Acting Classes for Kids in the Twin Cities, Minnesota

Front Porch Musical Theatre

14180 Northdale Blvd, Rogers, MN 55374
Located in Rodgers, Front Porch infuses both their classes and their production with a Christian world view.

Illusion Theater

3754 Pleasant Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55409
Illusion’s arts education programs strive to help students learn important social emotional skills, basic life skills and encourage teamwork and collaboration. The work to foster a sense of awareness, commitment and ownership of this world, while giving them a platform to talk about issues that are important to them in way that empowers and helps them grow.

Moore Than Dance

1220 East Moore Lake Drive, Fridley, MN 55432
Our partner company, Moore Than Dance, offers more than just dance classes (I’m assuming that pun was attended, although they are also located near Moore Lake). Conveniently located just outside Northeast Minneapolis off of 694, Moore Than Dance offers musical theater classes as well as dance in a wholesome environment that focuses on creativity, personal growth and the inherent value of each student.

Merrill Arts Center

380 Rivertown Dr #200, Woodbury, MN, 55125
Located in Woodbury, Merrill Arts Center offers acting classes and camps throughout the year.

Open Window Theatre – Young Actors Academy

5300 S. Robert Trail, Inver Grove Heights, MN 55077
Now that Open Window has found a new permanent home in Inver Grove Heights, they are able to offer regular youth drama classes again. This faith-based theatre has a mission to share redemptive stories of faith, hope and reconciliation.

Stages Theatre Company

1111 Mainstreet, Hopkins, MN 55343
Stages is located in Hopkins and offers classes, camps and workshops. Kids can audition for their productions and will work alongside professionals.

SteppingStone Theatre

Park Square Theatre, West 7th Place, Saint Paul, MN 55102
Although we don’t have experience with their acting classes, we have attended community events and auditions at Steppingstone Theatre and find them an enthusiastic and child-centered theater program. SteppingStone is located in Saint Paul and has recently merged with Parkway Theatre. All classes are Pay-As-You’re-Able.

Youth Performance Company

641 Fairview Ave N, St Paul, MN 55104
YPC is located on Fairview Avenue in St Paul. They offer summer camps, classes and performances that kids can audition for.

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I don’t expect my teenagers to be running off to New York City or Los Angeles to chase their acting dream, we have had good experiences with learning the performing arts that have lasted.

We would love to hear your experience. Let us know which acting studio you work with. Did you go with classes or private coaching? What advice do you have for other parents? Share your thoughts in the comments, so we can share with the community.

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10 Reasons Acting Classes for Kids Make A Great Extra-Curricular Activity

As parents, we only have so much time and money for extracurricular activities. Eventually our kids choose their own activities, but when I was still making the call, I often chose acting classes for these ten reasons:

1. My Kids Love Theatre Arts Training. It started with my grade school daughter who was absolutely certain she wanted to be an actress when she grows up. I signed us up for the ACT Pass Scholarship Program. After watching my the five-year-old glow while participating in a sample class, I signed him up, too.
2. I hope Theatre Arts Training will teach the value of hard work. This alone would make my time and expense worth it. My daughter wasn’t really one of those kids who likes to put effort into things. Despite the fact that it was hard work sometimes, she really enjoyed it. She is in high school now and I can say that, while acting is no longer her thing, she has learned the value of hard work.
3. I’m Always Looking for Fun Ways to Help with Language Development. My 5-year-old was slow to talk and had difficulties with some sounds. With early childhood intervention, he started to become intelligible, but I worried he wouldn’t not be ready for Kindergarten next year. Theatre Arts Training was a part of our intervention efforts. At ten, he still needs to work on speech, but we have seen great strides.
4. Theatre Arts Training Builds Confidence and Encourages Public Speaking. Girls have it hard growing up. They can be mean to each other, boys can be pushy, and there is pressure on girls, in particular, to please everyone around them. Anything I can do to encourage self-confidence and independent thought is a plus in my book.
5. Acting Encourages Teamwork. This is another thing that makes me wonder if my 5-year-old will be ready for kindergarten. He doesn’t seem to be aware of how his actions affect the people around him. Hopefully a few months of working with other children, taking turns, following direction, watching for cues and all the other things that go with acting, will help him be a little more ready.
6. Arts Education Improves Academic Performance. This is according to studies. I don’t have proof of this yet with my own children. I do know that when my husband and I were teens, he struggled with a lot of home and school issues. The schools’ response, despite his test scores, was often to pull him out of “unessential” programs and stick him into vocational classes. When he finally got to a school which encouraged his creative side, his academic grades went from barely passing to honor roll. That’s pretty good anecdotal evidence to back up the studies.  You can read about school-related benefits here.
7. Theatre Helps Children See The World From Other Viewpoints. I think of Seedfolk and Snowflake immediately. In my experience, stories are essential to help children become less self-centered in their view of the world.
8. Acting Is a Method Used To Help Children Work Through Fears. Last spring, some creep was peeping through windows in my neighborhood. He was probably casing; we don’t know. But later, after he was arrested, we learned some scary things about him. Unfortunately my daughter was one of his victims and my children are all dealing with a lot of fear from that experience. Having someone peep through a window at you is creepy for an adult, but it is downright terrifying for a child. I hope as they expand their abilities to act, they can work through these fears and get past them.
9. I get to support a program I believe in.  Children’s Theatre Company is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Any money I spend, goes back into creating these experiences for youth.
10. It actually is a Family Event For Us. Children’s Theatre is in the same building as the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. While the older children take their classes, the rest of us hang out at the MIA. Even going weekly during class times, we still haven’t hit every art cart or completely explored all the exhibits.

Those are my top ten reasons. What are your reasons for the activities that make your cut? We would love to hear your thoughts.

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Classes We Hope To See Return:

Local theater has been struggling during the last few years. Some have responded to this crisis by cutting back on youth programs. We continue to watch for the return of classes as the economy evens back out.

Brave New Workshop

824 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55403
Located in downtown Minneapolis, Brave New Workshop specializes in comedy and improv, offering classes for teens and youth through their Student Union program. Perfect for older kids who want to work on their monologue skills. Classes currently on hold.

This article contains both paid partner and free entries of acting classes. These classes have been collected as a convenience to parents seeking acting class options and are for informational purposes only. Inclusion does not constitute an endorsement or an approval by Family Fun Twin Cities.

This article was originally published in February 2015
and most recently updated March 20, 2023