WHO RUNS THIS
ERIN BOSTON
Founder & Artistic Director
ERIN BOSTON
FOUNDER & ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Erin has directed youth theater since 2018 and has been studying voice for twenty-five years. She still takes a lesson almost every week.
She has directed or co-directed fifteen productions across Dysart High School's drama club, Curtain Call Academy, and Stage Left Productions, including The Little Mermaid Jr., Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Willy Wonka Jr., and a four-cast run of The Wizard of Oz. Her largest cast was sixty-five.
“I started Singers Wanted Theater because I love theater, I love music, I love putting it all together. I don't want anyone to miss out on the opportunity to participate because it wasn't available, or too exclusive to get in.”
HOW THIS STARTED
"I CAN HELP WITH THAT"
One of Erin's voice students had been doing theater for a few years and had stopped enjoying it. He told her he just wanted to be in a show that was light and fun and silly.
She said, "I can help with that."
The West Valley has grown enormously and the arts have not kept up. The theaters that are here mostly do plays. Erin wanted to do musicals, do them well, and do them close enough that a family in Surprise or Buckeye is not driving to Scottsdale on a Tuesday night.
There is a second thing, and it is the part she is least willing to compromise on. Theater has a habit of becoming exclusive, where you have to know somebody to get cast or be extraordinary to be included. Singers Wanted is built the other way around.
“I want anyone who wants to learn and is willing to work hard to have an opportunity to participate. Will my shows suffer for it? Maybe. But if someone learns, grows, figures out how to work hard for something, I don't need perfection.”
Erin casts as many kids as the show can hold. FLAPPER! has thirty-two roles. If far more people audition than a production can carry, there will be cuts, and there will also be another show.
TRAINING & BACKGROUND
TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF IT
- VoiceBegan singing at sixteen. Studied at Utah State University and Palomar College, then privately with Jim Uselmann and with Wendy Kallen, who she still studies with nearly every week.
- PerformingSpent a season in the ensemble with the Utah Festival Opera Company at eighteen (Naughty Marietta, La Bohème, Trial by Jury). Several productions at Palomar College, including touring fairy tales performed for bussed-in elementary schools. Most recently Sister Robert Anne in Nunsense at Stage Left.
- DirectingFifteen productions since 2018, at Dysart High School, Curtain Call Academy, and Stage Left. The high school and Curtain Call shows were co-directed with Heather Schulz.
- ChoreographyDanced her whole life, as a kid, in college, and as an adult: tap, ballet, jazz, musical theater, ballroom. She has choreographed or co-choreographed every show she has directed that needed it.
- Design & buildDesigns and builds sets, props, and costumes. Won an AriZoni award for the animal headpieces in Stage Left's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
- MusicTeaches private voice. Directs a stake choir and wants to start a community choir. Plays flute, and has sat in orchestras, bands, and pit orchestras.
SELECTED PRODUCTIONS
✦ Sadie and Sally's Sensational Adventure · 2025
✦ The Wizard of Oz, four casts · 2024
✦ Willy Wonka Jr., two casts · 2024
✦ Cinderella Confidential · 2024
✦ Chitty Chitty Bang Bang · 2023
✦ The Little Mermaid Jr. · 2022
✦ Musical Showcase · 2021
✦ The Jungle Book Kids · 2020
✦ A Pirate's Life for Me · 2020
✦ Murder at Crimson House · 2019
✦ 45 Minutes from Broadway · 2018
SAFETY & SUPERVISION
HOW WE KEEP THIS SAFE
You are handing us ten weeks of your teenager's evenings. Here is exactly how that works, including the parts that are still in progress.
- Two adults, alwaysWe run two-deep leadership. There are two adults in the room at every audition and every rehearsal. No student is ever alone with a single adult.
- Where we meetAuditions and rehearsals are held at the director's home studio in El Mirage. The family room is cleared out and set up as the rehearsal space, entered through the front door. Dave Boston works from home and is present.
- Parents at auditionsWelcome, and encouraged. We ask that you wait in the front room rather than the audition space, because a parent in the room can make it harder for a kid to relax into it.
- Rehearsals are closedTwo honest reasons. The space is a house and there is not room for an audience. And most kids want opening night to be a surprise for their family. If your student has a health concern, a behavior concern, or any other reason you need to be there, tell us and we will work it out.
- Background checksEvery adult who works with our cast is required to complete a background check, including parent volunteers. Erin's is in progress now. We will not put an adult in the room with your kid ahead of that.
- Adult-to-student contactNo one-on-one texting or social media between an adult and a student. Cast communication runs through one group thread that parents are part of.
- Drop-off and pick-upEnter from 129th Drive and exit on 130th, traveling east to west. Students who drive themselves should park on the south side of the street, opposite the pick-up line.
- TransportationFamilies arrange their own transportation to and from rehearsals.
- QuestionsCall Erin directly at 623-687-7646. She answers her own phone.
THE TEAM
WHO ELSE IS BEHIND THIS
- Erin BostonFounder, Artistic and Program Director
- Christi GrayAssistant Program Director
- Dave BostonSecretary. Has done the mountain of paperwork that turns an idea into an actual organization.
- Chuck GrayMarketing
- Jeromy WestLegal Counsel
- Katie BlackBoard
- Jonathan MechamBoard, and the designated devil's advocate
Singers Wanted Theater is incorporated in Arizona and has an EIN. We are finalizing the board and filing for 501(c)(3) status with the IRS. Until that determination comes back, we do not represent donations as tax deductible.
WHAT WE'RE BUILDING
A dedicated theater space. Classes and workshops. Choirs. Shows for everyone, not just the people who already know how to get in.
“I think a lot of people don't like the arts because they don't understand them. I want to help fix that.”
WHAT FAMILIES ASK US
THE QUESTIONS BEHIND THE QUESTIONS
Who runs Singers Wanted Theater?
Erin Boston, the founder and artistic director. She has directed youth theater since 2018, has studied voice for twenty-five years, and has directed or co-directed fifteen productions at Dysart High School, Curtain Call Academy and Stage Left Productions. Her largest cast was sixty-five.
Is Singers Wanted Theater a 501(c)(3) nonprofit?
Not yet. Singers Wanted Theater is incorporated in Arizona and has an EIN, and we are finalizing the board and filing for 501(c)(3) status with the IRS. Until that determination comes back we do not represent donations as tax deductible.
Are the adults who work with the cast background checked?
Every adult who works with our cast is required to complete a background check, including parent volunteers. Erin’s is in progress now. We will not put an adult in the room with your kid ahead of that, and we would rather say so plainly than leave it vague.
Is a student ever alone with a single adult?
No. We run two-deep leadership, which means there are two adults in the room at every audition and every rehearsal. There is also no one-on-one texting or social media between an adult and a student; cast communication runs through one group thread that parents are part of.
Can parents watch rehearsals?
Rehearsals are closed, for two honest reasons. The space is a house and there is not room for an audience, and most kids want opening night to be a surprise for their family. If your student has a health concern, a behavior concern, or any other reason you need to be there, tell us and we will work it out.
What part of metro Phoenix does Singers Wanted Theater serve?
The West Valley. Cast members come from El Mirage, Surprise, Peoria, Glendale, Goodyear, Litchfield Park and Buckeye. Erin started the company because the West Valley has grown enormously and the arts have not kept up, and families should not have to drive to Scottsdale on a Tuesday night.
What happens at drop-off and pick-up?
Enter from 129th Drive and exit on 130th, traveling east to west. Students who drive themselves should park on the south side of the street, opposite the pick-up line. Families arrange their own transportation to and from rehearsals.