Two of my children have attended Actors Garden summer camp for a total of 7 years and each year was…read moreincredibly meaningful and magical for them! They each grew so much, learned to take risks, speak up, sing & dance and made friends with the other campers and the wonderful counselors and co- directors. The original plays- scripts and music are all original- were such fun to watch and the kids adored performing them. They were each performed on a real stage at Dominican University and the highlights of our summer. Camp director, teacher and Actors Garden owner Gigi Hudson is a local treasure who is one of the most loving, enthusiastic and enjoyable teachers I've ever met. In addition to summer camp my kids have also taken Actors Garden classes with Gigi, Dave, Meredith, Jennifer, Angie and Kim since they were in 1st grade. The studio on Lombard is bright and welcoming with easy metered parking and next to the Buzz which is handy for parents who are in need of a place to hang out and grab a Coke while waiting for a class to finish.

My daughter started the summer camp this past summer and she loves it. So much that she joined the…read morefall session as well. GiGi is wonderful and the team is great as well. My daughter was very shy and The Actors Garden is helping her confidence soar! I can't say enough about this team.

CircEsteem was once a wonderful organization and has great potential, but that is unfortunately…read morecompletely wasted now due to terrible mismanagement. The teaching staff is amazing, talented, kind and knowledgable. However, those at the top of the administration have demonstrated a complete disregard for the working conditions of the entire staff, and pay themselves a very generous salary but constantly ask their employees to make sacrifices. As a result, the staff is constantly overworked, underpaid and underappreciated for their dedication. The turn-over rate of employees over the past several years has grown incredibly high and is a clear indication of the lack of professionalism and respect shown by upper management. Directors have frequently disregarded safety standards and repeatedly ignored the very reasonable concerns brought forward by staff and students. They also actively discourage whistleblowers from raising awareness on safety issues. This naturally creates a dangerous environment for students. For an organization who's core mission statement is to build self-Esteem, they do an incredible job of destroying the esteem of staff, and blatantly demand silence and compliance, and aggressively bully employees rather than making any effort to find understanding or compromise. This type of upper management class division, discrimination and subjugation has happened before with other nonprofit organizations, which inevitably resulted in strikes and petitions that were widely reported on the news. It is a shame that they would choose to risk this and strongarm employees into submission and lay off those who try to stand up for their rights, rather than have civil discourse. When more than half of the staff is extremely unhappy, and those that attempt to raise awareness of any concerns are fired or pushed out, that is a problem that requires consideration on how to restructure and they have taken zero steps to do so and have shown no accountability. I strongly encourage CircEsteem teachers to strike and unionize as soon as possible, or this trend of exploitation will only continue to worsen. The Executive Director also needs to resign, as it is blatantly evident that he is not qualified for the position and is clearly not upholding CircEsteem's mission of mutual respect, humility, patience, love and self-reflection. Bottomline - do not work for CircEsteem, and consider other options for circus arts.

I gave my daughter several options for her 10th birthday party venues and luckily she chose…read moreCircEsteem. I have to say that they certainly made a bunch of kids, and especially my daughter / hero, very happy. The CircEsteem staff totally rocked, from Scott's quick and continued communication leading up to the event to the engaged, happy, and involved staff during the event, and kind communication afterwards to ensure our happiness. Everyone was upbeat, fun, helpful, and excellent. We knew it would be good when one of the kids walked in, looked around and said, "I can tell this is going to be a great party!" She was right. I also have to give a shout out to the face painter and balloon guy. They were tremendous! I've never seen a balloon artist that talented. And one of the kids said re the face painter: "she's a professional make-up artist! Well it's all downhill for me from now on." I wish I were more fluent in 10-year-old, but clearly she somehow meant that as an "epic" compliment. It was great getting the kids together to actually learn some new fun skills, be active, and have fun, even while wearing masks. Where else can kids get on a trapeze, aerial silks, walk on stilts, and act like a clown, all while getting their faces painted and having incredible whimsical balloons twisted for them? I could go on and on about how excellent this was, but let's just say that it was certainly a party that my daughter and her friends will remember. Thanks CircEsteem!!

Was searching for fun stuff to do in Chicago and the suburbs with a toddler and this place popped…read moreup for us! Perfect way to beat the heat wave! Wonderful selection of things to play with, though this isn't really a "museum". Because it isn't a museum, it does seem a little crazy that they charge for adults. All of the indoor play places I've visited in Phoenix (where I live) they only charge for the child. But my son had so much fun it was worth it! His favorite were the treehouse and the cars. Glad we came here!

We visited this museum in Oak Park with our 15 month old grandson…read more He had a great time playing with so many different things. There were other families there, but it was not overly crowded. Many separate areas of play; a treehouse, veterinarian, kitchen, blocks, puppet stage...etc. fun place for young kids.

Went to see Misery. The play was very well done. It was a three actor play so the intimate theater…read morewas perfect. I believe it holds less than 100 people inside. It is an older school so the seating is a little tight especially if you are not sitting next to someone you know. The had a small concession area water, coffee, tea, candy and chips.

The theater is in Monroe college, parking is free and a non-issue. Very close to Midway airport. I…read moream not overly familiar with the area but surrounding food options seemed limited to mostly chains on cicero. The surrounding area can seem a bit iffy at times (I.e. blue box) but no issues that I could tell. A midsized theater with good proximity to stage and actors. The Evita cast did a great job with this production, my family really enjoyed it. You could tell that the cast and crew were working hard. A great value and quality show from Goldstar (tip). Seating took place shortly before start of show so hanging in the lobby prior at a minimal service snack bar with limited options. For this production, tickets were will call and I suspect were assigned as you showed up (I.e. fill from the front).

I love Ultimate Ninjas! It's my favorite place ever! Coach Gabe is the best because he helps me…read morewhen things feel a little tricky, like the monkey bars. Sometimes I feel like I can't make it all the way across, but he shows me how to swing and tells me not to give up--and then I do it! That makes me feel super strong and proud. My most favorite thing is the warped wall because it makes me feel like a real ninja! I run as fast as I can and try to get all the way up. Even if I don't make it every time, it's still really fun to try again and again. I also like all the obstacles because they're like a big adventure playground. I get to climb, swing, jump, and pretend I'm on a ninja show. Everyone cheers each other on, and it makes me really happy. I always have so much fun and can't wait to go back! Love, Ethan T.

I was invited here for a party and to my surprise such a place was located in Chicago. Plenty of…read morefree parking and once you sign a waiver you are able to climb, jump and play like you are a ninja. There are two divided sections, first section you learn the simple obstacles like climbing and hanging. The second section has the wall you can run on and more complex items. There is always someone who works there to show you how each section is used. There are smaller rooms for parties where they order pizza to enjoy after all the events. Overall, I enjoyed myself and now first hand, I can say I am no ninja.

This review is only for the space as I experienced it as someone who was invited to participate in…read morea dance-themed birthday party for an adult, which took place on the second floor in the dance space. Beautiful sound system, high ceilings, ideal floor for barefoot dance. I didn't see a changing space and it was much too hot for the people in our class (mostly 50 year old women) as it looked like the space is kept at 76 degrees for the benefit of the folks who usually take dance class there. That makes sense that you would need to keep students warm; however, for our crew, it was just too hot and I had to keep taking breaks to cool off. Parking was very limited and confusing, and I accidentally parked in a non-approved spot; however, thankfully, was not towed in the hour I was in the building. I think I'd rent out to space myself for a birthday dance, if there was a way to lower the temperature to 68 degrees for the hour we were using the space.

This is a wonderful dance school. My child has danced there for 11 years and loves it. The teachers…read moreand staff are excellent, the director Stephanie Clemmons is phenomenal. For the students being at "The Academy" is like being part of a family. This is a real dance school of very high quality, it is an Oak Park treasure as is it's dance company Momenta. Momenta's evening performances are exceptional for anyone who likes dance. Treat yourself.

I usually take my kids to The HIP Funflatables inside the mall, but I wanted to try somewhere…read moredifferent. I've wished the bounce houses there were wiped down more often, so when I saw that Next Level Play Center was about the same price and in the same area, I decided to give it a try. I was impressed as soon as we walked in. The place smelled clean, and the young women at the front desk were friendly and helpful. There's pizza, hot dogs, plenty of snacks, and extra games and machines for the kids to enjoy. They even have massage chairs that are operable and more than enough for the adults to enjoy, which was a bonus for me! This place was clean everywhere you walked the kids had a great time, and I think we've found our new indoor play place.

We came here for the first time with our 4-year-old son after school on a Wednesday. It was around…read more5pm and not crowded at all! Admission was $16 and 2 adults are free with each admission. We came here to beat the heat because the heat index was 105 degrees! He had the entire play structure with slides to himself and loved exploring it. There is an awesome colorful net structure that I have never seen before. He enjoyed balancing on it. I like that they allow the parents to play with their kids, which can be helpful for the little ones. There was a smaller section for kids age 0-3. There were also lots of arcade games that you can play with a reloadable game card. Our favorite was the Nerf target shooting game and the rubber duck crane (there's a winner every time!) We scored 3 rubber duckies for our kiddo's collection. Outside food is not allowed, but there is a snack bar with drinks and food. There are also plenty of tables to sit at and there's a wall of massage chairs for the exhausted adults that need some pampering! We will definitely be back after school on another weekday. We probably spent a little over an hour here and had a lot of fun!

We hosted a birthday party workshop here today for our 9 year old . The facility and instructors…read morewere A plus and it was a top notch experience. My daughter was given a choice of 3 of 6 activities for her 90 minute party ( no food portion for the party which was great with us due to covid). She picked trapeze, balance ball, and silks. The instructors were attentive, patient, encouraging and got all of our guests happily engaged. It was a fantastic party and I highly recommend this place as a birthday venue. If we lived closer we'd consider classes there as well!

I went to cam0 here it was very fun and my best friend goes to classes here and it seems they are…read morefun