----------------------------Original message---------------------------- The American Academy is, to use shorthand, a "mid-level" training institution.It's roots lie in the Delsarte system of actor training, and some of that still pervades the program. They are strong on voice training and in some types of body work, but for inner acting technique, they are a bit scattered. That is to say, there is no overriding vision guiding the progression of the actor's inner method. Some instructors are Actor Studio trained, some are Meisner trained, some come out of university programs, some come from the American Academy itself. They advertise many famous alums but one of them, Joe Regalbuto of MURPHY BROWN (Frank) only attended for a year and left because of the inadequacy of the program. Hope this helps, Richard Brestoff