Student Testimonials

We asked our students to share their experiences for prospective students. Here’s what they had to say:

1. How would you describe your overall experience at XRT?

  • “Great! I got pushed when I needed to be pushed and got guidance when I needed guidance. It’s acting class and (personal discovery) all rolled into one!”
  • “It was a great experience not only because I learned acting technique stuff (which I knew nothing) but I also feel like I grew as a person by opening up to myself and to others.”
  • “A wonderful (program) with constant support and love from my family at XRT. I have to keep saying how much I appreciate and grow from all of the genuine care that comes from those I’m surrounded by.”
  • “A rollercoaster ride with no tracks. It has been an artistic journey full of discovery, failures, accomplishments, growth, stuck in mud, flying high, and all around experience like no other. It’s hard to put into words exactly. All I can say is it’s given me a place to explore beyond what I thought was possible. I have grown and changed as a person, an artist, and as an actor.”
  • “Excellent. Extremely helpful. Realistic, applicable tools to help my acting. For example, Shakespeare: a clear way to break it down and understand it. As well as a confidence-inspiring environment. Many chances to perform in front of a live audience and gain that experience.”
  • “Amazing! Truly everything I could’ve hoped for. XRT has truly become my artistic home. It has become a safe space in which I feel free to try new things and not be afraid to make “mistakes.” I have never been more unapologetic!”
  • “It’s been priceless. In all honesty, words cannot describe how XRT has changed my life. It has led me to answer some of the most important questions that has lead to true confidence in myself, and my work, without apology. With XRT on my side, I truly feel I can do anything!! I now know I have no one’s standards to live up to but those of the truth in the moment!”

2. How would you describe the type of training you received at Studio XRT?

  • “It was a true comprehensive approach to acting as a true craft and not about showing you the tricks and short-cuts to have a desired result. Acting, when done truthfully, can take not just your audience, but you, on a journey that is better than what you could have planned.”
  • “Conservatory based program that really gives you personal attention. Digs deeper to find the true artist, as opposed to a cardboard actor that only cares about a singular result.”
  • “Intense and personal. All extremely useful, but I didn’t expect to do so much work on myself. It was a pleasant surprise to dedicate so much time to just being and listening to my instrument.”
  • “The best. I would not have been able to proceed on my path so quickly without the support and challenging nature of the intensely committed and caring teachers.”
  • “Hands on. Honest. Real. Cut with love. Ensemble.”
  • “It is a very complete training that will cover your necessities as an actor. You will get involved mentally and physically. It will give you confidence and you will be able to trust yourself.”
  • “It’s the training that will stay with me and follow me throughout my acting career- as well as my personal life.”

3. How would you describe Studio XRT to a prospective student?

  • “An artistic haven. A place to awaken your artist’s soul. A place to tap into emotions and learn to put them to use. Where you can let down your guard and have no apologies. Where you can DO ANYTHING!”
  • “It is a theatre company where you will learn and establish the basics of the actor you want to be. It is a professional institution with wonderful teachers that are really nice and know what they are doing.”
  • “As a place to strip down and find your truth.”
  • “A safe womb of artistry allowing creativity to flourish with no limits if you dare, and you should dare because fun is birthed from risk.”
  • “An artistic home where I grow every day. A place I can be honest and unapologetic.”
  • “A conservatory based program that really gives one on one attention to you. An artistic home. Really inspires confidence. New, exciting and rapidly moving forward.”
  • “It is a great place to start to know where you are and what you can do. It is way intense but worth it.”
  • “A place that will change your life - if you’re open to letting your life change.”
  • “If you want to challenge yourself as an artist and learn and progress in your craft seriously then this is the best place for you.”
  • “Intense and fulfilling. Definitely not for everyone, but if you’re willing to put in some hard honest work, the education you receive is life changing and priceless.”
  • “A full encompassing immersion of Acting. Intense. Conservatory based. An opportunity to be part of something original from the ground up.”
  • “I have been describing it as a place where you learn to claim your true inner artist and how to share it unapologetically with the world!! It liberates you to “think before you act, so you can act before you think” in a way that is fun, creative and truthful. Being able to do that allows you to stop relying on the approval of others before you consider yourself successful and instead more truthful to your instincts and inner voice.”

4. What sets XRT apart from other schools / theatres?

  • “It’s in its own category. Groundbreaking.”
  • “I love that I do feel that it is my true artistic home. That I will be able to grow with, and contribute to it, over my career. I also am so grateful that no matter your financial status, XRT will make it work.”
  • “The different classes and curriculum. The care they give you. That it’s more than solely about acting. The ensemble building. The young teachers that speak from their on-the-field experiences. The fact that I can see my teachers act.”
  • “Favorite would be that it takes a whole tribe to raise a child. The mindset of all the people at the studio working together, with each different strength, helping me grow. I really like that.”
  • “It’s such a creative environment that you can draw inspiration from anything.”

5. How would you describe your Mentorship experience?

  • “I think the mentorship program is great because you feel supported by someone who went through the same and they’ll always give you advice based on their experience.”
  • “Amazing! I loved my mentor. It was nice to walk into a new space and have someone excited to meet me and talk to me. It really helped to make the space feel like home. My mentor seriously made the experience all the richer!”

6. How would you describe Location X, and our home in the Downtown Arts District, to a friend?

  • “It’s heaven for actors - the safe space where you can kiss clichés goodbye and say “hello” to the real you!”
  • “A communal artistic progressive playground.”
  • “A huge warehouse in the Downtown Arts District that is turning into an artistic powerhouse.”
  • “In the new up and coming side of downtown. A hidden gem. It’s rough and new, I love it! Feels organic to know I’m growing along with the building.”
  • “Industrial-just like the street name. It’s making a mark of its own and leaving its own footprints- it’s paving its own path.”
  • “It’s a very comfortable place.”
  • “Beautiful space in a vibrant downtown art district of LA. I like what downtown has to offer, I think once people check it out for themselves they see how much is really going on down there.”
  • “New. Cutting edge. In the frontline of something original. Very real. A different taste of LA.”

Additional Comments:

  • “I came to XRT ready and willing to take some daring moves. In making those leaps, I have become not only a better person, but an actor as well.”
  • “This (Conservatory) will change your life as an actor. As cliche as that sounds, it is 100% true. I can’t tell you how incredible it feels to have a clear path in my life again. I have been floundering in fear for so long. I have always had a problem committing to the idea that I wanted to be an actor because admitting to and believing that I really wanted this life would open me up to the fear of failure, of pain, of disappointment and rejection. I am not afraid to want this anymore. This  first month has made me brave. Braver than I ever thought I was capable of being. This is my artistic home now. Knowing this is a place I can always come for help,advice and friendship, long after I complete my training, brings me so much comfort. It’s a family! I love it here! The trust, friendship and connection you build with your classmates over even one month is intense and unexpected and gives you a unprecedented level of exploratory freedom that I don’t believe could or would be reached in a program that met weekly or bi-weekly. It’s hard. It’s challenging. It is the most worthwhile thing I have done for myself in my entire life and I will never regret my 1st month here at XRT. I say 1st month because I have no plans to stop taking classes with them anytime soon. I’m afraid they’re be stuck with me for a while.”
  • “A community rather than an assembly line.”
  • “A comfortable environment that inspires risk taking and confidence. Once freed from hangups and fears, the actor can more easily focus on digging deep, and as a result true work is done.”
  • “”Mistakes” are not looked upon with dumb-founded shock or frustration. But rather recognizing the issue and addressing it with a clear, understandable approach if need be.”
  • “Feeds the artist inside of you, instead of turning you into a product.”
  • “It challenges you to find your true Artist and empowers you to project your true self.”
  • “The teachers are not 55-year-old, Los Angeles acting coaches that have not gone out for an audition let alone acted since 1976. The teachers are out working in the real world and can truly guide you to what is current and how to navigate through it. They speak from what they experience.”
  • “An all encompassing immersion of the craft.”
  • “I wanted to be a part of something that I felt would be a good place to have roots in. I didn’t go to College for long, and I certainly didn’t think I would be an actor when I was in college, so I didn’t have the training from that. But I trusted that the trained professionals at the XRT would be able to give me the knowledge and understanding of what and where I wanted to be with my Artistry. In any type of training I do, I like to give it my all and be pushed when I’m not, but I also want to be able to do that and trust I’m safe. I feel the staff at the XRT is not only dedicated to bringing out the best in me, but making sure we notice the little steps, that get you to the end result. I feel like I’m a part of a group of professionals, all striving to do their best, and help others do their best as well…”
  • “Firstly, I’ve never been so immersed in craft and technique. The faculty concentrates on the crafting of the actors work from the very beginning and on to the later stages of performance. I personally have never experienced something this thorough. But you can find techniques of all sorts in all sort of places. The technique is not the most unique and specific aspect of this place. What is the most inspiring thing about this school is the environment that it very purposefully creates. It is an environment that inspires confidence and risk taking. As an actor you already have to fight so many fears and hangups the last thing you need is to be worrying about any of that during training. This program challenges you to risk big. It does that by assuring you that you have nothing to apologize for, that you can do anything, and that they will take anything you have to give and more. And they achieve this without stroking your ego or feeding you false praises to quell your insecurities. Nobody has time for that. The answer is simply, a professional approach to the work. They create a warm safe space where real work can be released and observed, and as a result can very productively be noted on and improved upon. If they can see where you truly are then they can see where you need to go and help guide you on how to get there. Its simply a much more efficient and enjoyable way to work.”
  • “Studio XRT’s education comes from a place of positive reinforcement. I have studied at other schools in LA, and they use negative reinforcement as a teaching device. In that scenario I am acting “not to fail,” while at Studio XRT I am “acting to succeed.”"