Royal Stage 2024 Year End Report
2024 was a wild and crazy year for Royal Stage - we were busier than ever before, and we are thankful for the opportunities we had to share Christ’s love and to connect with community both practically and creatively!
january
We kicked off the year with a new session of classes at our three locations - Roseville main studio, Citrus Heights theater, and Bridgeway Church. We also opened Little Women, our first audition-only Royal Stage Select show for advanced thespians. In 2024, we also started partnering with AIM & Associates and CICS to provide vocational training opportunities to adults with developmental disabilities.
Click the images below to check out a dance class and our Little Women cast.
FEBRUARY
In February, we kicked off our first Friday Night Shine (FNS)- a community open mic talent show for the Citrus Heights community. Any Royal Stage participant or local outside resident was invited to come perform family-friendly entertainment for our audiences. Over the 6 FNS we held in 2024, we welcomed dancers, singers, musicians, poets and more. February also brought some crazy weather, which led to rehearsals for our spring musicals being held rain, shine, and once during a power outage. February also brought loss to our ministry with the passing of a 9-year-old who participated in our theater program, as well as the unrelated passing of a young child of one of our dance families. We were proud of our community for coming together with the help and compassion they provided.
march
In March, our parade team performed in the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Old Sacramento. We also opened our children’s musical Dear Edwina, which shares the message of loving who you were created to be instead of comparing yourself to others. We had incredible times with this special cast, and God provided opportunities for great conversations and relationship building.
April
In April, our dance touring team was blessed to present at Davis Christian Assembly in Davis, CA. It was a good time to share our love of Christ and dance, and ended with an epic meal with our extended family of God. Thank you, Pastor Jonathan and the rest of the DCA staff for welcoming us! We also opened our spring production of Anastasia. This haunting musical portrays the assassination of the Romanovs - a real Russian royal family - and the fictional journey of their daughter if she had survived. With a strong message of discovering your purpose and what you’re meant to be, this musical really touched our audiences and also our cast.
May
May came with the opening of The Aristocats, our musical production featuring our youngest thespians. We also had some incredible teens assist with this show. Under the mentorship of the amazing Ms. Amber, we got to see these young people absolutely shine in their leadership roles - and we were also blessed with their energy, creativity, and productivity! May was also Spring Showcase month - over 180 Royal Stage students presented dance, theater and vocal performances. Showcase is always our favorite time of year as everyone is brought together to glorify God in the arts. A huge thank you to our host Bridgeway Church - because Showcase long outgrew our theater space!
June
Summer kicked off our summer camp series - four camps in four weeks throughout June and July. These camps were held at The Lifehouse Church in Rocklin, our theater in Citrus Heights, and our studio in Roseville. Each camper experienced dance, theater, art, games, and the message of Christ each day. Plus a souvenir t-shirt, because this is America. We welcomed all campers, regardless of their ability to pay, and many scholarshipped kids enjoyed a great summer! The end of the month was also the start of our fireworks booth sales. We ran three booths this year to raise money for our scholarship, outreach, and counseling funds. We also partnered with Sierra Mountain Music Camp this year to provide financial assistance for kids to go experience music education in the mountains for one week!
July
After waiting an entire year after initial licensing issues and other circumstances, we finally performed our Royal Stage Select show Clue! This hilarious whodunnit brought some laughter and energy to our stage in the dead of summer. We also had a great time with Elise, our sweet summer intern from Texas, who not worked all of our summer camps, but got thrown into helping backstage AND onstage during Clue. Such a rockstar, that girl! Please come back to California next year!
August
August brought yet another production, Bye Bye Birdie! This cast was a very unique combination of some of our long term Royal Stage participants, and also many brand new faces. Ms. Tana did an incredible job as director, as she brought God’s word into rehearsals in new ways. We were so blessed by this show and this cast - it was a super fun way to wrap up our summer programming!
September
In September, our touring group was selected to be the entertainment at the Acres of Hope fundraiser. This spiritually-based renewal center provides a safe family environment and a healthy living program for women with children. We were so honored to dance and sing for their event. Our parade team also practiced hard for their upcoming Disneyland performance - and also played pretty hard too. Nothing like a long summer in California to run through a splash park at the end of September and soak your leaders!
October
October was a HUGE month for Royal Stage. Our parade team performed in the Dance the Magic parade at Disneyland, and then we had a studio move! After having our main location at our Melody Lane studio for 10 years, we moved to a larger and safer studio down the road. This was a huge undertaking on an extremely tight timeline, and our people showed up for the challenge. Across town, we held a huge cleaning and organization day at our theater. Whew! The new studio space is beautiful, and we are so thankful to our Royal Stage family for painting, cleaning, constructing, moving, and so many other task completions to get us ready to welcome all of our dancers and actors to our new home. We also threw in a night at the Westside Church Trunk-or-Treat. We are so grateful to have this church as a ministry partner.
November
More musicals! Suessical with the kids/teens and Footloose with our teens and adults. Both shows went off without a hitch. Seussical enjoyed a colorful and fun week of performances, where many of our young actors were stretched emotionally and creatively. Footloose not only put on great performances, but also formed tight bonds. This cast became the best of friends and reunited for an epic cast party with ice cream and an intense amount of karaoke. Both shows also brought two new musical directors to Royal Stage, and we are so excited for them to be staying on staff for our 2025 shows!
December
December brought our final FNS, and a very special staff Christmas party. We are spending this month mostly on hiatus, allowing our staff and families to rest, recharge, and come back strong for January. We as a group have seen so much breakthrough with our kids, teens, adults and honestly with each other. God has challenged us and blessed us. It is our prayer that we honor Him well.
Royal Stage is a place where kids happily come back to decorate the theater Christmas tree immediately after and exhausting week of nightly rehearsals and six back-to-back performances. It is a community destination that not only serves our programming, but also many community groups that are doing their part to better the world around them. It is a place that not only teaches the arts, but also God’s love. It’s a place that we are proud of and so thankful to be at.
THANK YOU for helping it to continue through your generous giving, prayers, and love.
