About the Actor’s Academy

Established in 1967, NTD’s Professional Theatre School (PTS) was the first professional theatre training program for the Deaf in America.  It ignited the careers of many of the Deaf professionals working in the entertainment industry today, and some PTS graduates later established their own theatres across the country and around the world. In 2000, NTD renamed the PTS the “Actor’s Academy” and expanded its curriculum to include advanced training for professional artists in addition to its standard offerings for budding artists. 

An intensive two-week summer program for Deaf, hard-of-hearing, and signing artists, the Actor’s Academy holds classes six days a week and examines all of the key elements of theatre.  Specific class topics include acting techniques, script analysis, improvisation, play writing, dance and movement, stage combat, audition preparation, and workshop techniques.  All classes are held in Connecticut, and meals and housing are included in the program tuition.  This allows the actors in attendance to focus solely on developing their skills and encourages them to make valuable contacts with other theatre professionals attending the program outside the classroom.