THE
Christiansen
ACTING ACADEMY
Diane Christiansen Coaching is now...
THE
ACTING ACADEMY
Christiansen
Our goal with changing our name is to keep the reputation we are so proud of, while also representing a bigger team, bigger student base, and multiple locations in Los Angeles and Agoura Hills, CA. The Christiansen Acting Academy is an ideal acting school for students to prepare for a career in the entertainment industry, regardless of age or experience. Whether you’re enrolled or thinking of applying, continue browsing to find out about our programs, memberships, and more!
Diane Christiansen’s career has spanned 5 decades an actress, dancer, author, director, producer, writer, costume designer, mother, grandmother and Studio owner. Acting Coach to Oscar nominees, Emmy award winners, numerous Disney Channel stars and some of Hollywood's hottest talent. She has mastered the multi hyphenate to say the least.
Diane is the published author of “Scene for Teens, by Teens”, a compilation of scenes written by Hollywood teenagers. She has been nominated and won the coveted honor of ‘Number 1 Acting Coach in Hollywood’ 2 years in a row by Backstage West Readers Choice awards. Rated the “#1 Coach in Hollywood”, 9 years running by Children in Film, voted ‘Top 10 Acting School in Hollywood’ by ‘Hometown to Hollywood’s’ by Bonnie Wallace, author and Mother to Dove Cameron. Diane has been an acting coach on TLC’s TV show ‘Faking It’ and Danny Bonaduce’s ‘My Kids a Star’. Also a guest director at Cal Arts and 1st place recipient of the ‘Mercy Award’ for their play festival in Santa Monica, CA for her work as a Director.
Diane coaches many acclaimed actors on TV shows like Euphoria, This is Us, Dickinson, Stranger Things, Sandman, Quantum Leap, ATypical, Runaways, Titans, Arcane, House, Bunk’d, Mom,The Walking Dead, Glee, Wizards of Waverly Place, The Suite Life of Zach & Cody, Good Time Charlie, Law & Order, Liv & Maddie, Sonny with a Chance, Criminal Minds, LOST, Ghost Whisperer, How I Met your Mother, Whitney, 90210, The Long Road Home, Bluebloods, Shark, Everybody Hates Chris, Weeds, Speechless, Hawaii 5-O, Last Man Standing, New Girl, iCarly, Jessie, Private Practice, Perpetual Grace Ltd, Grey’s Anatomy,The Wilds, Alias, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The Office, Ratched, Hollywood, The Mentalist, Cold Case, NYPD Blue, ER, Without a Trace, Desperate Housewives, 24 to name a few. She’s also trained actors appearing in feature films like Avatar, the Way of Water, Encanto, The Tender Bar, Spiderman, Enders Game, Begin Again, Avengers, The Kang Dynasty, Bumblebee, The Edge of 17, Sky High, Romeo & Juliet, The Tragedy of MacBeth, Dear Evan Hansen, Us, True Grit, Pitch Perfect, Hawkeye, How to be Single, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Star Trek, The Heartbreak Kid, Spanglish, Samantha Who, Cat in the Hat, Bruce Almighty, Lethal, 13 going on 30, Canal Street & Antoine Fisher. On Broadway, her actors appear in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, A Raisin in the Sun, Motown the Musical, The Addams Family and Beetlejuice. Diane has student actors on 100’s of Commercial’s and many are recipients of Emmy’s, Kids Choice, Golden Globe, C.A.R.E., Young Artist and SAG awards.
Tess Christiansen brings 20+ years of training, 17 years of professional credits as a Hollywood child actor, 8 years of teaching and tons of heart to her classes!
Having studied at the Diane Christiansen Studios her entire life, Tess knows what it’s like to train, build confidence and have a lot of fun within the structure of a set, theater or class. Tess has also studied and performed Improv at the prestigious Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Los Angeles, founded by SNL alum Amy Poehler. Most recently, Tess appeared in the lead role of Jade in the Mar Vista feature, MOST LIKELY TO DIE. Tess has appeared in print campaigns for major companies such as Mattel and Harley Davidson, as well as a multimedia campaign for Proctor and Gamble. Other credits include commercials for Disney and Universal Studios; over a dozen commercial and voiceover credits; and a recent co-star appearance on the CW’s 90210. Tess has had the privilege of working with A-list directors like Jerry Zucker and Fred Durst, as well as celebrities such as Billy Zane, Shia LaBeouf and Dev to name a few.
Tess has her finger on the pulse of the commercial world and her student bookings are weekly. She prides herself on helping her students open up their creativity and giving them the necessary tools to deliver their best auditions. Tess has appeared in dozens of commercials throughout her career as both a child and adult actor, including Disney Channel, Universal Studios, Bod Man Fragrance, Harley Davidson, iMac, Mattel and numerous PSAs, to name a few.
Isaac Stockonis, a long-time working actor and student of The Christiansen Acting Academy, is here to share his wealth of knowledge!
Isaac is an actor originally from Colorado who has resided in Los Angeles on and off for the past 5 years. He studied theatre at Colorado Mesa University where he received a BFA in Acting/Directing. While at CMU he did a multitude of plays, received acting awards, and was a part of the improv team Oddly Appropriate. He has been with The Christiansen Acting Academy since he was 15 years old. Recently he was in the play The Birthday Party at City Garage Theatre in Santa Monica and just wrapped filming a short film called Blood Brothers. He is excited to expand his knowledge of the practice of the craft of acting into teaching.