The USC School of Dramatic Arts (SDA) is entering an exciting chapter in the preparation of artists for the ever-evolving entertainment industry with the opening of the new Dramatic Arts Building, a revival and renovation of a historic building at the corner of Jefferson and Hoover. This home base is located across from USC Village and in the performing arts corridor with the University’s premier performing arts schools just down the street — Thornton School of Music, School of Cinematic Arts and the Glorya Kaufman School of Dance.
Opened in March 2024, the reconfigured five-story building provides SDA with a state-of-the-art, nearly 40,000-square-foot building at the center of the USC campus where students, faculty and staff can come together to cultivate the next generation of diverse storytellers and share the power of creativity with the entire community.
With the addition of space, SDA has increased student support services and access to technologies being utilized across the entertainment industry to ensure that students graduate media-agile and able to adapt their talents to any medium. These facilities include:
- SDA’s innovative Professional Development Center, which serves as a bridge to the industry and empowers students to be self-sustaining working artists, has a cutting-edge new home in the building, with a dedicated self-tape studio.
- A beautiful space for the Sparks Center for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion ensures the success of all students, and where collaboration in and across affinity groups can change the face of the entertainment industry.
- Two new performance venues (a 110-seat flexible theatre and a smaller cabaret space) – as well as an integrated media suite, audio design lab, vocal practice rooms, rehearsal spaces, and classrooms for programs ranging from musical theatre to improv comedy.
- Additionally, the student center and garden courtyard serves as gathering spaces for SDA’s 600+ students to network with guest artists, faculty and staff, and connect to the wider University community.
Great care was taken to preserve the historic feel and elements of the Italian Romanesque Revival-style building, while making it a sustainable home for 21st-century artists.