Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Martin.
Katie, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I was teaching High School Theatre, but as my family grew, it became impossible to maintain the work hours. I started working for after-school programs, and I found that the classes were over-enrolled and a lot of kids were added parts in plays and spent a lot of time sitting during rehearsals or backstage during the performances. I felt so bad for these kids because they weren’t getting much of a learning opportunity and certainly weren’t gaining confidence thru theatre. I also felt bad for their parents, who had hoped for a positive experience for their child and were let down. I decided to start Spotlight so that I could have the authority to limit class size and really look after each child’s experience and growth, and also I became a single mother and it was something I hoped would work for my family as well.
We started in a warehouse in Katy and would rent out the performance venues for shows. We grew to a handful of kids that enrolled in our classes regularly and then moved to our current space in The Villagio Town Center where we have a small black box theatre. I have been involved in theatre before I could read. I remember our scripts would be recorded onto cassette tapes (fossils!) so that we could use them to memorize our lines. It is my hope to pass my passion for theatre on to my students and to see the theatre help them grow whether that is for the purpose of preparing for a career in the theatre or to obtain positive life skills that will benefit them in any career path.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I have enjoyed every bit of my journey with Spotlight, but I have definitely been met with the obstacles that any small business owner faces. From the struggle of how to allocate a budget when there is so little money to allocate, how to get the word out, how to deal with things such as commercial real estate when you know nothing about commercial real estate. It has been a learning process and a lesson in patience. At a time, I felt like I had so much to offer children that had an interest in theatre, but nobody knew we were in business, and it was hard at times to wait for enrollment to pick up organically.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Spotlight Acting Academy story. Tell us more about the business.
At Spotlight, not only do we teach theatre, we also build confidence. We offer theatre classes for ages 3 thru adult and have something for all experience and interest levels. We have classes for those that just want a laid back and fun experience, and we offer productions for those that are interested in training on a more serious level. We encourage parents to reach out and let us help them choose the class that is the best fit for their child and their expectations.
There are three key points about our company that sets us apart:
We limit our class sizes. We cap our cast size at a low number and double cast the ensemble so that we can ensure every student at Spotlight is given the stage time needed in order to grow and to gain self-confidence.
Our students are working with professionals in the field. The background and training of our staff make them highly qualified to provide our students with an exceptional level of professional training. At Spotlight, we maintain a small staff so that we know our kids well and are able to work with them closely knowing their strengths and weaknesses and how to focus training for their individual growth.
We offer more training hours than most theatre programs. These additional hours allow us the time to not only prepare for a wonderful show but to also teach advanced vocal, acting and dance techniques.
As the owner of Spotlight, I am most proud of my students. I have watched several of them grow over the years they have been taking classes with us, and it is an honor to be a part of that growth and to watch them improve onstage. It is touching to see a kid come to us and be so shy they cannot deliver a single line out loud and transform over time into a young actor that is portraying lead roles with so much commitment, confidence and believability. I feel that all comes to our three key principles; they have had roles that allow them to grow, they are working with teachers that know how to train them properly and have the training hours to do so, and the teachers are personally involved so that they are able to keep them on a steady track that is best for their individual growth.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Luck has played a constant role in the success of my business, and luckily…good luck! It’s been something as small as not having the enrollment needed for a production a few days before the first rehearsal, and then the last few days leading up the enrollment comes together. Or something on a larger scale; we had a lease signed for a new space and gave notice to our original warehouse space. The new space fell thru and the warehouse space already had a tenant lined up, so three weeks before summer classes started, we had no space for classes! This is when I learned, commercial real estate does not move quickly! However, at the last minute, luck was on our side and The Villagio Town Center moved us in very quickly because they saw the benefit of our work with kids and wanted to make sure we had space.
Contact Info:
- Address: 22758 Westheimer Parkway, Suite 220
Katy, TX 77450 - Website: www.spotlightactingacademy.com
- Phone: 832-913-6884
- Email: info@spotlightactingacademy.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/spotlightacting
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/SpotlightActingAcademy
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/SpotlightActing
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/spotlight-acting-academy-katy-2
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