Clay Banks Studio International

Coach Banks knows his stuff! I audited his class recently and was highly impressed. We started with some improv to warm up, then Coach went into the exercises on tap for the evenings’ session. Activities were blended with periods of densely-​packed lecturing. Coach is passionate, clear, knowledgeable, and delivered the content with sharpness and wit. Each student received plenty of time and attention, and you can see how much he cares about the development of each actor. I’m very excited to officially start classes at CBSI later this Spring. Special thanks to Chris and Chrysta for helping facilitate my audit.

I enjoyed the class Clay Banks gave at SAG and found it to be informative, engaging and inspiring. I liked how he took time to flesh out the difference between being a creative artist vs. a survivalist. It was a nice introduction to how he works and he gave some very practical suggestions on approaching the craft of acting. I look forward to taking one of his classes soon!

I attended the SAG-​AFTRA seminar and it was very informative and insightful as well as very honest. Thanks Clay!

Clay Banks Studio is a wonderful creative home for any actor — Clay will push you and hold you accountable to your best work, while creating a safe environment where you can take risks! Coming from a theatre background, it has been so great to continually train On-​Camera and specifically in close ups. My work has completely improved and my career is moving! Thank you.

Clay Banks Studio International is the studio you want to be in if you want to developer as an amazing actor in a safe environment. Just listening to Coach Banks and all his knowledge, you can’t help but grow. He has so many wonderful nuggets of gold.
The class is cold reading, scene study, and all of its on camera, with footage you can take home with you! Just another tool to grow. Coach Banks and his team work so hard every week to help improve your work, he is genuinely always wanting the best for you and your art. Coach is so upfront and objective about your work that is makes it easier to understand where you’re at and where you need to go. Being at this studio is has changed my way of thinking, always giving me motivation to want more, do more, and be great at it. GET IN THIS CLASS!!!

I almost don’t even want to leave this review because of the same reason for my Crunch gym review in Burbank… I fear people will read how F’n good it is and the masses will overtake it!
All joking and BS aside I have trained at most acting studios in L.A. From Anthony Meindl’s, Margie Haber, Playhouse West, Brian Reese and several other I’ve spent time at each. All were good in their own methodology but none really gave me, the actor the type of precise and super technical on camera training and coaching we need for television and film acting. most you would have thought they were teaching the core techniques and scene work associated with theater acting. Being that the feedback is typically vanilla, no real precise character analysis and script analysis has to be done and the movements can be as scattered and impractical as you wish… basically the COMPLETE opposite of what you should be learning if your striving to be on tv or features.
I happened to get a random email from Clay Banks studio for a free cold reading workshop and being free and right down the street I checked it out. I wasn’t expecting a whole lot, never had heard of the place before or Clay so my expectations going in were exceedingly low to be honest.
However…OMFG was pretty much my first impression of Clay, Jack, his coaching methods and the whole key principles surrounding the studio. Not only is ever scene on camera and you’re able to keep your scenes and take them home to analyze and critique via USB but Clay and Jack give the absolute most amazingly helpful and precise notes. And they are by NO means easy on us… that was one thing I have grown to really loathe in classes is where you have no real feedback, where the coach just lets the actors continue on with their shitty methods until they complete the scene and and only then gives the «for next week I want you to work on…» speech. What good is that by then? The scene is over, you have now rehearsed and burned into your memory and unconscious the precise WRONG way to act the scene. Not here… they will stop you 3 seconds in and start setting you straight with the who, what, where’s and other relevant info the actor should have though of before starting such as deep character analysis, script work, blocking, intentions and all the stuff THAT REALLY MATTERS! Not some theoretical BS that you would likely pick up in an MFA course but techniques that you literally HAVE to use if you ever want the scene to take form and become more than just 2 people on stage acting.
I have grown not only as an actor but also as a person (Clay is quite the motivational speaker and philosopher not to mention oozing with charisma) more in the last 3 months at CBSI than ALL of my previous 6 years of acting COMBINED! The man knows his stuff, he doesn’t cuddle and baby anyone, gives it to you straight so you can get out there, BOOK and move on therefore opening the space for another actor to come and learn the method. This place is as real as it gets. Nuff said!

My training at CBSI is really paying off. I recently found myself in a very tense situation on set. We were up against a time crunch, and needed to get the scene finished quickly. The writer had given me two pages of re-​writes 45 minutes earlier. About 20 crew and 50 extras were all looking to me to make it happen. I dug deep and remembered my training. When the director called action, I was able to hit my mark and deliver my monologue flawlessly. I strongly believe that without the tools I’ve been given by coach Clay Banks and crew at CBSI, I would not have been able to perform as well as I did under such pressure. I highly recommend this class to anybody who is serious about being a successful actor.

I am so grateful I found this studio via
. Clay Banks is a first class instructor, experienced, concise, welcoming, and honest. I get more actionable information out of an hour of his instruction than in a whole month of classes, elsewhere. Clay and his team are great people, smart, fun, and eagle-​eyed – nothing gets by them, so you learn really well where you are and where you need to go. Highly recommend.

I was nervous when I walked through the door because I didn’t know what to expect. But everyone was very friendly, easy to talk to. Clay greets everyone individually. It really gives a feeling that everyone is important, and acknowledge. I truly believe that is what made everyone comfortable with asking questions. Clay answers them thoroughly and truthfully. Everyone got a chance to go on camera, and he critiqued it. Lots of good information. And good parking!

Clay Banks Studio International is not for the faint hearted. Coach Banks accepts nothing but the best we can do. It is a supportive and caring environment where an actor’s talent can grow by leaps and bounds. As far as I’m concerned if you want to take acting classes this is the place to go.:)

The classes at Clay Banks Studio Int’l are stimulating, insightful, and enervating! Coach Bank’s ability to identify specific weaknesses-​of-​craft while empowering the student to remain present in the moment is crucial in the development of any working actor and has helped me immeasurably. Coach teaches film-​acting nuances and has developed the formula necessary to make Casting Directors sit-​up and take notice. Really, if you are serious about wanting to work consistently and develop a reputation of skill and grace in order to enter the upper-​echelon of the acting profession, CBSI-​training is essential~Thanks Coach!

The place for serious talent to grow.
The place for serious talent to grow.
The place for serious talent to grow.

Why are all the reviews so far filtered? Makes no sense. Some rave reviews here, and from people with some history of Unilocal.Too bad. My 16 yr old daughter took his 2-​hour intro class earlier this week and said it was very informative. She learned so much about what she needs to work on, and some excellent techniques. She said there was more learning packed into those two hours than any class she’s ever taken. Wish we lived closer so she could attend more of his classes!

Coach Banks’ process is A-​list, primetime, professional excellence with everything a film/​TV actor needs to rock Hollywood. He helps you with everything: on-​camera training, audition technique, cold-​reading skills, character development, finding your selling features, and personal career coaching. I’ve seen the pros come in and even find more to get better at because Coach Banks’ could take them further than they thought they could. You will benefit just from hanging around the studio. There’s so much going on here. I love it!

Clay Banks Film Acting Studio took my work to the next level. I came to the studio as a graduate of two 2-​year intensive acting conservatories (one in NYC and the other in Los Angeles) and had a huge tool bag full of acting knowledge, though found myself unable to trust my instincts bc of feeling urged to use all those tools. Clay helped me to ‘let go’ and get out of my analytical mind which freed me to TRUST my instincts and emotional muscles (which were developed & matured from the conservatory training) and be present and still in extreme close ups. As a result my work became emotionally raw, transparent and spontaneously instinctive. Its amazing being on set shooting and experiencing this new freedom. After training with Clay, I won Best Actress (unanimously) at the 168 Hour Film Festival (2008) for the best film «Stained» (short). also when working with Ron Howard on «Frost/​Nixon» as the role Tricia Nixon i felt out of my head bc of the training of working for ECU and when his D.P. Sal pushed into close ups i was emotionally full and free and they commented how i truly went on an emotional journey. It was really neat bc Clay helped me use my previous conservatory training and free up through his training to be the best i can be. Its special. Since Frost/​Nixon (2009) I’ve shot eight indy feature films as one of the main characters and often hear Coach Banks in my mind when im working to be still, grounded, connected and instinctive… along with bringing chemistry and charm to the characters i play on screen. This tip has been so powerful for me this past year since the characters I’ve played in «I Am… Gabriel» and «Untouched» both could be played in a demeanor that doesnt allow for the audience to like the character. and from Coach Banks i was able to bring consistent charm, love and interest to the character even though they are broken and going through a difficult /​selfish journey. (Its the blend and balance and layering we as actors need to do to convey the writers /​director’s direction along with carry the connection to the viewing audience).
With all that to say. I appreciate Coach Banks for all that he has done for me in my acting journey. Thank you Clay.
(if yuh have questions re acting. i use this page as a mentoring site for aspiring /​inquiring actors)

A cold reading class, scene study class, comedy class, dramatic class, close-​up class, and on-​camera class all rolled up into one.

I have been a performer for over 25 years and have worked with all types of instructors, professors and directors. So I do not take it lightly when choosing a coach it took 25 audits before finding Clay Banks Studio, and I am very happy with how he has pushed and challenged me with my work.
I have been working with Clay for 6 months now and I have been growing as a performer ever since. His approach is straight forward and concise. He focuses on the ECU (extreme close up). He asks the actor to really focus and control his/​her instrument (our face) he insures that we are conveying the emotions and performances we intend in unison with the writers intent.
As you continue to work in the studio he touches on all the very important aspects of the craft, with scene study, character work, sitcom comedy, original creative work, and his acting technique «The Zone». You have to attend to get a piece of this process.
Once you get to know him and his process he pulls no punches and gets to heart of what we need to know. He insures each actor understands what we are doing while performing. So we never leave it up to chance. This way the actor knows what emotions/​techniques they are using to create rich, compelling, performances but most importantly how to repeat them in every creative opportunity.
Clay always maintains focus and instruction on the fact that this is a business. That the most important product we possess, is our own unique, beautiful, personality. Clay finds a way to help each actor take the magical traits we are born and helps us integrate them into each performance, making every choice a truly original and compelling choice.
The studio offers free audits about once a month check out the studios website,
audit a class and see for yourself. Clay has created a safe nurturing environment with strong attention to detail, so every actor from pro to amateur can really stretch and spread their wings.
See you at the studio!