Introducing Melina

I met Melina back in 2012 when she enrolled as a brand new EYT student, blew us away at auditions, and ended up as our leading lady (Belle) in Beauty and the Beast, Jr.  She struck me then as committed and organized, seeming significantly more mature than her early teen years indicated.

I got to share the stage with Melina early in 2016, sharing a dressing room and talking way too much about the eerie similarities between our personalities.  We jokingly established that we are the same person, and decided it was best that we are a full 18 years apart in age so that no one generation had to put up with both of us.

When Melina applied to be an intern this year for EYT, she actually applied to work with Ty doing marketing.  However, I saw her application and called dibs on this hard-working young woman.  I have watched her through the years manage to graduate high school a year early, successfully balance work, theater, and school, and maintain a social media profile that conveys professionalism and dedication.  I knew I wanted a chance to work directly with Melina.

A few fun excerpts from her intern application (with spelling edited as that is not her strength) include:

• I have taken a financial literacy class, and I have gotten good at budgeting and saving my own money.
• I am planning on majoring in musical theatre at Weber State University and I optimistically anticipate sitting on a board for a theatre in the not so distant future as it is one of my long term goals. 

As I get the incredible opportunity to fit seven performances of Little Shop of Horrors (in Idaho!) into the busy EYT schedule, I am fortunate to have full confidence in considering my intern to be less of an intern and more of a partner - a peer.  I will not be at EYT on Thursday or Friday of week 1 or on Tuesday and Wednesday of week 2.  I will also be very difficult to communicate with on each of the upcoming weekends.  On these dates, please consider Melina to be the equivalent of double-cast.  We are both playing the role of producer equally!  Send her any questions you would have directed to me, and she will get you taken care of.

I hope you all enjoy working with Melina as much as I always have.  And learn this girl's name.  She is going places!  

Melina Wrathall (Producer Intern) - Melina has been participating in Empress productions since she was eight years old. Some of her favorite roles include Annie in Annie, Brigitta in The Sound Of Music, Jojo in Seussical, and Belle in Beauty and The Beast. However, her favorite experiences connected to the theatre have been, undoubtedly, the ones regarding the EYT program. And now she is back to be an intern and is loving every minute of it. She is grateful for the internship program that has allowed her to learn knew things revolving around theatre, as she hopes her life can revolve around theatre forever 😉 .

Monday 7/10

Alright yesterday was the first day of EYT!  I hope your kids had a ton of fun, I know the staff did. The workshops were super fun to attend; everyone learned about rhythms and all the dynamics that make up a good story.

Assigning Shadows

Each full day student has been assigned one or two half day kids to look out for and to get to know.  Try to look at the picture of your shadow before rehearsal on Monday so you know who to look for!

AJ - Alex

Angelina - Wendy

Annie – Gabi, Blake

Blake – Kayleigh

Brayden - Easton

Caitlin - Kathryn

Carson - Chloe

Celia – Brody, Kortnee

Christian – Gabe

Clara - Jenella

David - Isaac

Edlena - Phebe

Gracie - Ina

Jayden - Kalilea

Kaelia - Aaron

Kamryn - Abigail

Katie – Hannah

Kira – Gweny, Emmalee

Maddie – Sammy, Gideon

Madeline - Sage

Max - Carson

McKenna - Anaïs

Nora – Palmer

Rilee - Beyah

Samuel - Haley

Savannah – Janet, Hailey

Skyler B - Savvy

Skyler R – Blake, Lilly

Sophia - Lincoln

Travis – Albert

Trevor - Dylan

Tristen – Daniel, Michelle

No Worry Fee (PART 2)

If you choose the $50 NO WORRY FEE, it must be paid by Saturday, July 8th at midnight.

https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?retail=emptr

The following families already paid the NO WORRY fee to cover the costume and makeup items we would traditionally ask you to provide for yourselves.

Adams, Berg, Bogue, Curfew, Farnsworth, Fife, Flores, Goodfellow, Hancock, Nelson, Le, Pollock, Purdy, Richardson, Tuero, Tuttle, Vuki, Waldrop.

Many full day students need the same "base costume" as the half day students in addition to the costume they will receive for their named role.  See the lists below to determine which base(s) are needed.  Ask Ty before buying shoes; you will likely only need one pair for the whole show.

Full Day Barnyard Birds (orange or yellow shirt and socks/leggings, see Ty for shoe info)AJ, Brayden, Christian, Blake, Mckenna, Katie, Kamryn, Savannah, Celia, Annie

Full Day Frogs (green shirt and socks/leggings, see Ty for shoe info)David, Trevor, Angelina, Caitlin, Rilee

Full Day Blizzard (white dance tights, see Ty for shoe info)McKenna, Katie, Kira, Angelina, Caitlin, Rilee, Annie, Madeline

Information for your named role is too individual to post.  Ty will let full day students know of any items needed from home.

Cast List Revealed

Congratulations to our 2017 Honk, Jr. Cast!



Look for more information including links to the NO WORRY costume fee and other stuff throughout the weekend.

Car Wash Tickets

Only two more days until the EYT car wash!  If you still need to sell tickets to pay your parents back for your tuition, just download these and print them.  You just collect the cash or checks for yourself, since your parents already paid the Empress.  I hope to see lots of you on Saturday!

Half Day Base Costumes (And Worry Free Reminder)

As a reminder, EYT students are required to provide what we call a "base" costume.  Our costume team will add additional items to this base to create each costume.  For half day students the base costume is easy to explain up front, and I have included that information here.  For full day students, we cannot set each base costume until casting is complete.  However, each full day student will receive a list of required items within a few days of casting, and those items will be similar in style and price to those featured on the half day list.

This year, we have introduced a new option: the WORRY FREE fee.  Families who opt for this option do not need to worry at all about the items listed as the base costume.  These will be provided, and they will belong to your student after closing night.

Choosing the WORRY FREE option means:

• less time spent trying to decipher the expectations
• less time spent checking prices and combing thrift stores
• freedom to ignore the costume deadline

I have tried to price it appropriately to come very close to what you would pay if you were doing the work on your own.  However, it is definitely possible to spend less than the $50 if you shop carefully or already own some of the items.

The WORRY FREE fee has to be paid at auditions so we can start shopping.  If you do not opt for this additional charge, your family will be responsible to bring all the listed items on July 18th to be approved by our costumer, Ty.

If you want to take care of your WORRY FREE fee now, the link is here: 

https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?retail=emptr