Shelley Crosby - TYTE Co-Founder

When I think back ten years ago to when we conceived and developed what would become the Towle Youth Theatre Ensemble, I think about the excitement we had in being able to offer an experience to our area youth that would provide them all of the things it offered us as young theatre enthusiasts. The disciplines, the camaraderie, the understanding of how theatre brings together persons from every walk of life and puts them all on the same stage...together, with one goal. 

Beginning with our first production of Jason Robert Brown's 13! The Musical, members of TYTE learned that bringing a story to life is not just about the actors on the stage. That it takes every element, from costumes, to lighting, to sound design, to directing, to stage managing and set design to complete the picture they are painting for all to see and hear. I remember that just before we started rehearsals, I went on a trip to Mexico to sit on the beach. I remember having the cast album on my iPhone and listening to the soundtrack to begin envisioning how I wanted to stage the show. Listening to each song and the thought of what we could do with it brought me to tears - it still does. What a joy it was to see every single element I had envisioned shine on the Towle stage for the first time. The pride we felt, not just for our accomplishment, but for the TYTE members and their families was immense and continues to this day. Watching the pride on the faces of our TYTE parents was remarkable. 

TYTE is pure joy and I am so happy to have had a hand in its conception and its beginning. Many of its members have gone on to not only continue their love of theatre but to have pursued careers in it, and that brings us even more joy!

FAST FORWARD

Since my days as the Director of Education at the Towle, I have gone on to work for The Den Theatre in Chicago as the General Manager. At The Den we are a home for many storefront Chicago theatres to produce their productions. We have been fortunate to house world premieres, some of which have gone on to national acclaim. The Den Theatre is also celebrating its tenth anniversary so it is indeed a time to celebrate theatre! 

Please continue to support the Towle Youth Theatre Ensemble and the Towle Theatre as we maneuver through this unsteady climate. Now, more than ever, our youth need an environment like TYTE and all it has to offer. 

Claire LeMonnier - TYTE Founding Member

I auditioned for 13! The Musical when I was 12-year-old and would ironically turn 13 only a few days after the show’s closing. It was a huge deal for me to get to be in a real show with High Schoolers. It was an atmosphere unlike anything else I had gotten to be part of before that. I met kids who were like me and more importantly, kids who were not, many of whom are still my close friends today. There were serious life lessons that started their roots there, and other funnier small things were learned along the way too (some of those super cool high schoolers had to explain to me that no that song isn’t about baseball…). The way 13! was run helped me grow like I really hadn’t been able to before; It was one of the first times in my life that I can remember being treated like an adult. This wasn’t something that people would come to just to be supportive. They would come because they wanted to see something fun and wonderful. The work involved needed to be done and done well not just because someone told me to – but because putting out good work is what the audience deserved and what we deserved too. And it really was an amazing show.

Somehow, I ended up doing every single show I could after that, all the way up until I aged out of TYTE.  I was in the choruses, I had lead roles, I had supporting roles, and helped in the box office when I could. I went from being the youngest in the group to eventually being one of those cool high schoolers I had looked up to, and eventually ended up as the very last member of the original ensemble. I had cried on every closing night, and saw lot of friends graduate out of the program but with every show there was the guarantee of new faces and with them new memories and new jokes and new eras. The people in that theater were a family for me, through all my highs and my lows. Every time I come back into that space, I feel so at home, no matter what else is happening in my world.

FAST FORWARD

Although I said I would turn 22 this year while on the phone with Jeff, it was pointed out to me later that I am actually currently 22 and will turn 23 this year. Whoops. Anyways, I’m graduating from Purdue in just a few weeks with a degree in Global Studies, a Minor in Theater and a certification through the Peace Corps focusing on Youth Development. During my time at Purdue I’ve done short films, performed on the department’s mainstage, acted in dozens of smaller plays, directed a few shows, took a stage combat class, worked for a year as a stitcher in the costume shop AND got to coil cables backstage for a very cool semi-robotic dragon puppet. I’m looking for work now that involves youth programming both internationally and locally. Working through these applications, I find myself going back to my time spent as a member of TYTE, and how much it made me who I am, and how lucky I was to have that experience. I hope that in the same way I got to become a cool high schooler like the ones I used to look up to, in this next chapter I can become a cool program leader like the ones who helped me for so many years.

Martin Downs - TYTE Founding Member

Perhaps the word that best encapsulates TYTE for me is right there in the name: Towle Youth Theatre -Ensemble-. It was a group of like-minded individuals, with the shared goal of making the best art we could and an understanding that only through our combined efforts could we accomplish that. We developed a sense of trust and commitment to each other that underpinned every show and every performance. An ensemble is not just onstage, but behind the stage working on lights, costumes, and sets. It takes a small army to put on a play, which is what makes theatre unique among the arts. My time at the Towle was wonderful not just in the moment, but because it set in motion my understanding of this important concept.

FAST FORWARD

I've been in a lot of ensembles since TYTE; from my high school theatre classes and improv troupes to my college classes and multiple Commedia Dell'Arte ensembles I've performed with over the years. In fact, I am fortunate enough that my current company, Laughing Stock Theatre, will get to teach and perform at the Towle this coming August! Forming these groups has been one of the most rewarding parts of my career as an actor, and in many ways has greatly improved my performances onstage. Now more than ever, it's important to recognize that by coming together as a team we can accomplish more than the sum of our parts.

Flash Back Fast Forward - Nunsense A-Men!