Classes

Spring Session!

Register today for Spring Programming with CYT Santa Cruz! From the Alice in Wonderland Workshop offering opportunities for Teen Vocalists, Our Gang, and younger musical theater performers to our multi-day Workshops with alumni and special guests, our Spring has something for everyone! With the business of the Spring season, we hope that you will join us for these exciting lower commitment training and performance opportunities to keep your performance skills growing and elevated. We can't wait to sing, dance and act with you!

Alice In Wonderland: Student Directed Workshop

Just down the rabbit hole and around the corner awaits CYT’s Student Directed Show of Alice in Wonderland Highlights. Join us for a multi-day intensive lead by some of your favorite CYT instructors who will guide and empower students to create and/or perform highlights from Alice in Wonderland, the musical, that will be presented in a main stage final showcase on Saturday, April 12th!

This is a great opportunity to participate in student-made productions as older singers, younger musical theater performers, directors and more! The Workshop is broken up into different groups with varying opportunities based on age. See classes below for more details.

DATES
Rehearsals & Tech:
  • Tuesday  April 1 (evening)
  • Friday April 4, (evening)
  • Saturday April 5, (day)
  • Tuesday April 8, (evening)
  • Friday April 11, (evening)
Final Dress & Show:
  • Saturday April 12, time tbd
Our lead mentor, Monika Hash, will be joined by the wonderfully seasoned, Bonnie Evans & fabulously beloved, Sara Brown & Jack Wilkins to mentor our student leaders in running this positively whacky double weekend.

Jack Wilkins will also be running a vocal intensive for our teens & Emily Merriner will be our Our Gang Instructor!

Meet your Student Directors!
  • Maya Low (focus, vocals & music)
  • Chloie Moniz (focus, staging & choreography)
  • Hannah Miller (focus, stage management & tech)

Note: Applications to be on the Student Artistic Team are closed. As a reminder there was a class pre-requisite to apply to be a member of this team.

Register today so you can join our tea party!
Register Today!
Join Director and Alum, Stephen Pickens for an opportunity to receive one-on-one acting training in theater scenes from both straight plays & musical theater shows, punctuated by a showcase with family & friends! This one-weekend intensive is the perfect opportunity to elevate your acting skills to the next level.
Register Today!

We're Hiring Teaching Artists For 2025 Fall Session!

Join our vibrant, imaginative, inclusive, and uplifting.community of CYT Santa Cruz as a Teaching Artist. Our ~8-10 week long class sessions are held during the school year for students 4-18. We are seeking educators skilled in various musical theater skills including singing, dancing and acting. This also includes specialty production skills like Stage Management, FX design, or playwriting. If you love Theater Arts education, check out our form by clicking the button below, to learn more about the potential of teaching a class at CYT.
Share Your Interest!

Current Classes:

Class: Age: Chapter: Location: Day: Time: Start: End:
Alice in Wonderland: Musical Theater Performers (Alice Cast) 8-14 Santa Cruz
(Spring 2025)		 Midtown Community Center Sat 4:30pm - 8:30pm Apr 01 Apr 12
Alice in Wonderland: Our Gang 4-7 Santa Cruz
(Spring 2025)		 Midtown Community Center Sat 4:30pm - 6:30pm Apr 01 Apr 12
One-Weekend Acting Intensive: Mastering Scene Work From Page to Performance 14-18 Santa Cruz
(Spring 2025)		 Midtown Community Center Sat 4:00pm - 8:30pm Apr 25 Apr 27
Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to the most frequent questions about our classes

First Class?

First Class?

These steps will help with the Registration Process!

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Teaching Artists

Teaching Artists

What does it take to be a CYT Teaching Artist?

Learn More

Teachers

A CYT Teacher’s mission is to train and instruct students in such a way as to promote the development of character, self-esteem, and confidence. CYT teachers are qualified and experienced in the area in which they teach. They have been trained in the CYT methods of instruction and agree with the CYT values and outcome goals.  All CYT teachers have been background checked and adhere to our CYT Mission and Values. Our teachers truly care about their students and provide a constructive and fun environment for them to learn.
Current Teachers

Showcase

Parents, friends, and relatives are invited to attend CYT's Showcase performance on the last day / evening of classes, free of charge! Showcase is the grand finale of each session of classes, at which every class makes a 5-10 minute presentation of something they have learned and rehearsed during the session. Don't miss the action!

How to Register

Set up a Family Account before you register for classes:
  1. Click on the "person" icon at top right corner of our website (to right of "DONATE" on any page).
  2. Click on "NEW ACCOUNT" in the pop up window.
  3. Fill out the information required, with the parent's info first.
  4. To add a child to the account, click on the +Family Member button.
If you are already have a Family Account, then (while logged in) follow these steps:
  1. Go to the "Classes" page
  2. First select your "Student's Age"
  3. Click on the Class Name of your choice
  4. Click on the "Register Now" button
  5. Select the family member that will be in the class
  6. You will now have an option to sign up for audition times. Auditions are not required.
  7. If you don't sign up now, you will have that option later in your family account

Current Teachers:

Bonnie Evans

Graduated from Biola University with a BA in Communications (Theater Arts emphasis) and a minor in Bible. Teacher and director for CYT since 2011. Directed: ALADDIN, JUNGLE BOOK, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, LITTLE MERMAID and four Music Camps. Grew up in theater with starring and supporting roles in: I REMEMBER MAMA, MAME, SKIN OF OUR TEETH (Gladys), OKLAHOMA (Laurie), A MIDSUMMER'S NIGHTS DREAM (Hermia), LITTLE WOMEN (Beth) and THE WIZARD OF OZ. Also, very active in ministry at Twin Lakes Church. Married to Steve for over 30 years; two adult sons and a daughter-in-law.

Emily Merriner

Emily is a passionate, experienced and caring teacher at CYT! Her time spent with us includes running Our Gang, assisting with classes and Stage Managing CYT Summer Shows. She loves helping pre-k students explore creativity and self-expression through theater, with age-appropriate concepts and skill building. Emily grew up in CYT doing shows from 8-18 years old! As an alumna of CYT, she’s excited to give back to the program that shaped her own artistic journey. Recently, she graduated with a bachelors degree in nursing, and is pursuing Pediatric Nursing. Blending her nurturing spirit with a commitment and love for teaching, the youth, artistic expression and healthcare, she brings a joy, energy, and compassion to every class she leads!

Jack Wilkins

Jack Wilkins is an award winning tenor born and raised in Watsonville, CA. He attended the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at CSULB, receiving a bachelors degree, with honors, in vocal performance. Jack is a working musician, performing frequently. Jack has had the privilege of soloing in major productions of Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Great Mass, Weil’s Down in the Valley, and many musical theater productions. Jack also loves to teach, especially young singers. He frequently vocal directs for Christian Youth Theater (CYT) Santa Cruz, as well as with Monte Vista Christian School, and teaches voice privately.

Monika Hash

Monika is a CYT Santa Cruz alumni and is so excited to be teaching acting again! Monika enjoys directing shows (you may have seen The Lightning Thief last spring!), reading books of all kinds, writing poetry and plays, and playing board games. She is thrilled to be teaching with CYT!

Sara Brown

Hello! My name is Sara and I am so excited to be teaching Backstage 101 this session! I have been in CYT Santa Cruz since 2011 and loved every second of it! I started as an actor and moved to the tech side of things just a couple years later. I have been Stage Managing at CYT for the past two years and I can't wait to educate all my students on what I have learned at CYT!

Stephen Pickens

Stephen Pickens is a San Diego-based creative professional with a passion for the performing arts. As a CYT Santa Cruz alumni himself, Stephen knows firsthand the impact that quality theater arts training can have on young people and has spent much of the last decade teaching and directing youth theater. He is passionate about helping students reach their creative potential and pursue excellence both as artists and people. While working as a designer and art director by day, Stephen continues to teach youth acting and improv classes while performing locally.