As part of the new Dream Team for the 25-26 year, Christopher Sykes made a splash this year as YMLA and YWLAs’ first and only theatre teacher! With his cross-school showcase and eccentric classroom environment, he has shown the dedication a true thespian can bring to the school. As a first-time teacher though, there are a lot of hurdles to cross and experience to draw from. So, let’s take a deep dive into “Canada’s Finest.”
Right after high school, Sykes went straight to Lethbridge College for general education. At this point, he had a vague interest in theatre but was far from committed to it. He took a part-time position at a professional theater, Carriage House, where he did some ensemble work and lots of manual labor. The first show he officially appeared in was Les Misérables! After doing his first official audition for Nacho Libre, he realized he had both a talent and an interest in theatre.
At this point, there was only one thing standing in his way: college. He applied to BYU Lethbridge, his dream school. There were 1500 applicants every year, and only 45 got a call back. And even then, only 15 got accepted from that callback. He won. Both rounds. Unfortunately, due to his poor grades, he wasn’t able to get admitted. Even worse, his backup school wouldn’t end up working out due to problems with administration and scholarship allocation. Ultimately, he ended up back at his safety school and finished his degree that way. In the end, he was back at square one, working back at Carriage House Theatre.
After that, at Carriage, he taught youth theatre. Here, he found what he truly wanted out of acting. To help other people reach their acting potential. In this realization, he proceeded to apply for teaching positions in Texas – solely because it sounded cool – and that is how he ended up at YMLA!
When asked about the most important thing he learned in theatre that translates to the classroom, he had this to say: “People are better than they think they are.” This is one of the many revelations he had while teaching youth theatre. Many people simply need the right teacher to push and encourage them to reach their full potential.
In his time here, he has gone through many phases of class organization. He has done physical activities, classic lectures, and everything in between. His class looks completely different from how it did at the beginning of the year. We are grateful to have him and can’t wait to see what he can accomplish at the YMLA!
