Acting Academy Stella Adler-Los Angeles Forms Professional Theatre Company

By Gemma Wilson
28 Feb 2010

Famed acting school Stella Adler-Los Angeles has announced the formation of a new professional theatre company, the Stella Adler Los Angeles Theatre Collective, which will comprise academy alumni.

"The Collective is the fruition of the training," said Collective artistic director and academy executive director John Jack Rodgers in a press release. "Together we hope to bring theatre to life in the heart of Hollywood by working on plays of importance through actors, writers and directors who value, honor and continue the lineage that reaches to the next generation of actors currently studying at Stella Adler Los Angeles."

The company's inaugural season will begin March 12 with a world-premiere production of The Charm of Making, written by Collective member Timothy McNeil.

Next up will be courtroom classic Inherit the Wind, followed by a festival of original one-act plays written and directed by members of the Collective and advanced students of Stella Adler-Los Angeles. The season's fourth and final production will be the U.S. premiere of an international play yet to be announced.

Stella Adler Los Angeles Theatre Collective members include Charlene Amoia, Sean Astin, Clifton Collins, Jr., Carly Craig, Benicio Del Toro, Milton Justice, Laura Leyva, Timothy McNeil, Jim Parrack, Rick Peters, John Jack Rodgers, Mark Ruffalo, Holland Taylor, Gary Ross, Christopher Thronton, Hillary Weaver and Matthew Weaver. Stella Adler-Los Angeles executive director John Jack Rodgers will serve as the Collective's artistic director.

Stella Adler-Los Angeles was co-founded by actress and acclaimed acting teacher Stella Adler. Her technique has been studied by theatre and film luminaries such as Marlon Brando, Robert DeNiro, Benicio Del Toro, Salma Hayek and Mark Ruffalo, among others.