Stella Adler Studio of Acting Partners with 'Getting Out and Staying Out'

The Stella Adler Studio of Acting, celebrating its 65th anniversary this year, has trained some of the world's most celebrated actors including Robert De Niro, Marlon Brando, Warren Beatty, Salma Hayek and Benicio Del Toro. Having served 5,000 youth since it opened, the studio is a multi-faceted nonprofit organization that produces and operates creative, educational and celebratory events and projects annually. The studio serves recently released prisoners, low-income youth and residents of drug rehabilitation centers. The studio works to change the lives of people across a range of socio-economic and age groups and is transforming the model of what a world-renowned theater school looks like.

The studio is currently partnering with advocacy organizations Getting Out and Staying Out (GOSO) and Phoenix House, one of the country's most prominent drug rehabilitation centers. The studio also recently received a three-year, 21st Century Community Learning grant from the U.S. Department of Education to bring a traditional theater school program into seven New York City low-income middle schools, which is considered a non-traditional setting.

A vivid example of the studio's work is the GOSO partnership. Recently, GOSO students wrote a series of short plays that were performed by Stella Adler Conservatory and Outreach Division students, alumni and staff in front of a packed house. The studio teamed up with GOSO to impart a new set of written and verbal skills with the goal of having participants earn their GED. The plays focused on the life and films of Marlon Brando, an alumnus of the studio. The students chose films such as The Godfather, Mutiny on the Bounty, A Streetcar Named Desire and others.

Please find below a summary of the innovative, wonderful and inspiring endeavors at Stella Adler Studio of Acting right now:

Partnership with Getting Out and Staying Out: The Stella Adler Studio of Acting provides supplementary theater support to existing educational course load designed by Getting Out and Staying Out (GOSO). GOSO's goal is for its students to earn their GED via the GEDPlus program. At GOSO's one-room schoolhouse in Harlem, participants learn about screenwriting and all aspects of stage acting. Students are also trained in how to improve their written and verbal skills.

21st Century Community Learning Center Grant (Middle-School Program): The Stella Adler Studio of Acting recently announced it is the recipient of a prestigious 21st Century Community Learning Center grant from the U.S. Department of Education, allowing the studio to create an acting school experience in seven low-income Bronx middle schools. The program will be implemented for three years and started in the 2013-2014 school year. More than 900 students are currently enrolled in 24 weeks of coursework and are receiving extensive ensemble, voice, speech, movement and improvisation training.

The grant allows the studio to provide a service that is usually found in more affluent school districts, to schools that are usually bereft of arts programs. The grant-sponsored classes are uniquely integrated into the school day, which allows for more meaningful interaction with students. The studio works with the school principal and teachers to develop coursework.

Phoenix House: The studio also partners with Phoenix House, an alcohol and drug recovery facility, to bring a weekly theater class to 15 young residents. During this season, participants will act in a classroom project using scenes from Fences by August Wilson

65th Anniversary of the Stella Adler Studio of Acting: 2014 marks the important milestone of the 65th anniversary of the studio. Stella Adler and the studio she started in 1949 have trained many of brilliant actors of our time, including Robert De Niro, Marlon Brando, Warren Beatty, and others. The Stella Adler Studio of Acting trains more than 500 actors annually and offers public lectures, poetry readings, concerts, theater performances, dance theater events and an annual arts festival.