My daughter has participated in kidsActing Studio's classes and performances for at least five years, from when she was in first grade to now, in sixth grade. She's been in their week and two-week long summer camps and also their full-scale productions during the school years. Over the last three years, she participated in the full-scale productions in both the fall and the spring and then joined kidsActing during the summer! She's clearly a fan, and am I! Why the rave review? This is why: KidsActing prepares children for the stage but also for life by giving them the confidence they need to be expressive in front of a crowd, make mistakes, recover, and move on. KidsActing builds resiliency! The kids learn to collaborate, trust one another, empathize with each other because everyone makes mistakes during rehearsal and sometimes during the performances, and they learn to listen--not only to their acting coach, but also to the audience. I've loved watching the actors grow from one performance to the next, particularly in the intermediate classes where they have multiple performances. Because of her many years with kidsActing, my daughter had a leg up when she entered middle school, and she was quickly placed in an advanced theater class. We are right at the juncture where she may no longer have time to participate in kidsActing performances because she will have theater commitments at school, but we know she will always have an opportunity to return to kidsActing Studio in some shape or form--as a volunteer, as a participant, or possibly as a teacher one day! Many of the teachers at kidsActing were participants themselves! All in all, we had a great experience with kidsActing and highly recommend them! read more

Genuinely is my childhood I LOVE KIDSACTING Ï have been in so many of these plays used to be in the google maps picture, absolutely built my confidence. Is the reason why Ím in theatre. Love Kel Sanders, Anthony, Mary, and Henry! (Srry if I spelt any names wrong) AND DON'T FORGET EVERY CHILD IS BORN TO BE A STAR!!! read more

kidsActing Studio - Romeo and Juliet kids acting after an awesome performance! - Art Schools Near Me - Austin, Texas

Stumbled into the production of "Cabaret." Surely this would be some very creative adaptation appropriate for the cast members. NOPE! I was astonished to see high school girls....14,15,16,17,18,19 year old girls in lingerie! Really! Fish nets, thigh highs, garter belts, corsets, laughing up shaking their barely covered bums and bosoms in clear sexual intent towards an audience of adults. Imagine your 15 year old daughter saying they found a job, making good money, scantily clothed and provocatively dancing for adults. Sign me up, right?!? But hey, for the "arts," let's encourage it. *Parents beware.* There is a serious lack of judgement by this organization and some of the performance had to be bordering on criminal. I don't have photos to add to the review...I would end up on some watch list if I did. read more

I really can't say enough good things about KidsActing Studio. My daughter has been in six of their full scale productions and it has inspired her love of acting. The directors and their assistants are so supportive and encouraging. We especially love Ms. Courtney who has been her Director for five of the plays. Plus they nurture a sense of teamwork between the kids. Here's how it works: they have groups that meet and rehearse all over the greater Austin area. This is super convenient, because you don't have to drive all the way to East Austin for every practice. But then all the groups each have their own performance using the main stage in East Austin, so they have the benefit of a professional stage and costuming for the final performance. I'm not gonna lie, it's a big commitment. Since it is a team, my daughter has to be at every practice barring illness pretty much. The play really suffers if kids miss a lot and they don't allow kids to miss the final run-throughs. But my daughter has learned so much about being dependable and part of a team. She comes home singing and chatting every time she leaves practice. Another great thing is that every child gets a part. Sometimes they don't get the part they want, but this provides such a valuable lesson for kids in dealing with disappointment. But with my daughter, I found that she really grows into every role and it helps her grow as a person. If you have a child that is thinking about getting involved in theater, I definitely think it is worth signing up for one of their camps or one of their semester long plays. These folks are true professionals both in theater and in working with children. read more

kidsActing Studio - Us after High School musical at the main stage - Art Schools Near Me - Austin, Texas

Facility is unclean, grossly understaffed, babysitting with some fun theatre games at best and dangerous and inappropriate at worst. they do not have experienced staff, material is not educational. been watching as a theatre practitioner with friends who work there for years, and it's a few former kidsacting kids TEACHING there as adults, graduated from the program and just stayed. they all live in a house outside of town together because they can't afford their own places on their salary. feel sorry for them, find better gigs read more

If your kid(s) have any interest in acting, don't hesitate to enroll! My three kids have all been through one or more productions and have come away with new friends, more confidence, and a lifetime of memories. The productions are high quality, as is the instruction. This school is a big tent and they can meet your child where they are, from beginner to more seasoned actors. Side note: If you are lucky enough to have Kenzie Klem as the director, grab that spot as fast as you can! She is a gem among gems. read more

Kids acting is the 'real deal' when it comes to acting studios. My daughter has participated in the full scale productions for 3 years (2 productions per year) and has loved every minute of it. They gain so much knowledge and experience in the classes that prepare them for the full-scale production at the end of the semester. And they really mean full-scale. The stage is built for every play and costumes are mostly hand made. It's amazing and the kids have so much fun! read more

My daughter has been with kidsActing Studio for a few years now. We are so happy with this facility, and more importantly, the staff! You will not find a better group of teachers, instructors, and directors! read more

My son has been a part of Kids Acting for 6 years and I cannot recommend this studio enough. He has grown leaps and bounds as an actor, singer, comedian, etc... Their program not only supports the kids but allows them to discover who they are as individuals. It is a fun and very inviting atmosphere. The parents are also very supportive and loving to all the other actors. There's no "competition", everyone contributes and the smiles on their faces are priceless. My son has been in several different studios, but Kids Acting is the "Cream of the Crop". Courtney and staff are simply AMAZING!!! Thank you sooooooooo much for ALL that you have done and continue to do for these kids and my son. :-) All the best, Chris read more

My daughter has done three productions here over the past year, and she has loved them all. I highly recommend their full-scale production classes - they really go in-depth and teach the kids so much about character motivation, having them dig into their character's backstory and really getting inside the head of whichever role they're playing. The choreography is phenomenal, and the kids learn a ton about blocking and staging. There are even opportunities for the older kids to become assistant directors, or work in the booth controlling the sound and lighting. This is the fully immersive experience for kids. My daughter has worked with several different directors, and they've all impressed us with their warmth and professionalism. I salute anyone who can work with kids for countless hours and still be smiling at the end of the day. It's obvious that everyone at kidsActing is passionate about what they do - they act like teaching your kid is a great privilege that's been bestowed upon them. As a parent, I couldn't be happier with kidsActing. And I know my daughter feels the same. We were driving home the other day and she told me how much she wished she could just be at the theater all the time. She said every second she spent there was wonderful because it's the one place where she feels like she can really just be herself. If you have (or have been) a 13-year old girl, you'll understand how truly rare and magical that is. I am so grateful to kidsActing for giving my daughter this life-changing experience. We will be customers for life. read more

My 8th grade son has been in productions at KidsActing since 2nd grade, and it's been a great experience. Their model is to have satellite locations all over Austin to rehearse, but then everyone goes to the main theater in East Austin for dress rehearsals and the play itself. This allows them to share the sets and costumes for multiple productions, and they are high quality. We have had several directors, and they've all been awesome. I think acting is such a great skill for kids, and KidsActing is a great place to do it in and around Austin. read more

Word on the street is that kidsActing studio is good, and we finally got to check it out. This review is for a seasonal camp at the Real Street location. - Enclosed facility. No one else is on the location, and the entire facility is fenced in. - There is an open grassy area for blowing off steam/ games when the weather allows - Private parking lot with a drop off lane. - Low Instructor/child ratio - Tone set by the staff is energetic and calm. Very Austiny - very much about guiding the kids through the steps to prepare. (Squeee! mom is excited) - Price is reasonable for the hours covered. At first, I thought "Ouch" then I did a reality check.. 8 hours a day for 5 days? -At pick up we hear a happy kerfuffle going on inside.. giggles, thumps, and scuffling about. - Both flyers and email communication keeping parents up to date about what is expected of kids, and anything we need to do to prepare. Not having tried an acting class for kiddo previously, I really had no idea what to expect.. or if K would even find it remotely interesting. We have tried other camps that ended up being super fancy baby sitting. Day 3 update. Kiddo memorized his lines (shocker!) and was very serious about being sure he was prepared for tomorrow. (Whaaa! Whose child is this?) We ask kiddo how he likes camp and we get "good." High praise indeed for this lil guy. Thanks Kidsacting studio. For first timers (like us) : - There are 2 stages at the Real Street location. There might be more than one class going on at a time- and they have different entrances... so read the fine print. - If you are ride sharing, provide that information to the mgmt. They are (rightly so) diligent about pick ups and drop offs read more

An all star staff. The kids learn a lot, gain self esteem, and had lots of fun.

My 10 year old daughter did a week long summer camp and she loved it... the instructors were so wonderful and just an overall great experience. She didn't know anyone else going in to the camp and I was so impressed with how welcoming all the others kiddos were, some of which knew one another from other productions and camps. read more

My daughter has been a part of the kids acting group for the past seven years. She has grown so much through her experiences with this acting troupe and she has made such great friendships! My daughter adores the full scale productions, and even through the covid experiences we have enjoyed the connection to other actors and singers while having to quarantine. We plan to continue taking part in these productions, and I can't wait to see my daughter learn more and flourish more in these roles and productions. I love the staff, and Ms. Courtney is the greatest. read more

I am super happy with Kids acting studio. Both my girls have done the holiday and summer camps, and one has done 3 semester long shows. The team really has it together and has fostered my daughter's growing passion for acting and singing. I'd especially like to give props to Cat Phillips as we just finished the Wizard of Oz with my daughter was the Wicked Witch. Cat truly cares about the students and was just as moved at this performance as the rest of us. I know Cat and the team she lead worked hard to ensure each kid felt important and special from day one until the end of the last curtain. My daughter came home thrilled with what a blast she had. The costumes and sets are impressive too! I'd like to especially compliment Cat and hope her managers see this on Cat's communication with the parents. She did a fabulous A+ job on keeping us in the loop, setting boundaries, setting expectations, preparing us, and making sure we understood completely how she and her team she leads go throughout the the process of role assignments. She was all inclusive of each and every kid and did the same with them. So proud of the whole group! read more

This was a pretty bad experience, we had a couple of things come up through the whole semester they give out a syllabus which has all of the dates of shows and rehearsals. We missed literally maybe two, one because of a family emergency where my father was ICU in New mexico dying, they didnt care about that too much. Then we had a conflicting schedule during the show months after getting the syllabus with my son's boy scouts that we could not miss this meeting because it was the end of the year meeting and on a Tuesday and on a school night. This to me is unacceptable I understand we missed two times and it says zero tolerance but there was literally a family emergency so how do you have no sympathy or empathy when it comes to that aside from the Boy Scouts I can understand. But these people are so rude when we went to the show and I was buying a poster which they jack up the price to $20 to sell that the kids sign which is pretty cute and I wanted one for my son to have since it was his first play, the guy running the concession stands was super rude would not look at me with looking away from me with acting as if I was bothering him never said please or thank you was just super rude and then the next person that came up behind me that was buying one he was totally different to and when I brought this to their attention they didn't say anything back to me or respond to my email. Luckily my kid was here on a scholarship because it's his first time acting and I didn't pay for this because I would have been requesting a refund for such crappy services. All in all the looks really cool inside the studio the pictures on the wall and the production was pretty good? But nothing like Zach Scott and since it was my son's first real experience in acting they treated him pretty bad too because he couldn't remember his lines which I don't think as a child is very good to do because it's just going to lower their self esteem, yelling at them or giving them lesser roles, also as someone stated in a prior review.... so I'd say I have to pass on this place... oh but if you're a white rich housewife and drive an suv plowing through the parking lot while your littles are trying to walk through there then you will definitely fit in and then I would recommend it for you Oh yeah, and Audrey the teacher is a huge fake bitch read more

kidsActing Studio as been such a great experience for my 11 year-old daughter! We first tried it out when we moved from out of state over three years ago. Since then she has performed in 5 different productions - and has really enjoyed each one of them! Not only has her acting and singing skills improved, but she's also gained a ton of confidence and made some great connections along the way. kidsActing offers a wide variety of unique opportunities and formats for multiple age groups. No matter the type of class/production, we've been continually impressed with how the instructors are able to create a fun, inviting atmosphere for all students while also managing to create such quality productions that often (at least with the classes we've been a part of) culminate in a final show for families to watch and enjoy. Throughout these last few years, my daughter's also recruited family and friends to try out kidsActing, and each of them has inevitably signed up for another class because they had an equally wonderful experience. Clearly, we're big fans! :) read more

This review is for a class that my child took from January to April, 2011. While I would rate our experience as poor, my child would say it was "good," even fun, because she especially enjoyed the final performance and the last few rehearsals before the performance. She still remembers how "boring" the first two weeks were, however. With Kids Acting, I think you have to be really careful and check out the experience of your child's particular teacher. Unfortunately, my child was stuck with an inexperienced teacher. The first two weeks, the kids simply sat around a table and listened to the teacher read stories! This was a class for 4-8 year-olds. These kids need activity. By the third week (and after a few other parents and I complained, and at least one child quit the class), they added a more experienced, enthusiastic teacher. However, even with an experienced teacher, the instructors did not seem to realize what type of content was appropriate for 4-8 year olds. For several weeks, the children recited some Gilbert & Sullivan speech about gallows and death....not exactly something you want to explain to a young child. There are millions of pages of more appropriate material. We suffered through many weeks of teachers who meant well, but didn't really understand what was appropriate for young children. They also seemed to let the children run the class instead of creatively managing the class and making each part of the class active and fun. When I hear kids groan about rehearsing the play, which is the main point of the class, something is wrong. On the positive side, the school did give me the option of quitting after the first or second week. We thought things were going fairly well by the third week, so we stayed. Only a few weeks later did I realize that the children were reciting inappropriate G & S lines. We probably could have quit at that point, if I had made a fuss, but my child said she was having fun doing some of the other activities in the class. After a few weeks of an approximately 12-week class, we started seeing some artwork come home from the class. This wasn't artwork for costumes or sets or even puppet shows--just artwork! I didn't intend for this class to be day care or simply babysitting. For a mere 90 minutes per week, I expected my child to be fully involved in active drama or voice or singing or improv--not fine motor skills activities that did not relate to the performance that they were going to have on the last day. I think what bothered me most is that often the teachers seemed to think they were just babysitting. I have many other complaints, but I would now like to highlight some positives: 1. Even though I was known as a parent who complained, the teachers were always nice to my child. 2. My child really enjoyed the final performance. 3. The owner did talk to me about my concerns at the beginning and gave me the opportunity to get out of the class with at least a partial, if not a full, refund. I just kept hoping the class would improve. Sometimes it was better; sometimes it was worse. It just wasn't consistently bad enough to warrant trying to pull out toward the middle of the semester. If I had a do-over, I would have pulled my child out early in the class. The class should have been active and fun and age-appropriate from the very beginning. read more

My 13 year old daughter LOVES kidsActing. She's been in five productions. Yes, they are strict, but so are all other serious kids' teams of any kind, as I know very well from my other daughter who is an athlete. So it is a serious commitment, and everyone in our family understands and supports that. In terms of age differences vs. abilities and experience, I am sure they would be happy to answer such questions in advance. Every show my daughter has been in has had kids of different ages (including kids younger than her), and I think she benefits from that in terms of leadership and teaching the younger kids what to do. She has never minded. She just loves to perform, anyhow anyway. She has made many good friends at kidsActing (they're always group Facetiming and singing obscure Broadway tunes... they also have a lot of cast parties where everyone is invited). I would highly recommend it for development of public speaking, learning to deal with stage fright, being under pressure, and deadlines. It's not just about acting and being a "star." It's learning teamwork, learning your lines, and developing maturity, and working your way up from Beginner to Elite. I would say, ask a lot of questions up front, then dive in. read more

Our son loves their summer acting camps. He's done one each year for the last three years. I think he gets a lot out of them, but the main thing for us is that he has a lot of fun. I like that they have them in several locations, we have one very near our home. Their web page can be a little tricky to navigate in order to match up venues and productions, but it is worth the effort. read more

Our daughter did the one-week summer camp (Ms. Courtney) and 3-week summer camp (Mr. Mike & Mr. Jett). To say that we were impressed with the performance would be an understatement! It's incredible to see all the hard work go into the performance, with fine actors, custom sets, and costumes. It's all legit! The lessons that the students learn go beyond acting technicalities, as they learn the importance of teamwork by contributing to chores and learning to act with others, confidence through acting and speaking in a professional play, and grit through expectations to memorize lines and practice under a tight timeline. I am so grateful for the talented staff and teachers who have made such a positive impact on my daughter's growth! This place is phenomenal!!! read more

Our son is 10 and in 4th grade. We have had a very good experience here. He has participated in 3 full scale productions. We feel there is a balance between expecting professionalism from the children and promoting learning and fun. High recommends! read more

my daughter went to the classes held in CP. In spring 2014, it was peter pan (a musical). She had a lot of fun each class. This next spring 2015 she is signed up for CP Glee showchoir and is super excited. This is something she wants to pursue - and until drama and choir start at school we will definitely be going here. read more

This is a great place where kids learn to build self confidence,sing,act,dance and have fun. I like how they know that the kids are kids,but the full-scale productions are in a professional-type environment and make kids feel like they are real broadway stars. If you are looking for performing arts classes,send your kids to kidsacting ! read more

My daughter has been going to kidsActing for two years now and she absolutely loves it! Last year she participated in the Advanced Matilda production and then took a variety of virtual summer camps during the pandemic lockdown. This year, she is in the advanced production of Annie and she is super excited to take the stage. I have been really impressed with all the staff and show directors. Communication is excellent!!! The communication was a big thing for me because like most working moms, I need to solidify my schedule and have questions answered in a timely manner. KidsActing did not disappoint. I always know what to expect and never encounter any last minute surprises. From my daughter's perspective, she was nervous going into an advanced production knowing that most of the kids had been going to Kids Acting for years and she was new. Everyone was so welcoming and she quickly made friends. The staff takes a firm, but nurturing approach to training. My daughter appreciated this because she trains hard and takes her craft very seriously, so she likes that everyone is held accountable for their actions and they strive to put on the best show they can. My daughter continually walks out of rehearsals grinning from ear to ear and that makes my heart happy. I was also impressed with their ability to adapt to the Covid situation over the last year and a half. They put a lot of thought and time into making sure these kids would still be able to put on a show. The ideas they came up with were great and my daughter and I were just so happy that a performance was still going to happen. I recommend Kids Acting to anyone who has an "dramatic" child. They have a variety of opportunities for all skill levels and interests. I am grateful to have my daughter be part of the kidsActing family!! read more

BUYER BEWARE - The owner gives NO REFUNDS no matter what. This means after you pay in full for signing choir and show up for your kids first class and ask for a refund because your almost 11-year old is in a class filled with first graders you will not get a refund. You are given instead "many options" which means you are given ONE OPTION - driving your child to another location in hopes there might be kids her age in the class. That option is convenient for one person - the owner who wants to keep your revenue. We were told this experience would give our child "leadership opportunities". It felt like babysitting to her. I warned my friends on Facebook about this place and was floored when the owner had the audacity to post on my wall and try to chastise me for complaining about my experience. Shaming customers alienates future customers. I feel bad for all the parents and kids who have experiences like mine and hope this review might spare them from $330 of their hard-earned dollars going down the toilet. Had we paid in installments we'd only be out some of the money. I wish the owner was more reasonable about refunds and would have given us at least a partial one. This was a very disappointing experience. read more

Very bad, I highly recommend against this place. I signed my 8 year old son up for an acting class that was about 3 months long. It seemed a bit costly at $495, but we thought our son would enjoy it. On the first day of class the teacher passes out a document that had to be signed and returned before our son would be allowed to participate in the play, but the requirements included being there on a number of particular days on which we were going to be out of town, so we could not honestly sign agreeing to the requirements. We went by before the second class and told the instructor that we couldn't do that. Then I called the company and explained the situation, and they said "Sorry, no refunds, but you can switch to a different class that is going on right now." None of the other classes (most of which were farther away) were anything we were interested in. I spoke to the owner, and she explained that requirements like that were common for acting classes. And that may be true, but I've never had an acting class, and they didn't explain the requirements until after we paid for the class. So we were left with no way to participate in the class (short of signing to a lie), and no refund. I contested the charge with my credit card, and KidsActing responded to my credit card company that my son went to two classes (we only dropped by before the second class to explain why we couldn't go anymore) before I intervened because the class was too much work (which is NOT true), and that they explained up front that there were no refunds (true enough). I'm still waiting to see if I'm going to have to go to court to try to recover the money. (FWIW, my son has been in a number of other (not KidsActing) classes, and this is the only one we've ever had problems with.) read more

My daughter has participated in six full-scale musical productions now. She loves the program, and so do I. The many locations around town make it easy to participate, and the teachers we've had have all been great with kids of all ages and abilities. I highly recommend this program. read more

Can't say enough good things about kidsActing. My daughter has been in 3 productions - 2 of Shakespeare's works on a grand scale. Everyone... and I mean everyone... staff & directors, other kids & their parents... are wonderful. They know their stuff and it shows. Awesome costumes! And there are activities/parties scheduled throughout the year so even if your kid's not in a performance, they can attend an event and hang out with their fellow thespians. It's been a great experience.... a bit pricey, but, hey... you get what you pay for. read more

After hearing good things from other parents, I was shocked to discover that this so called acting studio is rewriting scripts to rename or change genders of characters (a huge theatre no-no and illegal use of copyrighted materials)! My three kids and some of their friends were in different cast of the same shows (Peter Pan and Cinderella) and each one was completely different! After comparing the scripts and videos with other parents it is obvious that Kids Acting changes their scripts to fit whichever students sign up that semester, rather than casting students for a particular show. When I tried to voice my concerns to my children's teachers Cassie and Courtney, they both dismissed my concerns as being the best way of teaching my kids to love theater. I let it slide for Peter Pan, but when the same thing happened with Cinderella I knew it wasn't a fluke. I later found out from my oldest son that several of the people working there also yell at the children during rehearsal, expecting them to know things that nobody had actually taken the time to teach them. My kids attended Zach Theater camps this summer and it was amazing! My children learned more in a few weeks at Zach than they did during the entire school year at Kids Acting. read more

Kids Acting has been part of my family's life for 15 years. My daughter went there as a teen and is now working in professional theater for an internationally prestigious, Austin based, theater company. My grand-kids go there and love it. As a theater director myself I now hire and work with kidsActing older students and alums on a regular bases. BUT - more important than all of that is that kidsActing remembers that their students are kids. While they teach them a lot of skills that they can use if they decide to pursue theater later in life, the kids have an appropriately kid centric experience and a lot of fun. Plus nothing teaches self confidence, teamwork and the oh-so-important-in-life skill of being able to speak in front of other people, like acting classes. read more

kidsActing offers a great opportunity for your child to be involved in musical theatre. They handle every detail so all you have to do is drop off your child knowing that in the end everyone will get to enjoy a high quality show! read more