Summer Musical Theater Adventures

Alana Lyons has been teaching with AFYP since 2019. She is a lead teacher for the Mini Actors Showcase, Summer Camps (Musical Theater Adventures and Group 1 Acting), K-6 After School classes, and various One Day Workshops. When not teaching, Alana works at the Workhouse Arts Center and as a professional stage and film actress. Recent stage credits include Urinetown with Workhouse Arts Center, The Sneeze at Compass Rose Theater, Tales of the Andes a children’s show with Creative Cauldron, and performances at private events. Film credits include The Basics of Group Therapy for the American Phycological Association, 100 Girls Vs. 100 Boys for $500k on Mr. Beast’s YouTube Chanel, and various commercials. She graduated from George Mason University with a BFA in Performance for Stage and Screen and took voice lessons throughout her time in college with Dr. Seon Gyu Park. In her free time, she likes to go to salsa, bachata, and zouk social dancing.

Kaity holds a B.A. in Theater and an M.A. in Arts Management from George Mason University.  Kaity has been a part of the Acting for Young People team since 2008, working as a teaching artist in after school, summer camp, and showcase programs, as well as stage managing for AFYP’s Musical and Advanced Showcase programs. As of 2022, Kaity has moved out of the classroom to fully focus on the day-to-day operations of the organization as the Manager of Outreach and Theater Programs for the Academy. 

Kaity has an extensive background in the arts and education. In addition to her theatrical interests, she enjoys sketching, watercolor, and is an avid reader. Kaity has taught children ranging from early childhood through high school levels since 2008. In her time as a student at GMU, she participated in many stage productions as an actor, stage manager, and technician. Kaity served on the board for GMU’s producing group, the Mason Players, for three years, and co-founded GMU’s chapter of Alpha Psi Omega, the theater honor fraternity. She received the Chris Parsons Achievement Award for her work with the theater department in 2010. Kaity has also worked professionally as a stage manager in the DC Metro Area. Kaity is the mother to twin girls. Kaity is passionate about the transformative experiences provided by arts education for people of all ages.

A graduate of University of Maryland, College Park with a Bachelor of Arts in Theater and Speech Communications, Mary has been working professionally as an actor in the metropolitan Washington-area, Los Angeles, and New York since 1985. She has worked at Washington area theaters including Theater of the First Amendment, Arena Stage, Studio Theatre, and Source Theatre. Television, radio and film credits include ABC’s All My Children, Barry Levinson’s Avalon, Diesel Films’ Dracula’s Mother, the MGM/Lionsgate thriller Hit and Run, and several spots for NPR’s Morning Edition.

Mary founded AFYP in 1997, and has seen the company grow from being its only teacher with a sporadic program schedule in rented spaces to where it is today: a year-round program with a full staff, working in conjunction with Potomac Arts Academy, for which she is Associate Director.

She is a longtime member of Mason’s School of Theater faculty in the areas of Performance and Theater Education. She was named a 2013 “Teacher of Distinction” and was a 2014 TEDxGeorgeMasonU speaker (“Magic Moments: the Transformative Power of  Theater“). She previously taught at the Studio Theatre Acting Conservatory and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Her professional memberships include The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, Actor’s Equity Association, and the Educational Theatre Association.

Mary’s directing credits include An Experiment with an Air Pump and Shakespeare in Hollywood (George Mason University); Still Beating Hearts and A Godless Man (Theater of the First Amendment First Light Festival); Happy Holidays, Charlie Brown, 101 Dalmatians, It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play; Willy Wonka, Jr.; Peter Pan, Jr.; A Seussified Christmas Carol; Alice in Wonderland, Jr. (AFYP).