Creative Director: Dean Carey

Dean is a director, author and actor whose life's devotion has been teaching. He has always sought to uncover the elements that combine so vibrant, passionate and inspired artistic exploration could occur.

At aged 26, Dean imagined Sydney being able to support a new kind of facility. Wonderful teachers and directors taught inside drama schools and directed at the major theatre companies, but there wasn’t a platform for them to teach publicly. Drama schools such as NIDA didn’t have their Open Programs then, Universities didn’t offer community courses in acting and casting directors weren’t offering their premises for night time classes. ACA was the first of its kind and remains the only facility offering the range of classes, catering for the range of clientele, and founded specifically for that purpose.

"Our staff are as committed and passionate about education as they are about the craft of acting itself. It is this passion and culture that differentiates ACA from other acting schools. Since 1987, we have pursued the goal of empowering and enriching the individual on every professional and personal level possible. I am proud to work amongst a group of like-minded artists who respect the calling each actor and creative artist follows and who rigorously instil the standards and responsibilities that come with any creative endeavour or vision.”  

Dean Carey