Skip to main content
Monday, November 9, 2026Nov 9
Subscribe
All Sections
Search
More

Passion for acting: Local sisters find roles on stage and in film

Melayna, left, and Kailey Buttry stand in front of a poster for "Providence," a Christian-based film with no dialogue that was shot in Springfield, Tenn. The sisters have roles in the movie.
Melayna, left, and Kailey Buttry stand in front of a poster for "Providence," a Christian-based film with no dialogue that was shot in Springfield, Tenn. The sisters have roles in the movie. Melayna, left, and Kailey Buttry stand in front of a poster for "Providence," a Christian-based film with no dialogue that was shot in Springfield, Tenn. The sisters have roles in the movie.

By Barry Courter 3 min read

photo Kailey Buttry
photo Melayna Buttry
photo In this scene from the film “Providence” are Rich Swingle, Juli Tapken, Melayna Buttry, Priscilla Wittman and Kailey Buttry.

Even at only 9 and 11 years old, sisters Melayna and Kailey Buttry are veterans of both stage and screen.

They’ve acted in plays at their church, Hixson United Methodist, for Closed Door Entertainment and at the Chattanooga Theatre Centre. Both say they love using their imaginations to create the characters they play and meeting new friends through acting, but Kailey is quick to say that she does it all for a higher purpose.

“I do it for God, and to glorify him,” she says. “Everything I try to do is for him.”

And they’re putting their acting talents where their hearts are. In their latest turn, they play grieving sisters in the indie Christian romance movie “Providence,” which had a limited run in major cities like New York, Los Angeles and Atlanta.

One scene that stands out to the two sisters took place in a cemetery.