Sure, it’s summer vacation, but as a child or teen actor, there’s no better time than that June–August sweet spot to hone your craft and take advantage of informative—and fun!—acting camps and summer programs. The beach will be there when you get back!
Alliance Theatre (Atlanta)
A top-rated learning experience for actors of all ages, shapes, and sizes, the summer camps at the Alliance Theatre include options for throughout the Atlanta area, including Atlanta's own Woodruff Arts Center as well as Decatur, Grant Park, and Galloway, among other locations.
Atlantic Acting School (NYC)
The Atlantic Theater’s famed acting education program is also offers a summer camp series. Featuring four core courses of script analysis, moment lab, voice, and performance technique, the summer intensive for teens boasts such alums as Rose Byrne, Anna Chlumsky, and Matthew Fox!
School of Creative and Performing Arts (locations vary)
With locations in Burlington, Vermont; Los Angeles; and New York City, SOCAPA’s summer camp for teen artists—among them actors, filmmakers, and dancers—is as far-reaching as they come. Its one-, two-, and three-week acting camp sessions teach Meisner and Method Acting while also casting campers in its film programs’ short films, so actors leave with some extra padding for their online portfolio.
Stagedoor Manor (Loch Sheldrake, N.Y.)
Academy Award winner Natalie Portman, Robert Downey Jr., and Lea Michele all rank among the hundreds of alums of Stagedoor Manor's renowned theater camp in the heart of the Catskills. For 40 years, this resort hotel-turned-summer camp has been home to 200 boys and girls ages 10-18 for three three-week sessions; its so-called “Stagedoor mafia” just continues to grow.
Young Actors Camp (Claremont, Calif.)
Child and teen actors ages 7–19 are molded into the stars of tomorrow at Young Actors Camp—and this annual offering teaches mom and dad a thing or two, as well. Not only is it one of the only acting camps that films a sitcom in front of a live studio audience, but its parent conference component teaches the merits and how-tos of getting an agent for your child actor, advising your young performer, and more.
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