KD Conservatory

Best acting and film school in Dallas. What most don't understand acting is a process. Crafting a talent that doesnt happen in a class room. To art is mastered on the stage with each performance being its own marathon, working it in front of the camera and knowing how to interperet script. At the core is the audition where you will receive oportunity to work your craft. When KD originally started there was a shift from theater to film. Our intro class was created to help those stage actors do well with auditions and camera auditions in particular and it is very clear in the documentation. The hardest read for an actor is one where the actor is talking to no one but the camalera and if you master that there isnt mich you can do. Want to grow in the craft go audition if you are still not getting the gigs the advanced acting will help you get there. Dont fault the process if you are failing to work it, you get out what you put in.

As an experienced Latino stage actor, I came to this school hoping to learn American acting techniques and grow in my craft. Unfortunately, what I found was quite the opposite. Many acting professors seem more focused on making students feel ridiculed than helping them improve. Questions are often met with sarcasm or mockery, and some instructors even use profanity during class, something I find very disrespectful and unprofessional. The “Intro to Acting” course turned out to be more about audition techniques than actual acting fundamentals. If you’re genuinely looking to study the art of performance and grow as an actor, I would not recommend spending your money here.

I love it here. KD works me hard and the results are promising. Excited to be catapulted into the film industry through the good people at KD. Special shout-out to Amanda and Stephanie.

KD Conservatory is hands down the number one recommendation I give for creative artists in the DFW area. Their staff is exceptional and the community is one you’ll never want to leave. Thank you KD!!!

My experience was great! My daughter's teacher was amazing! Not to often you find a teacher who loves what they do and are good at it! I'd recommend this school to my family and friends! Update! 4years later and my daughter still go to this school! We took a year and a half off but came right back! The teachers are still great and they have an awesome desk lady. I forget her name I think it’s Tish, she is great to talk if you want to sit and wait. Keep up the great work you guys. Also they are managing well with social distancing!

This school is phenomenal. My son attends this school and has been doing very well. Really nice staff and teachers. Students arw very mature and have a very easy going spirit. This is beginning of a great career. I would recommend this school to anyone who is interested in becoming an actor or actress. They have so much to offer

I paid for a full acting course and came to the first demo class, but due to life circumstances wasn't able to attend the course after that. I asked for a refund but was refunded not the full amount. Some people at the demo class didn't even pay for it as I found out. But they didn't want to give me my money back even after I told them about my dire life situation

I love this school and all that it had to offer me. I wouldn't trade in my experience for anything. The memories acquired have left me with visions of joy and friends that will forever remain in my heart. I've worked more than some people that I graduated with but have also worked less than others. This school will equip you with the necessary skills to be successful but it can't drag you out of bed to audition. They are friendly and genuinely concerned individuals who want to see you succeed. So go out and Break A Leg!

KD Conservatory is truly one of the best acting and film schools in Dallas if not the country. The instructors are not only experienced professionals but also passionate mentors who genuinely care about each student's growth. Every class feels like a masterclass in storytelling, performance, and collaboration. The environment here is inspiring, creative, and supportive. You're constantly surrounded by people who share your passion for acting, filmmaking, and the art of bringing stories to life. The hands on training and real world experience you get both in front of and behind the camera are unmatched

The staff are angels on earth and the curriculum was easy to stick to. The tuition is affordable as well.

I paid for a full acting course and came to the first demo class, but due to life circumstances wasn't able to attend the course after that. I asked for a refund but was refunded not the full amount. Some people at the demo class didn't even pay for it as I found out. But they didn't want to give me my money back even after I told them about my dire life situation P.S. The teacher gave me and my scene partner terrible guidance regarding one of the main characters, which was detrimental for our whole scene!

I thought this school was everything when I first attended only to find out this school is a bunch of shit!!..... I recently graduated from Full Sail University and was given all the knowledge and physical tools to jump my career, and still don't have my laptop from KD Conservator.... I pray anyone reading this and considering going here, please reconsider and go to an institution that will better serve your needs with focus on your career paths even after you've graduate. #FULLSAILGRAD2024

I love it!! #highly recommend. I'm active in the Adult Act Evening classes. I also attended casting events with agents, the blackbox event on Saturdays are a blast!! I'm thankful for the assistance and guidance. I was invited to participate in the college program short film projects. Thank you instructors, Duane Journey, Eugene Hawkins & Deborah Stone!!

LOVED taking classes here! Their voice over instruction is phenomenal I learned so much. The private instruction is also great. Helped me prepare to get an agent.

The teacher in the advanced acting class wasn't really advanced. In fact, she gave detrimental advice to me and my scene partner regarding the motivation of one of the characters. I wasted my money.

If you have high expectations for administrative efficiency, this school may not be the right fit. They operate on their own timeline but expect immediate compliance from you. Disabled veterans, don't count on receiving accommodations--expect judgment instead. If you're pursuing film, Full Sail is a better option, providing the tools you need to succeed, including a $10K camera kit, ipad, and MacBook Pro 13.

I am currently a student enrolled in the first semester acting class. My expierence in just the first couple weeks I've been here is amazing!! Teachers are highly cautious of medical concerns and super welcoming. In camera technique, almost everything about being on film scares me, especially the camera kuz its like staring into a deep dark void, but my teacher allows me to explore different ways to get over that fear, including allowing me to talk to the camera for a few moments as if it was my child or my husband. Voice class is more work than i thought it'd be but guess some of that rotc and yoga in highschool paid off there. Mostly though, i do love how welcoming they are from the beginning all the way through to the classrooms. Always ready to face the next shy issue i have and work me through it step by step!!!!

The school is a lot of money! Don't get me wrong the classes are great, and the teachers are great! However, you could save yourself $30,000... And take acting classes on the side instead! I WISH SOMEBODY WOULD HAVE TOLD ME THAT!!! SO I WOULDN'T STILL BE PAYING INTO SCHOOL LOANS... OVER 10 YEARS LATER!!!

I've seen a couple of musicals here, most recently "Abraham Lincoln's Big Gay Dance Party". The theater is in an unexpected place, but don't let that sway you from making the jaunt over to the Medical District for some entertainment. It's a good size, no bad seats and what not. The intermission munchies are by donation only. They do have a nice selection of sodas, beers, wine coolers, candy, chips, etc. The plays and musicals are low budget and the prices are reasonable. Bring cash and to put in the "donation" jar. I've always had a good time here. Folks are super friendly. The only downside is the location. There's not much to do nearby unless you break your leg--then Parkland Hospital is rightthere! I mean, you wouldn't even need an ambulance. You can just hobble over. Closest nightlife is the Oak Lawn and Lemmon area.

I love this school. It's the bomb. Going here is better than pizza. There's great snacks, excellent teachers, awesome people and great snacks

I am writing this review, because when I was looking at conservatories around the country, there wasn't much information of this place - I am doing this review for students researching - as I wish someone had for me. I graduated from the musical theater (MT) program semi-recently. I know the acting program is a mixed bag (some bad some good teachers, similar things to my review, I've seen a lot of bad acting graduates, some okay). Not sure about film, but I reviewed MT There are a lot of issues with the musical theater program. One of which is most of the classes you're in, is sitting and watching everyone else in your class perform or do a musical number, and wait in line for your turn. This is common in conservatories, but added with the next few cons it's an amplified negative experience. The only time as a musical theater student you will receive private voice lessons, is in the very first semester for FIFTEEN minutes a week. I am not kidding - then you're on your own. As the semesters progress from 1st to 4th semester, it gets progressively worse. (The only good note is the ballet class is top-notch, but you can go to this class without being a student). One of the teachers for the acting class (in both programs) is actually banned from directing at theaters across Dallas - I learned this through several sources from theaters I've worked at. The reason is, she is just very unpleasant to work with. You have 3 semesters of jazz dance class, but 2 of mine were wasted. One of the teachers likes to mediate for half the class (I am not exaggerating), and all of the jazz teachers I've experienced, don't always teach musical theater. Combined with meditating and other genres, and even talking/doing nothing, actual work for musical theater dancing is probably a quarter of all classwork in a dance class. The meditating and stretching done in this class is sometimes repeated in the next class of the day, and the next. It's like they're trying to kill time. You get a real class with the director of the musical theater program in your last semester, and he is really nice, unfortunately this quality doesn't transfer to teaching. He knows a lot of generic stuff anyone can tell you, as he does have Broadway credits. But if you do your research and actually look at his resume - all of his work has been for dance and his looks in his youth. It was also common for him to cancel classes or let you go early. The math on this was I was only in class in classtime roughly half the time, now split that remaining time among however many students are in your class (SOMETIMES). We spent entire classes listening to music and other useless trash. You are never educated on the industry. I left school not knowing a thing about the equity union. You also are required to get your own headshots (fine), but they bring in one photographer for an entire class to give you a salespitch and pay $350 for an hour of his work. People in this school are stupid enough to get headshots from him - even though his headshot subjects literally have redeye lol. There's realistically one musical to be in... But the productions are really, REALLY bad. I'm talking low-low budget - and worst of all, they don't tell you they pre-cast the shows (even if you have the best audition), so there's a chance you can graduate while only being a rock in the background of the school musical (but they sure take credit for you if you're sucessful, happened to a friend). Most weekdays I would go to school 6 hours a day...of that time so much useless time-wasters I can't even mention due to length (they include teachers taking long breaks, not teaching,hours a day of stretching/meditating, class cancellations, normal teacher time fillers but excessively). When I first came to the school I'd never acted before. It wasn't uncommon for the director of the MT program to make fun of, or verbally abuse someone for saying one line odd - I guess that might be normal in in real productions...but you're trying to learn and there's no lesson out of his bullying. I remember one time someone said a line wrong on the first day of having the content and he kicked them from the classroom after screaming There were some good teachers, some really good ones...but it's just too far outweighed with the negativity. On top of that, for the entire school day you're with the same people, in the same classes, for 15 months. And you'll watch them as they never improve after over a year...it's tremendously sad. The "showcase" they do for graduation to show off your skills to agents is embarrassing. I've watched several and I just cringe the whole way through. Every director in the program considers themselves an actor. It doesn't always translate. PLEASE. Look at all options. This place is not worth the money. There are positives...but they're just outweighed normal things you can find in any program. If I can make one reader consider another option...then this long review was worth it.

If you want a Career in entertainment please pick a different school... This place is not only in an odd location. But the place was so dirty. I thought I walked into an offices in the middle of moving out. Come to find out that's how it always is. If I was a director, I would not call back any of these people. The level of performance they say they are at the level they actually are at HUGE LEAP OF DIFFERENCE. The place is always missing paint on the walls, not only did students not wear proper attire, a girl has a giant whole in her but and still preformed it was horrifying. That's just one of many unprofessional cases at this school. Please look at others... Save your money and your time.

From the outside this school doesn't seem much because it's in a strip mall, but in fact, KD Conservatory is one of the greatest Conservatories outside of NY and LA to get your Associates of Arts. Many aspiring actors/ filmmakers in DFW don't know this and end up going to a 4 year university in the area with less training. The professors here know what they are teaching and have the experience in the industry. There are alumni from this school that get talent agents right away and are now working actors all over the country. So upcoming college theatre/film majors don't miss out on this school!

I had the opportunity to twice sit in on workshops run by Mike Schraeder the Acting Program Chair/Dean. Watching Mike with his students, how he treated them, interacted, and advised them it made me inspired. He clearly cares for his students and wants them to succeed. If you live in the Dallas area and are interested in a career in the arts, I highly recommend KD Studio.

On 9/10/20 I paid a $100 deposit to KD Studio for a workshop offered called Script to Screen that was supposed to start on September 14,2020. Due to low participation they postponed the workshop. The new start date was given to me over the phone and was set for 9/21/2020. Again, they changed the date to 9/28/2020. I arrived in Dallas on 9/27 ready to attend the course the next morning but was told the workshop would start at 6pm. By 1:50pm I got a text message from Amy that read the workshop has been moved to 10/6/2020 - 11/4/2020. After asking for a refund. I was told it would take almost two weeks for staff to review my request. Not process it, review it. Considering the number of times KD Studio has moved the dates for the workshop without any notification to its students I don't believe they intend to issue a refund. Thank goodness I paid using PayPal. Whoever is running this place needs to get it together.

I mean, what can I say about this Conservatory? Words can't even describe how amazing the Conservatory is. The only thing I would suggest is more food choices, but other than that, it is amazing, and fun. Everyone is friendly, the instructors are very fun to be in class with, and the environment is just warming. I love KD Conservatory, if you aren't at KD, then what are you doing with your life?????