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Private company

American Academy of Dramatic Arts

Logo: AADA JO, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons4

Private performing arts conservatory

The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a private drama school with one location in New York City; it formerly had another location in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related arts in the areas of theater, film, and television. Students also have the opportunity to audition for the third-year theater company, which showcases upcoming talent to the school and community.2 It employed 67 people in 2020.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1884Founded1
  • Industryhigher education1
  • HeadquartersNew York City, United States1
  • Websitewww.aada.edu
  • Legal formCORPORATION3
  • LEI549300BSZFIUNG0K76843
  • StatusActive3
  • LEI statusLapsed (not renewed)3
  • Registered address120 Madison Avenue, 10016 New York, United States3

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AADA Colony Club
Photo: Beyond My Ken, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons6

The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a private drama school with one location in New York City; it formerly had another location in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related arts in the areas of theater, film, and television. Students also have the opportunity to audition for the third-year theater company, which showcases upcoming talent to the school and community. Students can usually transfer completed credits to another college or university to finish a bachelor's degree if they choose.2

The story

The academy in New York City was founded in 1884 by Franklin Haven Sargent, a graduate of Harvard University and professor of speech and elocution at his alma mater. Sargent's vision was to establish a school to train actors for the stage. Its first home was the original Lyceum Theatre on what is now Park Avenue South. In 1963, the school moved to its current home, a landmark building designed by the American Renaissance architect Stanford White for the Colony Club.

In 1974, the academy opened another campus in Pasadena, California, which made it the only professional actor-training school in both major centers of American entertainment. The Los Angeles campus moved from Pasadena to Hollywood in 2001, in a new building next to the Jim Henson Company Lot. In April 2024, the academy announced the closure of the Los Angeles campus after the 2024–2025 academic year due to declining enrollment and financial pressures.

From Wikipedia’s article on American Academy of Dramatic Arts, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5

Employees over time

  • 2020671

Timeline

  1. 1884Founded Founded1

Funding

Where the company's money came from, by calendar year: private offerings filed with the SEC, federal grants, loans, contracts and other assistance from USAspending.gov, and PPP loans from the SBA. Each bar links to the records below.

Money received by year$4.0M 2020–2021
Money received by yearMoney received by year, 2020–2021: $4.0M in all. PPP loans $4.0M.$0$500K$1M$1.5M$2M2020 · PPP loans: $2.0M20202021 · PPP loans: $2.0M2021
Figures by year
YearPPP loansTotal
2021$2.0M$2.0M
2020$2.0M$2.0M

PPP loans

Paycheck Protection Program loans of $150,000 and up, approved April 2020 to July 2021, from the SBA7. Matched to this company by name and state.

  1. Apr 10, 2020$2.0M PPP loan (first draw) from TD Bank, National Association7To THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF DRAMATIC ARTS, New York NY; $2.0M forgiven Mar 31, 2021
  2. Feb 5, 2021$2.0M PPP loan (second draw) from TD Bank, National Association7To THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF DRAMATIC ARTS, New York NY; $2.0M forgiven Sep 1, 2021

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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