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Daily Inspiration: Meet Lindsay Ravage

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lindsay Ravage

Hi Lindsay, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I was born and raised in Fairfield, Ct, a suburb of New York City. From as early as I can remember I was obsessed with live theatre, Whether I was performing in a play or as an audience member, there was something so electrifying about it. Growing up, my dream was to be a professional actor. From a very early age I begged my mom to put me in “serious” acting classes. My senior year of high school I got the opportunity to go to a performing Arts Magnet program called Regional Center for the Arts. From 1pm-5pm, Monday through Friday, I felt like I was in the movie Fame! This program was really special because it brought students from all different backgrounds, the inner city to the fancy suburbs and everything in between. Even though we were all so different, our shared love of the performing arts brought us together and we all formed such a strong bond. I think that experience has layed the groundwork for why I do what I do now. I went on to study theatre at the University of Southern California, studied in London at The British Academy of Dramatic Arts and after graduating college, got to study and perform at Second City Los Angeles. Prior to having my kids, I was hyper focused on fulfilling my childhood dream of being a working actor. I starred in many commercials and did guest spots in shows like Entourage and Scrubs. Once I had my boys and I was moving quickly towards 40, something changed. I remember saying to my husband “At the end of my life, I want to look back and know that I made a difference in this world.” I wasn’t sure that doing the occasional commercial or bit part on a television show was going to do that. One day, I was at a birthday party with my son and a friend said to me, “I wish you would start a theatre school for kids. All the programs in Los Angeles are just about making their students into actors.” That’s when it clicked! I would create a theatre program that I would want my kids to attend. A place where we would build our students self-confidence, encourage their creativity, learn teamwork and listening skills and let every child know that what they have to say is important and deserves to be heard. So in 2018, we opened the doors to Tiny Spotlight with just one improv class, taught by me, and one musical theatre class. We had 20 students that first semester, most were my friends kids. As of this year, between our programs in our theatre and in schools across Los Angeles, we have hundreds.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The road to where I am now hasn’t always been smooth, but that’s what makes it interesting, right? My dad died when I was only six years old and I think that experience has made me pretty resilient. I always know that as bad as things seem, they can always be worse. Cut to 2020. In the middle of our Winter session at Tiny Spotlight, like so many other businesses, we had to close our doors at Tiny Spotlight due to Covid. Just before that, our business was starting to take off. Word of mouth was spreading and we actually had students that weren’t just our friends’ kids (haha). We had to pivot to online classes, which were successful for the most part, but as the pandemic went on, kids were experiencing zoom fatigue (as I like to call it). Just as the pandemic began to slow and kiddos began going back to school, my partner at Tiny Spotlight told me that she would no longer be able to run Tiny Spotlight with me. The road to build our business back would be too hard for her and she unfortunately did not have the bandwidth. That night I went home and for the first time in my life had a panic attack. I didn’t want to give up on Tiny Spotlight, but how could I do this on my own? Thank God I have an amazingly supportive husband. He assured me that, not only could I do this on my own, but now that Tiny Spotlight was all mine, I got to make it exactly what I wanted it to be. I am so glad I listened to him!

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Tiny Spotlight is not your average theatre school for kids ages 3-11 years old. Most children’s theatre programs in Los Angeles are looking to make their students into the next TV or movie star. At Tiny Spotlight, we believe theatre is about more than just performing—it’s about building life skills that shine in any setting. Our goal isn’t to turn kids into stars but to help them discover their own voices, develop confidence, and learn the value of collaboration, creativity, and perseverance.

Through improv, sketch comedy and musical theatre, we provide a nurturing environment where children can explore their imaginations, take risks, and grow into expressive, self-assured individuals. Whether they go on to be actors, scientists, teachers, or stay at home parents, the lessons they learn here—communication, problem-solving, and teamwork—will stay with them for life.

One of the things that separates us from other theatre programs ia how involved our students are in the creation of our shows. For instance, we offer a sketch comedy class for kiddos 8-11 yrs old, called Tuesday Night Live. In this class, through improvising, students create sketches. Then we put those sketches together in a show, much like the format you see on Saturday Night Live. At the end of our term, the students get to perform their very own sketch show to theor friends and family. For our younger students, we have our Page to Stage class where students not only get to perform in a musical, but we teach them about all aspects of putting on a show, like helping us create the sets and costumes.

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
That even though we have grown so big, I still have my hands in every class/program/production. I think one of the things that has made me so successful are the relationships that I have with the families in my program. That will never change. Whether I have 20 students or 250, I care about each one of those kiddos like my own.

Pricing:

  • Tuesday Night Live- $650
  • Page to Stage- $650
  • Write your own musical- $650
  • Improv- $525
  • Spotlight Tots- $525

Contact Info:

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