East Los Angeles College fields one of the region's most decorated community college theatre programs, a regular award-earner at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, with a fall 2026 season pairing Macbeth with Kate Hamill's Little Women in its P2 performing arts complex.
The credential menu is unusually practical: alongside the Theatre Arts AA and AA-T transfer degree sits a Certificate of Achievement in Acting for Stage and Screen, covering movement, voice, character analysis, scene study, on-camera technique, and audition and branding skills, plus stackable skills certificates in acting, Shakespearean acting, dialects, script analysis, and directing that let students credential specific competencies fast. Internship pathways reach A Noise Within, Center Theatre Group, and The Actors' Gang, real professional doors for a $46-per-unit program.
Students perform on the mainstage while enrolled, with a summer Shakespeare workshop keeping the off-season busy. For Eastside actors, ELAC is the area's structured, absurdly affordable foundation, and its certificate structure makes it useful even for working adults who need one targeted skill block rather than a degree.
Techniques taught
- Eclectic / multi-technique: Schools that draw on several lineages and fit the tools to the actor, not the reverse.
Class types
Enrollment and schedule
Open enrollment (LACCD); students encouraged to take classes while auditioning for productions. Schedule: Fall 2026 acting/theater lecture sections daytime and afternoon; production practicums run afternoons 1:45-4:55 PM in scene and costume shops. Duration: Officially a two-year program; certificates shorter.
Audit, trial, or intro class
Auditing fee published at $15/unit
Published pricing
| Program | Published price | Source, as of |
|---|---|---|
| CA resident enrollment fee per unit | $46/unit (plus $19 health fee fall/spring, $2 representation fee) | source 路 2026-07-16 |
Prices are the school's own published rates on the dates shown. We never estimate prices. Always confirm before enrolling.
Instructors
- Lisa Hashimoto Stone (department chair), Faculty
- David Laird Scott, Faculty
- May Fei, Faculty
- Ramon Ramos, Faculty
- Vanessa Mizzone Pellegrini, Faculty
Practical notes
Parking: Student parking permit required; semester permits $20-$27 fall/spring (stadium lot and structures per campus rules)
Location
Questions actors ask
Where is East Los Angeles College Theater Arts Department located?
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Does East Los Angeles College Theater Arts Department offer on-camera training?
How much do classes at East Los Angeles College Theater Arts Department cost?
Does East Los Angeles College Theater Arts Department teach children or teenagers?
Is admission to East Los Angeles College Theater Arts Department by audition?
Who teaches at East Los Angeles College Theater Arts Department?
Is parking available at East Los Angeles College Theater Arts Department?
When was this information last verified?
Sources and verification
- Theater Arts Department | ELAC, accessed 2026-07-16
- Tuition & Fees | ELAC, accessed 2026-07-16
- Who We Are | ELAC, accessed 2026-07-16
Researched 2026-07-16, last verified 2026-07-16. Facts above come only from these sources. Anything we could not confirm is simply not shown. Report incorrect information or claim this listing if you represent the school.
Nearby schools
Pasadena City College Theater Arts
PCC's pre-professional theatre program: an AA-T in theatre arts and technical theatre credentials, five student-cast productions a year including a musical, in a professional campus venue at $46 per unit.
Temple CityPopRock Academy
Temple City triple-threat academy founded 2011 by Paul Kwo, teaching acting, voice, dance, and musical theatre from age 3 to adult in the San Gabriel Valley, with a free first class.
East PasadenaTheatre 360
Pasadena's education-first youth theatre school since 2000: technique classes in acting, voice, and dance for ages 3 to 19, semester structure with free showcases, a $30 credited trial class, and a pre-professional teen academy.
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On-camera school for ages 2 to adult in La Crescenta, founded 2007 by Mae Ross and now under new ownership, with tiered TV commercial and scene study classes, published package pricing, and a free trial class.
Sherman OaksThe Acting Center
Sherman Oaks school founded 2006 teaching its own proprietary technique in a strictly no-criticism classroom, with published 2026 session dates and pricing for scene study, intensives, and improv.
Culver CityThe Actors Circle
Culver City workshop founded 2003 by Marcie Smolin teaching film and TV craft with improv as half the curriculum, in a positive-feedback-only room serving ages 5 through adults at published per-class rates.