Gary Spatz's The Playground Acting Conservatory
The Playground - Los Angeles (Century City area), 10390 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90025
About
Gary Spatz's The Playground Acting Conservatory includes vocal articulation exercises, relaxation exercises such as breathing and stretching, theatre games, improvisation, scene study, and cold reading technique. Students work on commercial copy and theatrical material, memorize and record a short commercial and a short monologue, practice hitting marks for camera, work with props, learn the nomenclature of on-set behavior, and use real audition material and scenes from television and film scripts including features, commercials, sitcoms, and 1-hour dramas.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Schedule: Acting classes for kids and teens on the weekend, with adults’ in-person classes every Thursday; the program includes 12-week, 24-week, and 48-week phases within a 2-year program
In the first 12 weeks, the program begins the process of breaking down a scene into specific choices the actor must make regarding their character. Cold reading technique begins at the start of the 24-week session, and improvisations, theatre games, and scene studies continue throughout the 24- and 48-week sessions. By the end of the 24th week, each student actor is required to have a short commercial memorized to record on camera, and by the end of the 48-week session, each student actor has a short monologue memorized to record, with these exercises continuing throughout the 2-year program.
Gary Spatz's The Playground Acting Conservatory focuses on coaching young actors, both experienced and new, in the craft of on-camera film and television acting, with programs available for children ages 6 to 18 at all experience levels and acting classes for kids actors starting at age 5. The Playground Acting Conservatory offers acting classes for kids, teens, and young adults, and welcomes new talent including kids, teens, young adults, and adults, with no experience necessary. The curriculum is personally designed by founder Gary Spatz, and the staff teaches acting auditioning skills to young adults as part of the acting class program, using an artistic review process to set up the acting program.
Gary Spatz, the founder of The Playground, is described as one of the top child acting coaches in the world and has 25 years of experience working with children in the entertainment industry on projects including The Mickey Mouse Club, Suite Life, Roseanne, and Everybody Loves Raymond. The leadership team includes Founder Gary Spatz and Director Gayla Goehl, along with team members Danielle Vernengo, Nick George, Kara Smith, Joe Spence, Lee Sherman, Terri Treas, Casey Strand, JB Waterman, Lissa Slay, Bodie Newcomb, Kelly Galindo, and Jasmin De Main.
The mission of The Playground is to serve as a young actor’s conservatory where actors are immersed in the craft of television and film acting. The program states that many students come to learn the craft in hopes of attaining representation and work in the industry, and that many also come for life skills such as learning to listen, learning to speak, learning to socialize, and other skills that can improve their current situation in life and future. The program states that children who attend The Playground will improve not just in their acting skills but also in speaking ability, listening skills, reading comprehension, school performance, and confidence.
The Playground describes itself as the premier young actors’ conservatory in Los Angeles and as more than an acting program, with a focus on helping young actors develop a personal technique for television and film. It offers rolling admissions for teen acting classes and notes that Gary Spatz and his staff of professional acting teachers nurture each student’s creativity to help them excel at on-camera work. The Playground also states that its coaches teach acting auditioning skills to young adults as an essential part of the acting class program and that the artistic review process enables students to blossom, grow, and move forward to live up to their expectations.
The facilities are described as top of the line, state-of-the-art studios with HD cameras, professional film lighting, theatre seating, and TV and film sets, and as state-of-the-industry facilities with theater-style seating, Sony playback monitors, HD cameras, and studio lighting. BACKSTAGE MAGAZINE states that The Playground is the best class for kids, and Gary Spatz's The Playground is in compliance with Labor Code section 1703.3, Bond #451716. The program notes community involvement that includes Adam Sandler featuring The Playground in his film Just Go With It and Abrams and Spielberg casting Playground talent in Super 8. The program has been operating under ThePlayground.com from at least 1998 through 2026, as indicated by the copyright notice.
Last updated March 24, 2026.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Schedule: Acting classes for kids and teens on the weekend, with adults’ in-person classes every Thursday; the program includes 12-week, 24-week, and 48-week phases within a 2-year program
In the first 12 weeks, the program begins the process of breaking down a scene into specific choices the actor must make regarding their character. Cold reading technique begins at the start of the 24-week session, and improvisations, theatre games, and scene studies continue throughout the 24- and 48-week sessions. By the end of the 24th week, each student actor is required to have a short commercial memorized to record on camera, and by the end of the 48-week session, each student actor has a short monologue memorized to record, with these exercises continuing throughout the 2-year program.
Gary Spatz's The Playground Acting Conservatory focuses on coaching young actors, both experienced and new, in the craft of on-camera film and television acting, with programs available for children ages 6 to 18 at all experience levels and acting classes for kids actors starting at age 5. The Playground Acting Conservatory offers acting classes for kids, teens, and young adults, and welcomes new talent including kids, teens, young adults, and adults, with no experience necessary. The curriculum is personally designed by founder Gary Spatz, and the staff teaches acting auditioning skills to young adults as part of the acting class program, using an artistic review process to set up the acting program.
Gary Spatz, the founder of The Playground, is described as one of the top child acting coaches in the world and has 25 years of experience working with children in the entertainment industry on projects including The Mickey Mouse Club, Suite Life, Roseanne, and Everybody Loves Raymond. The leadership team includes Founder Gary Spatz and Director Gayla Goehl, along with team members Danielle Vernengo, Nick George, Kara Smith, Joe Spence, Lee Sherman, Terri Treas, Casey Strand, JB Waterman, Lissa Slay, Bodie Newcomb, Kelly Galindo, and Jasmin De Main.
The mission of The Playground is to serve as a young actor’s conservatory where actors are immersed in the craft of television and film acting. The program states that many students come to learn the craft in hopes of attaining representation and work in the industry, and that many also come for life skills such as learning to listen, learning to speak, learning to socialize, and other skills that can improve their current situation in life and future. The program states that children who attend The Playground will improve not just in their acting skills but also in speaking ability, listening skills, reading comprehension, school performance, and confidence.
The Playground describes itself as the premier young actors’ conservatory in Los Angeles and as more than an acting program, with a focus on helping young actors develop a personal technique for television and film. It offers rolling admissions for teen acting classes and notes that Gary Spatz and his staff of professional acting teachers nurture each student’s creativity to help them excel at on-camera work. The Playground also states that its coaches teach acting auditioning skills to young adults as an essential part of the acting class program and that the artistic review process enables students to blossom, grow, and move forward to live up to their expectations.
The facilities are described as top of the line, state-of-the-art studios with HD cameras, professional film lighting, theatre seating, and TV and film sets, and as state-of-the-industry facilities with theater-style seating, Sony playback monitors, HD cameras, and studio lighting. BACKSTAGE MAGAZINE states that The Playground is the best class for kids, and Gary Spatz's The Playground is in compliance with Labor Code section 1703.3, Bond #451716. The program notes community involvement that includes Adam Sandler featuring The Playground in his film Just Go With It and Abrams and Spielberg casting Playground talent in Super 8. The program has been operating under ThePlayground.com from at least 1998 through 2026, as indicated by the copyright notice.
Last updated March 24, 2026.
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