California State Summer School for the Arts Theater Program
California State Summer School for the Arts, 3801 West Temple Ave, Suite 104, Pomona, CA 91768
About
The California State Summer School for the Arts – Theater Program offers intensive and challenging theater training that includes core classes such as Acting Studio, Voice & Speech, Stage Combat & Movement, Improvisation, and Audition Technique. Students also take electives like Advanced Comedy Improv, Puppetry, Musical Theater, Musical Theater Movement, Voice Over, and Shakespeare & classics (pre-1920), along with acting masterclasses run by industry professionals. The program includes professional puppetry workshops, performances, talks, masterclasses, and rehearsal time, and students leave the summer course with at least two contrasting monologues that fit them as an actor.
• Ages: 13–18 years old
• Schedule: Classes follow a four-block day with two classes before lunch and two after, with evenings reserved for performances, talks, masterclasses, and rehearsal time; Saturdays have a slight adjustment.
The California State Summer School for the Arts – Theater Program is open to students entering grades 9, 10, 11, or 12 in fall 2026 and to students graduating from high school in spring 2026, and it can accept a limited number of students from outside of California, making it an international program. Visiting artists include recurring cast members from Dropout and Smosh, Artists on Artists on Artists on Artists podcast LIVE, Shirley Chen (actor), and Rachel Goldberg (Director). The mission of CSSSA is to annually provide a select number of California high school students of the visual, literary, performing and media arts with an intensive learning experience conducted by distinguished arts professionals, designed to enhance the students’ artistic skills and to develop their understanding as individuals of their potential for growth as creative artists.
The bill creating the California State Summer School for the Arts was signed on September 28, 1985, the first summer session was held in 1987, follow-up legislation in September 1990 made the program a permanent program of the state, and 1992 legislation allowed the school to accept a limited number of students from outside of California. The school is embarking on its thirty-ninth summer of operation and has trained more than seventeen thousand highly talented students. CSSSA provides an educational link with institutions of higher learning, major performing arts companies, commercial and fine arts institutions, and the film, television and recording industries in California for students wishing to pursue careers in the arts, and is the result of public and private sector planning and support. CSSSA was created by California state legislation and is a permanent program of the state.
The Theater Program is led by Department Chair Jeremy Guskin, who has two master’s degrees from Carnegie Mellon University and the Moscow Art Theatre School in Russia, has been an arts educator for over 20 years at LACHSA (the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts) and Burbank High School, runs the Theatre Department at AGLA (Aveson Global Leadership Academy), and has been a steadily working actor for over 25 years with credits including Just Add Magic, Henry Danger/Dangerforce, Young Sheldon, The Rookie, Alias, and Art School Confidential. Faculty member Susan Edwards Martin originated the role of Lady Blues in the Tony Award winning Torch Song Trilogy on Broadway, is a two-time BroadwayWorld Award winner, performs stage, TV, voice-over, and concerts, has voice roles in INNATE on Hulu, Exorcism Chronicles, and Bing! on Prime Video, and is a vocal coach with CDs You’ve Gotta Have Heart and Simply Susan, Reimagined! streaming on all platforms. Faculty member Amanda Tepe is a theatre educator, director, and professional actor with more than two decades of experience across stage, television, and film and has over 35 on-screen credits. Faculty member Michelle Finston is a director, puppeteer, actor, builder, singer, and international performing artist, is an alum of CSSSA, trained at The Eugene O’Neill National Puppetry Conference, Sesame Street Workshop, and Sandglass Institute, has worked with Les Sage Fous, Puppet Showplace Theater, and The Chicago International Puppet Festival, has had work at The Jim Henson Carriage House and Stitching Hour in Los Angeles, has credits including LaMama Puppet Slam NY, The Lovers (25th Puppetry Conference Celebration), Puppetry Direction of The Long Christmas Ride Home (METG Winner), and Kultar in Kultar’s Mime (International Tour), has led professional puppetry workshops at Emerson College, New England Center for Circus Arts, and the National Puppetry Festival in Swarthmore and Maryland, and completed the NYC marathon. Faculty member Victoria Tamez is a bicoastal actor, singer, dancer, and teaching artist, is the 1st Year Acting teacher at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, is a graduate of the LACHSA Theatre Department, and holds a BFA in Dramatic Arts and an MA in Arts Management & Entrepreneurship from The College of Performing Arts at The New School in New York City. Faculty member Erika Godwin has a degree in Theatre from Western Washington University, joined SAG after booking her first national commercial in her first year in Los Angeles, and has experience as an actor, commercial agent, headshot coach, and audition coach.
Last updated June 20, 2026.
• Ages: 13–18 years old
• Schedule: Classes follow a four-block day with two classes before lunch and two after, with evenings reserved for performances, talks, masterclasses, and rehearsal time; Saturdays have a slight adjustment.
The California State Summer School for the Arts – Theater Program is open to students entering grades 9, 10, 11, or 12 in fall 2026 and to students graduating from high school in spring 2026, and it can accept a limited number of students from outside of California, making it an international program. Visiting artists include recurring cast members from Dropout and Smosh, Artists on Artists on Artists on Artists podcast LIVE, Shirley Chen (actor), and Rachel Goldberg (Director). The mission of CSSSA is to annually provide a select number of California high school students of the visual, literary, performing and media arts with an intensive learning experience conducted by distinguished arts professionals, designed to enhance the students’ artistic skills and to develop their understanding as individuals of their potential for growth as creative artists.
The bill creating the California State Summer School for the Arts was signed on September 28, 1985, the first summer session was held in 1987, follow-up legislation in September 1990 made the program a permanent program of the state, and 1992 legislation allowed the school to accept a limited number of students from outside of California. The school is embarking on its thirty-ninth summer of operation and has trained more than seventeen thousand highly talented students. CSSSA provides an educational link with institutions of higher learning, major performing arts companies, commercial and fine arts institutions, and the film, television and recording industries in California for students wishing to pursue careers in the arts, and is the result of public and private sector planning and support. CSSSA was created by California state legislation and is a permanent program of the state.
The Theater Program is led by Department Chair Jeremy Guskin, who has two master’s degrees from Carnegie Mellon University and the Moscow Art Theatre School in Russia, has been an arts educator for over 20 years at LACHSA (the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts) and Burbank High School, runs the Theatre Department at AGLA (Aveson Global Leadership Academy), and has been a steadily working actor for over 25 years with credits including Just Add Magic, Henry Danger/Dangerforce, Young Sheldon, The Rookie, Alias, and Art School Confidential. Faculty member Susan Edwards Martin originated the role of Lady Blues in the Tony Award winning Torch Song Trilogy on Broadway, is a two-time BroadwayWorld Award winner, performs stage, TV, voice-over, and concerts, has voice roles in INNATE on Hulu, Exorcism Chronicles, and Bing! on Prime Video, and is a vocal coach with CDs You’ve Gotta Have Heart and Simply Susan, Reimagined! streaming on all platforms. Faculty member Amanda Tepe is a theatre educator, director, and professional actor with more than two decades of experience across stage, television, and film and has over 35 on-screen credits. Faculty member Michelle Finston is a director, puppeteer, actor, builder, singer, and international performing artist, is an alum of CSSSA, trained at The Eugene O’Neill National Puppetry Conference, Sesame Street Workshop, and Sandglass Institute, has worked with Les Sage Fous, Puppet Showplace Theater, and The Chicago International Puppet Festival, has had work at The Jim Henson Carriage House and Stitching Hour in Los Angeles, has credits including LaMama Puppet Slam NY, The Lovers (25th Puppetry Conference Celebration), Puppetry Direction of The Long Christmas Ride Home (METG Winner), and Kultar in Kultar’s Mime (International Tour), has led professional puppetry workshops at Emerson College, New England Center for Circus Arts, and the National Puppetry Festival in Swarthmore and Maryland, and completed the NYC marathon. Faculty member Victoria Tamez is a bicoastal actor, singer, dancer, and teaching artist, is the 1st Year Acting teacher at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, is a graduate of the LACHSA Theatre Department, and holds a BFA in Dramatic Arts and an MA in Arts Management & Entrepreneurship from The College of Performing Arts at The New School in New York City. Faculty member Erika Godwin has a degree in Theatre from Western Washington University, joined SAG after booking her first national commercial in her first year in Los Angeles, and has experience as an actor, commercial agent, headshot coach, and audition coach.
Last updated June 20, 2026.
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