Filmmaking

Melody has been steadily building her filmmaking portfolio since 2021.

Writing, directing, editing, running sound, art directing… she’s happy to do it all.

Her short screenplays The Skunk is Dead and Bleak Little Number received semi-finalist badges at the world-renown Cordillera International Film Festival; and back in 2023, she was awarded Best Writing for her original short Thanks for Something at the Love Notes Short Film Competition. She single-handedly produced the film in less than 24 hours and it was also awarded Best Directing and Best Editing.

Back in 2021, she wrote and directed her first short film - BRAILLE - with a humble crew of four and no budget. Amazingly, it made its way into the top five Nevada films (out of 300 submissions) at the 2021 Cordillera International Film Festival.

Most recently, she was awarded Best Editor for a short film by Maya Wolery titled The Perfect Couple which she also directed and engineered sound for at the 2026 Love Notes Short Competition. She built the storyboard from the ground up and completed it in two days.

Currently, she is in pre-production for her moody and mysterious drama - Bleak Little Number - shooting in Reno/spring, 2026, with a crew of spectacular Reno artists and a leading actor from NYC.

Melody has performed leading roles in approximately 40 musicals, over the course of her 20+ year career.

Her extensive musical theater career includes a notable performance as Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors. Ricketts booked the leading role in the equity production at Farmers Alley Theatre (Michigan) by submitting a video audition from her car. Over 300 women submitted, including ones that played the role on broadway.

Her work as a princess/character performer from 2014 - 2020 significantly boosted her musical theatre and improv skills by way of social media presence. While working for the two top companies in Southern California (Smile and A Song Parties and Wishing Well Entertainment), she amassed a following of 70k to watch her expertise in makeup transformations and comedic skit work. You can find an Allure Magazine interview she was hand-selected for here which has a staggering 16.5 million views.

In 2021, Melody originated the musical role of iconic playwright Lauren Gunderson in Jen Coogan’s The Women in Theatre Project. She has since performed the piece at the iconic Feinstein’s at The Nikko (San Francisco) and and the world-renown nightclub 54 Below in New York City.

Her next musical project is Bruka Theatre’s production of Cabaret where she’ll have the honor of playing the one and only Sally Bowles, opening in June, 2026.

Musical Theater & Thespian Acting

Since 2023, Melody has been on a hot streak of landing roles in both the commercial and short/feature film industry.

She just made her SAG/feature film debut in Kristoffer Polaha’s Mimics. The film held its red carpet premiere at the Reno Pioneer Center in February of 2026, and the house was packed with 900 people. The film also stars MORIAH, Stephen Tobolowsky and Arianne Zucker to name a few… and is currently playing in 400+ theatres, nationwide.

In 2025, she received the emotionally demanding and rewarding role of Emilia in award-winning writer/director’s Cecilia Romo’s latest short film - Gloria. It will be premiering at The Mexican-American Film & Television Festival in April (2026) at the Harmony Gold Theater in Los Angeles. She also spent months embodying the firecracker role of Ronnie Bellamy in Troy Ozuna’s ambitious and noir-influenced short film, Dead As Disco - currently running in major festivals.

Back in 2024, she starred in a large-scale Hallmark short film/movie spoof (A Winter’s Charm in Carson City) for Visit Carson City’s winter marketing campaign; and she voiced a leading character in FOR SALE, a short by Stephen George which made it into the Top 5 Nevada Films at the 2024 Cordillera International Film Festival.

In 2022, she was honored with the Award for Exceptional Acting at the Carson City Film Noir Festival for her 1940’s portrayal of a grieving woman in a short titled Dead Hearts.

On-Screen Acting

Singing & Music Production

While Melody has had a passion for writing and music for as long as she can remember, music production snuck up on her. Sometime in 2018, she distinctly remembers listening to Lorde’s album Melodrama for the first time and thinking “I’ve got to purchase a proper recording program and get some s**t off my chest and out of my imagination.” Since then, she’s independently produced countless tracks ranging from synth-pop to hip hop to folk to musical theatre. She is open and eager to produce any and all genres though - and welcomes anyone to reach out for it.

The majority of her musical inspiration comes from Lorde, Lana Del Rey, The 1975 and Bon Iver.