Learn & Engage – Lied Center of Kansas

Lied Across Kansas

School-only Programs

3rd Grade Theatre Arts Day

Learn. Engage. Transform. Change the world.

The Lied Center makes it possible for students and community members to experience and engage with internationally renowned artists.

Schools

Present school-only performances for more than 10,00 students each year

Partnerships

Collaborate with community and university organizations on enriching programs

Experiences

Provide interactive theatre and performing arts experiences

Education

Support educators and students with arts engagement and curriculum opportunities

Preschool Performing Arts

The Lied Center partners with USD 497 to bring performing arts experiences to the children at Kennedy Early Childhood Education Center. The goal of the Preschool Performing Arts initiative is to help build an arts curriculum for children in the district’s Pre-K program by sharing performances, instruction and demonstrations to students and their teachers.

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KU Powwow & Indigenous Cultures Festival

The Annual KU Powwow is a celebration of American Indian cultures in our community. The Indigenous cultures festival is a free community event that has activities such as Indigenous films, educational workshops, and children’s activities focused on Indigenous cultures and history.

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School-Only Programs

School-Only Performances

Preschool through high school students in Lawrence are invited to participate in a performing arts experience with one of the Lied Center’s world-class artists. For the younger audiences, these live arts experiences introduce them to dance, theatre, music and storytelling. It also gives them the opportunity to learn how to be good audience members.

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3rd Grade Theatre Arts Day

3rd Grade Theatre Arts Day gives every 3rd grader in the USD 497 school district a chance to spend an entire day at the theatre learning about drama, dance, make up, technical theatre (lighting, sound, etc.) as well as other behind-the-scenes theatre activities. Students rotate through six different stations. Each station lasts 30 minutes.

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Lied Across Kansas

The Lied Across Kansas program brings performing artists and groups on tour to arts-underserved communities in Kansas. During the tours, students, educators and community members are able to experience the arts in an enhanced way through workshops, performances and conversations with world-class artists—free of charge.

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Beyond the Stage

The Lied Center of Kansas provides opportunities to attend, explore, participate and create. We reach “Beyond the Stage” with master classes, discussions, presentations and experiences, making it possible to engage with and learn from some of the world’s most outstanding artists, including internationally renowned musicians, dancers, actors and filmmakers.

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2025-26 School-only Performances

With the support of the Friends of the Lied and Lawrence Public Schools, all students in USD 497 are able to attend an age-specific performing arts experience every year with our school-only programs. These performances introduce young audiences to dance, theatre, music, storytelling and more. It also gives them the opportunity to learn how to be good audience members in a shared live performance experience.

Children who are homeschooled or attend schools outside the Lawrence area can also request to attend school-only performances with at least one week’s notice. Please contact Hanan Misko at hananmisko@ku.edu for more information.

Middle School