About
“THE BEST THEATER PROGRAM FOR KIDS/TEENS IN NYC!”
– Nickelodeon/MTV
Founded in 2007 by Meg McInerney and Katie Cappiello, The Arts Effect provided award-winning programming empowering young people to artistically explore their world. Reaching students all across the globe, as far as Indonesia, The Arts Effect offered a variety of acting classes for young people ages 5-20 introducing students to a unique combination of intensive acting training, creative writing, debate and discussion, mentorship, and public service.
Players I & II, Arts Effect Jr., and Summer classes offered a more traditional acting class experience focused on high quality acting training, script analysis, sensory work, improvisation, and performance.
The Arts Effect All-Girl Theater Company and Jr. Theater Company members became change agents – utilizing the power of the theater arts to help create and produce original theatrical pieces enabling them to share their voices, challenge their communities, and inspire their peers. Throughout the years, The Arts Effect remained dedicated to girl-driven original plays, girl-focused community events, and girl-empowering in-school workshops throughout the United Sates. Everything The Arts Effect did was designed to raise awareness and spark open and honest communication about the challenges girls face worldwide – from the over-sexualization of girls in culture to sex trafficking; from the intense presence of social media in girls’ lives to reproductive rights/girls’ health. By “holding a mirror up to nature” and creating something LIVE – something you can’t turn off, log out of, minimize, or mute – we were determined to artistically ignite serious conversations among teens, parents, educators... everyone, really!...about the issues that effect the creative, emotional, and physical lives of young people. We believe that real change begins with this type of deep awareness and discussion.
Our Classes
Read more and see pics from our All-Girl Theater Companies, Jr. Arts Effect, Players I & II, and summer classes.
Our Projects
Check out all the cool projects we developed over our 10 year history.
Hear from Arts Effect Co-Founder, Meg McInerney, on why she created this website.
“The Arts Effect reaches out to kids and teens with the most insightful, empowering and creatively sophisticated approach to acting I have seen. They offer the kind of workshops that young actors NEED to learn the craft of acting for theatre and film in a most unique and soulful way. They’re the real deal.”
— Jessica Hecht, Tony-Nominated Actor, View From A Bridge, The Assembled