Theater has the lightest equipment list of any youth activity we cover. Most of what your kid needs is provided by the program: scripts, costumes, sets, makeup, props. You provide the kid, the tuition, and a few personal items.
The real cost in theater is tuition and time. Auditions, callbacks, weekly rehearsals, tech week, performances. Plan for it.
Ages 5–7 (Starter / drama camp)
Most kids start with a summer drama camp or a school program. There’s almost nothing to buy.
Comfortable rehearsal clothes
Black athletic pants or leggings, a black short-sleeve t-shirt, jazz shoes or character shoes if the camp requires them. Some camps will tell you what to bring.
Cost range: $30–60 for the basics if you don’t already have them.
A water bottle
Yes. Same rule as every other activity.
Cost range: $15–35.
A binder for the script
Most programs hand out scripts. A 1-inch binder with a pencil pouch is enough.
Cost range: $5–15.
A pencil
Required gear. Theater kids mark their scripts. Mechanical pencils with eraser caps are standard.
Cost range: $1–5.
That’s the entire gear list at this age. Total: about $50 to $115.
Ages 8–10 (Elementary productions and youth ensembles)
Auditions become a real thing. Some kids start to take voice or acting lessons. Costs grow gradually.
Audition gear
For auditions, kids wear a fitted dance/movement-friendly outfit. Black leggings, fitted t-shirt, jazz shoes. Hair pulled back.
Cost range: $40–80 if you don’t already have it.
A monologue book or two
For kids who are auditioning regularly. Books of age-appropriate monologues run $15 to $25 each. Two or three is plenty.
Cost range: $30–75.
Optional: voice or acting lessons
Most kids who get serious about theater take private lessons. Voice lessons run $40 to $100 per half hour. Acting lessons run $60 to $150 per session in major markets.
Cost range: $200–500 a month if you go this route.
Ages 11–12 (Middle school and youth theater companies)
Youth theater companies become more competitive. Some are auditioned-only. Tuition varies wildly by program.
Better audition gear
Dance shoes, character shoes, jazz shoes depending on what the audition calls for. Fitted dance leotards or unitards for movement-heavy auditions.
Cost range: $80–150 across multiple shoes.
Audition song books
Sheet music for auditions. Most kids accumulate a “book” of 4 to 8 songs they can sing well. Sheet music runs $5 to $10 per song. Many are available digitally.
Cost range: $30–80.
Show fees
Some youth theater companies charge per-production fees ($75 to $300 per show) on top of tuition.
Tuition (community youth theater)
Annual tuition at community youth theater programs runs $500 to $2,000 a year depending on the program and how many shows your kid is in.
Ages 13–14 (Middle school theater and serious youth programs)
This is when many theater kids decide whether they’re staying in. Some kids commit to acting full-time outside of school. Most stay in school programs and add summer intensives.
Stage makeup kit
Most school programs provide it; some don’t. A basic kit (foundation, eyeliner, blush, brushes) runs $60 to $150 for a starter set.
Voice lessons
Voice lessons for serious singers become standard. $50 to $150 per half-hour lesson. Many kids take weekly.
Summer intensives or camps
Most intensives run $1,000 to $4,000 for one to four weeks of programming.
Ages 15+ (High school theater)
High-school theater programs typically provide everything for productions: costumes, makeup, props. Most school programs don’t charge tuition.
If your kid is auditioning for college programs (BFA, BA in theater), the audition season costs add up fast: $100 to $250 per school audition fee, plus travel to multiple cities. Plan on $2,000 to $5,000 in the senior year for college auditions.
A few honest notes
Theater costs less in equipment than every other activity here. Theater costs more in time. Tech week is real. Plan around it.
Don’t buy specialty theater gear before your kid’s first show. Many of the items above only become necessary if your kid is auditioning regularly.
Most school theater programs welcome volunteer parents (set construction, costumes, concessions). Showing up is more useful than the donation jar.
The kid who tells you they want to do theater “for fun” sometimes turns into the kid who is doing eight productions a year. Pace yourself.
— Maren