Certificate of Achievement in Acting for Stage and Screen

The Certificate of Achievement in Acting for Stage and Screen provides students with fundamental performance skills to pursue acting careers in theater, film, television, commercials, digital media, industrials, broadcasting, voice overs, and theme parks. Students develop techniques in movement, voice and articulation, character analysis, monologue work, and scene study. Students gain experience working with contemporary and classical text, as well as original and devised work. Emphasis is placed on building competencies for employment including: camera acting techniques, audition preparation, social media branding, casting representation, and management in preparation for a competitive and specialized industry.

Approximately 225 students are estimated to enroll in these sections annually. Five students are estimated to complete the program per year at the end of the second year of program operation. Nine students are estimated to complete the program per year by the fifth year of program operation.

Based on labor market research data, there are 1,969 annual job openings projected through 2027. This is slightly greater than the three-year average of 1,319 awards conferred by educational institutions in the region. The majority of jobs in 2022 for actors (88%) were located in Los Angeles County. It is important to mention that many acting jobs fall under the gig economy, where there is no reliable method of tracking wages and employment. We could assume the annual job openings to be higher.

The Certificate of Achievement in Acting for Stage and Screen is designed to provide students with fundamental performance skills to pursue acting careers in theater, film, television, commercials, digital media, industrials, broadcasting, voice overs, and theme parks.

Students gain experience working with contemporary and classical text, as well as original and devised work. Basic competencies include techniques in acting, movement, voice, articulation, physicality, character development, improvisation, monologue work, scene study, script analysis, camera work, stage presence, and blocking.

Emphasis is placed on building practical employment competencies including: audition preparation, social media branding, camera techniques, casting representation, head shots, resumes, reels, self-taping, and management in preparation for a competitive and specialized industry. Soft skills are also developed such as: professionalism, flexibility, confidence, etiquette, terminology, collaboration, follow through, punctuality, discipline, criticism, and feedback.

Our hands-on learning environment enables students to practice their craft in an immersive setting that closely mirrors the pressures, requirements, and demands of the professional workplace. This approach ensures that students gain practical experience and are prepared to for entry-level jobs in the entertainment industry.

This certificate has nine required course totaling 24 units. The courses include Theater 205, Theater 240, Theater 244, Theater 265, Theater 270, Theater 272, Theater 278, Theater 293, and Tecthtr 701. 

This proposed Certificate of Achievement in Acting for Stage and Screen is responding to input from ELAC students and alumni, CTE Advisory Committee members, and Center Theatre Group (CTG), our primary educational partnership. Many of our students, after taking all our performance classes, choose to pursue industry careers as an alternative to completing an associate degree. Our acting program has always been focused on professional actor training.

This program would provide acting students with curriculum in career readiness, modeling for healthy boundary setting, and access to live professional theater. We have a variety of classes and performance opportunities for acting students throughout the season. Our hands-on learning environment enables students to practice their craft in an immersive setting that closely mirrors the pressures, requirements, and demands of the professional workplace. This approach ensures that students gain practical experience and are prepared to for entry-level jobs in the entertainment industry. We also offer internships with Center Theatre Group, A Noise Within Theater, and the Actors’ Gang.

The Certificate of Achievement in Acting for Stage and Screen builds upon our current curriculum and skills certificates. We have an Acting Skills Certificate, A Shakespearean Acting Skills Certificate, and a Language and Dialects for Performance Skills Certificate. This proposed program stacks with these existing certificates. Additionally, it would capture completions for acting students who pursue work in the entertainment industry, rather than completing an associate degree. The professional focus of this program distinguishes itself from similar programs.

This program will fulfill a specific need identified by our advisory committee for a consistent level of actor training, technique, terminology, and etiquette. All of the courses in this program are applicable to our Associate of Arts for Transfer in Theater Arts, and our Associate of Arts Degree in Theater Arts Acting Emphasis. After finishing this certificate, a student deciding to pursue the AA-T would take 3 additional theater classes (Theater 100, Tecthtr 340, Tecthtr 350). A student deciding to pursue the primary AA would take 7 additional theater classes (Theater 100, Theater 114, Theater 225, Tecthtr 340, Tecthtr 350, Tecthtr 323, Tecthtr 342).

This certificate will support our acting students and recent alumni. ELAC Theater is a prolific producing organization, and all resources within the department are shared. Alumni have attested they have achieved more skill and proficiency taking our theater courses than they have from their four-year transfer institutions. Students will be able to obtain this certificate in three terms: fall, spring, and summer.

Adjacent to our service area, Los Angeles City College offers three Certificate of Achievement programs: Professional Actor Training - Level 1, Professional Actor Training - Level 2, and Professional Actor Training - Level 3. The level 1 program at LACC is similar to our proposed certificate, providing students with foundational acting skills such as voice, movement, and scene study.

Mt San Antonio College offers a Certificate in Theater Performance, providing students with classroom instruction and practical experience in stage acting, acting for the camera, and theater for young audiences. Both of these certificates are designed to prepare students for paid employment in acting.

Cerritos College offers a Certificate of Achievement in Acting, preparing students for entry-level performance competence and employment in regional theater, television, film, theme parks, and social media.

ELAC Theater differs from these programs because of our specific curriculum for career preparation, our focus on employment skills, and our partnerships with professional theaters. We offer a course called Actor’s Orientation to Professional Theater where students learn workforce skill such as resumes, cover letters, headshots, audition techniques, new media, networking, branding, career planning, interviews, agents, unions, taxes, employment, management, life competency, and strategies for survival.

Certificates in acting are somewhat rare, as the TOP code for Dramatic Arts (1007.00) is not designated as vocational. The community colleges in California who offer a similar certificate are: Long Beach City College, Moorpark College, Allan Hancock College, Las Positas College, Foothill College, Santa Barbara City College, and City College of San Francisco.

THEATER 205 – 1 section (fall semester)

THEATER 240 – 2 sections (fall and spring semester)

THEATER 244 – 1 section (spring semester)

THEATER 265 – 1 section (fall semester)

THEATER 270 – 2 sections (fall and spring semester)

THEATER 272 – 2 sections (fall and spring semester)

THEATER 278 – 3 sections (fall and spring semester)

THEATER 293 – 4 sections (fall and spring semester)

TECTHTR 701 – 1 section (summer intercession)

Approximately 225 students are estimated to enroll in these sections annually. Five students are estimated to complete the program per year at the end of the second year of program operation. Nine students are estimated to complete the program per year by the fifth year of program operation.

The Acting for Stage and Screen Certificate of Achievement is not a program modification. This is a new program.