The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre is a full-time acting conservatory located in the heart of New York City. Our approach focuses on the artistic growth of the actor through technical training in acting, movement, speech, and voice. The Neighborhood Playhouse offers the serious acting student what few other acting schools can provide – a rich tradition of excellence in actor training coupled with the practical skills for building a career.

The Neighborhood Playhouse School remains the only conservatory where the faculty was trained to teach acting by Sanford Meisner himself.

The Neighborhood Playhouse, a major force in American theatre and theatre education since its inception, was founded in 1915 at the forefront of the American theatre renaissance. Created by philanthropists Alice and Irene Lewisohn, the original Playhouse was located in the famous Henry Street Settlement House. One of the first Off-Broadway theatres, the Playhouse was committed to community and devoted to renewing the roots of drama, mounting works both classic and modern.

From the theatre grew a desire to focus on training and, in 1928, The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre opened its doors.