School of Theater

The School of Theater offers students an educational experience that is experimental, interdisciplinary, international, and diverse. Each unique Program gives students the flexibility, skills, and critical thinking tools to navigate a rapidly changing field and to pursue their professional goals with maximum agency. 

Our educational mission is to forge a community of citizen artists who are rigorously trained in their respective métiers and who are able to work effectively and innovatively across a broad spectrum of artistic settings, media, and technologies. As the School is based in Los Angeles, the epicenter of film and media production, the training gives considerable attention to students having the versatility to succeed in a variety of arenas.

Theater students are especially encouraged to build professional experiences and relationships while in school, mining every opportunity for them to create effective careers after graduation. The CalArts Center for New Performance, the Institute’s professional producing arm, embodies the School’s firm commitment to open exactly such possibilities for talented, ambitious students.