Create • Perform • Inspire

At Michigan Academy of Dance + Arts, we believe every student deserves the opportunity to discover their creative voice. Our Theatre Program provides a welcoming and supportive environment where young artists can build confidence, develop performance skills, and express themselves through the art of storytelling.

Designed for students of all experience levels—not just dancers—our theatre classes cultivate imagination, collaboration, and personal growth. Through acting, movement, voice, character development, and stage presence, students gain valuable skills that extend far beyond the stage, fostering confidence, communication, creativity, and self-expression that will serve them throughout their lives.

CURRENT THEATRE OFFERINGS:

Imagination Station Theatre Camp

Step into a world of storytelling, creativity, and imagination. Led by Lori Thompson and inspired by Fables by Arnold Lobel, students will bring whimsical tales like Madame Rhinoceros and Her Dress, The Camel Dances, and The Bad Kangaroo to life through acting, movement, and expression.

Campers will explore how to transform into characters with human-like personalities while developing confidence and stage presence in a fun and supportive environment.

Camp Information

  • June 16–18 | 10:00 AM–12:00 PM

  • Ages 7–14 | $100

Camp Features

  • Pantomime and expressive movement

  • Improvisation and creative thinking

  • Character development and storytelling

  • Stage directions and basic stage awareness

  • Ensemble collaboration and confidence-building

Final Showcase

Families are invited on the final day to enjoy a special in-studio performance featuring the fables brought to life through imaginative staging and simple costume elements.

THEATRE PROGRAM

REGISTER
Portrait of a young woman with long dark hair, smiling, wearing a red bow tie and a navy blue shirt with white polka dots, against a dark background.

MALEN TAYLOR

Malen Taylor is the Artistic Director of OLOH Players in Sterling Heights and a Resident Company Cast Member at Go Comedy in Ferndale. In addition to performing improv professionally, she is also a musical theatre performer, puppeteer, director, choreographer, and teaching artist.

Malen has toured throughout the Midwest with The Brainstormers Inspiration Factory, performing interactive improv shows for children. She also performs with The Dinner Detective Troy Company and has trained at prestigious programs including Second City Chicago and Improv Utopia East.

She has directed plays, choreographed musicals, and taught improv, puppetry, and stage combat to students ranging from children to young adults.

Malen loves helping students discover their creativity and confidence through theatre. She believes improvisation and storytelling have the power to change lives — because they changed hers.

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LORI THOMPSON

Lori Thompson received her BA in Secondary Education from the University of Michigan Flint, Majoring in Theatre and Speech.

Lori began her teaching career in Theatre Education at Flint Youth Theater before accepting a full time position with Powers Catholic High School where she was the head of the Theater Department for seven years. Her work in teaching and directing led her to Fenton High School where she taught and directed theater for twenty years.

Lori has directed productions for Flint Community Players, Fenton Village Players, and Swartz Creek Center Stage.

Theater and Social Justice has always been a passion and platform for Lori. She brought the topic of Bullycide, Suicide due to Bullying, to the forefront with her orignal play The Bullycide Project, based on the book Bullycide in America written by Brenda High and mothers who had lost a son/daughter to Bullycide.

The Bullycide Project toured for eight years performing for various middle and high school audiences throughout the United States and Canada. The Bullycide Project performed at The Bullying Prevention Summit in Washington DC, was a Keynote Presentation at The Girls and Bullying Conferences in Atlanta, Georgia, was featured on CNN: Impact Your World and on CBS 48 Hours: If Words Could Kill.

Currently Lori is working as a Facilitator at Eli’s Place in Lansing. Eli’s Place is a healing center for grieving young adults, teens, and their families who have experienced sudden loss. Lori will guide peer to peer bereavement support groups using theater as a vehicle for healing.

She is excited to become part of the Ann Parsley School of Dance staff and in bringing the art of Theater to the APSD curriculum.

Group of children in a dance studio, some standing and some crouching, with butterfly decorations on the wall and mirrors reflecting the room.
A group of children gathered in a circle playing a game with a hoop on the floor inside a room decorated with butterfly wall decals.
Group of children standing in a circle in a room with white walls decorated with butterfly stickers. The children are casually dressed and appear to be engaged in a conversation or activity.
Group of children holding hands and playing in a circle indoors, with butterfly decorations on the wall behind them.
Two young girls are in a dance studio practicing ballet, with one girl in a black shirt and purple skirt and the other in a magenta top and beige leggings. They are standing barefoot facing each other with their palms touching, engaging in a dance ac
Two young girls practicing ballet or dance at a studio, with one girl helping the other stretch or warm up.
Two young girls holding hands in a dance studio, one with a gray shirt and navy pants, the other with a black shirt and purple tutu, both smiling, with ballet barres and gym equipment in the background.
Young ballet students in a dance studio, practicing ballet positions with an instructor observing. The studio has ballet barres, framed dance photos, a mirror, and a black floor.
A ballet dance class with young girls sitting on the floor and a girl standing and speaking to them. The studio has ballet barres, a large mirror, and framed ballet photos on the wall.
A young girl in a black shirt and purple tutu is smiling and raising her arms in a dance studio, assisted by an adult woman dressed in black and a light pink skirt, who is in a dance pose with her back arched and arms extended.
A ballet class in progress with a young girl and an instructor performing a stretch at the barre. The girl is wearing a purple skirt and striped leg warmers, while the instructor is dressed in black tights and a light pink leotard. Other young studen
Two young ballet dancers practicing in a dance studio, with posters of dancers on the wall behind them, wooden ballet barres, and a wooden door.
Two young girls practicing ballet in a dance studio, smiling and holding hands while balancing on one leg.
Two young girls in ballet attire practicing ballet in a dance studio. One girl in turquoise leotard standing over another girl in a purple dress lying on the floor. The studio has black flooring, white walls, and ballet posters on the walls.
A group of children standing in a circle in a room with butterfly decorations on the wall, some wearing casual clothes, during a group activity or game.