A Noise Within

The company was formed in 1991 by founders Geoff Elliott, Julia Rodriguez-Elliott and Art Manke, each of them classically trained at the acclaimed American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. Recognizing a lack of professional classical productions and education in Southern California, they formed A Noise Within to meet the need. The founders sought out and assembled their own company of actors, many celebrated and accomplished professionals, who represent thousands of notable credits. All of A Noise Within s Resident Artists have been classically trained and a majority hold Master s of Fine Arts degrees from some of the nation s most respected institutions, such as Juilliard, Yale, and the American Conservatory Theatre. In its fourteen-year history, A Noise Within has garnered over 500 awards and commendations including the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle s revered Polly Warfield Award for Excellence and the coveted Margaret Hartford Award for Sustained Excellence. In 2004, A Noise Within was invited to collaborate with the Los Angeles Philharmonic for a tandem performance of A Midsummer Night s Dream at the Hollywood Bowl. More than 25,000 individuals attend a production at A Noise Within annually, with 13,000 young people participating in the company s arts education programming. A sound business operation, the company has remained free of debt each year since it was founded. Approximately thirty-seven percent of A Noise Within s annual budget is dedicated to educational programming.