AMDA News

Today marks the beginning and commemoration of Black History Month! This year's theme is African Americans and the Arts, celebrating one of the core beliefs here at AMDA: that art can and does change the world. [more]

AMDA College of the Performing Arts in Los Angeles is excited to announce its new BFA in Vocal Performance: Commercial Music. Students will graduate from this BFA program as unique artists who are trained with mastery in vocal techniques, music production, genre-specific expertise, industry acumen, and holistic performance dynamics, preparing them as versatile and industry-ready professionals.  [more]

AMDA College has answered the call to action to provide accessible performing arts education to everyone, everywhere with the launch of the first fully online Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting and Music Theatre degree programs in the country. [more]

Today, February 1, marks the start of Black History Month – a time specifically set aside by our nation to celebrate the history and innumerable achievements and contributions made by Black Americans to our culture, society, and country. It is a time for all of us to recommit ourselves personally and as a community to equality, diversity, inclusion, and justice. [more]

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. declared, “We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there ‘is’ such a thing as being too late. This is no time for apathy or complacency. This is a time for vigorous and positive action.” [more]

Niche.com has ranked AMDA #1 College for Performing Arts in America for 2021! [more]

AMDA's National Director of Creative Programming, Marina Benedict, answers Backstage’s ongoing questionnaire as part of the "Reaching Higher" series! [more]

The AMDA On Broadway! series sits down with AMDA Alumnus Albert Guerzon ’00 to discuss his Broadway debut in MAMMA MIA! and forging one’s own path in the performing arts! [more]

Broadway may be dark for the foreseeable future, but the show must go on for the Tony Awards. [more]

This week, the AMDA On Broadway! series takes a walk down memory lane with AMDA Alumnus Kyle Taylor Parker ‘08. Learn about Kyle’s “why” for being an actor, his journey to Broadway, and producing his debut solo album Broadway Soul. [more]

The AMDA On Broadway! series continues this week with AMDA Alumni Monica Cioffi ’15 AND Brittany Conigatti ’10, the choreographic team behind the A Bronx Tale national tour. Learn how Monica and Brittany transitioned into the world of musical theatre as multi-talented triple threat performers. [more]

Up next in our AMDA On Broadway! series, AMDA Alumna and Broadway star of COME FROM AWAY and ONCE ON THIS ISLAND, KENITA MILLER ‘00 discusses her illustrious career on Broadway and aspirations for the future! [more]

AMDA Exclusive! Industry Spotlight with Martin and Jesse Kove [more]

AMDA's Spring 2020 Virtual Commencement Ceremony took place on Saturday, May 30th at 1:00PM EST, 10:00AM PST. [more]

Watch alumnus Christopher Jackson's patriotic rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner." [more]

AMDA Alumni Catarina Kirst and Murilo Souza Ohl along with AMDA LA student Hosea Mundi, have advanced to the TOP 15 in BroadwayWorld’s Next on Stage Competition! [more]

AMDA alumna Caissie Levy performs on ABC’s Disney Sing-a-Long last night as part of a virtual Disney On Broadway ensemble singing “You’ll Be In My Heart” [more]

Learn all about AMDA's virtual audition process and how to prepare yourself in this Facebook Live Workshop replay featuring AMDA Alumna and Broadway triple-threat, J. Elaine Marcos! [more]

Check out all of the fabulous costumes worn by AMDA students this year. [more]

We're thrilled to announce and congratulate all AMDA alumni starring in critically acclaimed shows featured at this year's 70th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards! Read more about our alums and the characters they portray below. [more]

Town Hall presents Broadway Rising Stars, a national showcase that introduces New York audiences to the next generation of up-and-coming talent as chosen by a panel of discerning judges from among the most outstanding new graduates from performing arts schools and departments throughout the country. The 2018 Rising Stars is spearheaded by Scott Siegel, creator/writer/host of Town Hall's beloved Broadway by the Year series.  [more]

Each summer AMDA welcomes high school students from around the world to our New York City and Los Angeles campuses to get a first hand look at what it’s like to be a student at one of the country's foremost performing arts institutions. [more]

From AMDA to Broadway, alumni Caissie Levy and Jacob Smith have been powerful forces in the performing arts world and beyond. We’d like to send a big congratulations to Caissie (Elsa) and Jacob (ensemble member) and the entire FROZEN cast on their opening night! [more]

  March is Women’s History Month, a month which commemorates and encourages the study, observance, and celebration of the vital role of women in American history. [more]

This past spring, AMDA alumna Janaye Furman made history by becoming the first African American woman to model the opening look for Louis Vuitton. We caught up with Janaye to discuss life after Louis Vuitton and her future plans as a model and performer. [more]

AMDA has been named #4 on Playbill’s top ten colleges currently being represented on Broadway. [more]

Congratulations to our AMDA Rising Stars! Town Hall presents Broadway Rising Stars. [more]

AMDA offers heartfelt congratulations to alumnus Jesse Tyler Ferguson for his recent nomination by the 2016 People’s Choice Awards for Favorite Comedic TV Actor! This marks Jesse’s third nomination alongside... [more]

The fab-in-drag musical sensation Kinky Boots continues its ever-growing list of starring AMDA alumni! After originally featuring as an Angel on Broadway, Kyle Taylor Parker (In The Heights), who played leading-lady Lola since the beginning of the first national tour, returned to the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on Broadway to replace Tony-winner Billy Porter for three months earlier this year. [more]

The Samuel J. Friedman Theatre’s stage reveals a seedy motel room in the Mojave Desert, the leaking A/C unit staining the wallpaper which peels over a narrow, hard mattress. The play centers around lovers May (Nina) and Eddie (Sam Rockwell), an on/off couple whose secrets from each other threaten to destroy them. [more]

With Singin’ in the Rain the most popular movie musical of all time, AMDA faculty member and director Jon Engstrom knew that the audience would expect some of the iconic scenes from the film. Musical Theatre West brought in the expert to direct and choreograph their 2014-2015 season closer this summer at the Richard and Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach. [more]

On May 26, 2015, Q Lim, a recent Integrated Conservatory graduate, made her Broadway debut at the Lincoln Center Theater in The King and I. Less than two weeks later, the production earned four Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical. Taking a few minutes between shows, Lim graciously told us a little bit about herself and her transformative path to Broadway. [more]

AMDA congratulates alumna Sarah Stiles on her 2015 Tony Award nomination for her performance in Broadway’s Hand to God. Stiles is nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play. [more]

Alumna Tyne Daly, Broadway and small-screen legend, has been nominated for a Distinguished Performance Award at the 81^st Annual Drama League Awards on May 15, 2015. One winner is selected in this category, and it can be won only once by a performer in his/her professional career. Previous recipients include Kathleen Chalfant, Stockard Channing, Glenn Close, Rosemary Harris, Hugh Jackman, Cherry Jones, James Earl Jones, Nathan Lane and John Lithgow. [more]

From a young age, AMDA alumna Rosa Alicia (Azuara Hernandez) Delain knew she was destined for the theatre. After every show that her mother took her to see, she would return home to re-enact each scene. There was “the  time we went to see an adaptation of Swan Lake for kids,” she recalled, “and all I did the whole week was repeat all the lines from the show that I could remember. I was four!” [more]

When Jesse Karlan was seven years old, her best friend was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a degenerative lung and digestive disease. Jesse immediately took action at a young age and created a musical revue, Sing For A Cure, to raise money for cystic fibrosis research. She then sold tickets to her revue, along with three CDs she recorded at Universal Music, in order to raise money toward finding a cure. Today, you can find Jesse’s songs on iTunes, Rhapsody and Napster, with all proceeds going to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Since her first performance of Sing For A Cure, she has raised over $100,000. [more]

Broadway is humming feverishly this spring with rousing new musicals and plays. And many AMDA alumni are part of the frenzy. From hilarious revivals to creatively adapted movies, nine Broadway shows currently have AMDA alumni—four of which will officially open this April. [more]

AMDA students eagerly anticipate the day they get to showcase their talents to industry professionals, in the hopes of securing an agent, manager or job before graduation. The students recognize, of course, the hard work that must be done to earn this opportunity. And when the day finally does come, students do not take it lightly. They've taken professional headshots, crafted enticing resumes (even with limited professional experience) and rehearsed many, many hours. [more]

As AMDA celebrates its 50^th anniversary, AMDA alumni continue to impact Broadway and New York theatre with bold, captivating performances, prolonging AMDA’s rich history in the NY theatre scene. From The New York International Fringe Festival to hit Broadway productions, AMDA graduates help to shape works small and large, from Broadway theatres to cozy, intimate spaces dispersed throughout the five boroughs . We proudly boasted in a previous post that if you attended a Broadway show this past summer, you might find it difficult to miss one of our alumni. AMDA graduates performed in 15 of the 39 shows running at the time. A similar picture emerges for this fall: AMDA alumni appear in roughly one-third of Broadway productions—eight in starring roles! [more]

Launching September 4, 2014 is the 1st national tour of Kinky Boots, the six-time Tony Award-winning musical with a score by Cyndi Lauper and a book by Tony winner Harvey Fierstein. We’re particularly excited here at AMDA because the tour will have not one, but three AMDA Alumni! [more]

AMDA alumnus JASON WISE, mentored by nine-time Tony Award-winning legend Tommy Tune, has established himself as one of New York's most exciting young director/choreographers. He began his career as a performer in the national tours of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and Cats. But today, with the assistance of Tommy Tune and two-time Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell, Jason has transitioned into directing and choreographing. His recent credits include the Fiddler at 50 (the 50th anniversary concert of Fiddler on the Roof), 4 Girls 4 with Maureen McGovern and Donna McKechnie, the Off-Broadway production of Bayside! The Saved By The Bell Musical, Michael John LaChiusa's See What I Wanna See at The Producers Club, and the original East Village production and Midtown Off-Broadway transfer of Showgirls: The Musical!. [more]

Congratulations to AMDA Los Angeles Dance Department Co-Chair  Marina Benedict ("Burn Notice," "Torchwood," "ER") who has been tapped to join Starz’s new drama series "Flesh and Bone" from Emmy Award winning writer and executive producer Moira Walley-Beckett ("Breaking Bad") and Academy Award Nominated Executive producer Lawrence Bender (Pulp Fiction, Inglorious Bastards). [more]

Congratulations to AMDA alumnus Jason Derulo on this week's release of his third album, Talk Dirty, and the accompanying fanfare of press and appearances. Jason was featured on the Yahoo homepage and performed an iheartradio release concert. [more]

Congratulations to AMDA alumnus Kyle Scatliffe who has been nominated for a 2014 Olivier Award for BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL for his portrayal of Haywood Patterson in the London West End production of The Scottsboro Boys! Kyle performed in The Scottsboro Boys throughout its West End run from October 18 to December 21, 2013. Directed by the multiple Tony Award winning Susan Stroman, the production is nominated for a total of 6 Awards. According to The London Evening Standard “the stand-out performance comes from the imposing Kyle Scatliffe as Haywood Patterson...," The Daily Mail called Kyle “charismatic” and says “Haywood’s songs Go Back Home and You Can’t Do Me are among the best of the numbers," and the Guardian UK proclaimed "The cast is dominated by the outstanding Kyle Scatliffe as Haywood Patterson – tall, commanding and with a hotline-to-heaven of a voice." [more]

Nathan Reid, an AMDA graduate, has been acting, writing, and producing films for over 10 years. In 2004, Nathan wrote and sold his first script, Snowman Assassin. In 2005, he executive produced and starred in his first film Old Man Music, starring Geoffrey Lewis and J.A. Preston, which won the Gold Metal for Excellence at the Park City Music Festival and various other awards of recognition. In 2008, Nathan created Prey: The Beginning; a comic book franchise. The first issue was listed #3 in the top ten sales ranking for Independent comics. In 2013, Nathan formed Reinventing Films with producing partner Jodie Bentley, and then merged with Moving Pictures Media Group in early 2014. RF and MPMG have slates of films in all stages of production and look forward to their growing partnership. [more]

AMDA LA is beyond thrilled to welcome Jason Alexander as guest speaker for our coming graduation ceremony! [more]

Meet AMDA graduate Sam Underwood. You may have seen him recently on Showtime’s award-winning TV series “Homeland” as Leo Carras or on the final season of “Dexter,” as Dexter’s killer protégé Zach Hamilton.  Sam recently made his debut on “The Following” as the handsome and creepy set of murderous twins, Luke and Mark. His plot-twisting performance sent the mainstream media, blogs and social media world buzzing, further confirming that Sam is a star on the rise! [more]

Alumnus Kyle Scatliffe is currently starring in the U.K. premiere production of Kander and Ebb's The Scottsboro Boys, directed by Susan Stroman, at The Young Vic Theatre on London's West End. [more]

AMDA alumna Natalie Zea is an actor known for her versatility, her depth of artistry and her flawless character portrayals. Natalie’s diverse career already includes over 35 TV and film credits. Natalie currently stars in Fox’s hit series, “The Following,” as Claire Matthews, love interest to Kevin Bacon’s broken hero. Many also recognize her from her performances in the FX series “Justified,” in which she plays Winona Hawkins, and as heiress Karen Darling on ABC’s “Dirty Sexy Money.” Her many recurring TV roles include Jemma on “Hung,” Carrie on “Californication,” Michael Chiklis’ complicated love interest Lauren on “The Shield” and as bad girl Maxine in the CBS drama “Under The Dome.” [more]

AMDA graduate Ben Cotton will play the recurring role of Tweedle Dum in "Once Upon A Time: Wonderland," the new ABC TV series debuting October 10, 2013. [more]

Alumnus Lee Tergesen will speak at the Graduation Ceremony for AMDA New York's Summer 2013 graduating class, on Saturday October 5, 2013. [more]

AMDA alumnus Jeremy Pope has been praised in the New York Times for the third time in recent months, due to his breakout performance in the lead role of Pharus in the new gospel music-themed play Choir Boy, currently running at the Manhattan Theatre Club in NYC. In the most recent article, Jeremy is interviewed in a profile with a headline proclaiming him "A Breakout, Onstage and at Home." In it, Jeremy talks about his experience in the critically-acclaimed production along with what it it took to get there. [more]

We were thrilled to catch up with our recent AMDA alumna Gabriela Garcia who has been a very busy lady since graduating with her BFA in Acting from AMDA in Fall 2012. Gabriela is currently the reigning Miss Tarzana (a city suburb of Los Angeles) and will soon be leaving to compete for the Miss California title. She will also be starting at USC this fall where she will be working toward her MFA degree. Gabriela grew up in Lancaster, California, which surprisingly enough was also Judy Garland’s hometown – a little fact that she likes to think of as good luck! [more]

AMDA is proud to announce the premiere issue of our revamped magazine, Spotlight. As "The Magazine of the AMDA Community," Spotlight features campus news and events, photo galleries, informative features and interviews, and updates on alumni and faculty. [more]