Dick Wolf, the Emmy-winning creator/producer and architect of the most successful brand in television (Law & Order), is supporting the next generation of young artists and creative entrepreneurs with a significant contribution to the USC School of Dramatic Arts, USC announced today. In recognition of his generosity, the School of Dramatic Arts’ recently renovated building will be named the Dick Wolf Drama Center.
“I am so honored that Dick’s name will grace this perfect and appropriate home for our world-renowned, conservatory-level artistic hub in the heart of our campus,” USC President Carol Folt said. “Since its founding, USC has produced award-winning artists and creatives who help us make sense of our ever-changing world. Our students and faculty will continue to be inspired in our new Dick Wolf Drama Center every day.”
Emily Roxworthy, dean of the School of Dramatic Arts, echoed that sentiment. “We are thrilled and grateful that Dick has made a commitment to our students here at USC,” Roxworthy said. “Our state-of-the-art facility, with its unique services like a dedicated professional development center and Sparks Center for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, serves as a bridge to Hollywood and a support system for young artists as they navigate their way into ever-evolving creative industries. Dick’s career has enabled so many stage and screen actors to launch and sustain their own careers through game-changing roles in his shows, and we are exceptionally proud to continue this work with his support.”
The definitive creative entrepreneur, Wolf is a two-time Emmy Award winner (13-time Emmy-nominated), a Grammy Award winner and a New York Times best-selling author. In addition to serving as creator and executive producer of all the Law & Order-branded series, Wolf has extended his branding to other series including Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., Chicago Med, FBI, FBI Most Wanted, FBI International and the new Amazon Prime series On Call. Wolf’s company also produced the Oscar-winning documentary Twin Towers.
“Education has always been a priority for me, and for Wolf Entertainment,” Wolf said. “It is my privilege to be associated with USC and this state-of-the-art facility. At Wolf Entertainment we will have our eye on the next generation of talent to emerge from the School of Dramatic Arts.”
The Dick Wolf Drama Center, which will be officially renamed in the spring semester, is a complete reimagining of the former United University Church, a historic building on campus. A point was made to retain the 1930s-style architecture — complete with stone engravings, spiral columns and stained-glass windows — but the interior was completely redone for the modern age. Students now have access to a professional development center where they can record auditions and collaborate with peers, in the same building as an integrated media lab, recording studios and dressing rooms. Along with those improvements, the building also features two new theaters: the Sanctuary Theatre and the Stop Gap Theatre — the latter named after a former streetcar station at the south edge of campus that was converted into one of the department’s first theater spaces in 1948.
The naming comes as USC President Carol Folt has launched the new “USC Arts Now” initiative to foster projects and programming that encourages new collaborations among USC’s arts schools, along with USC Museums and USC’s arts and humanities initiative Visions and Voices. The initiative aims to connect the arts to all disciplines at the university’s campuses and to artists, arts industries and arts institutions in Los Angeles and around the world.
The building is part of the “arts corridor” along 34th Street, complementing the USC Thornton School of Music, the USC Kaufman School of Dance and the USC School of Cinematic Arts.
At the ribbon-cutting for the building earlier this year, actor and School of Dramatic Arts alumna Troian Bellisario — star of Wolf’s latest scripted project Amazon Prime’s On Call — said the building and the facilities inside set the stage for students to succeed.
“The resources within these walls will provide a new generation of artists a fighting chance in this challenging and ever-shifting industry,” Bellisario said. “This building, and the programs facilitated within, will ensure that no one is left just jumping off and hoping for luck.”
The USC School of Dramatic Arts is consistently one of the top-rated drama schools in the country. It is committed to nurturing the talents of artist-scholars who are driven to imagine and shape the future of the entertainment industry. Led by a faculty of working professionals (including Kate Burton, Bayo Akinfemi, Alexandra Billings and more), the school is renowned for its interdisciplinary and entrepreneurial approach to artist training, ensuring that students graduate with the tools necessary for sustainable and thriving careers.
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