Open Registration · All Levels
HCT Programs · Year-Round
Learn. Create. Perform.
HCT Academy is Hawaiʻi Children’s Theatre’s year-round performing arts education program.
Schedule
Year-Round
Format
Registration Based
Ages
Multiple Age Groups
Levels
Beginner to Advanced
Upcoming Academy Performance
Madagascar, KIDS
A free performance for family, friends and the community of Madagascar KIDS. Featuring the students of HCT's Fall Break Bootcamp. See what the students were able to put together in just one week of rehearsal! Seating is limited and is first-come first-served.
Performances
Sat, Oct 10 · 6:00 PM
Venue
Hawaii Children's Theatre, 4411 E Kikowaena St, Lihue
Updated by HCT staff throughout the year
Current Classes, Camps & Private Lessons
One-on-OnePrivate Lessons
One-on-one instruction for students looking for individualized coaching and focused performing arts training.
Individual Instruction
By Appointment · Year-Round
This Past Year
Recently at HCT Academy
A look at the classes and camps we’ve offered over the past year. New offerings are added throughout the year, so check back often.
- Fall Break Theater Bootcamp: Little Stars Big Imagination · Oct 5 – Oct 9, 2026 · Ages 4–7
- Fall Break Theater Bootcamp: "Madagascar, KIDS" · Oct 5 – Oct 10, 2026 · Ages 8–15
- SHINE Modeling Academy · Aug 23 – Nov 8, 2026 · Ages 10–17
- Intro to Acting · Aug 22 – Oct 24, 2026 · Ages 8–16
- Decoding Shakespeare Class · Aug 22 – Oct 24, 2026 · Ages 16–99
- Hollywood Talent Expert Susie Mains Workshop · Jun 28, 2026 · Ages 8–99
- Broadway Bound: Acting Through Song · Jun 1 – Jun 5, 2026 · Ages 12–99
- MASTERCLASS - Acting Through Song · May 31, 2026 · Ages 14–99
- Spring Break Bootcamp - Dinosaurs Before Dark · Mar 16 – Mar 20, 2026 · Ages 8–15
- Little Stars, Big Imagination – HCT Creative Play · Jan 10 – Mar 14, 2026 · Ages 4–7
- Intro to Acting · Jan 10 – Feb 28, 2026 · Ages 8–16
Financial assistance is available.
The Basics
What is HCT Academy?
HCT Academy is Hawaiʻi Children’s Theatre’s registration-based performing arts education program. Through rotating classes, workshops, camps, intensives, theatre bootcamps, and private lessons, students explore the fundamentals of theatre in a supportive, encouraging environment led by experienced teaching artists and theatre professionals.
Unlike HCT’s audition-based productions, Academy programs welcome all students through open registration — a safe and fun place to try theatre for the first time or to keep sharpening your craft.
Everyone is Welcome
Who Can Participate?
HCT Academy is designed for young people of all experience levels, typically ages 8–18, with some camps welcoming keiki as young as 4. Students are grouped by age and experience so beginners get a comfortable start and advanced students are genuinely challenged.
Something New Every Season
Classes & Workshops
Offerings rotate throughout the year. Depending on the season, students might find:
- ✦Acting
- ✦Musical Theatre
- ✦Acting Through Song
- ✦Voice
- ✦Dance and Movement
- ✦Improvisation
- ✦Shakespeare
- ✦Audition Preparation
- ✦Stagecraft
- ✦Theatre Bootcamps
- ✦School Break Camps
- ✦Private Lessons
- ✦Specialty Performing Arts Classes
Class offerings change throughout the year. The current schedule above is always the source of truth.
One-on-One Training
Private Lessons
Students looking for more individualized instruction can explore HCT Academy private lessons for focused, one-on-one performing arts training.
EXPLORE PRIVATE LESSONS
School Breaks, Staged
School Break Theatre Camps
When school is out, the stage lights up. HCT’s fall and spring break camps let keiki spend their breaks acting, singing, dancing, and creating — from imaginative play for our youngest performers to week-long bootcamps that rehearse and perform a mini production.
More Than a Curtain Call
Build Confidence Through Theatre
Theatre skills are life skills. Academy students practice speaking with confidence, listening and collaborating, thinking on their feet, and expressing themselves creatively — and they make friends from across the island while doing it. Many families tell us the stage presence their child found at HCT shows up everywhere: classrooms, presentations, and beyond.
Led by Working Artists
Teaching Artists
Academy classes are led by experienced teaching artists and theatre professionals — actors, directors, choreographers, and musicians who love sharing their craft with the next generation.
WANT TO TEACH WITH HCT? LEARN MOREEvery Keiki Deserves the Stage
Financial Assistance
Hawaiʻi Children's Theatre believes finances should not prevent a young person from participating in theatre, and requests are handled confidentially and simply. Financial assistance is built right into registration:
- ✦ Select the financial aid payment plan option when you register.
- ✦ You'll be sent a form to complete afterwards.
- ✦ If approved, a credit is added to your account and you're notified through HCT's registration software — to accept it, simply continue as you were.
- ✦ If you need to drop, just let us know within a week.