A princess dream becomes reality

A young girl runs up to Rapunzel and gives her a huge hug. Another points to every princess on her shirt and points to the same princesses standing in front of her. Another dances with laughter as Moana twirls her around.

Each of these young girls was meeting her favorite princess at Princess Paradise Productions’ second grand opening show, held recently at Snow Shack Heritage House in Midlothian.

Before the show, they could get their face painted by Snow White or get a glitter tattoo by Ariel. They wrote letters to their favorite princess, painted their nails and ate a princess-inspired snow cone.

Rapunzel, Jasmine, Belle, Moana and Tiana sang, danced, shared stories and taught the girls how to be kind during the show. Afterwards, each girl met all the princesses and took a picture with them.

Princess Paradise Productions is a new business in Ellis County that offers Facetime calls with princesses, birthday parties, special events and princess-themed shows.

Melissa Pettus, owner of Princess Paradise, spent most of her life acting, putting on costumes and diving into her characters. While in college at SAGU, she worked for a princess company and performed at children’s birthday parties.

Becoming a princess and impacting a child’s life is an experience she never forgot.

“I’ve always loved diving into a character and stage work, but the difference that I experienced when I got to dress up as a princess and go to a kid’s birthday party or a special event is that I was able to actually break that barrier versus when I was on stage,” Pettus said. “I was down on their level and able to give them a hug, get on my knees and speak with them eye to eye. I was engaging completely as the princess and dropping little nuggets of truth and love and kindness.”

Ever since, she has dreamed of starting her own princess company.

When the pandemic hit, a birthday party she planned for her niece was put on hold. Pettus’ present for her niece was a “Frozen” themed birthday party. When she could no longer host it, she realized she could give her niece something else – a Facetime call with Elsa.

Pettus put on Elsa’s costume and wig and did her make-up to match, then she called her niece.

“It was such a wonderful way to be able to connect to her through this character that she loves and she felt like she knew so well,” Pettus said. “From that Facetime call for her birthday, I realized that I have no limits on kids if I were to use a Facetime call. I could dress up as any character and call them, wherever they are, especially during the pandemic when everyone was stuck at home.”

Six months ago, her husband pushed her to make her dream princess company a reality.

Because of her love for Disney princesses, Pettus had invested in many costumes and wigs over the years, so all she had to do was find her princesses.

She began to reach out to friends and connections in the Ellis County area and, slowly, filled each princess role. Each princess has a performing background whether it’s in dance, cheer or musical theater, she said.

On their own, each princess learns everything about their character’s movie and world. Pettus trains them to know how to handle bizarre questions or situations where a child shares some trauma they may be going through. Pettus explained that it is important for each of her girls to understand the seriousness of stepping into a princess’ shoes.

Currently, Princess Paradise has Ariel, Belle, Cinderella, Moana, Tiana, Rapunzel, Snow White, Jasmine and Aurora. Pettus said she is always looking for new princesses and encourages anyone interested to reach out to her.

Her company is dream come true, Pettus said, because it allows her to do what she loves and bring “something of deeper value and love to children.”

“The goal is to be able to reach kids through princesses in a more tangible way that brings truth and real life to the princesses,” she said. “I just found that one of the most rewarding outlets is through dressing up as a princess because there’s so much joy and innocence in children and getting to bring to life one of their heroes or someone that they look up to, bringing that character to life is just so special.”

Princess Paradise has multiple birthday packages that include face painting, glitter tattoos, games, songs, stories and even snow cones. Pettus hopes to have a princess show, one she writes and directs herself, either once a month or quarterly.

For more information or stay up to date with princess shows, visit them on Instagram @princess_paradise_productions.

Originally published November 21, 2022 - https://www.waxahachiesun.com/arts_and_entertainment/a-princess-dream-becomes-reality/article_94ab383a-69e0-11ed-a0cb-df4c2522c2ff.html