Harand Academy of the Arts

Specialties

Harand Academy of the Arts provides quality performing arts training in musical theater, acting, music, dance, and production in an environment that promotes positive self esteem and social development. Harand Academy also presents live performances for the public. Classes and shows are presented at Starland’s beautiful creative arts facility in Deerfield, IL.

History

Established in 2013.

Harand Academy of the Arts was founded in the spirit of the Sulie and Pearl Harand Studios of the Theatre Arts, which was one of the nation’s first theater training centers for children. The original Studio was located in Downtown Chicago in the 1950s and include prominent staff members Byrne and Joyce Piven (future founders of the Piven Theatre Workshop) and Chicago’s future Commissioner of Cultural Affairs, Lois Weisberg. The Harand Studios were closed after they successful expanded to Harand Camp of the Theatre Arts, which is now celebrating its 60^th Anniversary Season. Harand Academy of the Arts was founded as a non-​profit organization in 2013 by Samara Harand.

Meet the Manager

Samara H.

Manager

Samara Harand (Founder/​Director) has directed and choreographed dozens of full-​length musicals and revues at the renowned Harand Camp of the Theatre Arts, as well as a number of schools, Boston University’s On Broadway, Victorian Village Resort, and is the new Company Show director for Starland Kids. Recent credits include: Legally Blonde, West Side Story, Bye Bye Birdie, The Wizard of Oz, 13: The Musical, The Little Mermaid Jr., and tributes to Jerome Robbins and Bob Fosse. As a publicist she represented high profile arts clients including The Joffrey Ballet, The Chicago Theatre, Porchlight Music Theatre, American Ballet Theatre, Team StarKid and more. Samara earned her MFA in Arts Management from Brooklyn College and has worked On and Off Broadway at Roundabout Theatre Company, The Producing Office (Rent, West Side Story), and the Tony Awards.