Acting Out offers vocal, musical theatre, acting, and audition preparation classes for students 5 and older. Opened in 2004 and run by husband and wife duo John and Roberta, Acting Out started with a handful of students in a dance studio. Now they’ve grown into their own location and have expanded their reach nationally through virtual classes — reaching over 200 students per month. Taking a leveled approach, classes and private lessons are tailored to student needs — whether that be furthering a young career or fine-tuning audition prep for academic and professional opportunities. Students can also take advantage of specialty workshops throughout the year that offers chances to work with Broadway stars, study voice-overs, learn improvisation, and more.
In March 2020 due to Covid-19 impacting business operations, Acting Out decided to move their classes and private lessons online. Having only offered in-person activities since the beginning of the business, switching to online was a choice made out of necessity. They relied on Sawyer to transition registrations and classes seamlessly — and in doing so, were able to not only sustain but also grow their business nationally.
Even as things began to re-open in the late summer, we attempted to bring back in-person classes and lessons but in-person enrollment was small. We realized most parents were still opting for online teaching so we made the decision to temporarily stop all in-person classes and focus on virtual.
With the help of Sawyer, Acting Out was able to increase their revenue and grow their order volume by 376% — during a pandemic. By quickly pivoting to online acting programs and private lessons, they were able to meet a demand and take their business national.
When asked how their definition of community has changed with a pivot to online programming, John mentioned his wife Roberta and their team have been able to grow as a business and expand their premiere arts education to families across the country. “To us, community is about family. What I mean is that customers and employees alike are not treated as such, but as family members.” These classes have positively impacted the personal and professional development of a generation of young actors — while the arts are on pause. Now, more than ever, through their virtual acting classes, the Acting Out team can help children young and old break through barriers, and help them grow confidence and become comfortable being vulnerable and unafraid.