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Experiences For All Ages

The Center is excited to offer educational theatre courses, masterclasses, and programs for students of all ages looking to gain experience on-stage and behind the scenes! Scroll down to learn more about upcoming opportunities!

Thank you to everyone who joined us this season for THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW and DISNEY'S FROZEN JR. Check out our exciting Youth Theatre opportunities below and check back later this summer as we announce our 2024/25 Youth Theatre titles!
Rising Stars 2023 Footloose / Photos by The Mattesons
Rising Stars 2022 High School Musical / Photos by The Mattesons
Rising Stars 2023 Footloose / Photos by The Mattesons
Rising Stars 2022 High School Musical / Photos by The Mattesons
Rising Stars 2023 Footloose / Photos by The Mattesons
Rising Stars 2022 High School Musical / Photos by The Mattesons
Rising Stars 2022 High School Musical / Photos by The Mattesons

Work with Broadway Talent!

Rising Stars Program

Every summer, Midland Center for the Arts searches for the top talent in the Great Lakes Bay Region for an intensive, professional-level acting or technical theatre experience and training from a Broadway Creative Team. This initiative is designed for Rising Stars, High School students (rising ninth graders through current graduating seniors), who will work through an intensive rehearsal process and star in a popular musical geared towards teens. Rehearsals will include a professional-level schedule.

Don't miss Disney's NEWSIES on JUN 26 - 29, 2024. Click here to learn more. Check back in spring 2025 for audition details and the creative team announcement for the 2025 Rising Stars Production, Disney's FREAKY FRIDAY!

The 2024 and 2025 Rising Stars Program are sponsored by  Great Lakes LoonsCapital Power / MCV

Announcing Our 2024/25 Youth Theatre Shows

Our Youth Theatre events are currently on sale as ADD-ON ONLY with a 2024/25 season series subscription package. Add-ons are not available online and can be purchased by phone or in-person at our Ticket Office.

SINGLE TICKETS FOR THESE EVENTS GO ON SALE AUG 12, 2024.
Anne of Green Gables

Youth Theatre: Anne of Green Gables

THU, DEC 12 - SAT, DEC 14, 2024 / 7:30 PM
SAT, DEC 14 - SUN, DEC 15, 2024 / 2 PM

AUDITIONS / DETAILS AVAILABLE SOON

Adapted by Joseph Robinette
from the novel by L.M. Montgomery

This exciting new adaption from Joseph Robinette captures the charm and excitement of Lucy Maude Montgomery's enduring classic about an orphan girl, Anne Shirley, from her first encounter with her austere guardian to her thrilling graduation from Queen's Academy. The play faithfully recreates the memorable events and characters from the brilliant novel. All the tragedies and triumphs that mark Anne's growth from adolescence to early adulthood are here: her friendship with Diana, her feuds with Gilbert, her adoration of Matthew, the mistaken wine bottle, the cake disaster, the broken leg, the scholastic achievements, and the saving of Green Gables. Whether the playgoer is an "old friend" of Anne's or meeting her for the first time, this play will solidify a lasting friendship between the audience and one of literature's most unforgettable characters.

Sponsored by Grace A. Dow Memorial Library

Matilda

Youth Theatre: Matilda

THU, APR 10 - SAT, APR 12, 2025 / 7:30 PM
RELAXED PERFORMANCE / SAT, APR 12, 2025 / 2 PM (Learn More)
SUN, APR 13, 2025 / 2 PM

AUDITIONS / DETAILS AVAILABLE Q4 2024

Inspired by the ingenious Roald Dahl, the Tony Award-winning Matilda The Musical is the captivating masterpiece about the power of imagination, anarchy of childhood, and the inspiration of a girl who dreams of a better life. Recently turned into a movie-musical, Matilda has won 47 international awards and continues to thrill audiences of all ages around the world. Matilda is a little girl with astonishing wit, intelligence, and psychokinetic powers. Unloved by her cruel parents, tormented by headmistress Miss Trunchbull, and encouraged by her teacher Miss Honey, Matilda has courage and cleverness in equal amounts, and could be the school pupils' saving grace! Packed with high-energy dance numbers and catchy songs, audiences will be thrilled and delighted by the story of a special little girl with an extraordinary imagination.

Disney's Freaky Friday

Rising Stars: Freaky Friday

WED, JUN 25 - FRI, JUN 27, 2025 / 8 PM

AUDITIONS / DETAILS AVAILABLE IN 2025

When an overworked mother and her teenage daughter magically swap bodies, they have just one day to put things right again. When an overworked mother and her teenage daughter magically swap bodies, they have just one day to put things right again before mom’s big wedding. Disney’s Freaky Friday, a new musical based on the celebrated novel by Mary Rodgers and the hit Disney films, is a hilarious, heartfelt, and contemporary update of an American classic. By spending a day in each other's shoes, Katherine and Ellie come to appreciate one another's struggles, learn self-acceptance, and realize the immeasurable love and mutual respect that bond a mother and daughter. With a score by the Pulitzer Prize-winning composers of Next to Normal and If/Then and a book from the writer of TV’s Friday Night Lights and Parenthood, Freaky Friday is a delightfully entertaining new musical for anyone with a perfectly imperfect family.

The 2025 Rising Stars program is sponsored by Great Lakes LoonsCapital Power / MCV

Sign Up for Future Youth Theatre Audition and Class On Sale Emails!