What's so great about Kids Act?
Imagine! Create! Perform! Kids Act will motivate, inspire, and enrich your child, whether he/she is meant to be on stage or needs a little more confidence when speaking in front of classmates.
Playing theater games, creating characters and stories, and performing for friends and family, kids experience the joy of creative expression as they strengthen their talents and build new abilities. Kids Act students gain confidence, exercise leadership skills, build their abilities to listen and cooperate, and experience the magic of bringing something they imagine to life. They have fun while learning acting skills in a safe, supportive environment.(See Class Descriptions for more details.)
Many acting programs for kids require a large financial and time commitment, and require auditions for elaborate shows. Kids Act turns all this on its head. The price and schedule fit into the rest of your life. Shows are simple. The emphasis is on creative expression. The experience gained from week to week in class is just as important as the the final show, and the performance offers opportunities for each individual to shine.
Kids Act is built on the foundation of Aleta Barthell's extensive professional acting experience and training. Students learn core acting skills in a context that's valuable for every kid, not just those who want to go further in acting. (See Student Achievements to learn about those who do go further.) The learning is play-based, so the kids have fun while they learn and often want to repeat the program. There are opportunities to grow and work at a higher level when they do.
Kids enjoy doing the Warm Up Exercises, and playing games like Status, and Sending a Package. They connect with core Kids Act experiences like choosing a hat from the Hat Bag, Making Characters, Creating a Story Together, learning verse by Shakespeare, and performing in a theater. Parents often report gains in confidence, public speaking ability, ability to work with others, and even more profound benefits. Check out Parent Comments to learn more.
How did Kids Act get started, and why is it so different from other acting programs? When Aleta Barthell was a little girl, she was cast as The Bunny in a production of "The Bad Children" at Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming. She was so excited! She went home and thought all about what The Bunny would say and do during the play. The next day at rehearsal, she learned that The Bunny had no lines! She was still excited to be on stage and be part of the show, but there was no room for all of her imagination and creativity.
Aleta grew up and went on to a long and varied acting career, including lots of professional experience and training (see Aleta's Acting Resume), some satisfying, some not. When she set up her own program to teach acting to kids, she remembered The Bunny, and decided to build a curriculum centered on creative expression and imagination. Kids Act is that program! It offers opportunities for each individual to grow and to shine. Kids Act teachers are steeped in this philosophy and in the methods of the program that support every kid in expressing themselves creatively. At Kids Act, that's how we put imagination into action!