CELEBRATING 43rd ANNIVERSARY!
Congrats on 42 years! What an amazing accomplishment and legacy you have built over the years. I raise a glass to you for your lifelong commitment to the arts and to helping children build their skills in creativity and confidence to carry forth in the world. We are grateful to have found you.
(My daughter started at age 5. She returned in 2020 at age 11 and is learning a lot in your zoom classes)
Mrs. Jessica Steward. Oakland CA
WHY JUDY BERLIN STARTED KIDS ON CAMERA!
When I was in high school, acting class was a very special part of my day. I performed in plays, assisted our play director behind the scenes at rehearsals, and became president of Drama Club at Mumford High School in Detroit, Michigan. Acting classes in my teen years gave me a creative outlet, and it was fun. Those experiences gave me the desire to become an acting teacher.
My major at Michigan State University. was Communication Arts, where I received my teaching credential. After college I taught in Chicago, Illinois and performed on stage in the musical, OLIVER, in the lead role of Nancy at community theater. and I also studied voice. After 2 years I moved back to Detroit and joined a professional summer stock production of FUNNY GIRL. For 10 years I taught acting, creative writing and directed plays at Burt Elementary Public School to grades 3 through 8 in Detroit.
Upon moving to San Francisco in 1974 I attended improvisation classes; was a voiceover; and a vocalist in North Beach at the original Purple Onion Night Club, where the Smothers Brothers and Phyllis Diller performed long before me. I sang in night clubs for 2 years and was a finalist in a vocal talent search for Stars of Tomorrow TV show in L.A. hosted by Joan Rivers. I was a voiceover artist with Anne Brebner Talent Agency in San Francisco for 14 years. Voiceover credits included commercials and educational films. Credits included Macy’s, Bank of America, VISA, Sesame Street, Lincoln Mercury Cars, Levi’s and more. I was a voice on Sesame Street for 12 yrs for a cartoon story called Homes Around the World. I was a casting director for Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Educational Films and also a freelance casting director for TV commercials and films produced in San Francisco. I also taught acting classes in Marin County Schools and Ross Valley Day Camps for several years thru 2019.
My experiences as a voiceover, vocalist, casting director, and acting coach taught me the skills that lead me to open Kids on Camera TV/Film Acting School in 1981. I wore many hats in my early years in the Bay Area. Upon opening Kids on Camera, I was a guest on local TV talk shows and the news. In 1982 a parent wrote a letter to KPIX praising Kids on Camera’s curriculum and staff. This letter led to my appearance on KPIX’s People are Talking with Ross McGowan. KGO Ch. 7 reporter Michael Finney featured Kids on Camera on the news in 1998 and 2009. His children attended my classes. After the KGO news feature I received 600 phone calls over 2 weeks. I owe a lot to Michael Finney at KGO TV and to KPIX TV, as they helped my school and talented staff get exposure and gain our reputation.
As I reflect over my 43 years as director of Kids on Camera, I am so grateful to have developed a program that helps others. I teach on zoom and in-person. I feel joy watching my students achieve at school, on stage, on TV, or in films and become class presidents. Teaching on zoom works well as students interact in small classes and receive short scripts to practice before a class. Enroll limit is 6-12. Parents are emailed fun short scripts before classes and receive evaluations after all workshops. My Assoc. Director Deborah Eliezer and staff member Steve Bass gave in person classes in June 2022 and will continue in the future. I taught in-person in SF in 2022, 2023 and plan to continue in 2024 and 2025. Since 2017 I live part-time near Tucson, Arizona.
WE WELCOME your questions,
Email Judy Berlin at info@kids-on-camera.com