Acting Schools in Spain: Interpretation and Drama Schools

Acting Schools in Spain With an Official Degree: Public Drama Schools

These schools offer acting programs with an official qualification. All of them require an entrance exam with text analysis and performance exercises, so it pays to prepare early.

RESAD (Real Escuela Superior de Arte Dramático), Madrid

RESAD, Madrid’s public drama school, is on Avenida de Nazaret 2 and depends on the Madrid regional education department. Its four-year program also includes Acting, Stage Direction and Playwriting, and Set Design. Acting splits into three tracks: Text Theater, Physical Theater (Teatro del Gesto) and Musical Theater.

For 2026-2027, registration ran from April 13 to 30, the exams took place between June 8 and 19, and admitted students were published on June 26. The first exercise is a commentary on a text and an image, and the second is specific to each specialty. First, everything is on the RESAD admissions page.

Institut del Teatre, ESAD Barcelona

The Escola Superior d’Art Dramàtic of the Institut del Teatre, Barcelona’s public drama school, offers Acting, Directing and Playwriting, and Set Design. It is public and in person. Also, acting has two tracks, text and music, or physical and visual.

The exam has two blocks. Block A starts with a shared text commentary, held on May 23 in 2026, and continues with four practical exercises in acting, voice, movement and singing. Candidates who pass move on to block B, which gives the final grade. For 2026-2027, acting registration ran from April 7 to 20. The full rules are on the Institut del Teatre website.

ESAD Sevilla

The Escuela Superior de Arte Dramático de Sevilla is on calle Pascual de Gayangos 33 and belongs to the regional government of Andalusia. It is one of the three higher drama centers in the region. For example, you can study Acting (with physical and text tracks), Stage Direction and Playwriting, or Set Design, in a four-year in-person program.

The entrance exam has two exercises. The first, shared by everyone, is the analysis of a fragment of a play in two hours at most. The second differs by specialty. Then the final grade is the average of both. The 2026-2027 calendar is published on the school website.

ESAD of the Region of Murcia

For Murcia, what we could verify is the official 2026-2027 access calendar for drama studies. For example, applications ran from May 4 to 15 and the exam from June 10 to 18. If places remain, a second round has its exam from September 2 to 8. The dates are in the Murcia calendar annex; ask the school about its specialties.

Acting Schools in Spain: Private Options in Madrid

Madrid has a large offer of acting and theater classes. These two schools take different approaches to the craft.

Estudio Corazza para la Actuación, Madrid

Estudio Corazza runs a three-year Regular Course with acting, movement, voice, singing, acting for the camera, text analysis, theater history and tango, among other subjects. It is private and in person. Also, you can join from age 18 without previous training, as long as you complete the Selective Entrance Course, two intensive three-hour classes in a small group.

The 2026-27 application window ran from April 1 to September 11, 2026, and the course began in October. See the Regular Course at Estudio Corazza and its entry process.

Réplika Teatro, Madrid

Founded in 1997 by Socorro Anadón and Jaroslaw Bielski, the Réplika Teatro school has a practical profile and teaches acting techniques for theater, film and television. It also offers a Diploma in Dramatic Arts with entrance auditions, a yearly Acting Workshop with an interview, and yearly youth and children’s theater workshops.

However, details for each program are on the school page.

Acting Schools in Spain Outside Madrid: Barcelona and Valencia

Eòlia, Centre d’Estudis Escènics de Barcelona

Eòlia brings together in Barcelona a higher degree in Dramatic Art (with Acting, and Stage Direction and Playwriting), an official master’s in Musical Theater Creation, and an open school (Escola Lliure) with courses in acting, camera, voice-over and singing. Because it is an official degree, it requires a high school diploma or a higher vocational diploma and a specific exam.

That exam has a regular round in June and an extra round in September. In the June 2026 round, it offered 36 places in Acting. So confirm the dates on the Eòlia entrance exam page.

Permanent Theater Workshop, University of Valencia

In Valencia we did not find an official site for a higher drama school, but we did find a university option. The University of Valencia’s General Foundation runs the Taller Permanente de Teatro (Permanent Theater Workshop), with a First Level for people without experience and a Second Level for those who have acted before. It also ends with a showcase.

Registration for 2026-2027 is listed as closed, so follow its courses page for the next call.

Acting Schools in Spain for On-Camera Training

Acting for the camera needs a different technique from the stage. Among the acting schools in Spain, two verified ones have programs built for it.

Septima Ars, Film and TV School, Madrid

Septima Ars has trained people in film and television since 1992 and sits on calle Fuente del Saz 5. Its Acting for Film and TV course lasts one year, with 450 hours between October and June, and the Diploma in Acting runs two years. Also, the brochure says at least 90 percent of the hours are practical. The 2026-2027 course started on October 1, 2026.

According to its website, it holds no admission exams and asks for no portfolio. See the Septima Ars acting course (in Spanish).

TAI School of the Arts, Madrid

TAI offers an official Master’s in Screen Acting (Interpretación Audiovisual), a degree from the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos. It lasts one academic year, is worth 60 ECTS credits, takes place in person in Madrid and can be taken in Spanish or English. It is meant for graduates, so check the requirements.

Instead of an exam, admission includes an interview, in person or by video call, and the page shows the next start in October 2027. Details are in the master’s program page.

Musical Theater Training

If you want to sing, dance and act at once, there are three doors. RESAD has a Musical Theater track within acting, entered through a specific exam. Eòlia offers the official master’s in Musical Theater Creation and modern singing and musical theater courses in its open school. TAI also lists a master’s and a diploma in musical theater.

For the exams, also have a monologue ready. Our guide to monologues for auditions has ideas for choosing yours.

Acting Schools in Spain for Young People and Beginners

A four-year degree is not for everyone. To try acting, build confidence or sign up a child, some classes ask much less at the door.

Escuela Municipal de Teatro de Tres Cantos

This school, in the Factoría Cultural of Tres Cantos (Community of Madrid), has been run by the theater company Yllana since 2019. It also has age groups: children 4 to 7, pre-teens 12 to 14, teens 15 to 18 and several adult levels. Also, classes are weekly and in person.

For 2026-2027, enrollment for new students opened on May 11, in order of registration until places run out. However, the school mentions no entrance exams. More on the school website.

For kids and teens there are more options above: El Planter at Eòlia (ages 6 to 17), the youth workshops at Réplika Teatro and the youth course at Estudio Corazza.

Online Acting Classes in Spain

The online offer we could verify is small. Septima Ars lists introductory online courses, although its acting training is in person. Because of that, if an online diploma promises a degree, check the program on the official site. Our guide to how to choose acting classes explains what to look for before paying.

If voice work is what draws you, Madrid and Barcelona also have schools that focus on dubbing. We cover them in two guides: dubbing schools in Madrid and dubbing schools in Barcelona.

How to Choose Among Acting Schools in Spain

Start with your goal. Among acting schools in Spain, if you want an official degree, aim for an ESAD and check the access calendar early, because the exams are in spring. If you want to act on camera, Septima Ars and TAI are the most direct programs. Meanwhile, if you want to start without pressure, a workshop like Tres Cantos or the University of Valencia is enough.

Also check the requirements: the higher schools ask for a high school diploma, and Estudio Corazza asks you to be 18. To compare, see our guides to Mexico, Colombia and Peru.

For a union reference, the Unión de Actores y Actrices is the professional actors’ union and offers legal advice and career guidance.

After School: Auditions in Spain

When you want experience, browse the open castings in Spain, with pages for Madrid and Barcelona. The guide to getting auditions in Spain covers agencies and first steps.