He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Acting and Design in 1953 from the Carnegie Institute (Carnegie Mellon University) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He spent a year on the Fulbright Scholarship in England where he studied English Repertory Theatre. He returned and earned his Masters of Arts degree in Directing at the Carnegie Institute (Carnegie Mellon University) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Allen Fletcher was a teacher and later a director of the conservatory at the American Conservatory Theatre.