Metro Youth Theatre Brings Magic of Live Theatre to Families

The nonprofit theatre's founders want more families to share access to performing arts

A scene from an October performance of The Addams Family at Metro Youth Theatre in Mustang. Courtesy photo.

You sit down and soak in the vastness of the theater, the bright lights and the overall buzz. Moments later the lights dim, the theater quiets and the curtain opens. Two hours pass, and you walk out of that building with music that will be in your head for days and a personal connection between you and that show.

The true magic of theatre is a duality. Each audience member participates in a shared experience, yet each feels as though the performance is personal. 

Actors make up a big part of making any show happen, but what visitors don't see is the love, stress, practice and perhaps unhealthy amount of work that directors and crews put into bringing a magical experience to life.

Metro Youth Theatre of Oklahoma’s founders know this, and the experience for everyone, whether actor, spectator or backstage crew, is always at the front of their minds. 

It started when they were children.

Making theatre affordable 

Metro Youth Theatre founders Amanda Michele and Becca Walker grew up loving the arts. Whether it was voice lessons, dance classes, choir or musical theatre, the sisters were always doing something creative. 

“Our parents had to work hard to allow us to do all the things we wanted to do, and it was often only because of scholarships or other discounts and programs that we were able to have all of the amazing opportunities we had,” Michele said. 

Years later, in 2022, Michele and Walker started brainstorming how to find a way for other children to have the opportunity to gain their experiences without having to rely on outside assistance or luck. 

When they were considering forming Metro Youth Theatre, Michele and Walker found the landscape they faced as children hadn’t changed for the better. 

“What we found would have been unaffordable for Amanda and me growing up,” Michele said. “We came from a family with four kids, and when you tack on wanting to take dance and voice lessons to improve your performing skills, there is just no way our family could have afforded the prices that the LLC theatres are charging.”

The sisters decided creating a nonprofit offered the best way to make theatre more accessible. 

”We just knew in our founding that we wanted to be affordable for all families – those with lots of kids, single-income homes, single-parent homes, etc., that may not have as much freedom in their budget to spend on extracurriculars for their kids,” Walker said. 

But live theatre is expensive. Elaborate sets, as well as supplies and overhead, cost money. That’s where the nonprofit decision really proved impactful. It allowed for fundraising and tax-deductible support.

“Our grants and donations are what make it possible for us to charge such low tuition but have high-quality productions that perform with full sets, costumes, props and all on a proscenium stage. Without them, we’d have to rely a lot more on the money of our families to do what we hope to do at the scale that we do it, and I am grateful we don’t have to put that financial responsibility solely on our families for that,” Walker said. 

But broader community support is critical as well. It anchors Metro Youth Theatre in the surrounding cities and towns. 

“Businesses that work to support other businesses are the best kind of community. We have loved really trying to use local businesses for a lot of our needs as a nonprofit to make sure our money is being used to help our local area,” she said.

Working with Epic students 

About a year ago, Amanda and Becca became an Epic vendor. The decision dovetailed with their wish to make this theater as affordable as possible. 

“We try to do anything we can do to make our programs more available to anyone wanting to participate,” Michele said.

Homeschoolers in particular stand to benefit from programs such as Metro Youth Theatre’s, she explained. Similar activities provide social opportunities to homeschooled students, who typically don’t have as many as students in public schools. “My favorite comment to receive from parents is that their child has made their closest friends through participating in our shows,” Michele said. 

Then there are the world-broadening aspects of being exposed to other students from around the area. 

“Being in a melting pot of students from various schools, churches and communities allows other students to develop a more well-rounded perspective of the world and see people who are different from themselves as their peers and fellow collaborators,” Walker said. “(We hope) our students recognize that we can work with people that don't look like us, believe like us, live like us, etc., but still show respect to one another and work together towards a certain goal.” 

Theatre may be the ultimate team activity. A successful show requires shared goals and shared effort. And, for Metro Youth Theatre, the enthusiasm that comes with being young. 

“Young performers have so much energy and excitement for what they are doing. It helps my sometimes jaded worldview to become renewed each time I’m working with young people on a show,” Michelle said. 

Maintaining a love for the arts 

As Metro Youth Theatre continues to evolve and grow, the sisters see it as a vehicle to mold participants into well-rounded adults who positively impact the OKC metro. Another goal is to ensure participants retain an appreciation for the arts as they get older. 

“Becoming an adult doesn't mean we have to walk away from all the things we loved and  enjoyed when we were younger. Take adult dance classes, participate in community theatre, continue to go see shows at local theatres, volunteer at a theatre, donate to a theatre, anything that continues their engagement with the arts would be our hope,” Walker said. 

Michele concurred: “Keeping young people interested in live theatre is the only way it will continue to thrive.”

For more information on Metro Youth Theatre, click here. To learn about other Epic vendors, click here.