In October,  students from the prestigious Shanghai Theatre Academy were welcomed to the School of Dramatic Arts for a weeklong artistic exchange. The group participated in a range of acting sessions and visited dramatic arts classes, as well as experienced cultural excursions distinct to Los Angeles.

The group of students workshopped with the School’s world-class faculty — focusing on physical theatre, on-camera performance, improv, among other techniques — and observed classes offered by the School, from movement to dialect training. In a class taught by Assistant Professor of Theatre Practice Philip G. Allen, the actors learned about voice-over work and participated in a demonstration that featured one of their colleagues who read copy from Batman in the sound booth. “It was a career high point for me. Seeing the students from Shanghai in our classroom, laughing and asking questions, was amazing. I was just blown away with the entire experience,” Allen said.