At the core of the Center for the Arts, the Stella Adler Studio of Acting has trained thousands of actors since its founding in 1949, many of whom have gone on to important theater and film careers. Its roots, however, go back even farther, to Jacob P. Adler, one of the great actors of the American Yiddish Theatre, and also include Harold Clurman, Stella’s second husband and co-founder of the Group Theatre.
In 1972, the Stella Adler Studio of Acting became the first professional actor training school to become affiliated with NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. The spirit that has animated the Adler family for more than 100 years stems from the insight that growth as an actor and growth as a human being are synonymous. The studio’s mission is to create an environment with the purpose of nurturing theater artists and audiences who value humanity, their own and others, as their first and most precious priority by providing art and education to the greater community.
In addition to the world-class professional training, the free cultural programming at the Stella Adler Center for the Arts has helped the studio evolve into one of the most culturally rich environments in New York City. Students also have opportunities to get involved with the Stella Adler Arts Justice Division, which provides free acting classes to low-income high school students and underserved communities.
