By Valerie Franchi, Contributing Writer
Southborough – A local high school student and her friend have turned their love of theater into a part-time job. Taking advantage of the trend for theme birthday parties, Lexi Ryan of Southborough and Tori Heinlein of Dover have created Princess Party Pals. The pair dress up as Disney princesses to entertain groups of delighted young girls.
Ryan, 17, a junior at the Advanced Math and Science Academy in Marlborough, said that the two girls met while auditioning for Friends of Broadway, a musical revue of girls who travel around the country.
“We didn’t know anyone else and ended up singing together,” Heinlein, 14, said. “We became friends right away.”
That was more than seven years ago and the two have stayed best friends, performing in theater in the Boston area and central Mass. Both played the role of the Ghost of Christmas Past in different performances of “A Christmas Carol” at Worcester’s Hanover Theater.
“We get along so well because we have a common passion; we complement each other,” Heinlein said.
Before starting Princess Party Pals, the duo created homemade greeting cards and sold them to friends. They donated the proceeds to charities such as the Jimmy Fund and the Red Cross.
The idea for their latest venture came from their interest in performing and love of all things Disney. Both of them have performed at Disney World.
“We love the songs,” said Ryan, who plays Belle from “Beauty and the Beast.”
She added that the two spent a year and a half planning their business strategy.
“We did market research and sent out a survey to come up with the packages and pricing,” she said.
Heinlein was originally going to portray Cinderella, but “after the ‘Frozen’ craze,” Ryan said they decided to include the popular movie character Anna instead.
They girls bought theater-quality costumes as an investment in the business. According to Heinlein a portion of the proceeds will go to charity.
Since its launch in the fall, Princess Party Pals has entertained at two birthday parties and several community events. At the parties, they sing songs, make crafts and organize games and activities such as face painting.
According to Heinlein, they hope to expand the business to include other characters.
“Girls at the party always ask for Elsa [from “Frozen”],” Ryan noted.
Added Heinlein: “We would even like to add a pirate to attract boys to hire us.”
Both agree that the business is helping them realize their dream of working in the theater.
“Party princesses definitely helped us gain skills that we are lacking, such as interacting directly with people, developing business strategies and budgeting expenses,” Heinlein explained.
Ryan is “looking to a career on stage, on Broadway,” while Heinlein is open to any type of work in the industry.
“I was on Broadway at age 9,” she said, “and realized this is what I want to do.”
For more information, email [email protected] or visit “Princess Party Pals” on Facebook.
