Acting Programs at MSDA — The Working Actor Certificate
The MSDA Working Actor Certificate Program is a comprehensive four-semester acting curriculum designed to transform aspiring performers into working professionals. Founded by acclaimed actor Marc John Jefferies, MSDA provides the rigorous, practical training that prepares actors for real careers in film, television, and theater.
The program is structured as a progressive sequence of four semesters. Semester 1, Core Acting Technique 101, builds the essential foundation every serious actor needs, covering physical action, emotional truth, verbal action, and the imagination techniques that separate compelling performances from surface-level acting. Semester 2, Scene Study for Film and Television, applies those foundational skills to the specific demands of performing for the camera, including close-up technique, emotional continuity across takes, and partner work.
Semester 3, Core Acting Technique 201, pushes students into advanced territory with complex character transformations, sustained emotional arcs, and the deep preparation required for leading roles. Semester 4, The Art of the Audition, is the capstone course that transforms trained actors into booking actors, covering cold reading technique, self-tape production, callback strategy, and the business skills needed to navigate the entertainment industry professionally.
Each semester spans 12 weeks of intensive instruction with small class sizes and personalized feedback from industry-active professionals. Students work with professional scripts from current television productions, building real-world skills with the same material working actors encounter in their careers. The curriculum is continuously updated to reflect the current demands of the industry.
MSDA alumni have appeared in major productions including Spider-Man, Notorious, Luke Cage, She-Hulk, Law and Order SVU, Fallout, Blindspot, Wu-Tang: An American Saga, and Manifest. The program produces actors who book real roles because every element of the curriculum is designed around the skills casting directors and directors are actually looking for in professional performers.
Tuition is $450 per semester with flexible payment plans available. Complete all four semesters to earn the MSDA Working Actor Certificate. Classes are available online with live instruction, giving students everywhere access to New York-caliber training from the comfort of their own space.
Semester 2 — Scene Study for Film and Television at MSDA
Scene Study for Film and Television is the second semester of the MSDA Working Actor Certificate Program. Building on the foundational techniques established in Semester 1, this course focuses on the specific demands of performing for the camera. Students learn the subtle but critical differences between stage and screen acting, including how to adjust performance scale for different shot sizes, maintain emotional continuity across multiple takes, and create authentic connections with scene partners under the technical constraints of a film set.
Students work extensively with partner scenes from professional television scripts. The curriculum teaches listening as an active acting choice rather than merely waiting to speak, how to communicate subtext and unspoken emotions through subtle physical behavior, and how to deliver performances that feel spontaneous and alive even on the fifth take. These are the specific skills that separate actors who book recurring roles from actors who only get called back once.
This semester deepens the inner image and purpose work from Semester 1 and applies it to the practical reality of being on a professional set. Students learn not just how to act well, but how to act well under the conditions that professional production requires: tight schedules, technical marks, and the need to reproduce authentic emotion consistently.
Scene Study for Film and Television is taught by Marc John Jefferies, whose extensive experience in film and television provides students with direct insight into what directors and showrunners are looking for when they cast roles. His coaching is specific, actionable, and grounded in the realities of professional production.
Prerequisite: Core Acting Technique 101 (Semester 1). Tuition is $450 with flexible payment plans available. Classes meet weekly for two-hour sessions. Upon completing this semester, students will be prepared for the advanced work of Semester 3.
Scene Study for Film & Television is where your training shifts from foundation to application. This course marks the beginning of your professional development as a screen actor, bridging the internal technique you built in Core Acting Technique 101 with the practical demands of working on camera.
The curriculum is centered on scripted scene work — learning how to approach a script the way a working professional does. You'll develop a rigorous process for script and scene analysis, learning to break down material with precision and clarity. Beyond surface-level reading, you'll be trained to identify character objectives, map the emotional architecture of a scene, and uncover the subtle details buried in the text that most actors overlook — the discoveries that elevate a performance from competent to memorable.
Alongside analytical technique, the course builds your fluency in the technical language of film and television production. Understanding on-set terminology, directorial shorthand, and the collaborative vocabulary of a professional set ensures that when you walk onto a soundstage or location, you arrive prepared to work — not just to act.
By the end of this course, you'll possess a repeatable, professional-grade process for approaching any piece of material you're handed, and the confidence to bring something genuinely distinctive to every audition and every role.
