Elyna Mellen
Originally from Chicago, Elyna is a BFA Acting graduate from Brigham Young University, with minors in Psychology and Global Women's Studies. Elyna’s introduction to the stage came before she was born, while in the womb as her mother played Helena at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre (in fact, the name Elyna is in homage to this role– a fitting origin for such a Shakespeare nerd). Growing up in dressing rooms, rehearsal rooms, acting classrooms was foundational in shaping Elyna’s love of language and inclination towards performing. As an actor and an artist, she believes in seeking the complicated truth in every story and approaching every role with wholehearted authenticity, nuance, and vulnerability. Recent credits include Viola in Twelfth Night (dir. Lisa Wolpe) with the Prague Shakespeare Company, as well as Doña Leonor in House of Desires, Lydia in Pride and Prejudice, and The Governess in The Turn of the Screw at BYU. She also has experience with film and voice acting, including the television pilot Knights of the Cross and various student films, as well as regular appearances on BYU Radio’s Apple Seed Podcast. When not performing, Elyna has also enjoyed the experience of assistant directing and dialect coaching BYU’s Wait Until Dark and assisting with education and dramaturgy efforts as the Seminar Grove Manager at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, where she will be again this upcoming summer season.