Welcome

Welcome to the Act One School of Drama, located in Pickering, Ontario. Our vision and primary focus is on enabling and expanding the drama experience and performance opportunities for Durham Region youth and adults alike.

We have provided drama and acting training for stage, film, musical theatre and Improvisation for over two thousand students, ages 5 to adult, over the past 14 years in the Durham Region (Pickering, Ajax, Whitby and Oshawa) and Toronto.

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We offer full and half year drama and film courses, intensive one to three-day workshops for those with busier schedules or special interests, one-on-one tutoring and coaching, a March Break Theatre camp, 2-week Theatre Summer Camps in July and August, as well as a special on-site program for Durham Region elementary schools.

We can also offer Durham Region organizations and groups a local, inexpensive, fully-equipped performance studio that can comfortably seat over 100 patrons for children's theatre, community theatre, charity shows and other public or private events.

Recent News

May 2009:		Act One was pleased to play host as one of the locations for the filming of an episode of the hit reality show "Til Debt Do Us Part" in May. Airing next season, the episode features a live stage performance. A number of Act One students were invited to be part of the audience "cast" for the filming of this show. May also saw the Improvisation and Sketch Comedy classes perform at the City of Pickering's annual Artfest public event in late May.
April 2009:		Act One students are now turning their focus to the class year-end plays. We are also happy to announce that Act One's 2009 Theatre Summer Camp information is now available on the website and we are accepting registrations to our four 2-week sessions.
March 2009:		Act One's March Break Theatre Camp has concluded with another fun week and creative session show. Click here to see some of the photos. Act is also thrilled with the participation and audiences for its students' Weekend of Monologues show performances that took place at the end of March. Click here to see the monologues that were performed and some of the show photos!
January 2009:		Act One is happy to report that the Winter Cabaret 2009 show was a huge success with only three students unable to participate and audience capacity at over 95% full! We thank all the families and friends for providing an incredibly supportive audience and especially all the students for their commitment and dedication over the past weeks. It is the combination of all this that makes this event so much fun. Select photographs from the three evenings of performances can now be viewed in the school's Photo Gallery section of the website. We welcome back current students for the Winter Term and extend our greetings to the new students who are joining us for the second half!
December 2008:		Act One wishes everyone a Merry Christmas and New Year and hopes everyone enjoys this festive time of year. We are also pleased that the new year will usher in additional renovations and upgrades to our reception area and main performance studio. We are excited that our students this year will be presenting over 33 short performance pieces for our Winter Theatre Cabaret weekend show at the end of January.
November 2008:		Act One classes are now closed for the Fall Term in order for the students to prepare for their upcoming January 2009 performances. The school is now taking registrations for new students who wish to join an existing class or one of our new ones for the Winter Term which begins the week of January 26, 2009
October 2008:		Act One is pleased to announce that commencing in February 2009 it will be able to make its performance stage and studio available for local Pickering and Ajax groups and organizations seeking an inexpensive, professionally equipped theatrical performance space to present their own local events.
September 2008:		Act One is pleased to announce the addition of a new performance opportunity for its students. In addition to our January and June shows, the school will be presenting a "Weekend of Monologues" in March 2009. This entertaining event will allow students to gain valuable experience and self- confidence in creating and presenting their own personal individual performance pieces.