Dear Stella,

I'm afraid the world today has wandered farther away from the ideas, ideals and standards you, your father and Harold Clurman so valiantly fought for. Art and culture are overlooked, educationally and governmentally, and, as a society, we plunge headlong into commercialism. Young people, more than ever, suffer from historical amnesia, and their reference to acting and theater art is increasingly formed by the medium of television. Stella, I am afraid that we live in a time which is increasingly corrosive to the human spirit.

But amidst these difficulties there is hope. The artistic revolution begun by Jacob Adler, who sought to uplift himself and his community of Jewish immigrants through the production of great plays, continued by Harold Clurman, who injected the same spirit and goals into the Group Theater, and carried forward by you, who created a technique based on the insight that growth as an actor and growth as a human being are synonymous, that revolution is still alive!

Stella, rest in peace. Among the many lessons you left behind is this one: that no matter how bad things get, do not surrender to despair. The Stella Adler Studio of Acting is still informed and guided by that spirit. After you died, rather than cave into what was a devastating loss, we set out to grow, and grow we have.

In addition to our commitment to actor training, which, thanks to our world-class faculty is absolute, we have created a plethora of extracurricular programs including lectures, poetry readings, concerts, and our own professional theater company, all in the name of Harold Clurman, in order to combat the trends of commercialism. In response to unspeakable fiscal inequities which abound in the public school system and out of a desire to engender in our students the kind of social awareness and engagement that animated the work of the Group Theater, we have created The Stella Adler Outreach Program, which brings free actor training to lower-income youth. We endeavor to be a beacon of light in a world of despair.

Rest in peace, dear Stella, all is well. The Stella Adler Studio of Acting is alive and fighting the good fight: to nurture the human spirit through art, to cultivate humanity, to celebrate life. Rest in peace, Stella, the message of your life, of your father's life, of Harold's life, continues.

L' Chaim!!!

- Tom Oppenheim
President and Artistic Director