Gary Spatz's 'The Playground Los Angeles' - a young actor's conservatory

06/11/11

It's really a shame

by khalintiger

Here's how you are picked for the school: A "scout" spots your daughter or son at a mall and approaches you and tells you what a beautiful child you have and they'd look so great on film, etc etc. The do NOT tell you that they are an agent or work for an agent because that is illegal. They call themselves Talent Executives and invite you and your child to attend an "audition" for the school.

At the audition, they have a red rope line. Your child's picture is scrutinized, your child is "interviewed" and then filmed. A few days later you are called and told that your child passed the audition and you are invited back to the school.

That's when the hard sell happens. "John" was our salesman. He had the 3 day Hollywood beard growth and talked about all of the successful young actors that had graduated from the school. He was a very good salesman. Although "John" implied that agents were invited to class, we later learned that this supposedly happens the second six months, not the first. "John" also showed us pictures of a party the kids have, although we later learned that the party doesn't happen until after 2 years.

They want you to sign up for for the full 2 years but we chose to sign up for 6 months and I'm embarassed to say, spent $2,000 for that.

My daughter went to class every Sunday for 6 months. We weren't allowed to see the class. The staff rarely spoke to us, although the guy from the front desk would come in the back room outside of the studios from time to time to tell jokes.

Around halfway through our session, Gary held an "informational" meeting about the business of acting. He was extremely defensive and loudly berated a parent who asked if the progress report was really an assessment of the child's acting ability. He later walked around and told parents that that parent was drunk and had apologized. The materials handed out were a bunch of badly xeroxed lists of agents and other garbage.

My daughter was very ambivalent about going to class

although she did like her teacher Darcy. I could hear the kids laughing in class so I think Darcy was a good and engaging teacher. Although we were promised that the class size was never more than 12, it got up to 14 sometimes. Gary NEVER went in my daughter's class. The staff encouraged parents to leave during class and go to the mall. Darcy was very nice but said nothing about my daughter's progress. At the end, we got a progress report that was 3-4 lines long, much less than a school report card. It was a joke. It recommended that my daughter attend the next 6 month session (for which we would be charged $1,000). "John" called us a few times and that was it.

Several times during the 6 month session, the parents were invited to write an online review and enter a raffle to get a $100 gift cetificate from Houstons and I am quite sure they only got good reviews.

So what's the shame? That this business is so intent on pretending to be connected with the industry and its not or if it is, they do nothing the first 6 months.

That they invest so much of their time in combatting negative reviews instead of improving their service. That they use questionable tactics to recruit kids. That I believe that they submit fake reviews and their whole business is based on what's basically a con by pretending that they can make your child a star, or getting your child a chance to (what I think most parents want) make some money for college.

I'm sure that this review will be quickly attacked, and I will be labled as one of those phantom people who is out to get Gary. My opinion is: it's a pretend Hollywood business and there are a lot of legitmate acting schools (Like Actor's Gang) where your kids can have fun and learn to act. We justified spending $2,000 because our daughter was a little shy and the lessons did bring her a little out of her shell. But there is no way it was worth $2,000. Don't waste your money like we did.

11/19/08

My Kids and I Adore The Playground

by kitkatreynolds

We?ve had and are still having a lovely experience over at Gary Spatz?s The Playground and I?m serious when I say that my kids rant and rave about it all the time. Both my kids have met classmates that are just as enthusiastic about the acting classes as they are and they look forward to the workshops every weekend. I find it so endearing that Gary Spatz himself works so closely with the children and staff and is very much into the school programs. The learning environment is impressive and provides the closest thing to actually being on stage, or being ?on set?. Their website is also a very helpful tool because you can sign-up for various classes, look at your kid?s performance video, check the calendar, and read about the staff. It?s great. In fact, I?m glad we found The Playground that I felt compelled to write about it.

08/15/08

Thank you very, very much for a truly wonderful experience

by Girlygirl93004

I had a wonderful experience at The Playground. Deciding to take acting lessons was not something we took lightly. It was completely new to us, since my daughter had never expressed an interest in acting, and it was a big commitment of time and money. I am SO glad we did it! Marissa loved every minute of it and has learned so much about herself in the process.

Many people have dreams of becoming famous actors, and of course it would be awesome if that happened for her. I was happy to give her the opportunity to try something new, but my hope was that if nothing else, she would gain the skills, confidence, and poise that one needs in life to speak in front of others. She got that and more from your program. Thank you very, very much for a truly wonderful experience. I loved that we always saw you there and that you would take the time to chat with the kids and parents.

I just don?t understand why someone would feel they?re being scammed because you dedicate so much to the kids and truly deliver what you promise ? which is a professional environment to learn acting skills. There?s no way I?d go to another acting school and there?s no way I?m going to trust anyone who says you?re a big scam ? it?s just not possible and it?s worth every penny spent.

• Pros: Gary Spatz and his whole staff of teachers
• Cons: FAKE negative reviews

07/29/08

Quality education

by UC77

Expensive? Yes. Scam? No way. The old saying 'you get what you pay for' works with Gary's school. I can honestly say that my daughter got really solid acting training from very good, professional staff members. The one angry person who keeps posting 'scam' everywhere should take a second to look up the definition of that word in a dictionary. When you get scammed you pay somebody for a product or service and get nothing in return. This is not the case at the Playground. We paid top dollar and got excellent acting training in return.

05/21/08

Great School!!

by SurferDad

"Acting classes"? "For kids?" That's what I thought when my wife first told me that she wanted to sign up our daughter at The Playground. In all honesty I'd rather have my child do some kind of athletic activity. But I have to admit that I've been very impressed with the impact the Playground classes have made on her. According to her teachers she's more confident in class, she's more expressive, and she's even been trying out for school plays which she'd never had thought of before going to the playground. I realize that the film and tv industry is really tough and that my daughter probably won't have a career but I can honestly say that she's been able to develop a more intuitive, creative side because of her classes at The Playground. Parents know that it's a bit of an investment to send your child there but I think giving your son/daughter that kind of creative training helps them immensely in their current development and future endeavors. Thanks Gary and the staff at the Playground for being so committed to helping my daughter make the most out of her experience! -John

• Pros: Friendly/Nurturing Staff, Amazing Facility
• Cons: None