Whether your kids love acting, musical theater or comedy, these programs will help them step confidently into the spotlight.
ACTING OUT
439 South Ave. W., Westfield
908-379-8119
418 Main St., Metuchen
732-372-7143
Instructors provide training in acting, musical theater, improv and on-camera work for actors age 4 and up who want experience on stage or on the screen. There are year-round classes and private lessons designed to build skills, boost confidence and prepare students for success. A new location in Metuchen will open this summer.
ACTION THEATRE CONSERVATORY / ATC STUDIOS
68 Union Ave., Clifton
862-243-2827
Classes here are for traditional theater actors, but also for future TV and film stars. Using fun exercises and story theater techniques, kids will present a final “informance” performance for family and friends.
BERGEN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
1 Depot Sq., Englewood
201-482-8194
The Performing Arts School has programs in music, dance, theater and visual arts. Musical Theater Summer Camp helps kids ages 6-12 develop skills in voice, dance, acting and storytime. The Early Childhood program starts at age 3 months old!
BRIGHTEST STAR SCHOOL OF PERFORMING ARTS
16 Ridgedale Ave., Cedar Knolls
973-829-1973
Summer musical theater camp is for the dancers, singers and actors in your life. There is a sleepaway camp in Beach Haven on LBI, or kids can attend musical theater day camp in Whippany. Kids will learn voice, acting and dance tips; then produce a final show on the last day of camp. There’s a separate program for voice instruction for kids 10 and up.
BROADWAY PERFORMING ARTS
357 Broad St., Bloomfield
973-748-2787
Professional performers will teach your children how to dance, play instruments, enhance their voice and develop their talents for musical theater.
BRUNDAGE PARK PLAYHOUSE
2 Bungalow Ln., Randolph
973-989-7092
Summer theater camp programs include Budding Stars for 5-to-7-year-olds, while kids 8 to 14 can join the Summer Stage, where they take a 2-week session and then perform in a production on stage. Advanced performers can sign up for a three-week intensive. There are a variety of theater classes offered year-round as well.
CENTENARY STAGE COMPANY
Lackland Performing Arts Center
715 Grand Ave., Hackettstown
908-979-0900
The Young Performers Workshop is a musical theater training program for kids ages 8-18 who want to be hands-on. Using classroom study and a real production process, kids learn about acting and then are guaranteed a part in at least one production.
CONTAGIOUS DRAMA WORKSHOP
113 Washington St., Westfield
917-836-3740
Kids and teens learn basic theater skills through games, improv and role-playing. They learn acting and scene study, plus the Who- What-Where-Why-How of approaching their work. They’ll be assigned a scene or short play to present at the end of the season.
ELEFANTE MUSIC & SCHOOL FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
1790 Springfield Ave., New Providence
908-464-5928
413 Park Ave., Scotch Plains
908-322-7542
During the school year, kids ages 3-18 can sign up for a semester of acting, singing or dancing; or a full-stage musical year-round. Summer performing arts programs are available as well.
ESSEX YOUTH THEATER
Studio Playhouse, 14 Alvin Pl., Upper Montclair
973-746-3303 or 973-744-9752
Every budding actor will get a role in a custom-written play, and then perform in a full-scale production. Classes are separated into ages 4-5, 6-8 and 9-12. Summer includes a theater day camp for students ages 6-13.
GEORGE STREET PLAYHOUSE
11 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick
732-246-7717
The Arts Education program offers student matinees with talkbacks with the artists in residence, a variety of resources both onstage and offstage, skills development, workshops and classes.
THE GROWING STAGE
The Historic Palace Theatre, 7 Ledgewood Ave., Netcong
973-347-4946
The Children’s Theatre of New Jersey is the site of the Creative Arts Academy, where classes and camps are open to newcomers and advanced students. Classes include stories and songs, creative dramatics, musical performance, playwriting, improv and private vocal coaching, with some programs starting as young as pre-K.
HOBOKEN CHILDREN’S THEATER
Hoboken Children’s Theater, 701 Clinton St., Hoboken
Hoboken Charter School, 713 Washington St., Hoboken
All Saints Church, 707 Washington St., Hoboken
646-339-8485
With its own public theater space, Hoboken Children’s Theater has been a training ground for actors as young as 3. The winter programs feature workshops like Make It Musical, Songs & Scenes, and Theater Games; while the upcoming summer program features a mini camp so kids can rehearse and perform a full production, working with music, acting and dance pros.
JAZZ HOUSE KIDS
347 Bloomfield Ave., Lower Level, Montclair
973-744-2273
Young musicians who are at any level of instrumental or vocal experience can join ensembles, master classes, workshops with Grammy Award-winning artists, and jam sessions to improve their techniques for performance.
KELSEY THEATRE AT MERCER COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
1200 Old Trenton Rd., West Windsor
609-570-3333
Tomato Patch is Central Jersey’s longestrunning arts program with training in theater, dance, vocals, comedy, video, musical theater and more. Tomato Patch Jr. is a Saturday morning theater workshop series where kids ages 5-12 learn improv, movement and creativity.
MAYO PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
100 South St., Morristown
973-539-0345
MPAC’s Performing Arts School, school programs, main stage performances and outreach opportunities reach over 40,000 kids per year through theater classes, schooltime shows, workshops, seminars, student recognition programs and enrichment opportunities.
McCARTER THEATRE CENTER
91 University Pl., Princeton
609-258-8289
McCarter gives kids in grades K-12 the ability to explore, play and develop their talents, from newcomers to seasoned performers. Younger kids learn through heroes and villains, while grades 3-8 start to learn about Shakespeare, progressing to a teen acting collective for high schoolers.
MUSIC MOUNTAIN THEATRE
1483 Rte. 179, Lambertville
609-397-3337
Theatre School offers acting, comedy improv, musical theater, dance, costuming and sewing classes for students who want to improve their performance, confidence, communication, kinesthetic, endurance, discipline, concentration and self-expression skills. MMT offers an inclusive acting class for differently-abled performers who are 16 and older.
NEW JERSEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER – CENTER FOR ARTS EDUCATION
24 Rector St., Newark
973-353-7058
After studying dance, jazz, acting, musical theater, hip-hop arts and culture, either at the Center for Arts Education or in classes taught by NJPAC teaching artists at schools around the state, kids can experience performances on the Arts Center stages. The Colton Institute for Training and Research in the Arts offers Saturday classes, summer camps, coaching, career mentorship and professional performance opportunities.
NEW JERSEY SCHOOL OF DRAMATIC ARTS
NJSDA at St. John’s Church 55 Montclair Ave., Montclair
973-566-9700
Youth acting classes are offered in person or virtually for actors of all ages and backgrounds who are serious about their stage presence. Kids, tweens and teens are exposed to lessons in acting, improv, musical theater, TV & film, and a series of workshops.
NEWARK SCHOOL OF THE ARTS
89 Lincoln Park, Newark
973-642-0133
Some of the newer classes offered include early childhood music, media, dance, drama and runway fashion.
PAPER MILL PLAYHOUSE
Brookside Dr., Millburn
973-376-4343
Classes for kids throughout the year include storybook theater, improv, creative drama, acting for the camera, voice lessons and showtime. Teens can sign up for drama in performance, acting techniques, scenes and song production, and private coaching. Summer training programs include the Summer Musical Theater Conservatory, Musical Theater Technique Intensive, Paper Mill Players Camp, New Voices Concert and a series of audition opportunities.
PEACHCRAFT ACADEMY OF DRAMATIC ARTS AND CREATIVE VOICE
371 Springfield Ave., Summit
908-673-1485
Beginner workshops for kids ages 8-11 focus on the language of the performing arts, building an ensemble and learning foundational techniques. Teens ages 12-15 will apply those techniques to scene study, and learn the basics of an audition for the camera and for the stage. High school actors can sign up for a workshop on auditioning, script analysis and on-camera techniques. Master classes offer further study.
PORCH LIGHT PRODUCTIONS
555 Broad St., Glen Rock
201-857-3520
9 Sand Park Rd., Suite 6, Cedar Grove
201-793-2021
Cedar Grove Stage, 216 Little Falls Rd., Cedar Grove
201-793-2021
Classes and programs focus on performing arts through acting, voice, dance, musical theater, improv and on-camera lessons. Enroll your budding actress in an academy program, studio class, youth performance troupe (by audition only), workshops, mini camps or private lessons.
PRINCETON BALLET SCHOOL
Cranbury Studio, 29 N. Main St., Cranbury
609-921-7758
New Brunswick Performing Arts Center, 60 Bayard St., New Brunswick
732-249-1254
Princeton Studio, 301 N. Harrison St., Princeton
609-921-7758
Ballerinas age 3 and up can join this division of the American Repertory Ballet, a non-profit, professional ballet company that focuses on classical and contemporary dance training.
RUTGERS SUMMER ARTS INSTITUTE
Mason Gross School of the Arts
33 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick
communityarts@mgsa.rutgers.edu
Rising seventh to 12th graders can register for vibrant programs in Art & Design, Dance, Filmmaking & Screenwriting, Concert Band, and Jazz, all hosted by Mason Gross School of the Arts and led by renowned faculty.
THE SHAKESPEARE THEATRE OF NEW JERSEY
3 Vreeland Rd., Florham Park
973-845-6723
The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey is the state’s largest professional theater company dedicated solely to the famed author. Through the Shakespeare Theatre Academy, students use games, scene work and Shakespearean texts to learn about movement, speech and character creation.
SHARRON MILLER’S ACADEMY FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
10 Erie St., Montclair
973-655-9819
Founder and Artistic/Executive Director Sharron Miller is a former Alvin Ailey principal dancer and a Broadway vet. For 30 years she has been giving back to her hometown by offering free and reduced-cost dance programs.
SOUTH ORANGE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
1 SOPAC Way, South Orange
973-382-1035
SOPAC offers National Poetry Out Loud —a partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts, The Poetry Foundation and arts agencies across the U.S—for students in grades 9-12 who want to learn about poetry through memorization and recitation. They learn skills to improve public speaking, selfconfidence and literary history.
TWO RIVER THEATER
21 Bridge Ave., Red Bank
732-345-1400
The famed Red Bank theater holds educational events for students, plus summer programs for learners ages 12-17 who want to spend their summer at an intensive or pro series workshop. There’s also The ART of Social Justice, which is an educator-focused collab with Project Write Now and T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center.
VANGUARD THEATER
180 Bloomfield Ave., Montclair
862-205-3525
Young actors can prepare to DREAM at Vanguard’s Summerstock program: Diversity, Reciprocity, Education, Activism and Mentorship,that is. The annual DREAM Summerstock VTC is a two-week sleepaway musical theater intensive that blends training, collaboration, artistic exploration, and traditional camp experiences like campfires, hiking and swimming.
VIVID STAGE
Oakes Center, 120 Morris Ave., Summit
908-514-9654
The Vivid Dreamers program is a 3-week summer camp for kids in grades 4-10, where kids start with classes and workshops in acting, improv, playwriting, singing and movement; move on to developing and writing an original play; and then present their work on the last night of camp.
WESTRICK MUSIC ACADEMY
231 Clarksville Rd., Princeton Junction
609-688-1888
Home to Princeton Boychoir, Princeton Girlchoir, Poce Voice Choir and Choir Camp at Westrick Academy, the Music Education Programs at WMA help singers strengthen their musical skills both for rehearsals and for performances. There are also workshops in musical theater, drumming and the ukelele.
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