"The Actors Studio, a secluded workshop in New York City that for decades has had a marked influence on the worlds of stage and screen, functions much like a secret society behind closed doors. Confusion about its essence and its activities abounds.".

"It all began when Stanislavsky's Moscow Art Theatre brought its brand of "realism" to the United States in 1923. The legendary Group Theater followed. Then came the Studio, with the idiosycratic Lee Strasberg as its head following conflicts with Stella Alder and the Group. Studio followers Elia Kazan and Robert Lewis are fully discussed. Strasberg's background and the encounters between him and the actors he guided are presented in detail.

The lives and careers of early icons like Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, Marilyn Monroe and James Dean, the Studio's 1960s efforts to form a production company, and the way the Studio has changed for the 21st century are all covered."--BOOK JACKET.