This just in:

CYT San Diego alum Melissa Disney -yes, she is a distant relative of Walt Disney- will be the official “voice” of the 2010 Emmy Awards taking place this Sunday August 29th, at 5pm PT and 8PM ET on NBC! Past voiceover work includes the Stunt Awards, the Key ARTS Awards, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and The Jimmy Kimmel Show.

“She is already pre-recording a lot of intro’s, [and] will get to do lots of live announcements…It’s a really big honor. She and I were seat fillers for the Emmy’s a few years ago and I can honestly say, I’ve never seen so many BIG NAME stars all in one place at one time. There are not only the nominees but the presenters and special guests who are from TV, film and stage,” said Louise Gallagher, Melissa’s mother who presented at the CCT/CYT 30th year Birthday Celebration, and who acted as the Liz Taylor impersonator in CCT’s Senior Follies.

Support CYT SD Alum Melissa Disney by watching the Primetime Emmy Awards this Sunday!! Don’t forget to DVR and TiVo.

Click here to read more about the 2010 Primetime Emmy Awards, and Melissa Disney.

CYT Chicago Cast, West Side Story

Students from CYT Chicago and CYT San Diego earned a total of eight 2010 National Youth Theater Awards!!

According to their website, “The National Youth Theater Awards [honors] outstanding work in youth theatre. This year more than 200 productions were considered for the awards, including shows from more than 100 different theatres in more than 50 cities spanning 15 states. Thank you all for your incredible work and all the unforgettable entertainment over the past year! ”

The winners were formally presented with their awards this past June and August at the David and Dorothea Garfield Theatre in San Diego, and the Riverdale Rising Stars in Chicago. Listed below are the CYT winners- Congratulations everyone!!

CYT Chicago

• Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical: Pete Almeida as Tony in West Side Story
• Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical: Kara Leman as Maria in West Side Story
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical: Rachel Whiteside as Anita in West Side Story
• Outstanding Ensemble: West Side Story

CYT San Diego

• Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical: Patrick Gates as Oliver Warbucks in Annie, Jr.
• Outstanding Lead Actress (13 and under): Courtney Wolfe as Annie in Annie, Jr.
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical: Laura Hopkins as Miss Hannigan in Annie, Jr.
• Outstanding Ensemble: Annie, Jr.


CYT San Diego Cast, Annie, Jr.

Click here to see the complete list of winners from the 2010 National Youth Theatre Awards.

This past weekend, CYT Spokane made an appearance at the Garland Avenue Fair Street Fair in Spokane. According to the article that ran a couple days ago in the Spokesman-Review,

“‘The “Wizard of Oz’-themed fair [ran] all day Saturday. Street fair visitors may [have] run into the Cowardly Lion, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow and Dorothy, as well as many other celebrated characters from the beloved books and movies….The youth theater produced ‘The Wizard of Oz’ this winter, and part of that cast is returning to perform on the Monroe Stage throughout the day, be in the parade and help guide visitors around the fair.”

One of the street fair’s organizers, Tracy Mielke, said, “Christian Youth Theater approached us, and we thought it was a great idea….It’s the first time we are doing this, but they really add something to the fair.”

The fair featured, “a Toto look-alike contest and a Judy Garland impersonation contest, where contestants dress up like the legendary actress and sing ‘Over the Rainbow.’”

Read the entire article at The Spokesman-Review, here.

On Tuesday July 13th, 2010, the CYT Improv/HYPE bonfire marked the beginning of the 2010 Leadership Conference. Prior to the bonfire we had announced we would filming a promo to enter CYT into the Macy’s Day Parade. Over 50 students from CYT National showed up to “Put a Little Love” in their hearts!

CYT Chicago wrote an article in their newsletter “The Point” this month, about their participation at the 2010 National Improvathon in San Diego. The article, Chicago Competes at Improvathon!, interviewed the teams’ participants, as well as praised their Suburban Safari Improv Team, who placed 2nd.

Here is the article in full:

CYT Chicago sent three improv teams (4 Fish & a Cliff, Suburban Safari & Rockford Raisin Bran) to compete in the CYT National Improvathon in San Diego, CA. There were total of 21 teams competing this year and some great laughs from all the teams.

Congrats to all the Chicago teams and to SUBURBAN SAFARI for placing 2nd!

Some thoughts from the improvisors:
I really enjoyed my experience in improv this year. I have made so many new friends who I will be friends with for a long time. The whole San Diego trip was and will be the highlight of my year. -Tim

Improv was a life changing experience this year. We have been rehearsing since January with coaches that taught us not only about improv skills and teamwork, but how to give all the glory to God while doing so. We met tons of new friends, competed among 21 teams, and gave all the glory to God, we ended up taking a second place medal home with us to Chicago! -Victoria

Improvathon started as something I just did on Thursday nights, the practice was fun, and the kids were nice. However, near those last weeks, my whole team, and the entire group all got really close, we grew towards our team, and not only that, but God also. In the end, we came home in 2nd place. Without 3 key things, I don’t think we could have gotten there: 1: Our coaches, Dave, Lindsey, and Kristen were ALWAYS giving helpful advice, and encouraging us to do our best and have fun. 2: Our teams, if we messed the game up, we were all able to get back up after it because we were there for each other. We would get knocked down, pick each other up, and keep on fightin’. 3: The Lord, and this was without doubt the biggest. The Lord gave this opportunity, and from then on let us decide if we would give Him the glory, or ourselves. Overall this was an amazing experience, and I hope to do it again! – Grant

Check out Rockford Raisin Bran’s performance on Facebook.

Congratulations CCT/CYT for another year and thanks to all our partners who joined in the celebration!

We had over 250 attend the Leadership Conference as well as the HYPE Leadership Conference. Close to 1,000 people attended the CCT/CYT Birthday Celebration on saturday night. What an awesome week of fellowship that took place. Not only did we have current staff and CYT students in contact with each other, but several of our Prospective Partners (Canada, Santa Cruz, NBC Camps) trekked their way to San Diego to “surf the wave” with us!

A very special “thank you” to all the panelists and volunteers who made the past week a success. We couldn’t have done it without your
dedication and expertise.

It is our hope that you walked away from the conference with radical new friends, a fresh perspective of the foundation of CYT (the Art of CYT, the business of CYT, and the Ministry of CYT) and a clearer understanding of where we are going.

Blessings.

CYT National

Last week we announced this years winners for the Decathlon Awards!!

The award ceremony took place after the Improvathon Awards on thursday night. Six students from across the nation received a framed certificate as well as a letter of recommendation, signed by CYT founder Paul Russell.

What exactly is a Decathlon Award you ask?  The CYT Decathlon Award recognizes exceptional CYT students who have demonstrated a love for theater by pursuing a well-rounded education in the theater arts and who have exhibited a character that is consistent with CYT values.

Here’s a breakdown: These students have shown exceptional discipline by taking 2 Music Classes, 2 Dance Classes, 2 Drama Class, 2 Specialty Classes, 2 Other Classes, Several Camps, Shows- on the Crew, Shows- on the Cast,  as well as HYPE membership (Area and sessions) or community service/volunteer roles, and lastly, an essay.

So, without further ado, here are our six winners- listed by their CYT Affiliate city.

CYT Atlanta
1. Jacob Valleroy

CYT San Diego
1. Laura Hopkins

Congratulations on your accomplishment! CYT National wishes you the very best.