Having worked and lived in New York/London in the early 1990s, Mr. Meindl moved to Los Angeles in 1997 and began a serious personal examination of Eastern philosophy and its universal message and affect on the West. Having been influenced by the work of David Mamet, Sande Shurin, Elizabeth Browning, Michael Chekhov and other teachers who were teaching a new, very real style of acting that was a departure from traditional Method theories, Mr. Meindl began to experience his work in exciting new ways.

In Los Angeles, he opened a studio with just six original students mostly teaching under Ms. Shurin's curriculum. As he began to grow as an artist and understood the demands of LA actors to be different than their NY counterparts he began to modify his teaching style becoming experimental and as non-theoretical as possible. He began exploring the laws of quantum physics and was fascinated by the correlation between science and spirituality. The parallels between infinite, never-ending space and the inexhaustible human potential became the inspiration for his early work.

As he began to understand the immutable laws which govern the universe and the illusion of our man-made construct of time/space, he experimented with taking these life truths and applying them in an acting context. What, after all, was acting but literally a slice of life experienced in real time; in the here-and-now? If life were governed by certain universal truths, why would we strive to create something artificial in our acting? The acting must adhere to these same laws if it were to be truthful. If life is the macro then acting is the micro that sits within that greater construct. No more would acting be taught as something "acted." Just because the actor was saying someone else's words or speaking another's text did not mean that it was any less real for the person. He was simply living his life under these circumstances using someone else's words.

But the same laws always apply no matter who you are or what set of circumstances you are in. With these exciting principles as his foundation, Mr. Meindl created a whole new approach to acting that incorporated great spiritual/scientific truths that tapped into the actor's potential in ways never before experienced.

He began to incorporate other non-traditional approaches to study, including field trips, movement and dance, meditation instruction, healing seminars, yoga, voice and other workshops that holistically helped create more whole human beings and actors. He currently teaches eight classes, has three assistant teachers trained in this methodology, leads workshops, directs showcases and plays, has started a writing group and works with hundreds of talented artists every week.

The purpose of the workshop and its teaching philosophy is to awaken actors to the art of being human. By removing the term "acting" from one's vocabulary, the actors are schooled in a technique whereby they begin to experience themselves in life situations that are no longer 'acted' but lived. Acting cannot be taught. The technical elements of acting can be learned (working with and understanding a script, auditioning, voice work, reading of lines, breaking down scenes, etc.) However, the art of acting - the very thing that makes someone dynamic and empowered and self-actualized in their work - comes from permission and courage. The actor gives himself permission to feel things, to express emotion, to move beyond self-imposed blocks and barriers within his own emotional system, while at the same time being brave enough to move into new levels of awareness and healing.

To that end, the purpose of the work at the workshop is to encourage the actor to stop representing feelings and instead experience them; to stop acting and start living.