Performing Arts Help Children Dare in the Farmington Valley

Performing Arts Help Children Dare in the Farmington Valley

Nearly 30 years after founding Performing Arts Programs, Michael Lamb is building a new chapter in Avon and Simsbury that places children’s creativity, confidence and artistic growth at the center.

Much of a child’s day necessarily revolves around following instructions, absorbing information and finding the correct answer.

The performing arts ask a different question: What if?

What if a child tries a character no one expects? Speaks with a bigger voice? Trusts an unusual idea? Steps into the center of the room when they would normally remain on the sidelines?

Michael Lamb believes the arts give children permission to dare.

“They can make a bold choice, try something unfamiliar and discover that there isn’t always one correct answer,” Lamb said. “I want children to experience that freedom in an environment where they feel supported, challenged and valued.”

That philosophy is at the heart of Lamb’s return to weekly community-based teaching in the Farmington Valley, where he founded Performing Arts Programs in 1997.

Since January 2026, Lamb has taught acting classes in Avon and Simsbury, led summer acting programs in both communities and launched the Community Voices Youth Choir. This fall, the work continues with acting classes in Avon and Simsbury, a nine-week season of Community Voices and additional performing arts offerings now being developed for 2027.

For Lamb, the goal is larger than preparing children to put on a short play. His programs are designed to develop the young artists themselves.

A return to where it began

Performing Arts Programs began with community-based classes in the Farmington Valley nearly 30 years ago. The organization eventually partnered with more than 150 municipal recreation departments throughout Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, bringing acting, singing, musical theater and creative performance programs to thousands of children.

Lamb studied musical theater at Carnegie Mellon University and built a professional career as an actor, singer, director and teaching artist. He also trained hundreds of instructors in the Performing Arts Programs curriculum.

For approximately a decade, Performing Arts Programs offered advanced youth training and performance opportunities at The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts. Young performers worked with Broadway guest artists and other theater professionals. The Bushnell also entrusted Lamb to cast and prepare children for the National Touring Company of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Whistle Down the Wind.”

Former students have gone on to Broadway, national tours, NBC television, regional theaters and college performing arts programs.

That experience now informs a more personal chapter of Lamb’s work. He teaches every current class himself and designs each session around the ages, personalities, experience levels and needs of the students in the room.

“A child doesn’t need to enter the room already believing they’re an actor or singer,” Lamb said. “Part of the work is helping them discover that they have ideas worth expressing and a creative voice worth hearing.”

Where energy becomes purposeful

Lamb describes his classes as high energy, joyful and carefully structured.

Children move, make noise, invent characters and explore ideas through play. Those activities aren’t distractions from learning. They’re the tools being used to teach it.

Students learn how to activate their physical, vocal and emotional energy, then stop, listen, reset and begin again. An expressive child may learn to focus and shape that energy. A quieter child may learn to take up space, trust an idea and allow their voice to be heard.

Within that environment, students receive genuine performing arts training. Classes may include acting technique, theater games, improvisation, scene work, character development, voice and speech, movement, concentration, stage skills and ensemble work.

The curriculum changes with each group, but the commitment to real skill development remains consistent.

“The performance is important, but it isn’t the only point,” Lamb said. “I want students to develop technique, but I also want them to become more confident in their ideas, their creativity and their ability to express themselves.”

Acting sessions may conclude with an informal sharing for family and friends rather than a fully produced play. This gives students the experience of performing before an audience while keeping the focus on their development.

The performance serves the students’ growth, not the other way around.

Families see the difference

The response from families during Lamb’s first season back in the Farmington Valley reflects both sides of his approach: children are learning, but they’re also having a great time.

After the spring Simsbury acting session, Jacquie D. wrote, “My daughter was immediately captivated by his enthusiasm and was eager to come back each week.”

Summer workshop parent Stephanie R. described her child as excited, engaged and eager for more after participating in the program.

Community Voices parent Karina M. called Lamb “kind, professional and genuinely invested in working with kids.”

Those comments speak to something Lamb considers essential. Children shouldn’t have to choose between serious training and an experience they enjoy. The energy and fun help create the freedom students need to explore. The structure helps them turn that exploration into purposeful creative work.

Community Voices brings children together

That same philosophy extends beyond the acting classroom.

In June, 34 children from Avon and Farmington came together to perform “We Stand,” an original song written by Lamb for the Avon and Farmington 250th Anniversary Celebration.

Many of the children had never met before. After only two rehearsals, they stood together before the community and performed as one ensemble.

The response from children and families led Lamb to develop Community Voices as an ongoing youth choir.

Whether a child is performing alone in an acting scene or singing as part of a choir, Lamb sees a meaningful connection. Each child must learn to contribute an individual voice while also listening and responding to the people around them.

Community Voices combines vocal training with the experience of creating music together. Students work on breath management, tone, intonation, musical expression, confidence and ensemble skills. No audition or previous choir experience is required.

“Every child’s voice matters,” Lamb said. “The choir gives children an opportunity to develop their own voices while also discovering what they can create together.”

Three fall opportunities in Avon and Simsbury

Fall acting classes in Avon will meet on Thursdays from October 1 through November 12 at the Avon Senior Center Community Room. Students in kindergarten through grade 4 meet from 5:05 to 6 p.m. Students in grades 5 through 8 meet from 6:05 to 7 p.m.

A new Simsbury acting session is planned for seven Fridays from October 2 through November 13. Students in kindergarten through grade 2 meet from 4:15 to 5 p.m. Students in grades 3 through 6 meet from 5:05 to 6 p.m. Registration information will be announced through Simsbury Culture, Parks and Recreation.

Community Voices Youth Choir begins Tuesday, September 29, and continues through December 1, with no rehearsal on November 3. The choir meets from 5:15 to 6:30 p.m. at the Avon Senior Center Community Room and is open to children ages 7 through 12.

The season will culminate in a community Holiday Concert on Tuesday, December 8, at 6 p.m.

All three programs welcome beginners as well as children with previous performing experience.

Families may also attend an informal Farmington Valley Open House on Thursday, September 10, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at the Avon Senior Center Community Room. The open house offers an opportunity to meet Lamb, ask questions and learn about the fall programs without making a commitment.

A growing vision for 2027

Lamb is now developing additional acting, voice and musical theater opportunities for winter and spring 2027. Future summer workshops and other Farmington Valley programs will be announced as plans are finalized.

For students ages 12 through adult who want individualized training, Lamb also offers private online coaching in singing, acting, musical theater and audition preparation through Lamb Studios Online.

After nearly three decades, the scale and structure of Lamb’s work have changed, but its central purpose hasn’t.

“I want children to receive real training, but I also want them to leave believing more deeply in their own creative possibilities,” Lamb said. “If we can give them a place where they feel free to explore, brave enough to take a risk and disciplined enough to shape that creativity into something meaningful, then we’ve accomplished much more than putting on a show.”

Current dates and registration information are available at joinperformingarts.org/register.

Families may receive announcements about Simsbury and upcoming 2027 programs at joinperformingarts.org/notify.

Information about private instruction is available at lambstudios.online.