The ATA school program is a non-competitive theatrical environment which gives children and young adults between the ages of 5 and 18 an appreciation and knowledge of genres of acting, vocal performance and musical theatre dance.  The program is a year-long commitment, running from September-May and all students are ensured equal stage time depending on the amount of weekly classes they participate in.  For this program, focus is spent on technique and training in each individual genre of theatre and students participate in two MAJOR showcases per year.   This ensures them the opportunity to perform on a more frequent basis unlike the traditional dance studio, which has only one recital at the end of their year.  At ATA, we feel the performance aspect of theatre/voice/dance is a very important element in the training and development received and know how much our students and parents enjoy the excitement of being on stage.  It is important to stress that the ATA school program prides itself not only on the genre of theatre itself, but our staff also takes the time to promote self esteem, self confidence and those communication skills which will give our ATA students important advantages over other young adults as they forge ahead in life.

After being a part of the ATA school program, if a student wishes to continue on a more intense and competitive level, they can have the opportunity to audition for the "Rockin' KidsClub" performance group for ages 10-13 or our resident theatre company, Academy Encore Ensemble for high school students.


The ATA School Showcases

Each January and May, the students of ATA perform a major school showcase, which gives them the opportunity to shine on our ATA Theatre stage.  Unlike other venues, where students must wait an entire year for a quick 2 minute routine in a two to three hour recital, ATA creates entertaining, professional shows consisting of smaller student casts and providing you and your child with more stage time during a much shorter show.  Our first showcase performed towards the end of January is a full-scale performance that allows performers and audiences to see what is being taught and created at ATA.   This showcase is always theme-oriented and not only gives our students the opportunity of performing, but also deals with a theme in which they are also learning about historical events and pop culture.  The theme for 2009/2010 season is "The History of American Music". 

The May showcase once again pulls out all the stops to provide students and audiences with a full-scale professional venue and always focuses on scenes and musical numbers from the best of Broadway shows both past and present.  During our training for the material of the shows, our staff takes the time to discuss with our students the background of what is being performed on stage, ranging from technical knowledge to educational elements as well.