Student-Focused Instruction

Our programs are structured organically, allowing us to easily adapt classes and camps to the experience, goals and needs of the specific students/campers in each.

Multiple Performance Opportunities

Acting is doing. Act One offers students/campers multiple amd varied performance opportunites in their respective programs.

Fully-Equipped Performance Facility

Act One maintains its own fully equipped performance stage, with computerized lighting, sound and video, to provide students/campers with a complete performance environment.

Flexible, Accessible Programs

Life is stressful enough; Act One tries not to add to it. Our registration, payment, scheduling and withdrawal policies have all been designed to make pursuing quality drama training as easy as possible.

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Check out some of our students' work....

2017 Year end Vidoe Trailer

2020 Winter Cabaret Trailer

On Camera Short film project

On Camera Class Short Film Project

About Act One 

The Act One School of Drama is located in Pickering, Ontario. Our vision and primary focus is on enabling and expanding the drama experience and performance opportunities for all who are interested, whether for personal or professional development goals. We offer acting training for Stage, Film, Musical Theatre, Improvisation and more, for students aged 3 to adult, in the Eastern GTA region (Toronto, Pickering, Ajax, Whtby and Oshawa, etc)

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What We Offer

Act One has used its 25 years of experience to develop and refine its programs and policies to deliver on its vision to bringing high quality drama training and performance experience opportunities to Durham Region and the eastern GTA.

Smaller Classes

Class sizes limited to maximum of 12 (16 for Musical Theatre) to allow for increased individual student opportunity.

Maximum 10:1 Student to Instructor Ratio

A key school commitment is increased one-to-one instructor-student attention.

No advance Payment Required

School priority is that all students who come here do so becasue they themselves believe they will enjoy and benefit from the experience.

No Questions Withdrawal / Refund Policy

Our school philosophy is "no student walks through our doors unless they want to".

Fully-equipped Theatrical Facility

Students get to learn and rehearse in same space they will perform.

Organic Teaching Format

Classes and performance opportunities are adapted to the needs of and most beneficial challenges for each student.

 
 

Our Programs

We offer a wide range of drama programs year-round, for ages 3 to adult, in classroom, camp and individual coachng formats, in a fully-equipped theatrical facility.

Drama Classes
September to June

We offer a range of classes and developement paths for ages 3 to adult in Stage Theatre, Musical Theatre, Film&TV, Improvisation and more. Students explore drama in a fully equipped performance studio and stage environment.

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Improvisation Drop-In Sessions
September to June

Sessions run twice monthly and are open to anyone aged 19+. Fun and social 90-minute improvisational experiences catering towards those with little or no Improv background or whose schedules prevent more formal class commitments.

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Summer Theatre Camps
July to August

We offer four 2-week immersive camp sessions for ages 5-14. Sessions feature play and short film creation, improvisation workshops, mask and puppet theatre, and more.

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March Break Theatre Camp - March

We offer a 5-day session that features a fun-filled week of theatre games and exploration, leading towards the campers' Friday performance of the material they create during the week.

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Vocal Program
September to June

We offer private, individual vocal lessons for those interested in developing their singing confidence and ability. Lessons are flexible and students have at least two optional performance opportunities during the year to put their efforts to the test.

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Personal / Audition Coaching

We offer one-on-one instruction for those interested in more individualized performance training or seeking assistance with audition preparation or current role development.

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Arts-Focused High School Audition Preparation

For Grade Eight students seeking to be accepted to Arts-Focused high school programs, we offer assistance with audition preparation for the acting (ie monologue) and vocal components.

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Facility Rental

For those times when our facility is not required for Act One's school programs, we make our facility and its performance resources available for local performers and other organizations that may be seeking an inexpensive performance location.

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Act One Teaching Staff

Act One's team of instructors and camp counsellors combines a unique and positive blend of maturity and youth with a wide spectrum of experience in film, television and stage performance, production, writing and education..

Here are a few of the staff.....

Laurie Benson

Instructor - Stage Theatre

Full bio on the Staff page......

Chris MacCallum

Instructor - Musical Theatre

Full bio on the Staff page.......

Steve Hobbs

Instructor - Improvisation

Full bio on the Staff page.......

Eduardo Camargo

Instructor - Acting On Camera

Full bio on the Staff page.......

Get to know all the school staff.......

Recent Act One News

The lastest news from Act One. For previous announcements, photo and video galleries, etc, please visit the Act One News page.

6 September 2023

September 2023 Update

Update on Act One's 2023/24 Fall classes, announcing NEW Adult Improvisation classes and drop-in sessions, 2022-23 Year End Performance 2023 Theatre Summer Camp video statuses and more...

27 April 2023

April 2023 Update

Update on Act One's 2022/23 Weekend of Monologues student performances, Year End Performance planning, Theatre Summer Camp Registration and more...

8 February 2023

February 2023 Update

Act One 2022/23 Fall Term Student Performances, Winter Term Registration, 2023 March Break and Summer Theatre Camps and more....

Read more Act One news.......