Lorianne Danielle Dunn, 42

What is your local 417-land charity of choice, and why is it important to you? 

The Springfield Little Theatre Education Program aspires to provide unmatched theatrical educational experiences for students of all levels of experience and degrees of immersion. While many alumni of the program have achieved fulfilling careers in live theatre, theatre education, film, technical theatre, communications or arts administration, all students who participate in a SLT education offering or production learn the values of accountability, discipline, teamwork, kindness, hard work and play—attributes that will serve them in any of their future endeavors. Graduates emerge as confident, creative community participants and leaders, excelling in multi-facets of business, education, and the arts. I, myself, am the product of passion and purpose meeting opportunity, so I am committed to helping others find their way to the same magical intersection through their involvement at Springfield Little Theatre! 

Do you volunteer, or are you involved in any philanthropic or community organizations? If so, what are they, and what do you do?

On behalf of Springfield Little Theatre, I am committed to maintaining an attitude of service and collaboration. I believe in saying “yes” to our community! Our newest endeavor is a partnership with Camp Barnabas that seeks to provide inclusive theatrical experiences, including workshop, volunteer and performance opportunities, to students of all ages with and without disabilities. In the past year, the SLT education program provided a performance, a photo booth, face painters, costumed characters or volunteers for over 35 community events and organizations. We have provided locations for student film shoots, provided students opportunities to job shadow, provided studio space for emerging artists and supported district and state speech and theatre contests and local student productions. Our school touring company has visited over 30 area schools, ensuring arts access to the underserved. We’ve provided ample opportunities for students to gain confidence and experience in performing through Mainstage, Family Series, Education Series, Showcase and Summer Institute Productions. In addition, the SLT youth performance troupes have, for three years, presented a Show Your Character event, a benefit for the Landers Theatre and The Alzheimer’s Association. 

Last season, we donated a portion of funds raised from one of our Education Series productions, The Boy Who Lived: A Wizard Rock Musical, to the MS Foundation. This season, we donated a portion of funds raised from our mainstage production of Disney’s The Little Mermaid Jr. to Kadyn’s Krew for Cystic Fibrosis. 

What do you think makes a woman beautiful?

Her authenticity, her confidence, her intellect, her passion, her compassion, her hopes, her dreams, her energy, her vulnerability, her ability to find humor and to offer and accept grace amidst adversity, her humility, her strength, her optimism, her gratitude, her sense of adventure, her laugh, her tenacity, her vitality, her generosity and the persistence of her spirit. 

What has been your proudest moment? Or, what are you most proud of?

As the education director for Springfield Little Theatre since 2003, I have led a dedicated, talented and supportive team that has increased program offerings and grown education revenue over 2400 percent. The nationally recognized program currently serves 230 full-time students, 190 part-time students and approximately 1,200 summer students and reaches over 30,000 more children through free and discounted performances for area schools, school tours, special workshops and community events annually. SLT’s 10 auditioned youth performance troupes provide unparalleled theatrical, social and educational experiences, as well as numerous opportunities for community involvement. Our pre-professional program (PPT) provides a more rigorous set of courses and enrichment for the student who has identified a professional calling. Our recent PPT graduates have been accepted to some of the country’s most prestigious conservatories and universities.

I am never more grateful or more humbled to be entrusted to the position I am than at our annual graduating senior youth performance troupe showcase or end-of-the-year season celebration, both events where our students and volunteers come together in an outpouring of love, support and commitment to the elevation of excellence, kindness, gratitude and willingness to serve both community and artistic expression.

What was one particularly defining or life-changing moment in your life?

I am a product of Springfield’s arts community. I began my dance training at the age of 8 at Springfield Ballet. At 11, I attended my first summer program, State Ballet of Missouri’s four-week intensive on the Webster University Campus in St. Louis. I continued to study and perform with Springfield Ballet and often traveled to Kansas City on the weekends to take professional company classes. I also enjoyed being a part of Children’s Choirs of Southwest Missouri; performing in Springfield Little Theatre’s Anne of Greene Gables, The Music Man and South Pacific; and dancing in Springfield Regional Opera’s Die Fledermaus, for the grand opening of Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts, and for the city’s annual First Night Celebration. 

A devoted student of classical ballet, I received a full scholarship offer to the School of American Ballet in New York, in addition to several other prestigious schools. I performed locally and regionally, and, at 13, attended the New York City Ballet School’s five-week summer session before finishing the summer in Montgomery, Alabama studying and performing with Alabama Dance Theatre. After a third summer at SAB in NYC, I was one of 20 young dancers invited to stay the year at the country’s most elite professional ballet training ground. SAB provided my dance training while I satisfied my academics at Professional Children’s School, a school that is accommodating to a young person’s professional schedule. I hold a bachelor of fine arts in dance performance from Missouri State University, and my choreography has won national recognition including a Dance Magazine award nomination for Choreographer of the Year. I have taught, directed and choreographed extensively in various local schools and Springfield stages including Tent Theatre. My Landers Theatre stage credits include direction or choreography for over 40 productions.