Our Story
The Beginning
Two of our first students in the very first Take the Stage Long Beach class (when we were not actually located in Long Beach...we were in Los Alamitos, technically.)
I had too much fun directing kids!
When my third child was in kindergarten at Minnie Gant Elementary School - an excellent part of the Long Beach Unified School District - I was asked to direct the school play - a production of Disney's The Jungle Book. I had such a wonderful experience working with the very talented cast of young performers that I didn't want to stop once the production was over. Thus, Take the Stage Long Beach was born as a single class for older elementary school and middle school students. We met on Sundays and explored scenes, improvisation games, public speaking, and how to strengthen our choices as actors.
As the class size grew (and as my kindergartner pushed to be in the class) the number of classes expanded, the age range in classes opened up, and our curriculum evolved to include specialty topics like Musical Theatre, Stage Combat, Audition Technique, and Acting for the Camera.
Now
Shauna Markey and Take the Stage owner Bethany Price surrounded by some of the Working Pro Teen students.
For more than a decade, Take the Stage Long Beach offered Multiple Classes of all ages and experience. Beginning in 2018, we transitioned into a private coaching studio with occasional workshops and classes for young actors.
Take the Stage Long Beach now offers private coaching, demo reel creation, industry workshops, and professional headshot services. It is a subsidiary of Full Price Productions, Incorporated - a family-owned production, performance, and training corporation focused on voice over performance, audition support and training, and small-scale theatrical productions and services.