house of y.e.t. is Statesville's new creative and performing arts venture! With acting classes, creative writing classes, festivals, workshops, and other events, all geared toward children and teens, the power of storytelling will be felt throughout the crossroads city!

Founder and teacher Rosalind Stanley is a newcomer to Statesville. She grew up in rural, coastal Maine and studied theater under Kevin O'Leary, an actor and writer with a 20-year career in New York City. She also studied creative writing under a host of authors (most notably Dikkon Eberhart, her father and the author of Paradise; On the Verge; The Time Mom Met Hitler, Frost Came to Dinner, and I Heard the Greatest Story Ever Told; and the Percy Black series). Kevin's "Don't tell me it can't be done; tell me how it can be done" philosophy, combined with her father's tenacious search for the truest way to tell his stories, inspired her from a young age to do for other children what they had done for her.

Over the next 20 years, she earned a degree, got married, had four children, and taught or participated in countless workshops, classes, children's programs, and staged readings all over Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. Now, she and her family (Dale, the lead pastor of Saint John's Lutheran Church, and their children Evie, Miles, Liat, and Devar) call Statesville home. They love the small-town feel, the bustling downtown, and the kindness of the locals. And Rosalind loves the opportunity to put her passions for children, teaching, and storytelling to work.

Why "house of y.e.t."? y.e.t. stands for yaffa, emet, tov, the Hebrew words for beauty, truth, and goodness. house of y.e.t. is a place where everyone can recognize, appreciate, and evoke those transcendental qualities. 

house of y.e.t.'s  meetings, rehearsals, and festivals will take place in the Fellowship Hall of Saint John's Lutheran Church: 740 N. Center Street, Statesville, NC 28677.

Get in touch for information on our classes, festivals, and other opportunities!