Interested in attending a vocational training program in Acting or Technical Theater?
The Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts (PCPA) is a two year intense vocational training program located in Santa Maria on the Central Coast of California. They have two year programs in both Acting and Technical Theater. The students train as members of a professional company mentored by professional equity artists with a passion to teach.
When Can I Audition?
Auditions/interviews for the 2013-2015 class will begin in November. You must audition by the end of February
Where are the Auditions?
detailed audition tour schedule
How Should I Audition?
Actors will need to audition with one contemporary monologue, one Shakespeare monologue, and one song. The whole audition should not exceed 4 minutes. We do accept video auditions.
Technicians are admitted based on an interview. A resume of previous experience is helpful but not required.
What do you need to know?
– The two year Conservatory programs are very affordable. Tuition is approximately $900 (nine hundred dollars) a semester for California residents.
– The two years are rigorous. The students are in the studio from 9 am to 4:30 pm and then return for rehearsal from 6:30 to 10:30 pm, 6 days a week. It is all theatre all the time. We offer no general education classes.
-We accept no more than 30 acting students a year and no more than 15 technical students a year; the students range from serious theatre students who just finished strong high school programs to students with some college and students with a bachelor’s degree.
– We have 15 resident professional artists who are the resident professional company for PCPA Theaterfest and the mentors for the students in the conservatory. We have approximately one professional mentor for every 4 students.
– Students earn approximately 76 units of drama credits in the two years with us, and those units are transferable. Many students complete our program and enter colleges and universities as sophomores or juniors; however, our goal is to make sure our students are ready to enter the professional world after two years of training with us.
-PCPA does not provide housing; however, we do have a housing coordinator who will work to help you find housing in your price range.
To Learn More…
Acting (overview)