It's 6 pm on a Thursday in show term. Junior ballet is finishing, the musical theatre cast needs the hall for an extra rehearsal, three parents have messaged about costume sizes, and your Saturday singing teacher has just called in sick.
A performing arts school is several schools under one roof. Dance, drama, singing and musical theatre each come with their own teachers, levels, exams and parents. Then there is the show, which doubles the admin for a whole term.
Performing arts management software brings all of that into one place: your timetable, enrolments, billing, registers, parent messages and progress tracking. The best options also handle the jobs that are specific to performing arts, like costumes, grade exams and ticket sales, so you are not patching three or four tools together.
We compared Class Manager and ClassForKids on the jobs that keep performing arts schools busy: multi-discipline timetables, show season, exams and progress, and keeping parents in the loop. Weighing up other platforms too? Our software comparisons put Class Manager side by side with other class management software.
The short answer: Class Manager is the better fit for most performing arts schools. It handles the class-based, multi-discipline side of the job well, has skill tracking, a shop and chats built in, and, as its sister company, Stage Stubs, offers free show ticketing and has no monthly subscription. ClassForKids is a strong all-rounder for kids' activities, and worth a look if holiday workshops and camps are a big part of your business.
Class Manager vs ClassForKids for Performing Arts at a Glance
What a performing arts school needs | Class Manager | ClassForKids |
Monthly subscription | None | From £34.99 a month (Year-Round plan) |
Payment fee | 2.7% + 20p on online payments (UK) | From 2.5% including Stripe, confirmed by your account manager |
Multi-discipline timetable | Classes by style, teacher and level, copy whole seasons in one click | Term-based classes, re-run and auto-enrol |
Exams and progress | Skill tracking and grading included | Not a headline feature |
Costumes and uniforms | Shop in the parent portal, filtered by class | Not a headline feature |
Show tickets | Free for studios through sister platform Stage Stubs | Not offered |
Parent messaging | Chats: broadcast, 1:1 and group, with AI suggested replies, as well as emails available | Email, text confirmations and group updates |
Holiday workshops and camps | Classes, trials and drop-ins | Dedicated camp booking options |
Finding new families | Branded sign-up link and automated trial emails | Free Discovery Site listing |
The headline takeaway: Class Manager covers the full performing arts year, from first class to final bow, with no subscription on top.
Running a Multi-Discipline Timetable
A performing arts school's class schedule is rarely tidy. One teacher takes jazz and musical theatre, another covers singing and drama, and a single child might be booked into four classes across three days.
ClassForKids handles term-based classes, trials and workshops, and its re-run and auto-enrol tools let you duplicate a term, update dates and prices, and invite families back in a few clicks.
Class Manager is built around exactly this kind of week. You can set up classes by style, level and teacher, set capacity limits, and run waiting lists. Multi-teacher classes mean a shared musical theatre session can have a vocal coach and a choreographer on the same register. When a new season comes round, you copy classes or the whole season with a single click.
Families have a parent portal account for every child and every class. Siblings in ballet and drama sit under one login, one payment card and one bill, and our guide to performing arts billing software explains how that works across terms, disciplines and extras. Packages, drop-ins and makeup lessons cover the private lessons and catch-up sessions that never quite fit a standard term.
Teachers get their own view too. Staff roles and permissions mean each teacher sees their own classes and registers, and nothing more. They can take digital registers on their phone and check allergies or photo consent before a class starts. When a teacher calls in sick, the cover teacher opens the same register and class notes and picks up where the class left off.
Winner: Class Manager. It treats a multi-discipline week as normal, not an exception.
Show Season: Rehearsals, Costumes and Tickets
Show season is when performing arts schools are busiest. Extra rehearsals, costume orders, show fees, cast lists and ticket sales all land at once, usually on top of normal classes.
ClassForKids can take bookings for one-off sessions and workshops, so you can add extra rehearsals. Costume sales and show ticketing are not among the features it lists for performing arts schools.
Class Manager keeps most of show season in one place:
Rehearsals: add extra rehearsal sessions and use Hidden Classes to keep invite-only groups, such as a cast or a competition team, out of the public timetable.
Costumes and show fees: sell costumes, show T-shirts and show fees through the shop in the parent portal. Assign items to the right classes, so each family only sees what their child needs, and every order logs sizes and dates for you.
Cast messages: send a broadcast to just the cast, or a group chat for one number, without starting another WhatsApp group.
Tickets: sell tickets for the show through Stage Stubs, our sister ticketing platform for dance and performing arts events, which is free for studios.
No more costume money in envelopes or ticket lists on the back of a register. For a month-by-month look at how this plays out, from timetable building in August to curtain down in December, read A Term in the Life of a Theatre School.
Winner: Class Manager. From the first rehearsal to the final bow, show season stays in one system.
Exams, Grades and Progress Across Disciplines
Parents of performing arts students want to know one thing above all: is my child getting better? And teachers need to know who is ready for their next grade exam, a solo, or a move up a class.
ClassForKids does not list skill tracking or grading among its performing arts features.
Class Manager has skill tracking and grading built in, at no extra cost and with no tier to unlock:
Your levels, your way: set up the skills and levels for each discipline, whether that is your own syllabus or an exam board's. Track ballet technique, singing grades and drama milestones side by side.
Statuses that match how you teach: started, working on, achieved, needs work, or whatever fits your school.
Shared across teachers: progress sits on each student's profile, so a cover teacher knows exactly where the class is. Notes on lessons, classes or students keep everyone on the same page.
You decide what parents see: families can see their child's current grade and when they move up, without seeing every skill being worked on.
When a parent asks how their child is getting on, the answer is already there. We go deeper on this in The Benefits of Skill Tracking Inside Your Studio Management Software.
Winner: Class Manager. Progress tracking is a core part of performing arts teaching, and it is a core part of Class Manager.
Keeping Parents in the Loop When It Gets Busy
A venue change, a rehearsal running late, a costume that needs collecting by Friday. In a performing arts school, the message that matters is usually for one group, not everyone.
ClassForKids lets you send one-click updates to individual parents or groups, with automated email and text booking confirmations and unlimited emails with attachments.
Class Manager gives you chats alongside branded emails:
Broadcasts filtered by class, lesson or season, so the Year 6 musical theatre cast hears about their extra rehearsal and the toddler ballet parents do not.
One-to-one and group chats inside Class Manager, with push notifications, so studio messages stay off your personal number and out of WhatsApp groups.
AI suggested replies and actions, so when 30 parents ask the same costume question, you can answer and clear the task in seconds.
A family preview next to every chat, showing which classes that family is in and any balance owed.
Email tracking showing who your message was delivered to and who opened it, so you only chase the families who missed it.
Winner: Class Manager. Busy periods are when targeted, trackable messages save the most time.
Switching Without Disrupting Your School
A busy school is rarely starting from scratch. You already have families, classes and a way of working, even if that way is a spreadsheet and a WhatsApp group.
Both platforms help you move. ClassForKids offers free onboarding and switching support. Class Manager's team will walk you through a demo and bring your existing data across, so you are not retyping hundreds of student records. Our how-to guides cover each part of the set-up step by step.
A few tips for a smooth move:
Switch between terms, not mid-show. Set up next term's timetable in Class Manager while the current term finishes, then launch it with re-enrolment.
Build one season, then copy it. Once your first season is set up, you can copy it in one click every term after.
Send one link. Families create their account once, add their details and payment card, and book every child into every class from the same login.
Which Should a Performing Arts School Choose?
ClassForKids makes sense if holiday workshops and camps are a large part of what you run, you want a listing on a parent marketplace, and you are comfortable with a monthly subscription.
Class Manager makes sense if your week is built around term-time classes across several disciplines, and you want exams, costumes, cast messages and show tickets handled without extra tools or a monthly bill.
For most busy performing arts schools, Class Manager is the better choice. It fits the way performing arts schools actually run: lots of classes, lots of teachers, progress to track and a show to put on. And it does all of that with no monthly subscription.
Just opening your doors? Our Class Manager vs ClassForKids guide for new studios looks at the first year. Running a club across several sports? See Class Manager or Class4Kids for clubs.
Ready to Bring Your Performing Arts School Into One Place?
Open your Class Manager account and set up your timetable at your own pace, with no monthly subscription and no contract. Or book a demo and our team will show you how it works for a school like yours, and help bring your existing data across.
More for performing arts schools:
Performing Arts Billing Software: Why Class Manager Fits Your School
A Term in the Life of a Theatre School: Keeping Classes and Fees on Track
More software comparisons:
