07/22/2026
As one curtain closes, another one is already beginning to rise.
Preparations are already underway for a brand new season at Desert Star Performing Arts. Our Middle School students are preparing for 12 Angry Men, our High School students are diving into the incredible world of Hadestown, and our Community Theatre family is opening auditions to everyone for Grease.
That excitement is real… but today, it came with a bittersweet feeling.
As we hauled the final pieces of the Mamma Mia! set into storage, one of our cast members looked at me and simply said,
“Well, Miss Tiff… that’s a wrap on Mamma Mia.”
For just a moment, my heart sank.
The taverna was beautiful. The music was unforgettable. The dancing was funky. The acting was heartfelt. But none of those things are what I’ll remember most.
I’ll remember the people.
For weeks, coworkers, community members, scholars, parents, old friends, and brand-new friends came together to create something truly special. We gave up evenings, weekends, and summer days. We laughed until we cried, survived long rehearsals, solved impossible problems, and somehow transformed an empty stage into a little Greek island that audiences never wanted to leave.
Watching all of the cast trust me enough to take this journey together has been the greatest gift I could have ever received as a director. Seeing the audience leap to their feet after that final bow, wanting just one more song, one more dance, one more moment… that was because of each and every one of them.
The musical director Maddisyn Myers
Donna Nora Johnson
Sam Joshua Michel
Tanya Ashley Osborn
Rosie Delana Fitzgerald
Harry Thomas Herline
Bill Alexander La Forge Jr.
Sophie Riley Rocha
Sky Chip Hines
Taverna Guests: Brandee Dubois &Rusty, Molly Marie and Justyce Ann
Ali Sierra DiMare
PepperDaniela Hartter
Sound- swifty & Loke Lau
Lights- Kye Ostby & Salem Stones
The ensemble and dancers that are soooo much more than that.. my scholars who follow me onto every path, and every unknown.
Cadence.
Garrett.
Riley.
Weston.
Gavin.
Tasheena.
Sariah.
Luca.
Jeslynn.
Ana.
Maliya.
Jordan.
Brayden.
Thank you for everything.
It’s not just the applause.
It’s the people standing beside you before the curtain ever opens.
As difficult as it is to say goodbye to Mamma Mia!, I know this isn’t really goodbye.
It’s simply the end of one beautiful chapter.
Now it’s time to tell another story.
Thank you for letting me be your director.
I’ll never forget this summer.
Until the next curtain rises…
❤️
— Miss Tiff
