A place which is usually housed inside a building where people go to learn (see: school) how to memorize lines and pretend to be somebody else while taking direction from someone making more money than they should and doing all this before a bunch of spectators known as an audience (see: acting). Allegedly, most people who we see on television, movies, or on stage have at one time or another gone to an acting school. Others have attended acting classes, which may or may not have actually been inside an acting school. KD Studios insists upon having all the people they represent go to their school, for a nominal fee.

Philosophically speaking, acting school does not necessarily have to be a place, but can also be a state of mind. One can go to a library and look up several great educational tomes (called books) which can teach one how to memorize lines, pretend to be someone else, and take direction from a person called a director though we don't know why. One of the best books ever regarding this topic is called Audition : Everything an Actor Needs to Know to Get the Part and was written predominantly by Michael Shurtleff with some help by Bob Fosse. Great book. Unfortunately this book and a couple dollars will get you a hot cup of coffee at Starbucks. The real key to surviving in showbusiness has nothing to do with learning how to act, but rather has everything to do with networking and looking as good in a speedo as Adonis or Aphrodite.

Not that I'm bitter.

Creative Arts Theater & School, also known as CATS (but not to be confused with the famous musical of the same name), is an example of an acting school. Located in Arlington Texas, every year scores of young people go there with dreams and aspirations that are inevitably soured and destroyed by reality. They put on performances of community theater which are better than the average public school performance but do not quite improve upon public access cable programming. The world has yet to hear any graduate of CATS later achieve fame and stardom in Hollywood but it is likely that those who do simply wish not to advertise their more humble beginnings, for fear of becoming a laughing stock among their peers. You can also learn how to dance in many different ways at CATS, and if you're very attentive you can learn how make enemies and alienate people.

More famous, but no less underwhelming examples of acting schools include Juilliard which was made famous by Robin Williams because he dropped out, and New York's High School of the Performing Arts which was made infamous by the play, motion picture, television show and lunchbox Fame.

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