About Us
CONFIDENCE. CONNECTION. COMMUNITY.
Halfpenny Youth Theatre is a family-owned theatre company in the Payson, UT area. We create opportunities for children to make social connections, gain confidence, and develop their talents through quality theatrical training. Our program focuses on skill building, team work, and unity in conjunction with supporting families and the community.
Starting a theatre has been a family dream of ours for years. In our combined years of experience, we have found that participation in plays and musicals teaches so many useful life skills. It is a wonderful, immersive way to learn about history, storytelling, collaboration, design and communication. Research shows that theatre students have better test scores, higher graduation rates and more social skills than average. Adults and children are in need of these screen-free social connections now more than ever. Our goal is to foster the educational component of theatre while maintaining high artistic standards and presenting enjoyable, enriching shows for the community.
Core Members
Founders
Sandra Millet
Artistic Director
Meet our Artistic Director and the Primary Director of the Spotlight Team! Sandra Millet loves being a theatre teacher. She currently teaches 7th-12th grade drama at ALA in Spanish Fork. She holds dual Bachelor’s degrees in English and Theatre and a Master’s degree in Theatre History, Theory, and Criticism, all from BYU. A founding member of Salem Community Theatre, she has directed community theatre productions as well as many, many school plays. Every year she coaches students for theatre competitions including the Utah Shakespeare festival high school competition, the International Thespian Festival, the UHSAA region and state competitions. Sandra has four wonderful daughters, four very cool sons-in-law, and eight perfect grandbabies (with more on the way). When she’s not in rehearsal, she enjoys reading, road trips, and renovating houses.
Bethany Staheli
Choreographer
Meet our Choreographer and the Director of the Mainstage and Rising Stars Teams. Bethany Staheli has been performing for as long as she can remember. Her first role was the purple cat in ‘Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?’ when she was 4. She has been trained in singing, acting, and several styles of dance including ballet, jazz, tap, and ballroom. Bethany has a degree in Secondary Education from UVU and loves to work with kids of all ages. She loves spending time with her husband and four adorable kiddos, watching Star Wars, and baking sweet treats.
Maddie Brooks
Program Administrator
Meet our Program Administrator. She loves being around theater and all of the craziness that involves. She especially enjoys facilitating arts opportunities for families and working with the awesome people involved with productions. She has fulfilled many behind the scenes roles (including House Manager, Assistant Director, Costumer, and Stage Manager) as well as earning her Master’s Degree in Arts Administration. She loves Mexican food, Shakespeare, and spending time with her cute family.
Production Team
Katie Hyer
Stage Manager
Meet our Stage Manager! Katie caught the acting bug at age 11 and hasn’t looked back since. She earned her degree in Theatre Education from Southern Utah University and has loved bringing stories to life both on stage and behind the scenes. Some of her favorite productions she has stage managed include: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Women of Lockerbie, and Xanadu. She loves spending time with her husband and three kids, as well as baking, reading, and playing the piano. Katie is excited to share the magic of theatre with the performers at Halfpenny!
Elizabeth Blevins
Production Assistant
Meet our amazing Production Assistant and the Director of our preshow for 3-5 year olds. She has performed in an array of plays and musicals at American Leadership Academy (ALA), and a handful with Halfpenny! She’s a total theater enthusiast-acting in and watching shows, writing plays, and working behind the scenes. Since graduating from ALA in 2024, she’s been working with Halfpenny on the production side. She loves every second of it! Halfpenny has quickly become like her second home. She loves working and playing with kids, and especially loves seeing theater help them the way it helped her. She has her Associates in Psychology from Utah Valley University, and is currently continuing her education there to obtain her Bachelor’s in Psychology.
Esther Slaeker
Music Director
Meet our Music Director! She has been in the music and theater world since she was a child. The only thing she loves more than being on stage herself is watching her students shine from her seat in the audience. She began training for classical voice at age fourteen and appeared in many productions. One of her favorite roles was “Yum-Yum” in The Mikado. She continued her studies in Voice and Choral Music Education at Florida State University, even dabbling a bit in Child Psychology. Since moving to Utah, Esther has both appeared in multiple productions and served as music director for several theaters. When she’s not at the theater, you can find Esther teaching private voice lessons from her home in Santaquin, hobby writing and painting, or spending time with her husband, two beautiful children, and goofy dog.
Elden Brooks
Theater Support
Elden Brooks has been a music nerd for years, starting piano lessons at the age of 8 and teaching himself guitar in high school. He auditioned for his high school’s spring musical his senior year (after convincing his little brother to join and after working up the courage to sing in front of people). He loved theatre from then on, and he loves the chance to help other young performers build their own confidence. Elden is a little bit of a renaissance man and is grateful to his wife, Madelyn Brooks, who helped him to get involved in current productions for Halfpenny. He’s been having fun ever since! Elden can also be seen playing piano for Improv Broadway from time to time!
