The city of Asheville is known for its vibrant arts scene and that reputation starts with kids. The Asheville Arts Center runs a children's theater experience that pairs fun with theater, introducing your little Brad Pitt to the stage. Enroll him and he'll have an opportunity to participate in music, dance and drama classes run by experienced teachers who know how to integrate education and acting methods. Open to all manner of kids -- those who have never stepped foot on a stage to those who have already amassed playbill credits -- the Academy accepts kids between the ages of four and 18.
Asheville Community Theater's Tanglewood Youth Theater is similar to summer stock -- little actors perform all sorts of theater-focused tasks, getting hands-on experience during summer and winter terms. Children between six and 14 vie for places in Tanglewood's TOP HAT (Talented Outstanding Performers Homeschool Acting Troup) program where there's a bigger emphasis on doing than on telling. Kids as young as eight help script skits and then collaborate with classmates to perform and stage them. There are 12 spaces available in each TOP HAT session.
Billing itself as "the only professional acting studio in Western North Carolina," Adler offers "articulate quality instruction" based on core curriculum pioneered at the New York City parent acting school. Improvisation, complex acting exercises and foundation work in speech, movement and voice are all required at Adler to refine all aspects of an actor's sensibilities.
Pursue an acting degree at the University of North Carolina's Asheville campus if you value a complete education in the field. Public speaking, theater production and methods classes form the core curricula followed by specialty classes in acting, set design, wardrobe, technical lighting, directing, etc. The UNC drama faculty emphasizes learning all aspects of the profession, so even if you've targeted an acting career, you'll be prepared to do it all. Main stage productions before live audiences will give you opportunities to practice what you've learned.