In 1966 Mr. William A Moeller, a teacher in the Highline School District in Burien, Washington founded a high school summer program he called The Hi-Liners. This group quickly evolved from a summer group into a year 'round district wide performing group. The Hi-Liners performed extensively in the Western United States in the early 1970's and was widely respected and sought after for performances such as the 737 rollout ceremony, National Governors Conference, NEA National Convention and many other notable events. The group even received very favorable recognition in the prestigious New Yorker Magazine and was compared to other more nationally known groups such as "Up with People".

In 1991 the old members of the group were recruited by Mr. Moeller to do a series of reunion performances to celebrate the grand opening of the new state of the art Highline Performing Arts Center. These shows provided the catalyst for annual reunion shows and for the reorganization of The Hi-Liners into a private non-profit company.

In 1994 a new board of directors was put in place and decided that the Hi-Liners was not about nostalgia but about giving opportunity to young people. So the Hi-Liners came full circle and became a summer program once again. This program was dedicated to providing professional direction to our young cast members to develop their talents with the back drop of quality sets, costumes and a live orchestra to give both the performers and the audience a genuine Broadway musical experience. In 2000 the program was expanded with the addition of our DownStage Center youth education division under the full time direction of Kathleen Edwards.

Since that decision we have peformed: Hello Dolly, Oklahoma, Bye, Bye Birdie, The Sound of Music, Oliver, Grease, The Wizard of OZ, Crazy For You, Annie, You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, Once Upon a Mattress, Les Miserables', 42nd Street, Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Music Man Jr and West Side Story. Our audiences have grown each year along with the quality of our productions. As of 2005 over 46,000 people have seen our show and over 600 young performers have entertained them all.

Auditions for our program are open to anyone between the ages of 9 and 22 and are held in early June for our summer program and in January for our Spring productions. Please check our website after May 15th to sign up for an audition appointment for the summer production. Tuition is $300 but financial assistance is available for anyone in need.

Each year we have simple goals: As an organization to learn something new and apply that learning to make our program better, to open at least one young mind to the magic of live musical theater and the unique talents they each possess. It is a journey of creativity we hope you will all join us on that journey.