner Technique and the teachers; Ruth Steinberg, who describes her son’s teen and high school years in the program and Amy Ruskin’s teaching; Venice Guardiola, who calls it their go-to source for acting and the creative process; Andrew Chase, who notes both his children started acting training with Amy Ruskin and his son later attended DePaul University on an acting scholarship and had auditions for film and theater roles; and Sara Essner, who describes her son finding a home within the school. Graduates Sergio Macian and Teva Barnea describe the school as feeling like home and say that the teachers teach craft, push students, give confidence, and change lives.
Last updated March 25, 2026.
• Ages: 8–18 years old
• Schedule: Classes follow the school calendar and are run by semester; enrollment is ongoing and students are welcome to enroll at anytime.
• Price: Children’s 60 min classes $35 per class; Children’s 90 min classes $45 per class; Teens 90 min classes $45 per class; Teens 2 hour classes $55 per class.
In Young Actors Classes, age-appropriate Meisner Technique is taught, with children’s classes from age 8 combining Meisner Technique, Spolin Exercises, and Scene Study, and teen classes deepening Meisner Technique training with scene study from age-appropriate work. Both online and in-person classes are available, and enrollment is ongoing with tuition prorated for students who enroll at any time, with semester pricing and scholarships available. Coaching is available for roles, auditions, self tapes, or one-on-one training, and the Ruskin School also offers a Scene Study with Master Teachers Class that allows actors to work with industry professionals, as well as transformative acting classes in Los Angeles and online.
The Young Actors Classes are part of The Ruskin School of Acting, which was founded in 1986, and Amy launched the Classes for Young Actors program in 2009 at the Ruskin School. The mission of Young Actors Classes is to provide acting classes for children and teens in the Meisner Technique to support them as they start their careers and develop deeper confidence in themselves. The leadership team includes Amy Ruskin (Director / Young Actors Teacher / Media Training), Laurel J. Barham (Young Actors Teacher), John Ruskin (founder of the school), and Dylan McDermott (actor and Scene Study with Master Teachers instructor).
Amy earned her degree in Theatre Arts & Comparative Literature from Brown University and trained in programs with Juilliard, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and Shakespeare & Company, supervised many network reality series including FOX, NBC, USA and E!, and wrote scripted children’s shows. Laurel is a graduate of The Ruskin School of Acting Two Year Meisner program with more than 25 years in the theatre, performance credits in more than 30 musicals and plays, experience directing over seventy five one acts, plays, musicals and revues, and producing and directing short films and a documentary. Laurel is an award-winning director for “Starmites,” “Scarlet Pimpernel,” “Measure for Measure,” “Twelfth Night,” and “Smokey Joe’s Cafe,” and is a facilitator in the Youth Education Series program at the Disneyland Resort. John Ruskin is one of the 21 teachers since 1936 who were hand-picked and trained by Sanford Meisner himself to teach the Meisner Technique. Her students can be seen on Broadway, National Tours, Independent Films and Commercials, and the program’s power has created a strong artistic community that usually continues to work together after graduating from the two-year program.
Parent and student feedback about Young Actors Classes and The Ruskin School of Acting includes comments from Jane Keller, who describes her 13-year-old son’s experience with Meisner Technique and the teachers; Ruth Steinberg, who describes her son’s teen and high school years in the program and Amy Ruskin’s teaching; Venice Guardiola, who calls it their go-to source for acting and the creative process; Andrew Chase, who notes both his children started acting training with Amy Ruskin and his son later attended DePaul University on an acting scholarship and had auditions for film and theater roles; and Sara Essner, who describes her son finding a home within the school. Graduates Sergio Macian and Teva Barnea describe the school as feeling like home and say that the teachers teach craft, push students, give confidence, and change lives.
Last updated March 25, 2026.
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