Professional actors' workshop based in New York City.
Founded in 1947 by the directors Cheryl Crawford , Elia Kazan , and Robert Lewis as a leading centre of the Stanislavsky method , it was directed by Lee Strasberg from 1948 to 1982. In 1962 it launched a company, and a workshop was established in Los Angeles in 1966. Actors work together without the pressures of commercial production. Membership is by invitation; six or seven new members are chosen yearly from 1,000 auditions. Members have included Marlon Brando , Marilyn Monroe , Paul Newman , and Robert De Niro .