Mason Community Arts Academy

Mason Community Arts Academy has been named one of the Best Summer Camps by  Northern Virginia Magazine every year since 2021. This summer, the program broke multiple records including the number of student participants at just under 1,900. The Acting for Young People program also broke its attendance record with 950 students.

Lake Rusch’s passion for acting was ignited in seventh grade when they first joined George Mason University’s Acting for Young People (AFYP) showcase program. They continued to attend the program throughout high school.

On Tuesday, March 19, 2024, Delegate Kathy Tran presented Mason Community Arts Academy Executive Director Mary Lechter with House Resolution 804, in honor of Acting for Young People’s (AFYP) 25th anniversary in 2022. AFYP is a partner program within Mason Community Arts Academy (MCAA) the community arts education division of Mason’s College of Visual and Performing Arts.

Summer goes by fast—whether you’re a kid, or a kid at heart. The K-12 students who attended camps and youth programs at Mason this year filled those fleeting summer days with memories. Here are some snapshots from their summer to remember. 

Just weeks after a massive tornado destroyed their high school and half of their town, music students in Wynne, Arkansas, were able to continue their music education and even keep some performance dates, thanks to Mason’s Instruments in the Attic program.

“An evening like no other,” ARTS by George! makes its in-person return on September 24. The philanthropic event, headlined by Emmy® and Tony Award winner Kristin Chenoweth, raises support for student scholarships in visual arts, dance, music, theater, game design, film, arts management, as well as for the Mason Community Arts Academy, Green Machine Ensembles, and the Great Performance at Mason season at the Center for the Arts.