Identity School of Acting

What Identity School of Acting does

Identity School of Acting (IDSA), founded in 2003 and headquartered in London, is a privately held part-time drama school that trains aspiring professional actors for stage and screen careers. The school delivers its core 2+ year acting training program through four physical campuses — London (headquarters), Manchester, and Birmingham in the United Kingdom, plus Los Angeles in the United States — and supplements these with an online delivery channel via Zoom. The curriculum covers acting techniques for film, television, and theatre, with graduates becoming eligible to apply for Spotlight membership after the standard training duration.

The school's product surface extends beyond the core training program to include Short Courses (intensive condensed offerings), Hollywood Q&A sessions with industry professionals, and an Audible-supported scholarship program for aspiring actors. A distinctive element of the business model is vertical integration: IDSA operates two wholly-owned subsidiaries — Identity Agency Group (IAG) and IDSA Talent — which provide talent representation services to graduates, with over 80% of IAG clients sourced from the school. The school is formally "in association with Netflix," with Netflix branding displayed alongside its own, and markets heavily through high-profile alumni testimonials including John Boyega, Letitia Wright, Regé-Jean Page, and Damson Idris.

IDSA generates revenue primarily through tuition fees structured per location and delivery format, with a recurring annual billing cadence and applications processed through an audition-based admission system. It is registered in England & Wales as Identity School of Acting Ltd, is privately held with no disclosed external funding or parent company, and operates with a small employee base of 11–50 people. The business maintains GDPR compliance procedures and holds a "double award-winning" industry recognition for acting education excellence.

Name

Identity School of Acting

Legal name

Identity School of Acting Ltd

Website

https://identityschoolofacting.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Identity School of Acting is a London-headquartered, privately held part-time drama school founded in 2003 that trains aspiring actors across UK and US campuses plus online, and places graduates via wholly-owned talent agencies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Performing Arts Education

NAICS

Fine Arts Schools (61161)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Theatre Education, Training & Conservatories (MPAGABAN)

Keywords

• Part-time acting school
• Drama training
• Acting curriculum
• Talent representation
• Performing arts education

Headquarters

HQ city

Redditch

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Acting School Tuition: IDSA generates revenue through tuition fees for part-time acting classes at its physical campuses (London, Manchester, Birmingham, Los Angeles) and online programs. Fees vary by location with separate fee structures for each city and delivery format.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Identity School of Acting is a double award-winning part-time drama school that delivers a comprehensive acting curriculum over 2+ years to aspiring professional actors, covering stage and screen performance. Training is delivered at four physical campuses (London, Manchester, Birmingham, Los Angeles) and online via Zoom, with students admitted through an audition-based booking process. The school supplements its core tuition with short courses, Hollywood Q&A sessions, an Audible-partnered scholarship, and in-house talent representation through Identity Agency Group (IAG) and IDSA Talent.

Product overview

Identity School of Acting (IDSA) is a double award-winning part-time drama school offering a comprehensive acting training program spanning 2+ years. The school operates across multiple campuses (London, Manchester, Birmingham, Los Angeles) and offers online training options. Beyond the core acting curriculum, IDSA provides short courses, Hollywood Q&A sessions, and through its affiliated agencies (Identity Agency Group and IDSA Talent), offers talent representation for graduates. The school maintains partnerships with industry bodies and provides pathways to professional casting platforms like Spotlight.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Part-Time Acting Training Program Intensive, multi-year (2+ years) part-time acting training covering stage and screen performance, delivered to aspiring professional actors admitted through an audition-based process; graduates become eligible to apply for Spotlight membership.
• Online Acting Classes Remote acting training delivered via Zoom, allowing students globally to access the IDSA curriculum without attending a physical campus.
• Short Courses Intensive condensed acting courses designed for professional development and skill enhancement, offered as a shorter alternative to the multi-year program.
• Hollywood Q&A Sessions Industry-focused sessions featuring Hollywood professionals and Q&A opportunities for currently enrolled students.
• Identity Agency Group (IAG) Wholly-owned talent agency connecting IDSA graduates with casting opportunities; over 80% of IAG clients are sourced from the school.
• IDSA Talent Wholly-owned talent representation service for IDSA alumni, providing agency support to graduates.
• Audible Scholarship Scholarship program for aspiring actors, sponsored by Audible, providing financial support toward IDSA training.

Named customers12 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• NetflixcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetflix is in formal association with Identity School of Acting, appearing alongside the school's branding and logos. This partnership provides credibility and potential career pathways for IDSA graduates into Netflix productions.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• Spotlight: Industry-standard casting platform that IDSA's graduates become eligible to join after 2+ years of training; an adjacent ecosystem participant rather than direct competitor, but central to IDSA's placement value proposition.

Direct peers

• East 15 Acting School: University-affiliated UK drama school offering undergraduate and short-course acting training, comparable to IDSA in serving aspiring professional actors in the UK with structured conservatory-style programs.
• Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts: London-based performing arts school with a long history and a strong pipeline into UK stage and screen, directly comparable to IDSA on geography, target student (aspiring professional actors), and emphasis on industry-ready training.
• American Academy of Dramatic Arts: The oldest English-language acting conservatory in the US with campuses in Los Angeles and New York — directly comparable to IDSA's LA presence, conservatory-style training, and industry-placement focus.
• Arts Educational Schools (ArtsEd): London-based performing arts school offering acting, dance and musical theatre training — directly comparable to IDSA on both discipline mix (acting-led) and target student profile of aspiring performers seeking professional careers.

Broad incumbents

• London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art (LAMDA): Major London-based conservatory offering full-time acting training; comparable in targeting professional UK acting careers, though structured as a full-time degree program rather than IDSA's part-time model.
• Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA): The UK's flagship full-time dramatic arts conservatory and an industry-credentialed incumbent — comparable as a competing acting school but full-time and far larger in resources than IDSA.
• Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts: London-based drama school providing conservatory-style acting training — comparable as a UK alternative for aspiring professional actors, but again a full-time institution rather than IDSA's part-time format.
• Royal Central School of Speech and Drama: University of London-affiliated conservatory training actors, technicians and performance professionals; comparable to IDSA in producing screen-and-stage ready graduates but operating as a full-time higher-education institution.

Emerging players

• New York Film Academy (Acting School): US-based school offering short-term and conservatory-style acting programs in Los Angeles and New York — comparable in targeting aspiring screen actors via accelerated/short-format training rather than traditional full-time degrees.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/identityacting
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCc8X0cQExxyJyAoeTYKOI2A
• Facebookfacebook.com/IdentityDramaSchool
• Instagraminstagram.com/identitydrama_
• TikToktiktok.com/@identityschoolofacting
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/identity-school-of-acting-ltd

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Identity School of Acting