CSSSA Foundation

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CSSSA Foundation

CSSSA Foundation supports the next generation of California artists.

The CSSSA Foundation supports an intensive, four-week residential arts training program for talented and motivated high school students called the Calilfornia State Summer School for the Arts. The program is held each summer on the campus of California Institute of the Arts in Valencia. Its mission is to nurture and train the next generation of artists and arts professionals in animation, creative writing, dance, film, music, theater and visual arts.

06/19/2026

Introducing CSSSA Architecture & Environment Faculty member, Andrew Leung! 👋

Andrew is a fourth-year architecture student at Cal Poly Pomona, preparing to enter his fifth and final obtaining his B.Arch. Since May 2025, he has worked with Rohan Guyot-Sutherland’s Regenerative Systems, contributing to the Casa Atlas project in San Francisco, as well as supporting community initiatives, residential design, and surveying work in Ojai. Prior to this, he gained hands-on experience as an assistant builder for Antonio Anfiteatro, a lecturer at Citrus College and Cal Poly Pomona, and worked with FoxLin Architects on a residential project in Joshua Tree. In 2026, Andrew was awarded second place in the 47th Coalition for Adequate School Housing competition and was selected for Cal Poly Pomona’s Spring 2026 Interim program. He currently serves as a student docent at the Neutra VDL House in Los Angeles, where he leads tours of Richard Neutra’s former residence.

06/17/2026

Congratulations to the recent high school and college grads! 🥳 We love to see where our CSSSA alumni go after graduation. If you have any exciting plans, whether it's a college acceptance or a new job, tag us!

06/13/2026

CSSSA 2026 kicks off in 3 weeks! We're so excited to meet the incredible young artists who are joining us for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. 👏

📢 CSSSA alumni, tell our 2026 students: What surprised you most about your experience at CSSSA? Tell us about it in the comments!

06/12/2026

Introducing CSSSA Theater Faculty member (and 2012 CSSSA Theater alum), Victoria Tamez! 👋

Victoria Tamez is a bicoastal actor, singer, dancer, and teaching artist. She’s performed in Latino Theatre Company’s world-premiere of “Sleep with the Angels” as Cindy; Echo Theatre Company’s reading of “DREAMHOU$E” by Eliana Pipe; and off-Broadway as Ophelia in the solo show “Hamlet & Ophelia” with the Semicolon Theatre Company. Select past theatre credits include Danielle (Language of Angles), Hermione (The Winter’s Tale), Hermia (A Midsummer Night's Dream), Chloë (Arcadia).

She’s currently the 1st Year Acting teacher at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. Victoria’s passion lies in helping young students cultivate their imaginations, develop their creative-critical thinking skills, express themselves through their bodies and voices fully, and work independently as well as collaboratively within an ensemble.

06/11/2026

Alumni highlight! ✨ CSSSA Theater alumni Donna Simone Johnson (2003 & 2004) and Alexandra Lee (2016) are currently performing in O: A Rhapsody In Divorce at Outside In Theatre in Los Angeles! Reimagining The Odyssey through a modern lens, O: A Rhapsody in Divorce follows O, a successful neurobiologist in her 40s whose world is turned upside down when her husband asks for a separation but refuses to leave their home, leading her to embark on a couch-hopping journey.

This show is playing through June 16 and tickets are still available. Support our CSSSA alumni by attending! https://outsideintheatre.vbotickets.com/event/o_a_rhapsody_in_divorce/189160

06/10/2026

Introducing CSSSA Film Faculty member, Siddharth Lal! 👋

Siddharth Lal is an LA-based filmmaker and editor with a passion for telling authentic stories. He holds an MFA degree from the renowned American Film Institute Conservatory in Editing, where his thesis film, Patakha (which he edited and co-wrote) qualified for the $50,000 UN grant and earned a nomination by the College Television Academy in the Best Scripted Series Category.

His filmmaking journey began in Bhopal, India, where he started off making vlogs and short films for his YouTube channel. His goal with his art has always been to contribute as much as he can in making films that have the potential to change people’s lives.

He is currently working on a rapture comedy-drama, as well as a gripping documentary feature about the Lakota tribe in South Dakota, two projects that not only reaffirm his goal but also further establishes his creative voice.

06/05/2026

Introducing CSSSA Writing Faculty member (and 2003 CSSSA Writing alum), Chelsea Sutton! 👋

Chelsea Sutton is a writer and director based in Los Angeles. She’s a PEN America Emerging Voices Fellow, a graduate of the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Workshop, a Humanitas Play LA award-winner, and she co-wrote the Emmy-nominated Welcome to the Blumhouse Live, an interactive film event for Blumhouse/Amazon. Her play Wood Boy Dog Fish appeared in the inaugural season at the Garry Marshall Theatre and her play The Secret History of the Mahulley Monster (or The Cryptid Play) was a 2026 Finalist for the O’Neill National Playwrights Conference. She’s the author of the novella Krackle’s Last Movie and her short work has appeared in many journals and podcasts, including It’s Storytime with Wil Wheaton. She’s the Artistic Director of Rogue Artists Ensemble and holds an MFA in Creative Writing from UC Riverside.

06/03/2026

1999 CSSSA Theater alum Aya Cash is nominated for a Tony Award! 👏 She is nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play for her role in Giant. This was Aya's Broadway debut. Congratulations to Aya for the nomination! We'll be cheering her on when the Tony Awards take place this Sunday, June 7.

06/01/2026

Introducing CSSSA Music Faculty member, David Elsenbroich! 👋

David Elsenbroich is a multi-instrumentalist performer, arranger, and music educator living in the Los Angeles area. He graduated with a Master of Music degree in jazz guitar performance from the University of Southern California in 2010, and can be seen performing regularly throughout Southern California with various groups, including his 1940’s jazz septet who recently released their second album. David teaches Music History at Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga, and frequently leads early American hymnody singing workshops throughout the state. He has been music faculty at CSSSA since 2023.

05/30/2026

We're just 5 weeks away from CSSSA 2026! We can't wait to see what these talented student artists will accomplish this summer. 👏

📢 CSSSA alumni, tell our 2026 students: What's one thing you learned at CSSSA that stuck with you? Tell us about it in the comments!

Address

Los Angeles, CA

Telephone

+12134689905

Website

http://www.csssaf.org/

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