Alexa and Maddie Sarussi: Life in a Backstage Ministry

by Michael P. Murphy
Y
Alexa and Maddie Sarussi:
Life in a Backstage Ministry
ou can see it on stage.
Something special is going on.
Audiences who watched a
recent production of Beauty
and the Beast in Mesa,
Arizona, saw something that
offered more than a typical
children’s theater production. The children and teens
who performed in this production are part of a character-building ministry that gives
them a sense of purpose that
they are representing Christ in
what they do.
It all makes stage fright a little easier to bear. Sisters Alexa
and Maddie Sarussi, who
live in Scottsdale, Arizona,
know all about that, and they
have plenty to say about how
they have benefited from this
unique and special Christian
ministry.
Act One:
Enter CYT
ENCOUNTER // 04.10.11
their mission statement.
In CYT productions, parents work as stagehands and
technicians, while children and teens are the performers.
It truly is like a family, a special environment where spirituality matures in the most amazing way. Alexa and Maddie
knew they had come into a good thing.
Act Two:
Showing the Light of Jesus
Early on, Alexa and Maddie became part of a promotional tour group for CYT called Broadway Bound, where
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MICHAEL P. MURPHY
Sixteen-year-old Alexa has
a passion for lacrosse that is
matched by the works of her
Christian faith. With her church group she has gone on
mission trips to Mexico and the Apache Indian reservation, and she has spent a Saturday afternoon in downtown Phoenix packaging medical supplies for an African
mission.
Her sister Maddie, at age 14, is very much her own person but has many of the same interests as her older sister.
Church involvement has always been a part of her life, and
now she is playing junior lacrosse.
But there is something else that is a big part of their
lives—the theater. Even as youngsters they happily em-
braced the fine art of performing with the aid of a good
mentor. But this isn’t just any
theater, and it isn’t just any
mentor, either.
“It happened when we were
really young, when I was only
3 and she was, like, months
old,” Alexa says, laughing as
she glances at her younger
sister. “We participated in a
program called Kindermusik,
and our teacher was Tambra
Lamb. As we grew up, we
kept contact with Tambra, and
she started directing some
musicals like The Jungle Book
and The Music Man.”
Tambra’s small theater
troupe later joined Christian
Youth Theater (CYT), an afterschool theater arts program
that provides a wholesome,
positive, and fun environment
for kids and teens. Their goal
is to provide performing arts
skills while teaching kids to
think creatively, work together,
and develop leadership skills.
“Developing character one
stage at a time” is the crux of
We really
focus on just
showing
the light of
Jesus
through
our
performances.
they performed at nursing homes,
malls, and Disney’s California
Adventure Park. Their first stage
production was Tom Sawyer.
Alexa played the role of Mrs.
Thatcher, while Maddie, displaying her versatility, found herself
rolling up her hair and playing a
boy. “They can never get enough
guys!” she laughs.
But how can a large group of
kids performing in Broadway-style
plays be a ministry? Alexa has a
quick answer for that.
“We really focus on just showing the light of Jesus through our
performances,” she says. “We
pray a lot backstage before rehearsals and performances, and
there’s a really big focus on doing it for the Lord and doing it all
to praise Jesus, showing our abilities that are through Him.”
Maddie seconds that motion. “They base it all after Jesus, so our show may or may not be about Him,
but we want to show Him, like in how we act,” she adds.
“Everything in rehearsals is handled in a different view because it’s all Christian.”
Act Three: Judge Not
Alexa is also involved with HYPE, High school Youth
Pursuing Excellence, a sort of subgroup within CYT for
the teens. This group focuses on community service and
helping the younger kids in CYT, effectively serving as role
models. Devotions are a big part of their meetings.
“It’s been great to be around so many people who share
the same views and are even further in their walk with
Jesus than I am,” Alexa says of her CYT experience. “I can
see how it has affected their lives. There are certain people who are really devoted to Christ, and in everything that
they do you can see Him through them. It really makes me
want to develop a better relationship with Him.”
“I think I’ve learned so much more through this than I
have through other things that I’ve done,” Maddie says.
“It’s like being around other people that you can talk to. If
something goes wrong, you can pray about it with them,
and they’ll always be there. My friends are really like a
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family, and we’re so close.”
“One thing that CYT has really
taught me is to not judge people,”
Alexa says. “CYT brings so many
different people together, and it’s
really a different mix of people
than who you think you would be
friends with at school, or in general. I met a lot of people that I never
thought I would have been friends
with, and it’s really showed me
that you can be friends with anyone and really develop great
bonds with them.”
Act Four:
Performers on
Life’s Stage
Yes, it’s entertainment and it’s
fun. Memories are created and
friendships are formed, but something else is going on backstage
too: spiritual growth, leadership,
and mentoring. Director Tambra Lamb has certainly seen
this in Alexa and Maddie.
“It is such a honor that God allows me the chance to
work with and watch young people like Alexa and Maddie
Sarussi grow through the years at CYT,” Tambra states. “I
have watched Alexa develop a quiet confidence as a leader in our high school service group that other students admire. She models the positive, encouraging, welcoming
spirit that makes the CYT community like a family.
“Maddie has particularly been influential with any new
girls in the 12–14 year old age group that come into the
program. She actively works to embrace them into the
community when they are often at a stage where they
feel like outsiders wherever they go. Of course, Alexa and
Maddie have gained considerable skill as singers, dancers, and actors; but more importantly they are developing
life skills to be confident leaders of the Christian community for the next generation.”
Any performer may tell you that life is a stage, but Alexa
and Maddie Sarussi have learned that with CYT life is a
walk with Christ. Greasepaint included! E
Go to www.cyt.org to see if there is a Christian Youth
Theater group near you!