The M.S. Shchepkin Higher Theatre School at the State Academic Small Theatre of Russia is the oldest theatre school in Moscow. The two-story building at the corner of Neglinnaya and Pushchnaya streets has become a home for many famous actors, directors, and creative figures.

In the past, this site was home to the Cannon Yard, one of the largest manufacturing facilities in Moscow. Later, the land, which remained vacant for a long time, belonged to the Church of Saints Joachim and Anna, which was dismantled in the late 18th century. In 1822, the plot was transferred to the Military Orphanage Department of the 2nd Educational Carabinier Regiment, and stone buildings appeared here, rented out as shops and offices.

In 1856, the Directorate of Imperial Theatres acquired a building on Neglinnaya Street that had previously housed a school for cantors. In 1863, it was reconstructed specifically for the Theatre School according to the design of architect Albert Kavos, who was then restoring the Bolshoi Theatre. The school moved here from Kuznetsky Bridge, from the estate of the Myasoedovs, and opened in 1863. This building, where the school is still located today, is a unique monument of the 19th century, as evidenced by the protective plaque installed in December 1992.

The origins of the Imperial Moscow Theatre School date back to 1773, when a theatre school appeared at the Moscow Educational House. The independent school was established by a decree of Emperor Alexander I on December 28, 1809, to train actors in ballet and dramatic directions. In the early 20th century, children aged 9 to 11 were admitted to the ballet department for free, while those over 17 could enter the dramatic department with a certificate of completion of at least the 5th grade or after passing an exam. Tuition for the dramatic department was 100 rubles per year, and graduates were awarded the title of non-class artist.

In addition to the main building, the school owned a four-story structure on Pushchnaya Street, which housed the chapel of St. Mary Magdalene and apartments for teachers. Graduates of the dramatic department replenished the troupe of the Small Theatre. In 1832 and 1863, Mikhail Semyonovich Shchepkin, the great Russian actor after whom the school is named, taught here.

After the revolution, the school became the Dramatic Courses at the Small Theatre, then the Theatre Workshops and Technical School. In 1935, the status of the school was restored, and in 1943 it became a higher educational institution, a status that remains to this day. Memorial plaques in honor of M.S. Shchepkin and M.N. Yermolova are installed on the facade of the building.

Thanks to its history and rich creative heritage, the school is a unique phenomenon in the field of acting with stable artistic traditions. Today, its graduates work in theatres across Russia.