Summer Acting Discoveries

Kim Mann is a returning teaching artist with Acting for Young People. She holds her masters degree in Applied Theatre from Goldsmiths University of London. She works as an elementary school theatre teacher with Fairfax County Public Schools, and has experience teaching theatre to the very young with Arts on the Horizon. She also acts professionally with District Community Playback in Washington D.C.

Lia is a sophomore at George Mason University pursuing her degree in Developmental Psychology. She joined Acting For Young People in 2024 and has enjoyed working for the summer programs as a part of the administrative and teaching teams. This past summer she had the pleasure of assisting in the first Acting Discoveries Camp pilot program. Outside of the arts, she is a research assistant at the university’s Play Lab where she studies the role of the arts and imagination in childhood development. 

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.

Mary is Executive Director of Mason Community Arts Academy (MCAA) and served as MCAA’s Associate Director for 10 years. 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. 

Mary founded Acting for Young People (AFYP) in 1997 and serves as Artistic Director. She has watched the company grow from being its only teacher with a sporadic program schedule in rented spaces to where it is today: an award-winning, year-round program with a full staff, working in conjunction with MCAA. 

A graduate of University of Maryland, College Park with a Bachelor of Arts in Theater and Speech Communications, Mary has worked professionally as an actor on stage, screen and radio in the Metropolitan Washington area, Los Angeles, and New York. She is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA and Actors Equity Association. 

Mary has directed several of AFYP’s student showcase productions, the Mason Players’ productions of An Experiment With an Air Pump and Shakespeare in Hollywood, and several staged readings. She is also a casting consultant and co-producer of independent films.