The National Association of Dramatic and Speech Arts, Inc. (NADSA) was founded in 1936. It is a professional affiliation of performers, administrators, educators, students, technicians, and craftsmen of theatre, communicative arts, and allied areas of interests.

NADSA's general purpose is to provide a professional organization for students, educators, and practitioners of theatre and the communicative arts. More specifically, the purpose of NADSA is two-fold: (1) to encourage the establishment and conduct of programs in theatre and communicative arts at member institutions and (2) to provide pre-professional and professional experience for students, faculty, and practitioners who have an interest in or special recommendations for professional work in theatre and the communicative arts.

NADSA is unique in that it affords students an opportunity to participate in professional activities and not merely observe them. This special feature attracts the attention and interest of persons from all over America.

NADSA benefits the students by exposing them to standards of professional theatre and other areas of professional activity in communicative areas. The students have opportunities to develop insight into their training which should result in their becoming better teachers, actors, or technicians. NADSA gives the students that all-important bridge between formal training and professional experience.

NADSA provides for the educator and the director an opportunity to test new ideas, to become acquainted with the innovations in communications, and generally to help prevent his becoming professionally stale. Consultants view each presentation made by the performers and offer constructive criticisms for the actor and the director as well. In many instances, educators and direëtors have developed greater skills through their critique sessions. Fellowship with professional peers often spawns significant ideas for personal and professional development.

When NADSA benefits the students and the educators/directors, it has made a real contribution to the institution or Organization they represent, However, NADSA does even more for the organizations among its membership. It provides a professional constellation for its member institutions. Students receive a wide variety of experiences through NADSA in its practical arts of theatre, as performers, technicians, administrators, managers, playwrights and media, both on and off campus, and most of all, experience in human communication. NADSA, through its program of student participation, makes a real contribution to the humanities program of an institution.

The primary instruments of communication among NADSA's membership are the quarterly NADSA News, and the annual NADSA Encore Journal.