• Drama allows children and adults alike to think out loud and practice the elements of storytelling.
• Drama's primary goal is to provide us with opportunities to express our feelings and thoughts.
• Drama helps everyone better understand human behavior.
• Drama serves as a tool to promote faster reading and writing competence for children.
• Drama offers the door for us to experience literature in a variety of ways.
• Drama allows us to share what we know with others.
• Drama can open the door to the creativity within each of us.
• Drama enables children and adults to become better acquainted with the language and structures of stories
  and plays: characters, setting, plot, dialogue, costumes, props, etc.
• Drama develops a number of important specific language skills, especially story technique, vocabulary
  enrichment, and elements of punctuation.
• Drama is one of the oldest forms of communication.
• Drama helps us become more natural communicators.
• Drama, whether through stage or film can offer a rewarding, interesting and challenging career path.
• Drama is FUN!!
  

Act One School of Drama - A brief history

The Act One School of Drama opened for classes in Pickering in 1995. It was initially known as O'Leary's School of Drama. The school's name was changed in March 2004 due to the retirement of one of the original owners. In 2006, the remaining original owners, Cecilia Boudreau-Bates and Caroline Harvey, having firmly established Act One as a valuable source of quality performing arts training, at affordable prices, for Pickering and the surrounding Scarborough and Durham regions, decided it was time to persue other personal goals.

In June of that year, the school passed into the ownership and under the trusteeship of Mark Nathanielsz, a friend of Celicia's, possessing over fifteen years of theatrical experience in a wide range of capacities including acting, directing, design work, admistration, operations and management. All three parties recognized the special commitment and responsibility the school had towards existing students as well as its potential value and benefit to future new drama students in and around Durham region. With his combination of theatre and business experience, dedication to the performing arts and long-time Pickering residence, Mark was honoured that Cecilia and Caroline put their trust in him to carry on the school traditions creativity, enrichment and fun. He takes this trust seriously and it factors into both day-to-day school operations as well as serving as a guidepost as he continuously works to take the school to the next stage (no pun intended) in its potential.

Act One School of Drama - The School

At Act One we subscribe to the theory that acting and drama are not just for film and stage, but also "life and living". It is the philosophy that lies behing our motto "All the world is a stage." Children and adults come from across the GTA to attend the school. Act One strives to offer valuable opportunities to all - the shy individual who needs to build self-confidence; the hyperactive child who needs to work within a fun structured environment; those wishing to pursue stage or film as a career or at the community level; students looking for a positive outlet for their creative energies and last but not least, those who join just for fun while learning at the same time. Act One credits most of its success to its teaching staff. All of them are highly qualified, motivated and have a love of drama, teaching and children. This is evident to all who attend or visit the school. They share a deep appreciation for how drama has positively affected their own lives and a desire to help others experience the same. The staff combine a unique mix of theatrical and acting experience, with youth and maturity, affinity and talent for working with children to create an environment where students can build self-confidence, friendships and self-motivation while learning the skills and art of stage and film-craft, how to work as an ensemble team and most importantly have fun.

Classes are always free to audit by appointment. Act One also offers a Summer Theatre Camp for ages 5-14 years, personalized coaching and a range of other Special Programs. If you would like more information, please don't hesitate to contact us. We would be more than happy to answer any questions you might have. On behalf of Act One and it's staff, as they say on stage - "Break a leg"

Mark Nathanielsz (Owner & Artistic Director)

Act One School of Drama is a member of

Act One School of Drama is a proud supporter of

Act One School of Drama - Our Facility

The school is located at 1755 Plummer Street, Units 1 & 2, in Pickering, Ontario, Canada. For more detailed information on how to reach us, please see our Location section.

The school houses two fully functional studios, including a raised proscenium stage in our main performance studio, a backstage area, props/wardrobe storage, and a fully equipped sound & lighting booth. Both studios are carpeted.

The main studio has a capacity for 120 seated audience. Technical resources include:

• Eight-channel sound board
  
• Programmable ETC Idea 24-channel, 2 scene lighting console
  
• 36 lighting fixtures configurable through 48 circuits
• Wide range of lighting gel colours
• Fog Machine
  

The studios are available for rent outside of normal school hours for rehearsals, meetings, presentations and other events. Please contact the school for details.