Current Staff Members:
Janie Cox
Artistic Director
Janie has been involved with CYT since birth! Performing since the age of 4 she has now been involved with over 150 different productions, performing, directing, choreographing, or costuming. Janie studied musical theater at Boston Conservatory and has also done film with ABC, MTV, and LXD. Her true passion is for live theater and the “next” generation training in the ARTS! Janie has two daughters, Kinley & Baelyn, who bring so much joy to her everyday life and her husband Jon who she adores. Janie’s daily goal in life is to love the Lord with all of her heart, soul, mind, & strength and to love her neighbor as herself.
Sing. Act. Dance. Live. Create. Play. Laugh. Love.
Robyn Rebold-Smith
Managing Director
Robyn attended her first CYT drama class at the age of 10. Over the years, she has had the privilege of being a CYT teacher, musical director and camp director. Although her roles within the company change, her admiration and joy for CYT always remain the same. Robyn was the Vice President of Primary Focus which was the nation's largest elementary assembly program. She is a firm believer in what the arts can do for a child's self-esteem and development. Spending time with her husband and 2 children is her favorite thing to do.
Travis Russell
Design Director Travis entered the art world decades ago as a stage lighting designer. Over the years Travis has designed over 100+ productions in locations such as San Diego, Los Angeles, New York and Puerto Rico. He has directed fully-staged musical productions including, Jesus Christ Superstar, Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Footloose, Oklahoma!, Godspell, Aladdin, and Beauty & the Beast. In 2003 he won a San Diego Billie Award for ‘Outstanding Direction’. Travis decided to pursue his dream of painting in October of 1998. Since then, he has painted over 60 paintings and sold over 20 of them at self-promoted art shows. Work experience includes Invisible Children (Technical Director), Old Globe Theatre (Lighting Designer), and Apple (Mac Specialist).
Rene Smith
Branch Administrator
Rene joined the team in January 2024 with a love for musical theater and a deep appreciation for the mission statement of CYT. She grew up performing in dance, choir, and theater and can attribute some of her most cherished childhood memories to the performing arts community. She is newly married to her husband, Dylan, and is a proud dog mom to the sweetest golden doodle pup, Casper. She feels blessed to be a part of what God is doing through the volunteers, teaching artists, and staff here at CYT and can’t wait to see what the future holds!
Debi Couch
Accounting Manager
Debi Couch comes to us with many years of small business management experience. She has been married to her husband, Robert for 25 year and has 3 beautiful children that have been heavily involved with CYT since 2014. Whether it is stage, crew, sets chair, special activities chair, resident parent, refreshments, or stage manager, it truly has been an entire family event! 3 John 1:4
Lynn Renfrow
Costume Manager
Lynn started working as the Costume Manager for CYT in 2008, but has been with the company since 2000. She earned her M.F.A. from San Diego State in Theater Design and Technical Production. She has worked at numerous theatres, including The Old Globe and The San Diego Repertory Theatre, as a scenic artist, prop-master and costumer. Lynn has been married for 19 years to her loving husband David and has a precocious senior puppy named Sammy.
Kristin Preddy
Costume Rentals Assistant
Kristin joined the CYT family in 2002 when her daughters were 6 and 9. The family continued to be involved in classes and shows through 2014. As a parent volunteer Kristin served as a member of the Costume Committee for the first two years and then was the lead costumer for the remainder of her time. She also had the privilege of costuming two CCT shows as well. Kristin recently joined the CYT Staff and her background in Art and Interior Design has been of great benefit to the Costume Department. Kristin is married to loving husband Steve. Her adult daughters are married and she has two grandchildren. Kristin feels blessed to be a part of CYT. She enjoys the creativity that the Costume Department provides and enjoys working with people to help them with their needs. 1 Peter 1:3.
Lucas Oyos-Haynes
Shop Manager
Lucas is a San Diego native currently pursuing a Bachelors of Science in Aerospace Engineering at San Diego State University. After a number of performances in high school, Lucas joined the team at CYT in January 2022 and is so excited to get to work in theater again, this time behind the scenes! Lucas is eager to learn the ins and outs of scenic work; he loves creating things, working with his hands, and spending quality time with those closest to him.
Davis Oloya
Shop Assistant
After years of watching renditions of CYT shows on TV with his family, an 8 year old Davis got to experience his first live CYT show in the fall of 2008, and now he returns as an associates degree holder to lend a hand in the creation of the art that inspired him and many others. Currently he is a part of the technical staff that specialize in production design.
Megs Levi
Camp Director | Artistic Assistant
Megs is a boutique photographer by day and a passionate theatre teacher by night! In both of her fields of expertise Megs is intensely passionate about bringing out the best in what people have to offer.
"It's more than what we do, it's how loved we make people feel while we're doing it."