ColdTowne is proud to support Acton Children’s Business Fair - Coldtowne Theater

Acton Children’s Business Fair

Mark your calendars for October 27th for the Austin Acton Children’s Business Fair, a one-day market that gives children theopportunity to discover their inner entrepreneur and showcase their very own businesses.

ColdTowne is a proud sponsor of this year’s business fair. The free, family event is organized by a team of passionate entrepreneurs, teachers, mentors, and parents, who want our children to learn about entrepreneurship in a practical and fun way, and is sponsored by Acton Academy, the Acton School of Business, and the generous support of donors and volunteers.

The children participating are divided by three age groups: 6-9 years old, 10-12 years old, and 13-16 years old. The program is a unique opportunity for children to launch their very own startup business and build confidence in their capabilities.

Many of our ColdTowne Conservatory Level 1 improv students are business professionals who have to interact with clients and present projects and pitches. Our corporate offerings help build speaking and listening skills for business professionals, but ColdTowne also has a kids program too!

Excused Absence Comedy is the youth program at Austin’s ColdTowne Theater, offering a wide range of improv training and performance to kids and teens. Sure, Improv is a lot of fun. Creating characters and situations on the spot can be hilarious both for the performer and for the audience, and performing with others creates a bond and provides an opportunity to become a better communicator. However, the benefits of learning and practicing improv go far beyond unexpected laughs and a louder voice.

Learning to Listen

How often do you witness a child (or an adult!) who waits for another person to stop talking so they can express their own idea, rather than responding to what was said? Learning to listen and say yes to our collaborators allows us to build entirely new ideas together and to let go of controlling outcomes. For many, making our own ideas heard feels like a winning or losing situation. Improvisers learn that building an idea with collaborators doesn’t take away from their own creations, it’s an exercise in making something bigger than ourselves. Even when it’s silly. Particularly when it’s silly! Once we have learned to do this in class and onstage, it becomes easier to apply the same principles to our lives.

Conquering Perfectionism

In life, we want to be smart, interesting and, often to our detriment, correct. But this self imposed need to be right can create anxiety and, for many children, can lead to simply withdrawing rather than risk being wrong. We don’t just learn to listen we also support each other’s offers unconditionally. When you practice being wrong and meet with an enthusiastic “Yes, and!” it becomes much easier to take risks and to just get the words out.

Creating a Flexible Mindset

In an improv scene, we take whatever we find and we agree that it’s exactly as it should be, then we build a story together. It’s not always easy for people to let go of their sense that things must be only one way, but improv’s insistence that we take a flexible approach when creating together helps performers begin to instinctively look for new ways to do old things.

Learn more about Excused Absence here: https://excusedabsence.com/

Don’t miss the Acton Children’s Business Fair!

Date and Time

There are two events, the Acton Academy Open House and the actual Acton Children’s Business Fair.

Acton Children’s Business Fair

Saturday, October 27, 2018. 10:00am – 1:00pm

Acton Academy’s Open House

Thursday, October 18, 2018 6:00pm – 7:30pm.

Location

Acton Children’s Business Fair

Pease Mansion Lawn
1606 Niles Road
Austin, TX 78703

Acton Academy’s Open House

Acton Academy
2201 Alexander Ave
Austin, TX 78722