Molding laymen into thespians one Chekhov monologue at a time, Elizabeth Mestnik Acting Studio provides instruction in the acting arts to that unusual specimen at a Hollywood audition: a guy or girl who doesn’t want to be just another pretty face.

In 2001, Elizabeth Mestnik founded her acting school in Hollywood to bring the Meisner technique, a complex method of acting that involves improvisation and was originally developed for the theater, to L.A.’s movie-centric community. Beginning actors start with two years of classes in the Meisner technique (the second of which promises the chance to dance!). Really, really beginning actors (think the David Cross character on "Arrested Development" who pursues acting after a career as a psychiatrist) start with three to nine months of basic technique. Mestnik also offers master classes and scene study for those students closer to making an Oscar acceptance speech, and even has a summer schedule for workaholics. Stick around long enough and you may have a shot at The Director’s Gym, a program that pairs Mestnik Master Class students with directors looking for fresh meat. —Tara Tyson