After the
Second World War, there were changes in the political, economic and social life in Bulgaria. Higher education became
free of charge which allowed more young people to pursue a career in
theatre. The number of theatres also increased, which led to the need for more actors and directors. The academy started off as a temporary, two-year theatre course at the
Ivan Vazov National Theater. Subsequently, as
Bulgarian press raised the idea of creating a higher theatre school, it turned into the first Bulgarian State Higher Theater School in 1948. 's 1952 directing class In its first class, 22 students were admitted in
acting and 9 were admitted in
directing, and two years later there were 16 new students in
theater studies. Initially, the duration of all courses was four years, but it was later extended to five for directors and theater critics. The school's first seventeen teachers were prominent experts in theater art and theater critics. Over the years, the number of teachers increased and the curriculum improved. Dimitar Mitov, a prominent author, publicist and literary and theater critic, was appointed as the first
rector. The School was initially housed at 43
Vasil Levski Boulevard, but the building turned out to be too small to accommodate all of its students. In 1951, to commemorate the 75th anniversary of
Krastyo Sarafov’s birth, the school was named after him, and in 1954 it was renamed to Krastyo Sarafov Higher Institute of Theater Arts. In 1955, the Institute received a new building with three stages and a larger audience capacity, located at 108A
Rakovski Street. The Training Drama Theater, one of the institute's main units, was inaugurated in 1957. The
amphitheater hall has 430 seats. In 1962, the Institute introduced a
puppetry acting course. A decade later, directing for puppet theater was also added. In 1966, the Training Puppet Theater was inaugurated with a performance of
The Carnival of the Animals to the music of
Camille Saint-Saëns, directed and written by Nikolina Georgieva. It is located at 20 Stefan Karadja Street and has a hall with 100 seats. In 1973, new courses such as
filmmaking and
cinematography were added to the institute's curriculum. On 1 August 1995, the university received its current name: Krastyo Sarafov National Academy for Theater and Film Arts. ,
Academy Award-nominated actress|thumb|120px ==Notable alumni==