How the Lied Center Will Open Even More Doors for Students
By Robyn Murray
When Sydney Kwasa was a little girl, she dreamed of becoming a performer. No one in her family, which hails from Kenya, was in the arts — there were doctors and nurses on one side and first responders on the other. But Kwasa knew she was different. In elementary school, she voiced that dream to a family member. And today, she remembers the response clearly: “I don’t think that’s going to work out for you.”
Kwasa felt deflated, and after that conversation she switched her focus to following in her family’s footsteps and becoming a police officer or firefighter. But the dream was still inside her.
Some years later, when Kwasa was a freshman in high school, she went on a school trip to Chicago and saw a professional production of “Mamma Mia!” The ABBA-themed musical is her family’s favorite, and she grew up knowing all the songs. “I just remember feeling so happy,” Kwasa said. She knew she had found her place.
At the Lied Center for Performing Arts, Kwasa’s dreams have been nurtured and given space to bloom. A new graduate of the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film, Kwasa has had opportunities she never thought possible. She’s learned routines with dancers and has sung with cast members from Broadway shows. She’s sat in on rehearsals for musical productions and met her favorite composers.
BRINGING THE GREATEST ARTISTS TO NEBRASKA
These kinds of experiences are what make the Lied Center such a special place, said Executive Director Bill Stephan. From its opening in 1990, which was made possible through the generosity of the Lied Foundation Trust and many others, the vision for the Lied Center was to bring the greatest artists in the world to Nebraska.
“We live that vision fully today,” Stephan said. “You can see everything right here on the campus of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.”
Stephan said audiences at the Lied Center range from children and families to seniors, all brought in by different shows. “That’s one of the beautiful things about the Lied Center,” Stephan said. “It’s really for everyone. It’s a place where we all come together as Nebraskans.”
Nebraskans will have a new experience at the Lied Center beginning in fall 2027. On Feb. 10, organizers broke ground on a privately funded renovation and expansion project that will create a grand new venue entrance and expand and update the lobby.
“The theater experience starts when you park and when you walk up to the building,” Stephan said. “We want people to say, ‘Wow, what is that building? What happens in there?’ We want them to know something magical must happen in that building.”
The project will also create a new studio theater for student productions and rehearsals and an education wing. Whether it’s for a student recital, a poetry jam or an interactive musical experience for kids, Stephan said, “This just brings us to a whole new world and elevates what the Lied Center can do and what it means for the community.”
(Learn more about the project and opportunities to get involved here.)
OPENING A DOOR TO THE WORLD
For Sydney Kwasa, the Lied Center has meant an open door that has shown her the world. This fall, she will walk through that door and make her first stop on the road to Broadway: Los Angeles, for a start in commercials and films.
“When I got to the Lied Center, I knew my goal was Broadway,” Kwasa said. “But I didn’t know how I was going to get there. Coming here and having all these opportunities presented to me that I didn’t know were possible — now I have the knowledge I need to continue to train and make my dream happen.”
“That's one of the beautiful things about the Lied Center. It's really for everyone. It's a place where we all come together as Nebraskans.”
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