Who we are

At Once Upon a Party, we have a two-fold mission:

1. To create unforgettable memories  through the highest standard of character performance, while preserving childhood magic and providing intimate encounters with beloved characters for Utah's children.

2. To provide consistent work for Utah's professional artists: actors, singers, entertainers, designers, costumers, and photographers.

Our team is passionate about what we do, and we promise to bring enthusiasm, vitality, and professionalism to every event we attend. We personalize every party so that our Heroines and Heroes of Honour always experience the event of their dreams. That's why our motto is:

If you can dream it, we can do it!

Meet the cast!

Amy Shreeve Keeler
Snow Queen/Snow Princess
Utah Valley/South Salt Lake

Amy Shreeve Keeler graduated from BYU in Music/Dance/Theatre and was immediately offered a position as a vocalist/actress with the Walt Disney Company. After "playing princess" for several years in both Hong Kong and Orlando, Amy returned to her home state of Utah where she now spends her time as Mommy to her sons Davis and Hayden. Favorite local roles include : Amalia (She Loves Me), Mother (Ragtime), Millie (Thoroughly Modern Millie), Polly (Crazy for You), Belle (Beauty and the Beast), Jane (Jane Eyre), Sarah (Guys and Dolls), and Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance. 

Anna Daines Rennaker

Co-Founder, Snow Queen

Utah Valley

Anna has been playing dress up her whole life, and she sees it as a dream come true to do so professionally. As an adjunct professor of humanities and writing at Brigham Young University and Utah Valley University, Anna loves every chance she can get to ditch the classroom and to sing and dance with children. Anna has studied voice and acting most of her life, and performs in theater, film, and commercial projects across the state. She looks forward to playing Emma Smith in the upcoming film Days Never to Be Forgotten for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Recent theater credits include Jane in Disney’s Tarzan (Hale Centre Theatre), Eponine in Les Misérables (Hale Centre Theatre), Aldonza/ Dulcinea in Man of La Mancha (Hale Orem), and Maria in The Sound of Music (Saratoga Springs).

Emma Koford

Snow Princess

Utah Valley

Emma is currently studying elementary education at Brigham Young University, and has been performing her whole life. Put the two together, and she’s a dynamite character performer! Emma has graced the stage in productions like West Side Story and The Sound of Music, and sang with the Arizona State Show Choir for two years.  

Jacob Rennaker

Spider Hero

Utah Valley

Dr. Jacob Rennaker is a bit of a jack of all trades, daylighting as a religion professor/ comic book expert, and moonlighting as a favorite uncle and babysitter. Every child that meets Jacob instantly wants to play with him, and his comic book expertise makes him an extra delightful hero. Jacob teaches at Brigham Young University and edits for BYU Studies Journal, and (when not slinging webs) is working on publishing his first academic book. Jacob is a huge supporter of the arts, attending every performance he can of his wife’s, and is a living room stand-up comedian and professional commentator on terrible movies. 

Kenna Lynn Smith

Snow Princess

Utah Valley

Kenna has been dancing, singing, and playing pretend since she was a little girl. She has many years’ experience in performing and teaching jazz, modern, ballet, and ballroom dance. Kenna also loves theater and has performed all around Utah, most recently at the Hale Center Theater Orem. She is currently studying psychology and theater performance at Utah Valley University. Kenna loves princesses and truly believes that dreams come true!

Marissa Scout Smith

Snow Princess

Utah Valley

Marissa is used to delighting children, having most recently played Wendy in Peter Pan at the Hale Center Theater Orem. You may also recognize her from the film Jonah and the Great Fish as Crabelle, and from various theater productions around the state. Some credits include Luisa in The Fantasticks, Little Red in Into the Woods, and Mary Lennox in The Secret Garden. Marissa has also been a featured soloist at the LDS Conference center, and toured with the BYU Young Ambassadors to China and the Pacific Northwest. Marissa is probably the cutest person you’ll ever meet, and speaks both Spanish and Latvian fluently.

Megan Lynn Heaps

Co-founder, Snow Queen, Snow Princess

Davis/ Salt Lake

Megan is a familiar face around Utah due to her extensive work in theater, film, commercials, and as a professional photographer. She has performed most consistently at the Hale Centre Theatre, and has had the privilege to play many “dream roles” there, including Jane in Disney’s Tarzan, Fantine in Les Misérables, Lucie in A Tale of Two Cities, Maria in The Sound of Music, and Luisa in the US premiere of Zorro the Musical.  Megan’s greatest dream, however, is to create unforgettable memories with children and to relive her own magical childhood. When not performing or photographing, Megan is an adjunct professor and director of acting at Snow College and a director of elementary school students with Encore! Musical theater workshops. // Vellagreen.com

Megan Yates
Snow Princess
Utah Valley

Megan is beyond excited to be apart of Once Upon a Party! Her background lies mostly in stage productions, but has also loved spending time in the recording studio and on film. Megan will be playing Emma Carew in Centerpoint’s upcoming production this fall of Jekyll and Hyde. She appeared as ‘Evelyn Nesbit’ in Ragtime, and ‘Brenda’ in Hairspray and loved her experience recently in Les Miserables at the HCT West Valley. She has also been seen in the U.S. Premier of Zorro, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and Joseph…Dreamcoat. By day, Megan is a full time voice teacher and performance coach in SLC and Orem as a licensed Level III Instructor with the Institute for Vocal Advancement. www.singwithlinda.com

Shae Robins

Snow Queen, Snow Princess

Utah Valley/ Salt Lake

Shae is a senior in the BFA Music Dance Theater program at Brigham Young University.  She was recently cast as “Mercedes” in the U.S. premier of The Count of Monte Cristo, a production being workshopped at BYU by Broadway composer Frank Wildhorn. Shae has performed in various theaters across the state including Sundance, the Hale Center Theaters, The Scera, and Brigham Young University. Some of Shae’s theater credits include Vanessa/Nina (In The Heights), Ensemble (Les Misérables), Ensemble (Mary Poppins), Clara (Light in the Piazza), Polly (Crazy for You), Amneris (Aida), and Millie (Thoroughly Modern Millie). Shae currently teaches voice lessons and works at as a dance instructor at the On Broadway Academy in American Fork. She is the highest rated teacher among students!

Whitney Davis

Snow Queen

Davis/ Salt Lake

Whitney is so excited to be a part of Once Upon a Party!  She can't think of anything more thrilling than being a princess and making kids smile.  Whitney is currently playing her favorite princess, Belle, in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast at Pickleville Playhouse (summer of '14).  Her family runs the theater, and she has loved being a part of the shows there every summer since she was 14.  Some of her favorite roles include: Annie in Annie Get Your Gun, The Narrator in Joseph...Technicolor Dreamcoat, Milly in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and Gratilda in Bandito Rides Again.  Whitney was just married to the love of her life in May of this year, and they are currently living in Bountiful.  She graduated in the Spring of '13 from BYU with a bachelors in Family Studies, and had the pleasure of performing with the BYU Young Ambassadors her senior year there.  She wants to thank her "big sis" Megan for letting her be a part of this fun group!  You're never too old to make believe!