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Private performing arts conservatory
American Academy of Dramatic Arts
|
Type
| Private
drama school
|
---|
Established
| 1884
|
---|
Founder
| Franklin Haven Sargent
|
---|
Endowment
| Approx. $5 million
|
---|
President
| Susan Zech (born 1971)
[i]
|
---|
Academic staff
| New York total: 39
[1]
(31 of 39 part time)
Los Angeles total: 50
[1]
(41 of 50 part-time)
|
---|
Administrative staff
| New York: 39
[2]
Los Angeles: 39
[2]
|
---|
Students
| New York: 524
[3]
Los Angeles: 303
[3]
|
---|
Other students
| Summer Intensives
|
---|
Location
| ,
United States
|
---|
Campus
| Urban
|
---|
Colors
| Gold and Black
|
---|
Affiliations
| NAICU
,
MSA
|
---|
Website
| www
.aada
.edu
|
---|
|
The
American Academy of Dramatic Arts
(
AADA
) is a
private
drama school
with two locations, one in
New York City
and one in
Los Angeles
. The academy offers an
associate degree
in occupational studies and teaches drama and related arts in the areas of theater, film, and television. Students also have the opportunity to audition for the third-year theater company, which showcases upcoming talent to the school and community. Students can usually transfer completed credits to another college or university to finish a
bachelor's degree
if they choose.
History
[
edit
]
The oldest acting school in the English-speaking world,
[4]
the academy in
New York City
was founded in 1884 by Franklin Haven Sargent, a graduate of
Harvard University
and professor of speech and elocution at his alma mater.
[5]
Sargent's vision was to establish a school to train actors for the
stage
. Its first home was the original
Lyceum Theatre
on what is now Park Avenue South. In 1963, the school moved to its current home, a landmark building designed by the
American Renaissance
architect
Stanford White
for the
Colony Club
.
[6]
In 1974, the academy opened another campus in
Pasadena, California
, which made it the only professional actor-training school in both major centers of American entertainment. The
Los Angeles
campus moved from Pasadena to Hollywood in 2001 in a new building next to the
Jim Henson Company Lot
.
Academics
[
edit
]
The academy remains dedicated to training professional actors. It offers a two-year program in which students have to be invited back for the second year. Auditions are held at the end of the second year for the third-year company.
[7]
As well as training for the theatre, it now offers courses in
film
and
television
, providing a structured, professionally oriented program that stresses self-discovery, self-discipline and individuality. Students who graduate in New York receive an Associate of Occupational Studies degree; students who graduate in Hollywood receive a Certificate of Completion or an Associate of Arts degree in acting. Students from New York and Los Angeles can get a Bachelor of Arts degree from selected universities.
Numerous students of the academy have gone on to careers in the entertainment industry. Alumni of the academy have been nominated for 110
Oscars
, 317
Emmys
and 94
Tonys
.
[
citation needed
]
Notable alumni and faculty
[
edit
]
Notes and references
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Sue Zech
(ne
Susan Elizabeth Zech; born 1971) is the President of the AADA. She is a native of
Westlake, Ohio
, and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Management (1993) from the
University of Dayton
.
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]