She launched the careers of some of the most successful actors of the 20th century. Marlon Brando, her most famous pupil, once wrote that "she imparts the most valuable kind of information -- how to discover the nature of our own emotional mechanics and therefore those of others."
Stella Adler, the high priestess of the American theater, was known for her boundless generosity toward young actors. At the same time, she was a notoriously competitive, even combative, personality -- a clawed dowager who wasn't afraid of making enemies or cutting down those who disagreed with her pedagogical techniques.
The schools she founded during her lifetime -- one in New York and another in Los Angeles -- carry on her tradition of acting as a quasi-religious calling. But as recent developments have shown, the schools also have inherited her prickly side -- especially when it comes to dealing with each other.
While they both bear her name, the institutions have operated separately with different boards of directors since Adler's death in 1992. Their relationship over the years has been distant and sometimes cool, according to people affiliated with the schools. Now, the organizations are going head to head for the first time as competitors.
Earlier this month, New York's Stella Adler Studio of Acting opened its first West Coast branch at the Pico Playhouse near West L.A. The new program, which offers classes in stage and on-camera acting, is being run completely independent of the existing Stella Adler Los Angeles: A Conservatory for Actors, which has operated in Hollywood since 1985.
The awkward arrangement begs the question: Why are two schools that were founded by the same person -- and that teach the same acting technique -- competing with each other?
Leaders at both said that simple economics plays an important role. In a city bursting with aspiring actors, there's money to be made for a school with an aggressive agenda.
But mostly, the friction stems from the simple fact that geographically, the schools have never had any reason to collaborate until now. John Jack Rodgers, executive director of Stella Adler Los Angeles, said he initially approached the New York school about working together.
"We reached out strongly to them," he said, adding that he received only a noncommittal response after a number of overtures. "I can only assume that they want to call the shots. Obviously, we would prefer to do this with them, but they are going ahead without us."
