The Arts Hub — Attraction in Lafayette

I really don't like giving bad reviews. The theater itself is wonderful. Love the concept. My daughter did the vocal techniques class when she was 6. She has always been interested in performing. During the course of the class semester, she was harassed by older students who called her names and cursed at her. Her teacher resigned suddenly and we were given very little info about it, and apparently "walked out" with the music so they had to switch up what they were going to perform mid session. And then at the performance, my 6 year old was tasked with taking a prop and setting it up herself (a chair to sit in). Her singing was to start almost immediately when the music came on, and the music tech person started playing it when she was still walking out. She wasn't ready or set up, and the music tech person could see that and that she was really upset but didn't think to stop the music and start over. She was SIX! They handled it very poorly and didn't apologize to her or take responsibility for it, so she left thinking it was her fault and she is scared to be on stage now. A simple apology and ownership for what happened could have taken that off her shoulders and given her the boost needed to try again. I was really disappointed in how they handled, and even after providing feedback to them directly, they never reached out to apologize. I expect more from a organization that is trying to build up the arts in our kids. As someone who has extreme stage fright, this experience breaks my heart for my daughter as I didn't want her to have the same fear I've always had.

Edit: There were a number of people that came up to us after the show to check on my daughter - however, no one said to her "this isn't your fault" or took responsibility for it, speaking to her.

Also, the music didn't stop until the next performer came on and was rattled. My daughter tried to compose herself and kept going even though you could hear the tears in her voice, I was proud of her for trying to keep going. The music did not stop immediately like you make it sound, sorry if you do not recall how it happened. Yes, technical difficulties happen, and the show must go on...but when the kid is SIX maybe have some wherewithal to know how to handle these situations, and make sure everyone on the team is on the same page. I have the video if you want to...

I was very disappointed with The Arts Hub Musical Theater program, in which I enrolled my son. There are three major issues that come to mind:

1. Terrible communication: During the course of the program, I had sent 3 separate emails, all of which never received a response.

2. Poor sound/stage setup: The productions themselves had terrible sound quality and was a disappointing experience for friends and family.

The third point I would like to mention is the most troublesome of all:

3. Misleading experience: I paid nearly $400 for a musical for 6-7 year-old First Graders. On the day of the show, I saw that the kids who actually looked 6-7 had no lines, were hardly on stage, and when they were on stage, they were hidden behind kids who were twice their size. When I signed up for a First Graders play, I expected that all the children would be in First Grade. What I saw was that much older and bigger kids were cast in the majority of the roles.

Because of the way in which all of this was conducted, I cannot recommend The Arts Hub, nor do I intend to enroll my children in other programs...

We were so excited for summer camp, but unfortunately the experience proved unprofessional and upsetting for my kids. In particular, bullying was allowed and even one of the staff joined the teasing of another camper with others. I was under the impression that everyone is welcome here, but that is clearly not the culture/training of the place. The need for professionalism extends to other areas as well, like time management, organization, and appropriate clothing. If camp is supposed to end at 3 PM, you don't keep everyone there for 15 minutes longer after 6 hours of camp - some parents and families are already running tight timelines during summer. Either management should set higher expectations for their internal culture or fix management. It's a shame to have this wonderful facility here in the community and have it be...