Orange County Childrens Musical Theater

19Oct07 | 5 comments

The Itty Bitty Broadway program at The Center Stage Studio in Aliso Viejo introduces the five and six year old age group to musical theater. If you have five year old or six year old extroverts who like to perform on stage, whether it is singing, dancing or acting, and are prepared for the audition, you should consider this theater program.

It is a small studio and a makeshift stage, but that doesn't really matter. What matters is that the program is age appropriate and targeted specifically for the younger children.

Everyone gets to sing and dance as a group in the chorus. Everyone also gets a line but the majority of kids will say their line with a partner since there are usually few main parts. The better prepared your child is to sing and act, the better chance they have of getting a part.

Right now they are doing a very limited version of the Annie script. During the first class, the parents were allowed to stay and watch. I was completely amazed at how fast these kids picked up the Hard Knock Life song, words and movements.

The class lasts about 10 weeks and accommodates about 18 kids. They got so many people interested that they opened up a second class. Personally I feel that at this age, 12 should be the maximum. But that is the only drawback I see here.

The class costs a flat $200 and there are no extra charges for costumes. I think that is just the right price. Anything more and it starts taking away from other activities.

The Center Stage Studio offers older kid's musical theater programs also, summer camps, and birthday parties. But this is the only class I've had first hand experience with.

We are only halfway through but it is a class my daughter looks forward to every week and she has memorized the whole script and every song already. She has always loved music classes, singing and dance. A performing arts programing ties it together for her.

I have always enjoyed live performances and hoped to share that with my daughter. So finding quality performing arts classes for small kids was a priority. There are other kids musical theater classes in Orange county, but for this age group, both she and I think this one is a winner. I can't wait to see the show!