Audition Required
Classes Begin September 6th, 2022
Tuition: $8500
Early Bird Application Deadline: February 15, 2022
General Application Deadline: April 1, 2022

Scholarships Information

Next Virtual Open House is Nov. 16-17, 2021: https://www.stellaadler.com/classes/open-house/

UPDATE (8/30/2021): COVID-19 vaccines will be mandated for all in-person classes at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York and Art of Acting Studio in Los Angeles. Please visit the studio’s Health & Safety page for the latest updates and a list of measures the studio has taken to protect the community against COVID-19: https://stellaadler.com/about/health-safety/

Please visit the studio’s Health & Safety page for the latest updates and a list of measures the studio has taken to protect the community against COVID-19: https://stellaadler.com/about/health-safety/

The 3-Year Conservatory is the apex of all training programs at the Stella Adler Studio, with training that is equivalent to the top MFA programs in the nation. In this exclusive program students learn tools and techniques to better engage their imagination, to analyze text deeply and accurately, to create rich, specific characters, to engage the body and voice fully and to work professionally and creatively on both stage and screen. The goal of this program is to fully prepare students for both the craft and business of acting. The conservatory, accredited by the National Association of Schools of Theatre, facilitates continued growth not only as a creative artist but also as a human being. The academic year spans from September through May (January-August for the January Start Class). This year the studio will take in a new class in September 2020 and January 2021.

The First Year

The first year of the program focuses on providing students a foundation from which to grow through a firm acting technique, voice and speech work, movement and physical exploration, as well as contemporary and classical scene work. Students will develop a facile and responsive body, a strong and clear voice, and clear understanding of the studio’s technique.
Classes: Acting Technique, Contemporary Scene Study, Improvisation, Alignment/Sourcework, Script Interpretation, Character, Shakespeare, Voice and Speech, Neutral Mask, Classical Scene Study

The Second Year

The second year concentrates on applying the tools learned in the first year through intense contemporary and classical scene work, with continued voice and speech work and an exploration of physical acting. Students begin performance through a language project, finally culminating in a performance presentation of a classical play in rehearsal format. Also throughout this year students begin preparing for the profession through auditions, working with industry professionals, and learning how to produce self-generated work.
Classes: Classical Scene Study, Voice and Speech, Contemporary Scene Study, Physical Acting, On-Camera Master Class, Movement for Actors, Script Interpretation, Audition Preparation, Acting Technique, Self Generated Theatre

The Final Year

The final year consists of the creation of an original movement- oriented piece followed by three performances of plays—one classical and two contemporary. Additionally, students will perform a 60-minute version of a classical play that will tour NYC schools. Students will also have master classes in stage combat, taught by renowned fight director J. Steven White, and on preparing for the acting profession with Emmy Nominated Casting Director Todd Thaler. This is followed by industry meetings, assistance in creating a website & reel, and an opportunity to audition for the showcase.
Classes: Business of Acting, Classical Workshop, Voice Language & Text, Physical Acting, Stage Combat, Special Guest Master Class, Acting Technique for Film

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Admission Information

Admission is by interview and audition. Applicants must be 18 years of age or older, and must submit the following:

1. A completed Online Application Form.
2. Headshot and Resume
3. Two letters of recommendation, including the referee’s address and telephone number. The letters should be from teacher or persons who can supply a recommendation as to the applicant’s character and potential. Referees may be contacted directly.
4. A $70 non-refundable application fee (payable to Stella Adler Studio of Acting, Inc).

The Audition

The audition should consist of two monologues: one classical and one contemporary/realism, no longer than 90 seconds each. Phone/Zoom Interviews and Video Auditions are acceptable. Audition videos can be uploaded to a streaming service such as Youtube or Vimeo and then the link submitted through the Video Auditions Form.  After the interview and audition have taken place, applicants will be formally notified by phone regarding their acceptance in the program.

*prices, curriculum, and faculty subject to change

Stella Adler Acceptance Rate

The Stella Adler Studio of Acting(formerly Stella Adler Conservatory) is a prestigious acting school that was founded by actress and teacher Stella Adler. The Stella Adler Studio of Acting has two locations: its original New York City conservatory, founded in 1949, and the Art of Acting Studio in Los Angeles.The Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York is not affiliated with the Stella Adler Academy & Theatre, which Adler established in Los Angeles in 1985. The Stella Adler Studio and the Juilliard School currently boast the lowest program acceptance rates in the professional acting world. The studio only accepts sixteen students a semester into its professional conservatory program

History

Background and approach
Concurrent with her work as an actor and director, Stella Adler began to teach in the early 1940s at the Erwin Piscator Workshop at the New School for Social Research in New York. She left the faculty in 1949 to establish her own studio in New York in the same year.

Combining what she had learned from the Yiddish theatre, the Group Theatre, Broadway, Hollywood, and Constantin Stanislavski, Stella created the Stella Adler Theatre Studio, later renamed the Stella Adler Conservatory of Acting and more recently the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, where she taught acting for many decades, and in 1985, she opened the Stella Adler Academy and Theatre in Los Angeles.

The studio offered courses in principles of acting, voice and speech, Shakespeare, movement, and makeup, as well as workshops in play analysis, character, scene preparation, and acting styles. Onstage experience was acquired by performances of scenes and plays before an invited audience. Among her early students were Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro, Warren Beatty, Elaine Stritch, Mario Van Peebles, Harvey Keitel, and Candice Bergen.

Adler’s grandson Tom Oppenheim, who runs the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York and the Art of Acting Studio in Los Angeles, summarizes her approach to acting as such: “Growth as an actor and growth as a human being are synonymous.”

Establishment in New York

Stella Adler (1901–1992), founder of the school
The Stella Adler Studio of Acting, in New York City, was founded in 1949 by Adler. In 1969, it became the first professional training school to become affiliated with New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. The studio became a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization in 2000. The mission of the Stella Adler Studio of Acting is to create an environment with the purpose of nurturing theatre artists who value humanity, their own and others, as their first and most precious priority while providing art and education to the greater community.

The Stella Adler Studio of Acting New York City’s official West Coast branch is the Art of Acting Studio Los Angeles, named after Stella Adler’s most famous book. The Stella Adler Studio of Acting is not affiliated with the Stella Adler Academy in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles studio
Adler’s long history with Hollywood meant she had close ties and strong connections in the Los Angeles area. She taught for many years at various locations in Los Angeles, and longtime friend and protégé Joanne Linville and she eventually opened the doors to the Stella Adler Conservatory of Acting at the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Argyle. Some of the notable people who have passed through the Hollywood conservatory include Nick Nolte, Salma Hayek,Eric Stoltz, Deidre Hall, Sean Astin, John Charles Jopson, John Ritter, Herschel Savage, Cybill Shepherd, Michael Richards, Benicio del Toro,and Mark Ruffalo.

Protégés Joanne Linville and Irene Gilbert persuaded Stella Adler to open the academy in 1985 in Los Angeles.Together, Gilbert and Linville are considered the school’s cofounders, with Adler granting them permission to use her name.Gilbert remained the director of the school for 20 years.

The original school was located in a small theater at Hollywood Boulevard and Argyle Avenue. A fire forced the temporary closure of the school in 1991.The building was threatened with demolition to make way for a proposed subway line at the time of Adler’s death in 1992. In 1994, Irene Gilbert reopened the school’s present location at 6773 Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue. It was renamed the Stella Adler Academy of Acting, and celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2010. The historic location housed the famous Embassy Club in the 1930s.

The school is an acting studio offering extensive training for actors in theatre, film, and television. The facility houses the not-for-profit Stella Adler Theatre, the Irene Gilbert Theatre, The Studio C Theatre, classrooms, dance studio, music studio, library, dressing rooms, video and equipment room, scene shop, and administrative offices, all dedicated to teaching Stella’s technique.

Linville continues to teach at the academy as the lead instructor for the last 25 years. Irene Gilbert died in 2011.

In 2010, alumni of the school formed the Stella Adler Los Angeles Theatre Collective.