Finding Yourself Off the Map

By Max Hofer

Staff Writer

To many, the thought of starting a new career later in life isn’t ideal. When you’ve lived as many lives as Allison Mickelson, however, you view it as an opportunity to learn more about yourself.

Allison Mickelson

“I have not taught in over 20 years,” Mickelson said. “I did not think I would be starting a new career at 48, but here we are — and I get to hang out with creative humans all day.”

Mickelson is the music and drama teacher at Eugene Field A+ Elementary School in Sioux Falls, S.D. She joined the staff there in 2024.

“Sioux Falls is this great arts community,” she said. “These kids are surrounded by art, with the SculptureWalk, graffiti and all the music that happens here. So, I came back and I'm giving it a try.”

Mickelson said that she aims to foster an environment for students that encourages both self-expression and support for their fellow artist. 

“I think everybody can always do more,” she said. “But I also don't want to push anyone too far. Now is when I want my students to find what they love or enjoy doing so they can do it for the rest of their lives.”

Expressing one’s self has been part of Mickelson’s curriculum since birth. She grew up influenced by her parents, who were both passionate about the arts and prominent church musicians.

“We were always making music as a family,” she said. “The music and the arts are just what I know; it is the air I breathe, and I'm just passionate about it as this way of life that is possible for these kids.”

Growing up in Pierre, S.D., Mickelson’s mother was the organist at their local church. Her father was a well-known tenor who was heavily involved in community theatre.

“My mom was always in the orchestra pit and my dad was on stage,” the performer recalled. “My first memory is going to rehearsals with my dad at Godspell and South Pacific. Then, I was in Oklahoma when I was five. I remember singing in talent shows, and we were always singing for church or the community.”

And the music didn’t stop once they got home.

“My family would sing together. My mom would play piano, my dad would kneel so he could see the music, I would turn pages, my brother would be around, and we would sing at the piano,” she said. “We had this language, and it was music.”

When she was 10 years old, her family moved to Germany, where they lived for a year.

“We were always going to the concert series. We were traveling to hear the orchestras and opera. I heard every type of music; we saw community theatre and musicals,” she said. “In fact, I did not know pop music growing up. If you would flip to the classical music station, I could whistle a violin concerto.”

She described that year in Germany as “life-changing” and credits it for sparking her desire for adventure. After graduating from college at 18, she explored various careers in the arts. 

“I became a music teacher for a hot second,” she said. “Then, I went into spiritual music, working in a church for a while. I booked a reality TV show pilot in L.A. We taped it, but it didn't go anywhere. Then, I played Roxy in Chicago in North Dakota, and that was my first ‘pro gig.’”

Allison Mickelson performs alongside her students, the Eugene Field A+ Treble-Makers, in Holiday Jam.

Around the age of 30, Mickelson bought a one-way ticket to New York to pursue a career as a full-time performer. Living in Harlem, she dedicated much of her time to booking auditions and taking dance classes.

“I was doing everything I could to soak in the city; I fell in love with it,” she said. “I was also doing some summer stocks in the Jersey Shore or in Pennsylvania. And then, I started working for an amazing, kick-ass progressive church in the East Village in New York City; I was singing, I was acting, I was dancing, I was doing all of this in the spiritual activism space. I really loved it.”

Eventually, she landed a major role in the West Coast premiere of Fun Home, which set off a three-year professional acting career where she performed in different shows across the country.

Deciding to further her education in the arts, the active performer enrolled at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, where she earned her Master’s Degree in acting, classical and contemporary text. Not long after, she was presented with another life-changing opportunity: Eugene Field A+ Elementary was looking for a new music and drama teacher.

“A friend told me about it — and I knew nothing about Eugene Field— but I thought, ‘Wow. A drama and arts program for elementary students just sounds fascinating.’ Plus, it was closer to home.”

Two years in, and the accomplished performer says she’s still learning new things every day.

“Laura Tjaden has created a behemoth of a program: phenomenal music, phenomenal acting, phenomenal shows. It’s incredibly intimidating and also really exciting,” she said. “I just pray every day that I can continue this tradition of excellence.”

In a short time, the new teacher has already made an impact on the program — and in the hearts of her students.

“There is a tradition of a musical that is put on by the third, fourth, fifth graders. This year, it was just fourth and fifth grade because they were so big. So, we started a new tradition of a third-grade musical,” she said. “I also started a select choir after school because a select choir was so formative for me as a musician in elementary school, and I wanted to give them that opportunity.”

Not only does Mickelson help her students focus on their own performances, she also teaches them how to appreciate the art around them.

“I knew what the instruments of the orchestra were when I was a little girl, so these kids should definitely know that and have a love for it, because my dad and my mom had such a love for the instruments and for art.”

In between fostering a love of the arts in her students, the natural-born performer still finds opportunities to return to the stage.

Allison Mickelson performs in Fun Home, a 2017 production in Portland, Ore.

“I wrote and performed a solo show,” she said. “It’s an exploration of this show that I started back in New York, called Uncharted. I called it Off the Map.”

Off the Map chronicles her life thus far, from growing up across the street from the Methodist Church in Pierre, S.D., to her adventures in New York and then returning to her home state. She performed the one-woman show at Trio Jazz Club in Sioux Falls, S.D., in fall 2025.

“I also sing with the Hegg Brothers, and I got to do Holiday Jam with them that year,” she said. “My partner and I and Fellowship Jazz Center did ‘jazz for young kids,’ and I kind of helped facilitate that at Trio.”

During the Holiday Jam, she experienced a full-circle moment that could best be described as a gift. She shared the stage and sang with her select choir students, the Eugene Field A+ Treble-Makers.

“That’s what my parents got to do, and now I get to share it,” she said. “I had these amazing opportunities when I was younger to sing with phenomenal musicians, and I hope that I can inspire my kids to continue to create and remind them that they are all artists.”

When you’re an artist, some days it can feel like you’re navigating the world without a map. But, as Mickelson demonstrates, as long as you follow your heart, you will never be lost.

“If I call myself a performer and an artist, then every chance I have to make art is the chance,” she said. “I was on stage. I was in the choir. I played piano. I’ve had all these amazing opportunities, and I’ve lived a full life — and what a gift it is that I get to share it.”