Our Two Year New York City Conservatory offers students
a full-time professional training program
Exploring classes anywhere from Beyond Shakespeare to Ballet, Circle in the Square is a unique home for artists and strong actors who are ready to transition into the professional world.
Offering both a Two Year Acting Track and Two Year Musical Theatre Track, both programs emphasize acting technique based in truthful storytelling, with a foundation in live theatre performance.
We aim to support and educate our students, giving them the tools to become successful working actors and unique theatre artists with the ability to adapt to an ever-evolving industry.
Tuition: $26,000 per year
Hours: Mon – Fri, 6-8 hours/day
* Applicants must be at least 18 years of age as of October 1st, 2024
and hold a High School Diploma or equivalent at the start of their applied school year.
2025-2026 Dates
Orientation: September 4th & 5th, 2025
Fall Term Begins: September 8th, 2025
Thanksgiving Break: November 24th - November 28th, 2025
Winter Break: December 19th 2024 - January 12th, 2026
Spring Term Begins: January 15th, 2026
Spring Break: March 2nd - 6th, 2026
End of Term (1st Year Class): May 8th, 2026
End of Term (2nd Year Class): April 17th, 2026
Graduation Repertory Series: June 1st - June 6th, 2026
Graduation Ceremony: June 8th, 2026
Professional Theatre Workshop
Acting Track
Circle in the Square is dedicated to teaching the traditions of live theatre performance while simultaneously preparing our students to thrive in all areas of artistic performance. The Acting Track curriculum has been carefully curated to ensure our students have maximum exposure to multiple acting techniques, approaches and artistic development practices.
In addition to the core classes in Contemporary and Shakespearean Scene Study all students take Neutral & Character Mask, Clown & Improv, Voice & Diction, Acting Technique, Film, Laban & Alexander Technique, Armed and Unarmed Combat, Ballet & Jazz Dance, Music Theory & Private Voice Lessons.
Additional classes specific to the Acting Track are Beyond Shakespeare — a scene study class focused on plays from the late 1800's - 1960 — and Acting the Monologue — including Shakespeare, Contemporary and Audition Technique.
Skills learned in each class both compliment and build upon one another with the goal of developing flexible, versatile, multi-talented actors with their own unique artistry and technique.
Professional Theatre Workshop
Musical Theatre Track
Similar to the Acting Track outlined to the left, the Musical Theatre curriculum has also been specifically curated to ensure our students have maximum exposure to multiple acting techniques, approaches and artistic development practices.
Musical Theatre students take the same core Contemporary and Shakespearean Scene Study classes along with Neutral & Character Mask, Clown & Improv, Voice & Diction, Acting Technique, Film, Laban & Alexander Technique, Armed and Unarmed Combat, Ballet & Jazz Dance, Music Theory & Private Voice Lessons.
Additional classes specific to the Musical Theatre Track are Musical Theatre Scene Study — a class that explores scene work from both golden age and contemporary musicals — and Musical Theatre Performance — a class focused on solo song performance and audition technique.
The curriculum is designed so that the skills learned in each class both compliment and build upon one another with the goal of developing a musical theatre artist comfortable performing in both plays and musicals with a depth of both musicianship and acting technique.