The 2013-2014 school year marks the inaugural year for the Gadsden City High School Performing Arts Academy. The Academy is the only one of its kind in the state, and one of the first such programs in the nation.

The Performing Arts Academy is designed for juniors and seniors interested in specialized coursework focusing on advanced study or a career in the fine arts/entertainment industry. Students who complete the program receive a fine arts add-on to their diploma.

The program combines arts education with technical training in an effort to give interested students not only an excellent arts education, but also the technical skills necessary to enter the entertainment industry in a variety of different technical fields.

Students who audition and are accepted into the program are required to complete 6 credits of specialized arts study such as foundations of fine arts/career tech, choir, band, drama, piano, broadcasting and senior project practicum. They are also required to take 6 credits of technical courses including marketing, electrical technology, fashion, accounting, and marketing principles.

“The entertainment industry employs thousands of people who work in set design, sound, costume design, marketing and other fields,” said Paul Edmondson, fine arts director at Gadsden City High School. “Now our students who have developed a love for performing can also graduate equipped with the technical skills necessary to join the entertainment industry in an exciting career behind the scenes.”

Students interested in joining the Performing Arts Academy are chosen from a competitive process that includes an application, audition and interview. Sixteen students were accepted into the program for the 2013-2014 inaugural year.