Welcome to the Neighborhood Playhouse Junior Acting School!

Acting Training for Youths & Teens ~ Discover Your Creativity & Talent

Fall Programs are Virtual!
Begins on September 12, 2020.
Orientation/Open House for new & returning students on Saturday, August 22nd. 
Audition & Interview required for Pre-Professional HS program. 
​Click here for Saturday application form
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In 1905, sisters Irene and Alice Lewisohn rode down to the lower East Side and joined the Henry Street Settlement creating a community center of dance, singing, and acting for children. By 1915 they moved down the street and established themselves as The Neighborhood Playhouse. Their endeavors grew to include the Junior Players, the adult Playhouse Players, and the Grand Street Follies. They also became one of the first little theatres in the country. in 1928 they established the prestigious adult acting program, The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre.  It is this institution that sponsors the Junior School today with an acting program catered to the young actor, 2nd-12th grades. Modeled after the adult conservatory, the Junior School trains all its students in the core principles of acting, applying techniques and skills learned to various classes in singing, movement/dance, scene study, monologues, voice & diction, stage combat, Shakespeare, acting for film & television, commercials, voice overs, auditioning, improvisation and more--giving students complete actor training and the skills needed to be creative and competitive in their craft and in life.
Our goal is to also help develop young minds and voices with well-rounded training. In the process,
students learn to be selfless, compassionate, and generous people.

Carmen Lamar Daehler is the Junior School Director at The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. She is an actor, singer, director, and a proud member of the professional actor unions: SAG-AFTRA and AEA. Carmen has performed in NYC, regional, and summer stock theatre. She’s also appeared in film; television; and cabaret (Carmen's You're Gonna Hear from Me played at the Laurie Beechman Theatre). Make sure to catch Carmen on a recurring role as Bomb Tech, Carla Flores, on the new series FBI ​on CBS this season and her new web series on YouTube highlighting Hollywood character actors in Second to None. Coming from this rich and varied background in formal acting training and professional work in the industry, Theatre Education is also very important to Carmen. She has taught at Rutgers University, NYCDA, Texas Institute for Arts in Education; and has led Meisner acting workshops for youths in NYC as well as in St. John, USVI and Texas. She has directed musicals at NYC’s Clinton School for Writers and Artists and directed Twelve Angry Jurors and The Death of a Miner at the Neighborhood Playhouse. Carmen studied with the renowned acting teacher Fred Kareman. She holds a BA in Communications and Theatre from Texas A&MCorpus Christi and an MA in Theatre from Hunter College.

"My daughter has been attending classes at Neighborhood Playhouse for the past 4 years.
Her experiences at NP has made a positive impact in her life.  
She has found her voice, has achieved confidence, poise and a new sense of purpose.  
She truly loves and is motivated to continue her studies at NP.." ~LeAnne, JR Parent 

Click here to read more testimonials from parents and students.
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The Neighborhood Playhouse is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization. All donations are 100% tax deductible