Carol Hickey Acting Studio: Austin, Texas

2024 Film Conservatory

The new Film Acting Conservatory will launch January 2024 in our new studio location at 979 Springdale Rd. Austin, Tx. 78702. We are thrilled to announce 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 8th
1st year Applicants
Submit - Headshot/Resume or Actors Access Link and Reel (optional)
2nd year Applicants
Submit - Actors Access Link and Reel (mandatory)

Label Instructions Below:
FirstName LastName_Headshot
FirstName LastName_Resume
FirstName LastName_Reel

Actors Access Link - add link to Excel in Drive

CLICK HERE TO UPLOAD INFO

Year 1 Curriculum

January - April - 16 weeks
Monday 5:30 - 9pm
On-Camera - Kim Jackson Davis
Saturday 11-2pm
Alexander 1st 8 wks - Donna Martin
Voice 2nd 8 wks - Adam Roberts

May - June - 8 weeks
Monday 6pm-9pm
Script Analysis - Nichole Abshire
Saturday 11-2pm
Improv 4 wks - Sarah Marie Curry
Commercial 4 wks - Jon Michael Davis

July - August - 6 weeks
Monday 6pm - 9pm
Film Production - Tika Cook
Saturday 11am-2pm
Business - Jessica Sloan

September - November -12 weeks
Monday 5:30 - 9pm
8 wks On Camera -Kim Jackson Davis
4 wks November Filming - Russell Reed
Saturday 11am-2pm
6 wks Movement -Adam Roberts
6 wks Film Fight - Mark Caberra

Year 2 Curriculum

January - April - 16 weeks
Tuesday 5:30 - 9pm
On-Camera - Kim Jackson Davis
Saturday 11-2pm
Voice & Movement 1st 8 wks - Adam Roberts
Alexander 2nd 8 wks - Donna Martin

May - June - 8 weeks
Tuesday 6pm-9pm
Screen Writting - Nichole Abshire
Saturday 11-2pm
Intimacy 1st 4 wks - TBD
Improv 2nd 4 wks - Sarah Marie Curry

July - August - 16 weeks
Tuesday 6pm-9pm
Shoot Your Short - Tika Cook
Saturday 11am-2pm
Fight Reels - Mark Caberra

September - November - 12 weeks
Monday 5:30 - 9pm
2 wks On Camera - Kim Jackson Davis
2 wks Pre-Producion - Russell Reed
4 wks Shooting - Russell Reed
3 wks Conversations with Industry Pros
Saturday 11am-2pm
6 wks Dialects -TBD
6wks Director Workshops - 3 classes each - 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 | On-Camera Acting

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.

Sarah Marie Curry | Homework and Improv

Sarah Marie Curry has been an actor and working artist for over a decade. On stage she has been called "hilarious," "fierce," "truly exceptional," and is a local Austin, Texas award winner for both Outstanding Lead Actress as well as Best Improv Troupe multiple times over. When not performing, she is a passionate coach, director and producer of improvisational theater and teaches advanced improvisation and acting curriculums across Texas. For show updates and more go to www.sarahmariecurry.com

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.

Adam Roberts | Voice and Movement

Adam Roberts is an Austin-based vocal coach, conductor, and artistic director. He is co-founder of TILT Performance Group (tiltperformance.org) and Resolution Creative (resolutionaryworks.com), a faculty member at Carol Hickey Acting Studio and The Actor's School (theactorsschool.org), a contributing writer for Backstage (backstage.com), and Director of Music at St. Luke United UMC (stlukeaustin.com). His students have performed in principal roles on Broadway, Off-Broadway and in regional theatre, been nominated for the Tony Award, and appeared in film, national tours, and on network television. Learn more about Adam and his work at adamkroberts.com and on Instagram @adam_k_roberts.

Nichole Abshire | Script Analysis, Screenwriting

Nichole Abshire is an Austin, Texas based creator. She was a 2018 Academy Nicholl quarter-finalist and Austin Film Festival semi-finalist for her feature, Imposter Impersonator. She was a recipient of the New York Stage and Film Filmmakers Workshop and was selected for The Writers Lab supported by Oprah Winfrey, Meryl Streep, and Nicole Kidman. Nichole Abshire's writing journey began long ago in countless journals and diaries. While those should never be published, they facilitated an underlying sense in Nichole that her best work seeks personal truths.

Mark Cabrera | Film Fight

Mark Cabrera is originally from Houston, TX. He has been a film fight instructor for seven years for kids as well as adults. He has been an active MMA competitor for 10 years and truly believes that experience helped the transition into film due to knowing first-hand how to react and combat. Mark is a brown belt in Jiu Jitsu and an instructor in both muay Thai and boxing as well as weapons defense/stage combat (including firearms, knives, swords, bows, and staff weapons.) He is a weapons master and fight coordinator for feature films, shorts, and series such as "The Honey Trapper" and "Laura's Fate." Mark coordinates a range of fight styles including TKD, boxing, karate, Jui Jitsu, street brawl, and MMA.

Tuition and Policies