LENOX, Mass. -- "It's been a real challenge for me to just let go and just have fun and just play in this world," said acting student Erin Peck.

That world for Erin Peck and ten other acting students is at The Conservatory at Shakespeare and Company in Lenox, a world renown actor training program that's so intense, actors can actually get college credit for being here, if they're accepted.

"The application process is quite involved. It’s an application form, it's an actor headshot and resume, a statement of purpose and ask, we do an audition and an interview," said Shakespeare and Company associate training director Dave Demke.

Students learn to transition Shakespearean words into drama. Many of the professional actors who join the program hope to use the lessons learned in other performances.

"It's very useful, obviously, for Shakespeare because that's what it's designed for, but you can apply it to any kind of text, any kind of performance, any kind of theatre," said acting student Angela Sommerfield.

Training here has attracted some top notch talent and even some stars like Keanu Reeves and Sigourney Weaver. But it doesn't come cheap. This course, which ends later this week, costs over $10,000.

"It's been an amazing experience and an amazing process and I just know that I couldn't have gotten it anywhere else in the world," said Peck.

The program culminates in a public performance of “Twelfth Night” this weekend at the Elayne Bernstein Theatre on the campus.