Bay Area Acting Studio | Kids Acting Classes

★Chabi Nadnerb

Absolutely horrible experience at BAAS. The director Mirabel Miscala hated me and picked on me all the time and favored everyone else. I would bring in scenes to class to perform and she would always single me out and berate me, telling me I was ripping the scenes off from the movies or shows the performances were based on and not making them “my own.” Only I was making them my own and my classmates were very impressed by my performances. Only Mirabel and her “assistant” Elijah disliked them and never praised me and made me feel unwelcome. She would speak with other classmates quite often after class to discuss their acting and performances and give feedback. She was always generous and kind with them and would speak with them over 20 minutes after class and even socialize! With me, if I had a question after class and tried to talk with her she would be very blunt and dismissive. One time she even asked me to “sit down” because she felt intimidated by my height. Huh? Are you kidding me?! That’s discrimination right there. Another time we did an activity that was privately filmed on our own time and each of us brought our performances to class. She showed every one our videos on the big screen during class except for mine! I asked her if she could show it as it was the only one left and she rudely told me “No. We’re out of time”. And it was in front of the entire class, she purposely did it to embarrass me and single me out. I looked at the time and what was 10:02PM. Class ends at 10 but we always stay an extra 5 to 10 minutes for everyone to finish their performances or other things they brought to class. But the one time we ended class at 10pm sharp was purposely at the expense of me. I couldn’t take it anymore and left the studio. Filing a complaint wasn’t going to work because she was nice to everyone else and they all loved her therefore. My last day was obviously brutal. I tried to do a small performance and before I even started she just went off on me saying I was doing everything wrong and being super passive aggressive with me for no reason. Mirabel is manipulative, rude (to me), and excluding (to me). Her assistant Elijah wasn’t much better (to me). I don’t know what it was about me that they didn’t like but it was absolutely uncalled for during my time there as I was nice to everybody. Oh yeah! And I even gave Mirabel both a birthday and a Christmas gift to show my appreciation and generosity, really trying hard to fit in and become an actor. But it didn’t change a thing as she was continuously rude and belittling to me. Some thanks I get, right?! Singling out one student and favoring the rest just because you don’t personally like them is wrong. You are the director, the teacher……the leader. You are supposed to be fair and set a positive example for everyone while teaching the class and treat everyone equally. I hope Mirabel’s boss sees this review and gives her the proper coaching she needs to teach a class and make everyone feel equally welcome regardless if she has a personal bias against someone or not.

★Albert Michaelson

Wow. Where do I begin? So let's rewind the clocks back to March of 2024 when I first joined BAAS. I was excited, ecstatic, and thrilled to be an acting student once again. And I'll be honest - the first year was actually pretty great! The workshops and activities we got to do were pretty fun and there was a showcase that was held in December which I got to be apart of. After the showcase the students were allowed to bring their own material to class and perform their own scenes from movies and tv shows of their own choice. That's when I started to notice the decline - for me anyway. Prior I had built a close teacher-student bond with the director. She had always been good to me - respectful, supportive, and gave good advice. But when I started bringing my own scenes to class she became very cynical, condescending, and passive aggressive towards my performances. I was appalled by her negative reactions as I was bringing in iconic scenes from classic films with strong acting performances. And I like to believe that I knocked it out of the park each and every time. She just gave excuses like "you don't have to yell" or "you're just trying to copy the movie." Every other student's acting scenes though she highly praised and rarely gave negative criticism. When I would try to speak to her after class about my scenes and asking for additional advice she would always be short and dismissive with me yet go on to talk with other students about their scenes for over twenty minutes. Clearly something happened after the showcase that led her to change her opinion towards me. I think with this place is that after six months to a year they decide whether they like you or not and want you to stick around or try to get you to quit if they don't like you. For me, it felt like they were trying to throw me subtle signs that they hated me and wanted me gone. There were other petty instances like when I accidently left my $80 sunglasses behind one week, only for them to say "Idk they disappeared" and didn't even bother looking for them. The place is TINY. Where could they have gone? They seemed annoyed after I asked again. But come on! Those were $80 sunglasses! Heartless. It already costs $280 per month to attend and if the director doesn't personally like you - she'll let you know. I feel disrespected, scammed, and robbed after giving this place a solid year and a half. Would not recommend. They clearly play favorites.

★★★★★Jennifer Hahamian

I participated in the 6-month Beginning Acting for TV and Film Class. Absolutely worth the money. Challenging to be sure; rewarding without a doubt! Pam is uniquely talented as a coach, instructor, and actor. The classes were well-structured. Assistant Leslie was a great bonus to the class.

★★★★★Sachin Mohan

I have been taking acting classes for more than a year now at Bay Area Acting Studio. The classes are always fun. Teachers do a great job of keeping the class environment safe and friendly. Most of us were new to acting but improved immensely within a year. Highly recommended whether you want to take up acting professionally or as a hobby.

★★★★★Patrice Wolters

I love the Bay Area Acting Studio. I took Acting for Non Actors in the spring and now am enrolled in a 6 month series for people seriously interested in acting. The benefits are enormous to include making new friends, having fun, stepping out of your comfort zone, learning to be in the moment, and improving your memory and speed of processing. I work with Kyle Chen who is a highly skilled, supportive instructor who gradually challenges you to evolve. We practice skits and get a change to practice being in the moment and performing. I highly recommend Bay Area Acting Studio!! as a wonderful, safe and stimulating place to grow!!