Swedish National Academy of Mime and Acting

The National Academy of Mime and Acting (NAMA), known in Swedish as Teaterhögskolan i Stockholm, is a school in Stockholm for acting and mime. The school offers a four-year programme in acting and a four-year programme in mime, as well as various shorter courses.

The school originates in the acting school founded in 1787 on the initiative of King Gustav III and long appended to the Royal Dramatic Theatre. The Royal Dramatic Theatre's acting school was then known in Swedish as Dramatens elevskola (i.e Kungliga Dramatiska Teaterns Elevskola) and produced a large number of later famous actors and directors, including Greta Garbo, Gustaf Molander, Alf Sjöberg, Ingrid Bergman, Signe Hasso, Gunnar Björnstrand, Max von Sydow and Bibi Andersson. The current school was created through a separation of the acting school from the Royal Dramatic Theatre in 1964 (initiated by Ingmar Bergman who claimed the theatre no longer had room for it in the building). The acting schools affiliated with the city theatres in Malmö, Gothenburg were made independent state institutions at the same time, and one which existed in Norrköping/Linköping was closed down.

The Stockholm school was known as Statens scenskola or, more commonly; Scenskolan ("The National Academy of Dramatic Art" or "The National Theatre Academy") from 1964 until 1977, when the name was finally changed to Teaterhögskolan i Stockholm. Here famous actors such as Stellan Skarsgård, Peter Stormare, Pernilla August and Lena Olin was trained. The Malmö and Gothenburg schools were merged with the universities of Lund and Gothenburg, respectively, but the Stockholm instituton has remained independent.