There is no denying the unique power of the arts to transform hearts and minds, and for children, the impact is often more profound. That’s why Ella McAndrew, director of programming at Whiting Auditorium, has curated a Family Series at Whiting this year that engages our youngest audiences more than ever.

The season will include titles such as Bluey’s Big Play (based on the animated program for preschool-aged kids), Dog Man: The Musical (based on early-grade graphic novels by Dav Pilkey), Dragons and Mythical Beasts, and iLuminate. Age recommendations vary among shows, but all promise fun for the whole family.

“With all the things going on in our community and our world, I really wanted to create a bright spot to turn to throughout the year, to find a touch of happy,” says McAndrew of her choice to focus on the family this season. “I thought about the things that bring me joy in life, and it’s largely spending time with family. I wanted to make sure families like mine had the opportunity to do that here,” she says.

FIM Board Member Alisha Thibodeau, along with her husband Chris and daughters Wendy and Lyra, represents one of the families prepared to take advantage of that opportunity. “Our family focuses on experience-based time together, which includes live theatre, music and dance,” she says, noting that the experiences are also chances to explore the history and technical expertise that go into producing live performances. In addition, she says, performances prompt thoughtful reflections from her kids about a show’s intended message, what was learned, and how it impacted them emotionally.

“Art-based mediums are meant to help communities make sense of complex topics and can be a catalyst for growth, learning, healing and processing … and they allow space to talk about things that are often ignored, even in children’s mediums,” says Thibodeau, who took her kids to A Charlie Brown Christmas in 2023 and plans to attend at least three shows in the 2024-25 Family Series. “Bluey is an excellent example. On the surface, it’s a kid’s cartoon about the life of a child. But the show can handle really nuanced topics like grief, evolving friendships and life changes.”

At the Fall 2023 Gathering of the Michigan Presenters Network where McAndrews serves as a board member, Kevin Maynard presented data to assert that arts engagement at an early age sets kids up for social and academic success and cultivates enthusiasm for the arts long into the future.

Students who engage in the arts are five times less likely to drop out of school, says Maynard, Executive Director of Quad City Arts in Rock Island, Ill. They are also twice as likely to graduate college and generally more civically engaged.

Maynard also indicates that exposure to the arts is inherently character-building. Seeing arts in action increases empathy, cultural understanding and acceptance, and comprehension of facial expressions and emotions.

“We need to see all types of humans performing because our kids and our community need to see themselves represented on stage,” adds Thibodeau.

Her daughters are enrolled in dance at Flint School of Performing Arts, and she recognizes the importance of exposing her budding performers to professional productions to better understand how their current course of study contributes to the whole.

“If we want our kids to appreciate art, we have to expose them to it and help them see that art is for them, too,” she says, noting that engaging as a family “also offers the opportunity to be exposed to things they don’t currently do.” After continued exposure to performances like those at Whiting, Thibodeau says her young dancers have now fallen in love with theatre in addition to dance.

Thibodeau, who has served as a FIM Trustee since 2022, says that her choice to participate on the board was centered around her family’s involvement at FIM and the positive impact of arts education on the students and community, which she has witnessed first-hand.

“My goal is to continue to be a voice for the importance of arts-based exposure and education for all children,” she says. “Early exposure to performing arts builds confidence and poise in students that benefit them later in life when they enter higher education and the workforce.”

She finds special joy in working toward her goal while nurturing the same enthusiasm in her own daughters, with the hope that one day they’ll carry on her torch. “Access and exposure to performing arts are important in fostering tiny humans who grow up to be adults that support facilities like FIM,” she says.