USC School of Dramatic Arts

At the ribbon-cutting ceremony for SDA’s long-awaited new Dick Wolf Drama Center last spring, alumni Troian Belisario and Levar Burton emphasized crucial goals for the USC School of Dramatic Arts. First, Belisario called the new Drama Center “a bridge between the School of Dramatic Arts and the entertainment industry [which] will allow the next generation of artists to walk confidently and directly on the right path into their futures.” 

We embrace this calling with our Professional Development Center (the first of its kind for a drama school) housed in the new building, which offers services like free headshots and a state-of-the-art self-tape room. Support of our Professional Development programming has enabled our students to participate in professional experiences that would otherwise be beyond their reach, such as Musical Theatre BFA Junior Neema Muteti devoting much of last summer to workshopping Center Theatre Group’s production of American Idiot, a collaboration with Deaf West Theatre. 

Arguably, the most important professional development for artists and creatives is freedom from financial burden. As we educate versatile, multihyphenated dramatic artists who can excel in a myriad of professions, we also recognize that providing access through scholarships has never been more vital. Philanthropic support of SDA’s Scholarship Fund enables us to ensure access to a USC education and to attract top global talent. 

At the same ribbon-cutting ceremony, alumnus LeVar Burton spoke to the responsibility of artists “to not just reflect the societies in which we do our work, but to encourage them to move the needle. To move the culture forward.” This imperative is on our mind more than ever as we celebrated 30 years of using theatre for social change this year at an event that looked back on the impact of our Institute for Theatre & Social Change (ITSC), entirely supported through generous gifts from our SDA community. 

As a small school, every donation makes a significant difference in the lives of our students. Whether you give $100 to support our free headshots program, or endow a scholarship for an incoming student, your contributions make professional and academic opportunities possible for our students and enable SDA to change our industry for the better by developing artists who are both skilled professionals and “cultural changemakers.” We appreciate your support and look forward to seeing you on campus soon!