WHAT IS MIDWAY ACADEMY?
A positive, uplifting training ground for young performers
We don't want to just put on shows - we want to train student actors to know the why behind what's happening on stage.
At Midway Academy, the education arm of Midway Theater Company, we teach young actors all areas of theater. Midway Academy students will receive choreography, vocal, and dance instruction from qualified teachers. Our hope is these students will take the skills they learn here and apply them wherever they act next, especially in one of Midway Theater Company's community productions!
Midway Academy is a tuition-based program. Financial assistance is available; contact Christy Duffy for more information.
Meet our Academy staff
Chase Buher
Sarah Grace Groot
Chase Buher
With a decade of theatre under his belt, Chase has been blessed to gain experience in just about every area of theatre one could imagine. He’s done everything from acting and costumes to tech and directing, he’s tried it all! Shows like Singing in the Rain, Fiddler on the Roof, Seussical, and You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown are some of hi
With a decade of theatre under his belt, Chase has been blessed to gain experience in just about every area of theatre one could imagine. He’s done everything from acting and costumes to tech and directing, he’s tried it all! Shows like Singing in the Rain, Fiddler on the Roof, Seussical, and You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown are some of his favorite shows he has been involved in. Chase has a passion for the storytelling of theatre and theatre education! He has had the amazing opportunity to sever in education roles in theatre (with companies like Midway and HPA) now for the past three years and has developed a deep love for helping students grow as people and actors. With a heart for excellence, creativity, students, and most importantly giving Glory to Our Lord, Chase is extremely honored and excited to serve students and help them grow in such an amazing show as Finding Nemo!
Colossians 3:23- “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,”
Sean Duffy
Sarah Grace Groot
Chase Buher
Engineer by day, conductor by night! Sean has loved music his whole life. He caught the conducting bug in high school but hadn't picked up the baton in years, until he was asked to conduct an orchestra for a local theater company. Conducting a full-length musical was a stretch but once he gave it a try, he never looked back! Sean has cond
Engineer by day, conductor by night! Sean has loved music his whole life. He caught the conducting bug in high school but hadn't picked up the baton in years, until he was asked to conduct an orchestra for a local theater company. Conducting a full-length musical was a stretch but once he gave it a try, he never looked back! Sean has conducted more than a dozen pits, including The Wizard of Oz, The Pirates of Penzance, Titanic, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Honk!, Seussical, and The Little Mermaid.
Sarah Grace Groot
Sarah Grace Groot
Sarah Grace Groot
Sarah Grace Groot has been dancing since she was 4. She started out in a combo class of tap, jazz and ballet in a local studio. As she grew older, she studied ballet more exclusively. She trained with the Grand Rapids Ballet company, Turning Pointe School of Dance, as well as some summer training programs with Joffrey Midwest and Ballet
Sarah Grace Groot has been dancing since she was 4. She started out in a combo class of tap, jazz and ballet in a local studio. As she grew older, she studied ballet more exclusively. She trained with the Grand Rapids Ballet company, Turning Pointe School of Dance, as well as some summer training programs with Joffrey Midwest and Ballet Magnificat., As a dancer she discovered she had a gift in teaching and choreography and started her own ballet school while still in high school as well as choreographing musicals. She created a contemporary ballet of the beloved The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe which has been performed over 15 different times. She believes that storytelling through the arts is one of the most powerful things we can do. When you embody a different character in theater you learn empathy. When you dance you connect your body to your soul, beyond the confines of language. When you sing you breathe into creation as God created the world. As she has become a mother to 3 wonderful children, Ziah, Alitza and Boaz and watching the joy they have in the arts she has become more excited than ever to be back choreographing for Finding Nemo Jr. She’s thankful to God for the gift of being creative in theater and dance and to Cole, her husband for being her solid rock, best friend and fellow theater lover.
Abby Pletcher
Abby Pletcher
Abby Pletcher
Abby is so excited to be on the Midway team! Theatre and music have always been a part of her life, growing up with a mom and grandmother who were both directors. She has performed with Midway, Grand Rapids Civic, Kalamazoo Civic, Master Arts Theatre, Arise Collective Theatre, and Homeschool Performing Arts. Abby has directed productions
Abby is so excited to be on the Midway team! Theatre and music have always been a part of her life, growing up with a mom and grandmother who were both directors. She has performed with Midway, Grand Rapids Civic, Kalamazoo Civic, Master Arts Theatre, Arise Collective Theatre, and Homeschool Performing Arts. Abby has directed productions of Little Women, The Pirates of Penzance, Singin' in the Rain, and also conducted several pit orchestras. She has been teaching theatre to young kids for over 10 years and it is her absolute favorite thing to do!
Christy Duffy
Abby Pletcher
Abby Pletcher
Becoming a producer was the last thing on Christy's to-do list - but when the theater company her children performed with needed help, she stepped in. Immediately, she loved the job and was thrilled to work on several shows. When that ended, she realized how much she loved working with the casts, so she's thrilled to have the opportunity
Becoming a producer was the last thing on Christy's to-do list - but when the theater company her children performed with needed help, she stepped in. Immediately, she loved the job and was thrilled to work on several shows. When that ended, she realized how much she loved working with the casts, so she's thrilled to have the opportunity to carry the clipboard once again. Some shows she produced include Honk!, The Pirates of Penzance, Brigadoon, The Wizard of Oz, Anne of Green Gables, Titanic, Seussical, and The Little Mermaid.
Stacey Foote
Stacey began singing shortly after she began talking (maybe before?) for anyone who would listen to her and allow her to be an occasional diva. She started studying voice at the age of ten, continuing through high school and moving on to Cedarville University where she earned her Bachelor’s of Music in Vocal Performance with a minor in Th
Stacey began singing shortly after she began talking (maybe before?) for anyone who would listen to her and allow her to be an occasional diva. She started studying voice at the age of ten, continuing through high school and moving on to Cedarville University where she earned her Bachelor’s of Music in Vocal Performance with a minor in Theatre. She began teaching voice students at the age of 18 and has since taught a few hundred voice and piano students ranging in age from 4 to 64. While originally focused on a career as a performer, Stacey discovered great joy and satisfaction in teaching private students proper technique that they can use regardless of the genre or repertoire they choose to sing. She does still enjoy the occasional gig—particularly opera, jazz, and musical theatre. Right now, her main gig is being Matthew’s wife and Landon and Isla Jane’s mom. She is thrilled to be working with MTC!
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