> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Inside the child actors studio - URL: https://www.smdp.com/inside-the-child-actors-studio/ - Published: 2008-08-26T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-25T00:48:23.000Z - Author: Melody Hanatani - Tags: Entertainment, Santa Monica, #archive-import *Playhouse program produced Hollywood stars* The romantic verses of William Shakespeare and the classical tongue of Arthur Miller are seldom recited within the walls of a small theatrical company here. Instead, the young and aspiring who partake every year in the Santa Monica Playhouse’ Youth Program are playwrights in their own right, crafting their own words, cultivating their own stories. As the much celebrated program enters its 39th season this fall, those who created it reflect on an arts education camp originally designed to give children the taste of the entertainment industry while shielding them from the ugliness that can come with fame. After all, the two founders — co-artistic directors and husband-and-wife team Chris de Carlo and Evelyn Rudie — should know from experience, the couple both being child stars. Rudie, who has been a part of the Santa Monica Playhouse since 1966 — six years after it was founded by a Belgian refugee — was at one point the highest paid child star in the industry and was the first child to get an Emmy nomination. A guest star on more than 80 different television shows, including “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” and “77 Sunset Strip”, Rudie would go on to earn a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. While she had a solid childhood, established by parents who emphasized that education came first, she saw that other young stars around her fade away to the demons that come with the business. “(De Carlo) and I thought it would be important to have a place where kids could get a real feeling for the theater experience without the incredible push and rejection and nastiness of the business,” Rudie said. “We both felt the theater experience had been very positive for us in terms of who we are as people.” Over the past 39 years, the program has worked with more than 375,000 local students, producing future stars like Kate and Oliver Hudson, actor Jason Ritter and television writer and producer Rina Mimoun. The program offers 10 different courses for children ranging in ages from 4 to 18 years old, teaching everything from play production to performance skills. Teachers also travel to local schools, such as St. Monica High, where they run afterschool programs. Nearly each course produces its own play, created by the students, including the characters, storylines, and some dialogue. The production is then drafted by a resident playwright. Work by the famous playwrights in history, though respected by the pupils, are rarely performed. “They come up with the ideas, they do the movement and the blocking and the themes,” Rudie said. One class this summer put on a play about the election, exploring how one person can make a difference. Another play — “Maximum Security” — tells the story about a group of adolescents who are prisoners, both in the metaphorical and literal senses. The production will premiere on Wednesday and run through Sunday. Sometimes, original shows go on to gain international attention. Such was the case for “Dear Gabby, the Confessions of an Overachiever,” which was produced in 1988 and ran for 15 years. A group of students from the playhouse performed it overseas, including in Tokyo in 1989\. The show has been seen by half a million people. For many students, the Youth Program isn’t a stepping stone toward a career in acting, rather a way to flourish and develop skills that can be applied to other areas in life. In fact, only about 10 percent go on to work in the entertainment industry, Rudie said. One who went in that direction is Mimoun, a Santa Monica High School alumn who produced shows like “Gilmore Girls,” “Dawson’s Creek, “Everwood” and “Pushing Daisies.” The 34-year-old started attending the program while a student at Lincoln Middle School, choosing theater classes over camp. She spent the next nine years there, coming back every summer in college to teach the youth program courses. “It made me appreciate art and theater,” Mimoun said. “I definitely fell in love with it because of the playhouse. Some current students say they don’t have dreams of accepting an Emmy or Academy Award someday, but have enjoyed how the program has helped them come out of their shell. For Jasmine Gutierrez, a senior at Samohi, the program could help her as she pursues a career in law. Gutierrez has been a part of the program since she was 9 years old and occasionally helps run a couple of the classes. “This has helped me to speak and not be shy about it,” she said. Leah Artenian, a sophomore at Samohi, has been a part of the playhouse since she was 9 years old. She came into the program a bit apprehensive and was even nervous during her entrance interview. “I was shy when I was younger,” she said. “I wouldn’t talk to anybody, not even people I knew.” Seven summers later, Artenian said the program has helped expand her horizons. “I really learned to have confidence in myself,” she said. “It will really help me in job interviews.” Jump hedline: Playhouse program produced Hollywood stars Suggested pullquote: “I really learned to have confidence in myself.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/082608-05_01.jpg) (Photo: BY CHRISTINA YOON Special to the Daily Press) *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 26, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/082608.pdf?ref=smdp.com)