Acting Classes: The Playground

DEFINITELY NOT A SCAM! After much research, including talking to people in the TV and film industry, we chose The Playground to start my son’s acting career. Gary and The Playground are well regarded by casting directors, agents and managers. My son has learned a lot about acting and audition techniques from the coaches here. But even more important, he learned how to speak in front of an audience, to take constructive criticism, to listen and take direction, and developed better speaking skills generally. Gary and the other coaches truly care about the success of their students and push them to exceed self imposed limitations. They are always available for extra audition coaching and to answer questions about the TV and film industry. My son has had many opportunities through The Playground to audition for parts, agents and managers. After nearly two years, we are so glad we chose The Playground.

My 8 year old Stacy has been going to the Playground for almost 2 years. She loves going to class every week. Gary is so hands on and available. He is helpful, approachable and really enjoys helping the kids. Stacy has loved all the teachers she has had. They are all so helpful after class explaining assignments or tips to help the kids for there next classes. The self confidence, communication skills and public speaking skills my daughter is learning will help her through out her life. She is involved in several sports and other classes and by far has liked this class the best. Thank you Gary, Rebecca, Gayla, Emily, Laura, Kara, Lee and Scott she has learned so much from each and everyone of you!

The Playground is an excellent place for growth and development for young boys & girls. Outside of building acting skills, the playground aids young people on character building and confidence which are skills we all need in the advancement of life. I recommend this experience to all parents. The staff is awesome and the facility is fantastic !!! Please dont go by hearsay, experience the playground opportunity and you’ll see it is a life changer for your child/​children. This place is great !!!

My daughter is in her third year at this school. Yes we were approached at the mall three years ago, when my daughter was 8. She has wanted to be a performer since she was 2. We were asked to attend an audition and received a call back. We have been coming weekly since. Is it pricey? Depends on your personal budget. As a single middle class parent this has been a financial challenge. However, my daughter’s self confidence has increased, her reading skills have improved, she had made friends with other neat children with similar dreams and interest. For us, it was totally worth the money. The public schools have dramatic arts out of their curriculum, so to me this is an asset to her education and life experience. My daughter finally has an agent and manager, but this program dies NOT guarantee stardom. This is a school. What you put in, you get out. The staff is down to earth. They are straight forward. If my daughter is not doing what she needs, the teachers approach me in a direct and respectful manner. I don’t feel intimidated. I am very protective of my daughter and picky about who we do business with. I would not spend the money and dedicate my weekends to this school if I did not feel comfortable. It has been a time and financial sacrifice for our little family, but worth it as my daughter has flourished as a young girl and performer.

Terrific staff, my son loves it. It’s helped him in all aspects of his life, not just acting skills, but with presenting himself in every situation. A confidence builder.

My 10 year old sister has always been into acting and always was telling me she wanted to go to acting school. She got to the point were she annoyed me so much we convinced our mom to look for some acting classes. We came across the playground by doing some research and gave them a call. Right away we booked and appointment with them the following week.
From the point to when we got to the playground we loved the atmosphere and all the images on the wall. My sister was so excited. The interview process was fun and easy. Everyone was super friendly. Everything ran super smoothly at the end of the interview they said they would call us by the end of the week to see if she got in or not.
A week later they called our mother and KARELY GOT IN! my sister was jumping like crazy all over the house.
Its been about a month since she has been attending classes every Saturday morning, and we are so please with everything she is learning.
So far we have had a wonderful experience, from the comfy couches to the amazing and talented teachers.

Unfortunately this is a well organized business of extorting parents by getting to your kids first. They approach the kids in high income areas and tell them that they are exactly what they’ve been looking for… they invite the kids and parents to auditions at the Four Seasons hotel… which makes it look credible… one audition later in their offices they drop the bomb of $ 5000+to get your kid started. Don’t be fooled!

BEWARE BEWARE!!! SCAM!!!
They lure parents and innocent kids by making you think they’re looking for new talent for commercial and tell you to come for the audition. Then they lure you back by making you believe you’re going in for the second audition for the part!!! THERE’S NO PART.
They never tell you during the first meeting, the audition or the second audition that the only part your innocent child was auditioning was the part of becoming a student at their very expensive school/​Scam.
SHAME ON GARY SPATZ and this HOAX.
I am reporting this to The Better Business Bureau and The Consumer Affairs. I pray no other child or parent will fall into this Trap.

Our daughter has been at the playground for three weeks. She is really enjoying herself. If nothing comes out if this «work wise» for her we are getting our moneys worth. She loves the teachers, has made many friends, loves doing her homework every week, and I see her getting more confident after every class.
JP who signed us up was fantastic. He was very caring, polite, and great with Maddie.
We are not looking at this as Maddie being a star in 6 months. We look at this as an opportunity for our daughter to become a bright, well spoken, confident, young lady who can look someone in the eye and have a conversation with them. Since this is just the beginning for her, we want her to have fun and enjoy herself. We just go with the flow. I figured Gary, JP, and the teachers will let’s us know if Maddie has a certain something down the road.
Thank you to everyone who works there.
Dawn R.

If I could give this place zero stars I would definitely do that! I am so disappointed at this school for their misconduct and unprofessionalism! If I only knew sooner on how they rip people off I would’ve never wasted my time or money on this pathetic so called acting school! They are liars and will only fool you go make you believe your child has the talent just to collect your money and feed you lies to get more money from you later down the line without your child moving forward.

Fake liars I paid $ 5000 and nothing happen they promise me my 2 sons will be join in any advertising program in Tv then slow they will put them in TV shows or serials or movies but they start asking me to pay $ 7000 B. S

The Real Deal. If you’re looking for instant stardom for your kids, look elsewhere and good luck with that. .it takes time, effort and dedication to get your child to know how to perform properly in front of a camera. My son Aiden loves this place. He tells me everytime he’s done with class that he can’t wait for the next one. We’ve been trying to long to find something that he loves. and we finally have… Acting… and Gary Spatz is not a phony… he’s a real person who will actually give you the time of day and sit down and discuss any concerns you have… does it cost money? Of course it does… you get what you pay for in life… why would you want your child to go to a FREE acting school? Who wants to pay money? I surely dont… but there’s no price on the quality they offer here… so if you’re stuck on what you should do… give your kid a chance… I did and I’m glad I did.
David

They are teaching you the real ins and outs to this business! I am a professional producer and send all my kids to Gary and they come back better prepared as actors! Even the co-​president of SAG-​AFTRA said the same thing online… Google it for yourselves! Doesn’t GET ANY BETTER THAN THAT folks! I recommend them to everyone because they are the best!

The Playground has been awesome for both of my Children. Not only have Gary’s team taught them the fundamentals of acting. but their grades in school have improved. Both my kids have increased their confidence, speaking skills and social skills. Their experience at Gary Spatz Playground has been incredible! Thanks Gary! And Bill Jacobs too… For allowing us the opportunity to be part of this school!

So many people are quick to criticize this place online because they’re expecting instant stardom for their kids… and when they don’t get it they complain. First of all you can’t force your kids to do something they don’t want to do… and this is not an Agent recruiting hotspot. This is a acting school for kids… it’s a step closer to helping them do something they love. Sure it cost money… every acting school does… If my son doesn’t make it in the acting world (which of course I hope he does duh) at least I’ll feel good knowing we gave it a shot… and the things my son is learning here are things he will be able to use for the rest of his life… Thanks Gary and Bill… and the entire staff at The Playground .
David Herrera

Excellent acting school. Gary Spatz is down to earth and modest. The school selects only promising students. If they take your child, they will be frank and honest. They tell you acting is like anything else — it takes years to become professional and marketable. Success only comes after dedication and hard work. Your child has to love acting and performing. They teach the typical improv and also really emphasize performing under pressure, creativity, being genuine, and how to enunciate words. The instructors are friendly and the parents are modest and classy — unlike some acting schools I have been to where all you hear is how this parent’s kid booked a commercial, or booked a print, etc. The kids at The Playground book really big projects (just look at their website); they just don’t show off about it. I actually want my daughter to become a physician (and she wants to also). The acting skills taught at the Playground will definitely help our daughter communicate and interact with other people when she grows up. She will have a huge advantage in this area.

I could not ask for more caring and knowledgeable people to help my daughter’s love of acting grow. Talk to Gary Spatz for a minute about his students and you can see how passionate he is. He is so down to earth and goes out of his way to make sure both the children and parents are well informed and educated about the entertainment industry. It can be scary making the choice to enter your child in the industry, but there isn’t a better place to help them nurture their talent. As far as Gary’s qualifications as a teacher, take a step into The Playground and see the walls filled with autographs and photos of past students. He has worked on hundreds of popular tv shows with some of the best actors in the business. Of course there are no guarantees, but I feel with the skills my daughter has learned here she is on her way to success!

5 Stars, Great Acting Studio (please see my comments in the «Tips» section).