Tobi’s story

Tobi Lowrance grew up in rural northwest Iowa with a family who was always incredibly supportive of her interest in the arts.  Her grandma, a piano teacher, accompanied Tobi as she sang at nursing homes as early as the age of three.

Although Tobi sang, acted and danced all through grammar school, it wasn’t until her junior year of high school that she knew for certain she would pursue a career in the performing arts.  Her first semi-professional performance experience was as a singer/dancer with Iowa’s premiere State Fair Singers & Jazz Band, which is now known as Celebration Iowa.

After a year at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, IA, Tobi transfered to Millikin University‘s acclaimed musical theatre program.  While there, she pursued and excelled in many activities in and beyond the musical theatre department.  She sang in the internationally renowned University Choir and studied choral conducting with its conductor, Dr. Brad Holmes.  She co-founded and taught in a theatrical arts program for inner city youth.  She served as team leader for the first group of students Millikin sent on what has become a substantial exchange program with a school in the Dominican Republic.  She served as president of both the American Choral Director’s Association student chapter and the professional theatre fraternity Alpha Psi Omega.

Tobi spent her summers honing her craft: in the Decatur Park Singers, at Valleyfair Family Amusement Park, teaching theatre and conducting choir in the Dominican Republic, and as one of the directors of the high school Summer Theatre program in her hometown of Sheldon, IA.

After graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in musical theatre, Tobi moved to Chicago to pursue her dreams of acting, singing and dancing on the professional stage.  However, a series of events led Tobi to accept full-time employment in the sales department at UPS, a job which began as an eight-week temp assignment but turned into an eight year career.  While she loved her UPS career and was quite successful with it, Tobi realized after a few years that it was not her true calling.  Not wanting to look back later in life with regrets or questions of “what if”, Tobi left her career and re-entered the world of the performing arts.

These days, Tobi’s life is immersed in the arts.  When she’s not onstage herself, she can often be found directing, music directing or choreographing.  She runs The Sophia Studio, through which she teaches private voice, music theory, and group theatre classes; and also Tobi Lowrance Art & Photography through which she offers actor headshots.