About
Child’s Play NY offers acting classes, after-school classes, summer camps, vacation and holiday camps, in-school residencies, and theater productions for kids. Children can take part in theater adventures, make a musical, musical players, scene study, improvisation, Shakespeare players, middle school ensemble, theater games, birthday parties, in-home classes, private vocal coaching, audition prep, assemblies, and teacher training. The program also provides professional development for educators.
• Ages: 3–14 years old
• Schedule: Week-long intensives in joyful theater creation for ages 3–11.
Since 2009, Child’s Play NY has offered award-winning theater education programming and has worked with thousands of students across dozens of New York City schools. The program’s mission is to inspire young people to explore the creative process in order to become engaged participants in their world, and it states that through theatrical arts, children build confidence, compassion, and creativity. Child’s Play NY partners with schools to create original theater curriculum that connects drama to ELA, social studies, math, and science, and its work supports Multi-Language Learners and Students With Disabilities.
Child’s Play NY teaching artists are working actors, and all classic ensemble teachers are trained professional actors with experience performing Shakespeare on Broadway and in regional productions across the country. The faculty are professional performers with years of experience bringing their artistry to kids, and all classes are staffed with a minimum of two teachers. The program’s curricula are backed by PhDs, are described as boosting executive functioning and social emotional skills, and are designed for toddlers-to-teens.
Founder and executive director Jocelyn Greene has an MFA from NYU’s Graduate Acting Program and a BA from Wesleyan University, is a member of Actor’s Equity Association, and has performed at The Public Theater and Shakespeare Festival LA. Child’s Play NY is described as an award-winning theater education company, and Time Out ranks it as a top theater program. The organization offers need-based and tuition-reduced scholarships to students from historically marginalized backgrounds and often wins grants to apply through the DOE for performances and residencies.
The program notes that its classes build confidence, courage, and compassion in kids, that programming fuels optimism and self-efficacy, and that its programs bring stories to life while nurturing empathy, collaboration, confidence, and self-expression. Theater games video guides are available for free on the Child’s Play in Action blog. Testimonials from parents and professionals, including Bobby Cannavale, Elizabeth Merriwether, Joy Nolan, Katharine Roman, Michele Perlman, and Vanessa Wise, describe Child’s Play NY as beneficial for their children, process-focused, and valuable for building community, structured play, and learning.
Last updated July 29, 2026.
• Ages: 3–14 years old
• Schedule: Week-long intensives in joyful theater creation for ages 3–11.
Since 2009, Child’s Play NY has offered award-winning theater education programming and has worked with thousands of students across dozens of New York City schools. The program’s mission is to inspire young people to explore the creative process in order to become engaged participants in their world, and it states that through theatrical arts, children build confidence, compassion, and creativity. Child’s Play NY partners with schools to create original theater curriculum that connects drama to ELA, social studies, math, and science, and its work supports Multi-Language Learners and Students With Disabilities.
Child’s Play NY teaching artists are working actors, and all classic ensemble teachers are trained professional actors with experience performing Shakespeare on Broadway and in regional productions across the country. The faculty are professional performers with years of experience bringing their artistry to kids, and all classes are staffed with a minimum of two teachers. The program’s curricula are backed by PhDs, are described as boosting executive functioning and social emotional skills, and are designed for toddlers-to-teens.
Founder and executive director Jocelyn Greene has an MFA from NYU’s Graduate Acting Program and a BA from Wesleyan University, is a member of Actor’s Equity Association, and has performed at The Public Theater and Shakespeare Festival LA. Child’s Play NY is described as an award-winning theater education company, and Time Out ranks it as a top theater program. The organization offers need-based and tuition-reduced scholarships to students from historically marginalized backgrounds and often wins grants to apply through the DOE for performances and residencies.
The program notes that its classes build confidence, courage, and compassion in kids, that programming fuels optimism and self-efficacy, and that its programs bring stories to life while nurturing empathy, collaboration, confidence, and self-expression. Theater games video guides are available for free on the Child’s Play in Action blog. Testimonials from parents and professionals, including Bobby Cannavale, Elizabeth Merriwether, Joy Nolan, Katharine Roman, Michele Perlman, and Vanessa Wise, describe Child’s Play NY as beneficial for their children, process-focused, and valuable for building community, structured play, and learning.
Last updated July 29, 2026.
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