Carol Hickey Acting Studio: Austin, Texas

2-Year Film Conservatory, 2026-2027

The Film Acting Conservatory will welcome our third class at our new studio location at 979 Springdale Rd. Austin, Tx. 78702. We are thrilled to offer this comprehensive two year training program for the development of actors in television and film.This program is highly competitive and admission is offered to select students. Space is limited.

ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS NOW!
Submissions Due October 7th

Applicants -

1.Upload your Headshot and Reel (0ptional) to the Google Drive Box link below

2. Add your AA Resume Link to the Spreadsheet link below

3. Look at sample of Kim Jackson Davis for example of how to submit

After submitting your materials, you will receive auditions sides to tape and upload.

Label Instructions Below:

FirstName LastName_Headshot

FirstName LastName_Reel

Actors Access Link - add link to Excel in Drive

CLICK HERE TO UPLOAD INFO

Payment options:
Click subscribe to make 22 monthly payments (first payment due by Dec. 1)

For a 10% pay in full discount, contact carolhickeyactingstudio@gmail.com

Year 1 Curriculum

January - April - 16 weeks
Monday 5:30 - 9pm
Scene Study and On-Camera - Kim Jackson Davis and Jon Michael Davis and Carol Hickey

Saturday 11-1:30 pm
Alexander Technique with Donna Martin - 8wks
Improv with Garrett Rojas- 8wks

May - June - 8 weeks
Monday 6pm-9pm
Commercials with Richard Cerato 4 wks /Script Analysis - TBD - 4 wks

Saturday 11-2pm
Voice and Movement 8 wks - with Richard Cerrato

July - 4 weeks
Monday 6pm - 9pm
Film Production - Tika Cook

Saturday 11am-2pm
Business of Acting - Jessica Sloan

August - November - 16 weeks
Monday 5:30 - 9pm
Scene Study and On Camera with Kim Jackson Davis and Jon Michael Davis

Saturdays 11am-2pm

August - 4 weeks of accents with Jack Wallace
Sept. - 4 weeks of Film Fight with Paul Purvis
October - 4 weeks of Industry Workshops TBD
November - 4 weeks Film Production with Russell Reed

Year 2 Curriculum

January - April - 16 weeks
Monday 5:30 - 9pm
Scene Study and On-Camera - Kim Jackson Davis and Jon Michael Davis
Saturday 11-1:30pm
Improv with Garrett Rojas - 8 weeks
Alexander Technique with Donna Martin - 8 weeks

May - June - 8 weeks
Mondays 6pm-9pm
Screenwriting with TBD - 4 weeks
Solo Performance with Richard Cerrato - 4 weeks
Saturday 11-2pm
Intimacy 1st 4 wks - Andrea Grapko and Director tbd
Monologues with Trace Turner

July - 4 weeks
Tuesday 6pm-9pm
Shoot Your Short - Tika Cook
Saturday 11am-2pm
Fight Reels - Paul Purvis

August - November - 16 weeks
Mondays 5:30 - 9pm
Scene Study and On-Camera with Kim Jackson Davis and Jon Michael Davis

Saturdays 11am-2pm

August - Film Fight Reels with Paul Purvis
September - Dialects - Jack Wallace
October - Filming Showcase Scenes with Russell Reed
November - Directors Workshops - TBD

Conservatory Instructors

Carol Hickey | Studio Director
Carol Hickey is the founder and director of The Carol Hickey Acting Studio (CHAS) in Austin, Texas. She has studied with some of the most prestigious instructors in Acting at HB Studio in New York and 7 years in Los Angeles with Harry Mastrogeorge. She has a degree in Theatre from University of California, Santa Barbara. She earned her living working on commercials and television series (Gilmore Girls, Six Feet Under, Scrubs, ER, NYPD Blue, Judging Amy, Big Love, National Tide, AT&T, Kelloggs, Cisco and many more) in Los Angeles and recently booked Love and Death (HBO) Mo (Netflix) Walker (CW) and is featured in the film Only the Good Survive which premiered at SXSW Film Festival 2023. She has received numerous awards for her work on stage, developing premiere works in Los Angeles and in New York with The Canyon Theatre Company, along with name actors such as Mark Ruffalo and Kathy Bates. She worked as an instructor through East L.A. Classic Theatre to inner city, underprivileged youth and has primarily works now as a private coach for series and feature film roles in Austin and Atlanta.

Kim Jackson Davis | Scene Study and On-Camera

Kim Jackson Davis has worked as a professional actress, host, and dancer for over 25 years and is a member of the Screen Actors Guild. While living in Los Angeles, she had the opportunity to study with one of Hollywood's most sought-after acting coaches, John Kirby. Since moving back to Texas, she has trained under Carol Hickey for the past seven years. She also serves as the studio's Youth Program Director. Kim has a degree in Journalism and Theatre from the University of Texas at Tyler. Her most recent acting work includes Tyler Perry's "Zatima", Jessica Biel's hit series "Cruel Summer", and "Adam The First", a feature film playing opposite David Duchovny and Oakes Fegley.

Russell Reed | Director, Film Production

With a burning passion for telling stories, Russell Reed is a devoted 24 year old filmmaker from Houston, TX, whose goal is to simply excel from each of his films. Looking to inspire and entertain, Russell's keen eye for imagery and heart for directing has earned recognition from respected industry folk. Russell's achievements have stretched far and wide. Russell has seen accomplishments in nation-wide film festival screenings, distributions via streaming platform and select theater screenings. His recent award-winning short film, Baby Nick, now lives on digital cable television network, REVOLT TV. Russell commits his life to studying his craft and relentlessly chasing his dreams of directing major motion pictures while he approaches his commencement this summer from Texas State University as a Business Marketing student.

Sarah Silva Peace | Alexander for Actors

Sarah Silva Peace is an AmSAT certified teacher of the Alexander Technique, holds a Master degree in Music (Vocal Performance), and is a highly sought after as a clinician across multiple industries. Sarah has worked with UCLA Medical, Chapman University Hall-Musco Conservatory of Music, and California State University Fullerton Conservatory of Music, as well as members of the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the Hollywood Bowl Symphony, the Pacific Symphony, and the LA Opera orchestra.

Jack Wallace | Dialects

Accent Coach Jack is an experienced dialect coach from England, based in Los Angeles. With over 10 Million combined views on his videos for Buzzfeed and a private coaching practice, Jack specializes in coaching professional actors and celebrities with all accents. Jack is available for assistance during pre-production, on-set coaching and ADR.

Known for his warmth and precision, Jack has become an in-demand coach for a broad range of projects from films and television to theatre and commercials.

An expert advisor for news outlets such as CNN, Entertainment Tonight!, Buzzfeed, Disney+, IGN and Insider Jack is the go-to specialist for accent questions within the film industry.

Jack's clients have appeared in: 1923, DAVE, Never Have I Ever, Queer as Folk, Pam & Tommy, Ghosts, Derry Girls, Young Sheldon, 13 reasons Why, Queen Sugar, Westworld, The Mandalorian, The Walking Dead, Little America, Mission Impossible Rogue Nation, Big Little Lies and many others. His Voiceover clients can be heard in: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Boss Baby, Where's Waldo, Thundercats Roar! Call of Duty Modern Warfare, Cyberpunk 2077, Star Wars Jedi:Fallen Order and in national campaigns for Amazon, McDonalds, AT&T and Walmart.

Formally trained, with a Master's in Professional Voice Practice from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Jack draws from a strong technical knowledge of the voice to distill the key features of an accent to prepare actors for any role.

Jon Michael Davis | Scene Study and On-Camera

Jon Michael Davis has been a working actor for 30 years. He has worked on stage, film, and television. Independent feature film credits include Red White & Blue, Blacktino, Angel Dog and The Adventures of Pepper and Paula. Other notable feature film credits include W. directed by Oliver Stone, Men, Women & Children directed by Jason Reitman, and the Golden Globe and Academy Award Winner for Best Picture, Green Book directed by Peter Farrelly. Episodic television credits include critically-acclaimed shows like ABC's American Crime, HBO's The Leftovers, and AMC's The Son. He has also appeared in or voiced hundreds of television and radio commercials.

Richard Cerato | Commercials, Voice and Movement, Solo Performance

Acting: Soul Doctor (Original Broadway Cast/Tour/Film), Dear Edwina (Off-Broadway), Joseph (Tour), Cinderella (Tour/Cast Album), Fame (China), "The Tonight Show" (NBC), "Catching Lightning" (Showtime), 30+ commercials, Taylor Swift's "Shake it Off". Directing/Choreographing: Soul Doctor (Tour). Frost Bites, Mack and Mabel, Mary Jane, Mary Page Marlowe, The Lightning Thief, She Loves Me, Elf, Mamma Mia!, Singin' in the Rain, A Christmas Story (Austin). A Shanghai Christmas, Kaleidoscope (Shanghai). Chess, April is Over, Timon of Athens, Transatlanticism, North Haven (Glasgow). Recently, Richard created music videos for jazz vocalists Gabrielle Stravelli and Liam Forde, and new works for Arts for Alz, benefitting the Alzheimer's Association, and At Home Artists Project, benefitting the Transgender Law Center. Training: Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Shakespeare's Globe, University of the Arts, Ballet Pacifica. @riccardinoceratino

Garret Rojas | Improv
Garret Rojas is an award-winning improviser and working actor from Austin, TX. He recently graduated from the CHAS Adult Conservatory program and has studied with some of the best improv minds in the world. By integrating the approach he has learned at CHAS with his improv, he has managed to garner several improv awards including ROOKIE OF THE YEAR and MOST GROUNDED CHARACTER to name a few. You can probably catch him performing improv any given night of the week in Austin. You might even see him in a commercial or two.

Tuition and Policies