Megan Demsky - Genesis Children's Theatre

In this heartwarming and insightful episode, Angie Burns sits down with Megan Demsky, the visionary behind Genesis Children's Theatre in Plano, Texas. What started as a small family venture has grown into a powerhouse of mentorship, creativity, and community. Megan shares how Genesis is reshaping the perception of children’s theater—shifting the spotlight from showbiz chaos to a deeply intentional, mentorship-driven space where acting is treated as “human training.”

You’ll hear how Genesis develops not just performers, but confident, collaborative, and compassionate people—many of whom go on to become lawyers, doctors, and leaders of all kinds. Megan and Angie dive deep into the power of culture, the professionalism of the staff, and how handwritten love notes and single casting are transforming kids' lives on and off stage.

🌟 Perfect For:

• Parents seeking a healthy, nurturing theater experience for their kids
• Educators and mentors in performing arts
• Theater professionals thinking about starting their own programs
• Anyone who believes in the power of storytelling, confidence, and community

🎟 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why Genesis was founded to be the opposite of toxic theater culture
• How professional experience and mentorship shape the staff and students
• What makes Genesis’ single-cast model so impactful
• The surprising connection between theater training and law school success
• The importance of handwritten “love notes” and emotional intelligence
• How structure and boundaries for parents enhance the entire experience

💬 Memorable Quotes:

“We’re a mentorship program disguised as a theater.”
“Double casting means half the time, half the attention, and half the impact.”
“Love notes are about the human qualities—not just the spotlight moments.”

📍 About Genesis Children’s Theater:
Genesis is a nonprofit theater in Plano, Texas, focused on creating professional-level performances while prioritizing mentorship, character-building, and individualized attention. With small class sizes, seasoned staff, and a deeply collaborative culture, Genesis is redefining what a children’s theater can be.

Website: genesischildrenstheatre.org
Instagram: @genesistheatre
Facebook: @GenesisChildrensTheatre
Yelp: yelp.com/biz/genesis-childrens-theatre-plano-2

Email: Contact Form
Phone: [phone]

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
(Upbeat Music)

(00:03):
Hello, this is Angie Burns, the owner and
publisher of Allen City Lifestyle, and
welcome to the Allen City Lifestyle
Podcast. On our podcast, we celebrate the
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(00:25):
and Parker, and share them with our
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on our residents here in our area.
Hello, Megan. How are you today? Hi. Hi,
good, Angie. Thanks for having me. Well,
thank you for coming to City Lifestyle

(00:46):
with Angie Burns Podcast. We are here
talking with Megan. I wanna say Woodall
because I've known you for so long that I
know her former name, even though-- How
over 20 years? It's been Demsky for like
20 years, but I still revert. We went to
high school together. That's how long
we've known each other. So Megan Demsky
with Genesis Children's Theater in Plano.

(01:06):
So Megan, tell us just general overview
of what is Genesis Children's Theater,
and then we'll jump into details. Yeah,
great. So Genesis is a children's theater
that my mom and I started 15
years ago. We are a nonprofit.
And the reason why Genesis came about was
because we saw a need in the community to

(01:26):
have a children's theater that operated
more like a professional theater rather
than a children's theater. So we blend
those two things together. We like to
keep our classes small, our cast sizes
small. Our teachers are very intentional
about how they direct. We say that we are
a mentorship program disguised as a

(01:49):
theater. We believe acting training is
human training. So you're gonna see a lot
of the same kids come through our doors
constantly because not only are they in a
show, but they're also learning
mentorship from us, our theater as a
whole, our staff, and the students as
well. So we put on musicals, we put on

(02:12):
straight plays, we put on Shakespeare for
all ages. So from grades first all the
way to seniors. And actually our summer
show, it'll be the last show that our
seniors, so they had already graduated in
May. It'll be their final show with us.
And that's always a sweet time. And you
even do shows with the staff. So there's
adult productions as well that

(02:32):
incorporate the kids and the staff, which
are really fun. Some of my favorite ones
to come see. Yes, yeah, that is unique to
Genesis. Not only is it super duper fun,
but it's also like professional
development. It's important that our
teachers remember what it's like to be an
actor. And that makes them better

(02:52):
teachers again. And then the cycle just
continues. Well, I want to focus on your
teachers for a minute, because a lot of
times there's that whole thing of those
that can do, those who can't teach, but
yours can and have. And do. And do. Like
everybody that works at Genesis is a
professional in their field. They're not
just somebody who's a hobbyist or who

(03:13):
loves theater and loves kids. So I want
to direct at this children's theater.
They are actually professionals. You
personally have been in New York, been on
tour, done all of the things, and checked
all of the boxes, and then come back to
share that gift with other people. So
tell me a little bit more about your
staff and the accolades and
accomplishments that they've had, and the

(03:34):
training that they've had to be the best
to give our kids to. Yeah, so there for a
while we said that all the Baylor people
that had graduated from Baylor, like came
back to work at Genesis, we had a ton of
Baylor people. But yeah, so I'm very
intentional about who I hire on my staff.
They go through a mentorship process with

(03:54):
one of our directors so that they also
have time to learn how we do things at
Genesis. And so they are also excellent
communicators and they're excellent
designers. They are all, like you said,
professionals in their own field. One of
our teachers, she and her writing partner
just wrote a musical. We traveled it to
New York. We performed it at 54 Below.

(04:16):
And that's just last summer. So, you
know, she's constantly writing in film
and we have lots of our directors that
still have fantastic relationships with
their professors all over colleges, all
over North Texas and beyond. Our teachers
stay with us for a very long time. That's
not to say that they get stale because we
constantly are reviving our program and

(04:39):
figuring out what works and how can we
make things go better? How can we serve
our clients better and our students
better and make things even more
professional? How can we level up? How
can we offer even more than just the
show? We have more fantastic information
coming your way. So stay with us because
City Lifestyle with Angie
Burns will be right back.

(05:02):
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(05:23):
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(Upbeat Music) And that lack of turnover
says a lot about the culture of Genesis
and what you instill in your kids is

(05:45):
coming from the top. And everybody loves
being there. They love the environment
there. And tell us a little bit more
because I feel like my full disclosure,
my kid goes to Genesis. I've known Megan
a very long time. So I have a lot of
familiarity with it, but people don't,
when they think about children's theater,
they think it's a toxic culture. They
think of the stage moms, they think of
the divas, they think of all of that. And

(06:06):
I always tell people whenever somebody
asks for a recommendation for a
children's theater, Genesis is the
opposite of that. Genesis is a loving
environment. It's a positive. It helps
with self-confidence. It helps with all
of the communication skills. It doesn't
just help a kid be a star on a stage.
Like everybody thinks their child's gonna
be a superstar. But you really focus on

(06:27):
the mentality with these kids of it's not
about being the star, it's about being a
part of a whole. And it's about being an
asset to the team and the family. So talk
a little bit more about your culture
because it is so different from most
children's theater programs that are out
there. Yeah, first of all, thank you for
saying that. We work really hard for that
to be the number one thing that comes

(06:49):
across people's minds. And when they
speak about Genesis, we want those things
to come forward beyond my kids a star
because you're right, that is not what
we're in there for. Actually, a lot of
our students now, a lot of them want to
go and be lawyers and doctors and
mathematicians. We have a ton of
different kids. Did you know that theater

(07:10):
undergraduates are actually the number
one applicants to law school?
That does not surprise me. And that's
fantastic. It's fantastic. Come out of
theater programs, go into law school
because they have the communication
skills, the confidence and the
performative aspect it takes to be
lawyers. Did you know there was also a
study of studying an actor's brain versus

(07:30):
like a surgeon's brain? And they said,
actually, actors-- And we're not just
crazy people. (Laughing) I know. You have
so much more going on in your brain
rather than performing a single task. You
are thinking about so many things, not
only what you are doing, but what the
people around you are doing and what the
audience is doing. And ignore that crying
baby over there. And I think I gotta

(07:52):
think about my costume change. We have to
think on so many different levels. It's
really remarkable. That's why
all of us have ADHD as well.
Every actor, I've never met an actor that
does not have ADHD. Yes, yeah. And we're
also really amazing about being our own
CEOs of our own because we have to. We
have to, yeah. So, yes, so yay actors.

(08:12):
Yes, let's go back to culture. Yeah,
yeah, I called her. So the culture with
actors. We're all a bunch of crazy people
with a million tabs open in our brains.
But the culture of it, it gets a bad rap.
Everybody's like, oh, Hollywood, it's so
toxic, it's so this. But it doesn't have
to be. And that's what I really love
about Genesis. So talk a little bit more
about one of my favorite things that you
guys do is the love notes and all of the

(08:35):
things that you do to really make that
environment welcoming and loving and
nurturing. Yeah. Talk a little bit more
about that and the casting, how you get
beyond when people come in that are new
and may not know, kind of what your take
on that is. Yeah, so thanks for asking
that. So one of our things that we're
very intentional about is that we only
single cast at Genesis. And I think that

(08:57):
just from that decision alone, that puts
the focus on us as a team rather than
when you double cast, you put the
emphasis on-- Or triple, or quadruple
cast as some do. Right. Because it's all
about turn and burn, how many kids can I
get through the door to make a dollar on?
Exactly, and what I say is double means
half. So if you're double cast, actually

(09:19):
that means you get half the rehearsal
time, half the performance time, and
we're not about that. So that decision
alone makes everybody on this, you get
what you get and you don't throw a fit.
And the people that, the parents that are
into that, the students that buy into,
you're right, actually, even if I am
wherever I am in the show, I'm gonna get

(09:41):
my time to shine on stage, I'm gonna get
personalized attention from the director
because there's only 20-ish of us and I
am the only person playing my part, so I
get individualized attention. So there is
that, I'm gonna say intentionality like a
million times because we are so
intentional. But I think that also,

(10:02):
that's the foundation of the culture. And
then we are also constantly community
building. So we're doing exercises and
games and just really pouring into our
kids over and over again, you need to be
a good friend for your friend. You need
to be the model for everybody to look
after. And there are eyes on you all the

(10:22):
time and you need to stick up for what we
as a team establishes
what our goals are and the things that we
hold dear, you've got to be, all of you
guys are leaders in this and they really
buy into that. And so I believe the

(10:43):
energy you give out is the energy that
you're gonna get back. So the people that
have continued to stay around and
continue to build, find those same values
of, I want my kid to not only perform on
stage, but to be around other kids that
are really incredible, that are gonna
hold them accountable, it's not gonna let
them do any stupid stuff and just our

(11:05):
families are so giving. So it just kind
of balloons out of that and we want to
nurture that culture. So you mentioned
Love Notes. So we believe that words are
incredibly powerful, which is why we are
intentional about the notes that we give
and how we speak to our students and how
we direct our students and encourage
them. So Love Notes is something that is

(11:28):
unique to Genesis and it happens on our
closing day and the director writes a
handwritten note to each one of our
students in the cast and they talk about
their journey from the beginning of
auditions all the way through rehearsal
and they point out an awesome moment they
had on stage or what people are saying

(11:50):
backstage, like our moms and crews back
there. We noticed that when somebody
needs a hand, you are always there to
move the set piece or to help your
friends zip up their costume or whatever
it is. So those things we wanna write
down with your hand and not on a computer
and speak those words to you and in front

(12:11):
of everybody and those kids take those
cards and they keep them forever. They
do, they keep them. My son has all of
them. He has all of them and he
absolutely loves reading it and what Miss
Katie or Mr. Davis or whomever he worked
with, he remembers, oh, they thought I
was so nice to everybody or they thought,
you know, and it's not, you were great in
your part or you were a star on stage.

(12:33):
Sometimes it's, you know, you did shine
but a lot of the times it's about the
humanity of it. It's like you were such a
good cast member. You were such a good
friend. It's the human qualities that
they really are taking away from it which
I absolutely love. Stay tuned. We will be
right back with City Lifestyle with Angie
Burns after these short announcements.

(12:57):
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One thing that I found as a parent is you
don't have the stage moms trying to take
over. No. You are very good and

(14:00):
intentional with, here's what you're
allowed to do. This is your lane. This is
our lane. That's right. Here's what we're
in charge of. Here's what you can do.
That's right. Here's what you can do to
help us, but you're not in charge. And I
think that's where a lot of the problems
come with parents in these situations is
they think they're in charge, but they're
not the experts. Right. And you guys are
very good at saying, here, we need your

(14:20):
help. Here's what we need your help with.
And we would love to have your help, but
this is what we need. The rest of it is
nonsense. Yes. And I love, love that
idea. Well, and again, to circle back to
the beginning of our conversation was
that was part of the reason why we built
Genesis the way that we did is that we
wanted it to look like a professional

(14:42):
theater. And in a professional theater,
the theater takes care of your costumes.
You are not expected as a cast member of
a production to purchase a certain amount
of tickets. Like you, that is the
theater's job to do that for you. So one
of the things that we always infuse into
our rehearsal process, and we can do it
because we have smaller cast sizes and

(15:04):
one person to one role. So we have all
this rehearsal time built in to where we
can do lessons and games. So we can talk
about motivating your entrances and
motivating your exits and your
characters, arc and all that kind of
stuff. We build that
into our rehearsal time
because we intentionally did that. And

(15:25):
that, not only does that build our kids
up for the next level as they continue to
level up in our program, but our shows
are incredible. They are. Like you can
come see a Genesis show. I had a
grandmother send me a message on our
website the other day. And she said, "I'm
thinking about taking my grandkids to

(15:45):
your level one show. Be honest. Is it
just like an after school kind of thing?
Or is this something that people can
actually come to?" And I said, "You will
be so shocked about how amazing these
students are. It is not just putting kids
up in little costumes and letting them
run around. They have their
blocking, they are polished,

(16:07):
their costumes look sharp, the set look
sharp. You will be amazed." My favorite
thing is that you guys don't rely on the
spectacle of a fancy venue.
You have two theaters within Genesis that
are black box style theaters. They are
smaller theaters. They don't have all the
bells and whistles, but they have what's
needed because the focus and the

(16:29):
attention is on the actors. It's on the
kids. It's not on the spectacle of
everything. And you can still do a great
show without this huge production budget,
but having the kids know what they're
doing and carry the show. I think that is
very unique to Genesis and very
commendable to you all for not saying,

(16:50):
"Hey, look at this shiny new toy that we
have, but look how amazing these kids
are." Yeah, well, I mean, think about
when you wanna go see your favorite band,
right? If you had the choice between
going to see them at the American
Airlines Center or seeing an acoustic set
in a 70-seat theater, where are you gonna
go to see your favorite band? You wanna

(17:11):
be up close and personal. You wanna be in
the songs with them, absorbing all the
auto-tune. You don't want all the
auto-tune. You want it raw and real.
That's right. So if you imagine what the
parents feel when they are right next to
the action, they are seeing their kids
shine right in front of their face. It's
an experience that's, it's remarkable.

(17:31):
And once the show starts, a good story is
a good story. It doesn't matter what kind
of props, costume, sets, whatever, you're
gonna get enveloped in that story. And
think about what are the sizes of
professional theaters in New York and
Chicago, you know? That's what a lot of
people don't understand. A lot of people,
especially from Collin County, the people

(17:52):
around here, they expect when they go to
New York, they're underwhelmed. Because
they're like, "I expected a Broadway show
to be in this big giant theater." And it
was like, "Oh, no, no." Broadway shows
are like 500-seat theater. They are very
small compared to our high school
auditoriums that we have here. The high
school auditoriums are three times bigger
than any Broadway theater that I've ever
been to. And I go to a lot of Broadway
theater. And they are so much smaller and

(18:16):
more intimate. And it's the relationship
at that level that is so different. It's
not all about putting on this big,
gigantic production. It's honestly about
having it real and authentic. And I love,
love, love that. Okay, close it out with
what do you have coming up? Where can
people find you? And what is your
favorite thing about what you do? Oh,

(18:38):
gosh, okay, well, let's go backwards. My
favorite thing about what I do is, oh my
gosh, seeing a student get it, that light
that comes on where you've tuned to the
right channel to where they finally
understand it. And then they are able to

(19:00):
apply it. And then like they soar. It's
magical. I love that moment. What we've
got coming up, well, our summer
registration is open. So we do almost 22
shows a year. Wow. So that is a lot.
We're doing like two shows a month. So we
are constantly, constantly rolling shows

(19:23):
out. So yeah, so whenever you listen to
this, I'm sure our
registration is open for something.
And then- But your registration goes
quick. So they need to be on it because
it is a coveted spot because you don't
open it to just everyone. You do close
your registration. You are about quality,
not quantity. And that's one of those

(19:44):
things that people don't realize is
they're like, oh, I didn't get my kid in.
It's like, well, registration closed,
it's closed. That's right. Yeah, we've
got several camps that, yeah, this is
right now we're in May and our July,
August camps are full. They're already on
a wait list. So yeah, you're right. They
do go fast and show them tickets to the
shows. Yes, yes. When you come see the

(20:05):
shows, get your tickets. Yeah, that's
right. If you can't be a part of our
show, come see our shows because our
students need to practice in front of a
live audience. It is not
theater until we have an audience.
And when you come and buy a ticket and
you sit in the audience for a Genesis
Children's Theater production, you are
standing up for the value of what these

(20:25):
students are practicing in front of your
very eyes, which is having eye contact
with somebody. Like you and I are
speaking right now, this is very
difficult for this coming generation
because they are on their phones or
watching TV. So even just this is huge.
It's for concept. Yeah, it's huge. Just

(20:46):
them standing up and being emotive,
having an emotion that is, or living
experience that is outside their own and
being part of a community. Like that is
what you are supporting when you come see
a show. So even if you can't be a part,
come see a show. I love that. So where do
they go to come see a show? Tell us where
you are and how to get a hold of you and

(21:07):
find out what's going on. Awesome. So our
website is genesischildrenstheatre.org
and we are located in Plano, Independence
and Parker. So there's a Tom Thumb right
there. And so we are right in that
shopping center,
tucked away in the corner.
Yeah, and there we are. You can email
admin at genesistheatre.org if you'd like

(21:28):
some more information or give us a call.
972-599-3505. Awesome. Well, I'm so glad
you got to be here today. I love when we
do podcasts with people that I'm
passionate about it. For those people
that don't know, I have a theater
background too. So that's how we
connected 30 years ago. So I love
whenever we have something that I can be
passionate about and I see how much

(21:50):
passion you have for it. And I love that
you instill that passion into the kids.
So thank you for what you do. Thank you
for coming on our podcast and we will see
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