About
CYT Santa Cruz offers after-school theater arts training where students take drama, voice, and dance classes, audition and perform in Broadway-style musicals, and work behind-the-scenes on backstage crew, technical teams, ushering, makeup, costumes, and tech. The program also runs camps and workshops, including week-long musical theater day camps that include games, activities, team competitions, rotations through drama, dance, and music workshops, and a concluding showcase for family and friends. Some teen camps include praise, worship, prayer, and daily devotions.
• Ages: 4–18 years old
• Schedule: Three ten-week after-school sessions (Fall, Winter, Spring) with classes held once a week for two hours, plus week-long musical theater day camps during the summer
Christian Youth Theater (CYT) is an after-school theater arts training program for students ages 4–18 and has been operating nationally since 1980; CYT was brought to Santa Cruz in 2010. The mission statement of CYT Santa Cruz is that Christian Youth Theater develops character and creativity through quality theater arts training that brings families and communities together while reflecting Jesus. CYT is described as the largest youth theater program in the nation, with branches across the country training thousands of students a year, and its shows are always appropriate for the entire family.
Instructors at CYT Santa Cruz are professionals qualified in teaching and/or performing who understand the organization’s mission statement, values, objectives, and goals, and class sizes are small with supervision both inside and outside the classroom. The organization states a commitment to the highest ethical, moral, technical, and artistic standards of excellence, and notes that CYT programs also include offerings such as CYT@school and CREATE in addition to classes, camps, and shows.
The leadership team for CYT Santa Cruz includes Brooke Novak (Artistic Director), Jeremy Couchman (Managing Director), Tamara Dunton (Finance Director), Tarah Brown (Chapter Coordinator / CREATE advisor), Teresa Dettle (Show Coordinator), Megan Grewohl (Show Coordinator), Ana Bevir (Class Coordinator), Jodie Couchman (Class Coordinator), and Jennifer McPherson (CYT Alumni Coordinator). CYT Santa Cruz notes support from Mission Printers and invites community feedback by email, which is reviewed by the Artistic Director, Managing Director, and the Board of Directors.
Last updated July 7, 2026.
• Ages: 4–18 years old
• Schedule: Three ten-week after-school sessions (Fall, Winter, Spring) with classes held once a week for two hours, plus week-long musical theater day camps during the summer
Christian Youth Theater (CYT) is an after-school theater arts training program for students ages 4–18 and has been operating nationally since 1980; CYT was brought to Santa Cruz in 2010. The mission statement of CYT Santa Cruz is that Christian Youth Theater develops character and creativity through quality theater arts training that brings families and communities together while reflecting Jesus. CYT is described as the largest youth theater program in the nation, with branches across the country training thousands of students a year, and its shows are always appropriate for the entire family.
Instructors at CYT Santa Cruz are professionals qualified in teaching and/or performing who understand the organization’s mission statement, values, objectives, and goals, and class sizes are small with supervision both inside and outside the classroom. The organization states a commitment to the highest ethical, moral, technical, and artistic standards of excellence, and notes that CYT programs also include offerings such as CYT@school and CREATE in addition to classes, camps, and shows.
The leadership team for CYT Santa Cruz includes Brooke Novak (Artistic Director), Jeremy Couchman (Managing Director), Tamara Dunton (Finance Director), Tarah Brown (Chapter Coordinator / CREATE advisor), Teresa Dettle (Show Coordinator), Megan Grewohl (Show Coordinator), Ana Bevir (Class Coordinator), Jodie Couchman (Class Coordinator), and Jennifer McPherson (CYT Alumni Coordinator). CYT Santa Cruz notes support from Mission Printers and invites community feedback by email, which is reviewed by the Artistic Director, Managing Director, and the Board of Directors.
Last updated July 7, 2026.
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