In 1950 Arzner became associated with the Pasadena Playhouse, a well-known theatre company in southern California, where she founded filmmaking classes. She produced some theatre plays and starred in a radio program called "You Wanna Be a Star." In 1952 she joined the staff of the College of the Arts of the Playhouse as the head of the Cinema and Television Department. She taught the first year of cinema in the university. In the late fifties, she became the entertainment and publicity consultant at the Pepsi company, with the influence of the boss's wife, Joan Crawford, with whom Arzner had a close relationship. Arzner made a series of successful commercials for Pepsi, most of them with Crawford.