"Diana Hird provided our son with an amazing introduction to the theater. Our son, who was 8, had never participated in any type of performance before enrolling in Diana’s workshop last year. He arrived at the first rehearsal nervous and not knowing what to expect. By the end of that session, he was hooked. Diana has a special talent for putting children at ease and allowing them to enjoy the experience of being on stage. This starts with her ability to make the entire process fun. This makes the kids open not only to direction for the performance at hand, but also to education about the theater more generally. In the case of this workshop, Diana also wrote the production, which provided accessible, interesting and engaging parts for all the children. Due in large part to his experience with Diana, our son has gone on to do additional theater and is looking forward to his next production. I cannot speak highly enough about Diana and the positive impact she had on our son, and I would enthusiastically recommend her to anyone who asks."

 

S.K., Cold Spring, NY

(Son age 8)

 

 

"Diana Hird is a fantastic theater teacher. My daughter took part in an after-school program led by Diana in the spring of 2014, when she was 9. She had never done any theater before, and was nervous going in, but Diana not only put her at ease, she also helped my daughter fall in love with the whole world of theater.
 
I asked my daughter what she liked best about Diana.  I scribbled it down. She said, “Diana made everything really fun but also knew how to keep the group under control. It made it more interesting and made us all want to work. She was really imaginative. She knew how to connect with each kid in their own way and turn their personality into a character for the play. She knew how to include our opinions and ideas in every little part of the play, like the stage directions, so we cared about it, and we always knew what to do.”
 
I was blown away by the production. Each character had real dimension and personality, the kids were brilliant and clearly also had great fun. From this experience, I would recommend Diana without any reservations."
 
C.B., Garrison, NY  
(Daughter Age 9)

 

 

"Our son really blossomed from his experience in Diana Hird’s theater class. The show they put on really surpassed our expectations, and to see him so confident and having so much fun on stage was just wonderful. It was a great experience for him and he is looking forward to doing it again. Highly recommend as a fun, creative experience that is wonderful for building a child's confidence."

 

T.D., Garrison, NY

(Son age 7)

 

"My kids could not wait for their rehearsals for Living Theater. Diana made it fun but also challenged them to embrace their roles and support and work with their fellow actors. And the performances were a huge hit; the performers showed remarkable confidence and glowed with pride after."

 

C.R., Garrison, NY

(Children ages 6, 7,  and 9)