Artists

Rachel Piero is in her 7th year at the Alley, having held roles in both the Stage Management and Production Management departments. An avid joy seeker and theatre kid-turned-adult, she also delights in mentoring storytellers and aspiring theatre makers of all ages. BFA: Carnegie Mellon University. Other Credits: Mercury Chamber Orchestra, Walnut Street Theatre, McCarter Theatre Center, Lincoln Center Theatre, Fabbrica Europa (Firenze), NYC Fringe Festival, Florida Grand Opera. For family, for joy.

J. Salazar holds a BFA in Theatre from SHSU. She believes in the power of storytelling and advocates for accessible opportunities for young artists seeking involvement in the arts. J. is currently the Theatre Manager and TD at Duchesne Academy. Some design credits include: Panto Pinocchio, Othello: The Remix, POTUS, ROE, Dream: The Music of the Everly Brothers, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, The Prom, and Mother of the Maid. (EQT)

Emily Stovall is the Associate Costume Director at the Alley and is excited to dip her toe back into costume design with The Brainstormers and Their Cosmic Mission! Previous Costume Design work includes: Carmen (Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre), A Christmas Carol (Kansas City Repertory Theatre), A Moon for the Misbegotten (Kanas City Actors Theatre), Casa Valentina (Spinning Tree Theatre). MFA UMKC Conservatory.

Scott Groh is a Houston based Properties Manager and Scenic Designer with experience as both a freelance artist and a production team member. He is currently the resident Properties Director at the Alley Theatre. Scott’s background is as a properties artist, creating properties and special effects for Walnut Street Theatre (Philadelphia), ZACH Theatre (Austin, TX), San Jose Repertory Theatre, Tuacahn Amphitheatre (Utah), Seaside Music Theatre (Florida), and others.

Denise Cardarelli Broadway: Eureka Day. Selected Off-Broadway: Manhattan Theatre Club, Atlantic Theater Company, Roundabout Theatre Company, Primary Stages; Danny and the Deep Blue Sea (Lucille Lortel Theatre), The Knight of the Burning Pestle (Red Bull/Fiasco Theaters). Other New York: Lincoln Center Education; HERE Arts Center; and The LAByrinth Theater Company. Selected Regional: Hartford Stage, Long Wharf Theatre, Two River Theater, The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, and The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey.

Susana Collins is a passionate instructor and choreographer from the novice to the advanced. She started her tango studies with her father, the first Argentine Tango instructor in Houston and was quickly inspired to travel to her hometown in Buenos Aires to fully immerse herself in the tango and expand her knowledge with the top maestros. Through Luna Tango and The Houston Tango School, Susana continues to be a dedicated promoter of Argentine culture and tango.

Jake Rodriguez is a sound designer and composer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. His recent theatrical credits include Don’t Eat the Mangos (Huntington Theatre); Private Lives (American Conservatory Theater); Between Two Knees (Perelman Performing Arts Center, Yale Repertory Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival); Frankenstein Revived (Stratford Festival); and Mother Road (Berkeley Repertory Theatre). Rodriguez is the recipient of a 2004 Princess Grace Award and received an honorary M.F.A. from A.C.T. in 2021. soundcrack.net

Noël Coward Born in 1899, Noël Coward was raised as a working class boy in the London suburb of Teddington. His father was an unsuccessful piano salesman with little personal ambition, often resulting in poor family finances. From a young age Coward possessed a natural intelligence; he was an avid reader and instinctive performer with an insatiable ambition to learn and succeed. Encouraged by his mother to attend a dance academy in London, Coward entered into the professional world of theatre at the age of 12. From this point on, his writing and acting career swiftly flourished and he gradually became acquainted with a different class of people. Coward’s presence in the public eye turned him into a celebrity in his own right across both the UK and USA. The media avidly followed and reported on Coward’s plays and public appearances, elevating his celebrity status significantly as his career continued to develop. Despite his high-profile persona and arguably lavish lifestyle, Coward was fundamentally a man who loved all artistic forms and possessed a work ethic like no other. He immersed himself in work from the age of 10. Consequently, he was hugely prolific; his final verse was written only days before he died. For further information on Noël Coward’s life and work, visit www.noelcoward.com.

Chaney Tullos serves as Alley’s Director of Education Programs. Previously, he served as Associate Artistic Director of The New Orleans Shakespeare Festival and was an adjunct faculty member at Tulane University where he taught courses in Acting, Shakespeare, and Stage Management. He has taken shows and programming into countless schools, community centers, and prisons. He holds an MFA in Acting from LSU and is a member of Actors’ Equity and SAG-AFTRA. www.chaneytullos.com

Sarah Cubbage Off Broadway: The Big Gay Jamboree; Disney Creative Entertainment/Disney Cruise Lines: The Tale Of Moana, Beauty & The Beast; DC: Arena Stage, Round House Theatre, Signature Theatre, Folger Theatre, Studio Theatre, Mosaic Theater Company, Theatre J. Regional: Baltimore Center Stage, American Repertory Theatre, Syracuse Stage. Favorite designs include: Crazy for You, directed by Susan Stroman, David Geffen Hall. Dance: Dark Lark (BAM, Kate Weare Company); The Radio Show (Bessie Award, Kyle Abraham/Abraham.In.Motion). Member USA 829.

Tennessee Williams (1911-1983) explored passion with daring honesty and forged a poetic theatre of raw psychological insight that shattered conventional proprieties and transformed the American stage. The autobiographical The Glass Menagerie brought what Mr. Williams called “the catastrophe of success,” a success capped by A Streetcar Named Desire, one of the most influential works of modern American literature. An extraordinary series of masterpieces followed, including Vieux Carre, Sweet Bird of Youth, The Rose Tattoo, Orpheus Descending, and the classic Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

Justin Yu is a na­tive Houstonian and Chef and Partner of Thorough Fare Hospitality which owns and operates some of Houston’s most beloved independent restaurants and bars includ­ing Theodore Rex, Better Luck Tomor­row, Squable, Anvil, Refuge and Catbirds. A graduate of Memorial High School and the Culinary Institute of America, his work in the kitchen has been recognized by the Houston Chronicle, New York Times, Bon Appetit, and Food and Wine Magazines. He was a Food and Wine Best New Chef in 2014 and was the recipient of a James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southwest in 2017. Recently, Theodore Rex was recognized as a Michelin Bib Gourmand by the Michelin guide.

Frederick Kennedy is a Canadian-American sound de­signer, musician, and composer. Recent projects include A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Twelfth Night (Classical Theatre of Harlem), Primary Trust (Signature The­atre), The Folks at Home (Baltimore Center Stage), and The Forbidden City (audio play; Lincoln Center Theatre). In addition to the­ater, he has worked for more than two de­cades as a touring and recording jazz drum­mer. Faculty, University of Minnesota, The­atre Arts & Dance; United Scenic Artists, Local 829; MFA, Yale School of Drama. www.fredkennedy.org

Riw Rakkulchon Riw (pronounced Ree-you) is a Set and Cos­tume Designer, Animator, and Chef from Bangkok, Thailand. He/They has worked at Yale Repertory Theatre, Syracuse Stage, The Old Globe, Asolo Rep, Edinburgh Fringe, Primary Stages, Hartford Stage, The Public Theatre, Brooklyn Academy of Mu­sic, amongst others. Broadway Associate Set Design: Pass Over, &Juliet, Parade. Member of United Scenic Artist 829. Board member of WithAll, a non-profit organiza­tion on a fight to end eating disorders. IG: @riwrdesign

Theresa Rebeck is an Award-win­ning playwright whose work has been staged across the globe. Broadway: I Need That; Bernhardt/Hamlet; Dead Accounts; Seminar; Mauritius. Other notable work includes Dig; Mad House; Seared; Downstairs; The Scene; The Water’s Edge; Loose Knit; The Family of Mann; Spike Heels; Bad Dates; The Butterfly Col­lection; Our House; The Understudy; View of the Dome; What We’re Up Against; Om­nium Gatherum (Pulitzer Prize finalist). As a director, her work has been seen at The Al­ley Theatre, the REP Company, Dorset The­atre Festival, the Orchard Project and the Folger Theatre. Film and TV credits: Trou­ble (writer and director), “NYPD Blue,” NBC’s “Smash” (creator) and many more. Books: Three Girls and Their Brother and I’m Glad About You. Rebeck is the recipient of the William Inge New Voices Playwrit­ing Award, the PEN/Laura Pels Foundation Award, and a Lilly Award.

David R. Molina Recent Credits: Memnon (Getty Villa); The XIXTH, El Borracho (The Old Globe); Hotter Than Egypt (DCPA); Twelfth Night, King Lear (St. Louis Shakespeare Festival); Macbeth (Next Chapter Podcasts); Quixote Nuevo (national tours, Alley Theatre). Resident Artist: NAKA, La Lengua, La Mezcla. Awards: LA Ovation, Creative Capital, St. Louis Theater Circle, Colorado Henry Award, MAP Fund, Intermusic SF MGP, SF Arts Commission. Multimedia: SFMOMA, The Broad, OMCA. Bands: Impuritan, Ghosts and Strings, Transient. drmsound.com

Sarita Fellows was born in Freetown, Sierra Leone. The Huntington: Joy and Pandemic, Our Daughters Like Pillars. Broadway: Death of a Salesman. Off Broadway: Elyria (Atlantic Theater Company); The Ally, A Bright Room Called Day (Public Theater). Regional: Theater of the Mind (Denver Center of Performing Arts); Blues for An Alabama Sky and Sweat (Guthrie); Drinking in America (Minetta Lane Theater); Seize the King (Alliance Theater); Fefu and Her Friends (American Conservatory Theater). Education: MFA in design from Tisch School of Design. Awards: Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design (The National Black Theater Festival 2022) and Lily Award (2020).

Regina García is a Chicago-based scenic designer from Puerto Rico. She has had long standing relationships with the Latinx Theatre’s renowned Teatros including Repertorio Español, the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, Teatro Vista and Pregones Theater. Recently completed projects include Steppenwolf and Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. Regina is a Fellow of the NEA/TCG Career Development Program for Designers and the Princess Grace Awards, USA; a Regional Associate member of the League of Professional Theatre Women; and company member with Rivendell Theatre Ensemble in Chicago; and Boundless Theatre Company (San Juan/ NYC). She is the Head of the Scenic Design at The Theatre School, DePaul University, and a founding organizational member of La Gente: The Latinx Theatre Production Network.

Micha Espinosa is an internationally recognized voice specialist and teaching artist renowned for her work in culturally inclusive pedagogies. Professor at University of Madison-Wisconsin, she has taught across the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Espinosa is the inaugural Artistic Director for the Fitzmaurice Voice Institute and the award-winning editor of Monologues for Latino Actors: A Resource Guide to the Contemporary Latino/a Playwrights and co-editor for the award-winning Scenes for Latinx Actors and Latinx Actor Training.

David Arevalo is a Texas-born costume designer whose work is grounded in collaboration, slow process, and the transformation of materials. Alley Theatre: The Night Shift Before Christmas. Upcoming: Aztlan – Magic Theatre. Previous (Selected): What the Constitution Means to Me – OKC Rep; Riding the Currents of the Wilding Wind – Pregones; Selling Kabul – Northlight Theatre; Don’t Let the Pigeon Sing Up Late! – The Kennedy Center. www.darevalo.com

Nia Sciarretta is excited to work with the team at Alley Theatre. Previous­ly, she served as resident Production Stage Man­ager at the Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota, FL, stage managing more than 40 productions in her time there. Nia has also worked with the Sig­nature Theatre (NYC), the Clarence Brown The­atre, Creede Repertory Theatre, Hangar Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre of NJ, Flea Theatre, and more. Ithaca College graduate. Love to Matthew, for everything.

Jade Devault is a professional dancer and teaching artist. Her journey is anchored by a BFA in Performance and Choreography from Texas State University. Over the years, she has collaborated with various dance companies and choreographers, enriching the Houston dance landscape. Off stage, she has served as an associate choreographer at notable venues like Alley Theatre and Theatre Under The Stars. Jade is thrilled to return for another year of A Christmas Carol.

Thom Weaver Off-Broadway: Sandra (Vineyard); The Total Bent (Public); Kingdom Come (Roundabout); Exit Strategy (Primary Stages); King Hedley II, How I Learned What I Learned, The Liquid Plain (Signature Theatre Company); Teller’s Play Dead (The Players Theater). Regional: Alliance, Huntington, Arden, Wilma (Associate Artist), Philadelphia Theatre Company, Milwaukee Rep, Chicago Shakespeare, Getty, Children’s Theatre Company, Cleveland Play House, Portland Center Stage, Folger Theatre, Asolo Rep, Round House, Hangar, CenterStage, California Shakespeare Theater, Syracuse Stage, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Spoleto, Lincoln Center Festival, and Yale Repertory Theatre, as well as numerous designs with Pilobolus. Awards: 2 Jeff Awards, 6 Barrymore Awards, a Helen Hayes Award, and 2 AUDELCO Awards. Education: Carnegie Mellon and Yale.

Alan C. Edwards Off-Broadway: Sally & Tom (Public); The Hot Wing King, Fires In The Mirror [Lortel Nom.], Twilight: Los Angeles 1992 (Signature NYC); Harry Clarke [Lortel Award] (Vineyard); Kill Move Paradise [Drama Desk nom] (National Black Theatre). Regional: Gatsby: An American Myth; Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 (A.R.T.); Sally & Tom (Guthrie); Lights Out: Nat King Cole, Paradise Blue, (Geffen Playhouse). West End: Harry Clarke. Broadway: The Testament of Mary (Assoc. to Jennifer Tipton). Education/Training: MFA, Yale School of Drama.

Jessica Pabst Inherit the Wind, Roe (Goodman Theatre), Little Bear Ridge Road (Steppenwolf Theatre). Broadway: Cost of Living, Marvin’s Room, The Heidi Chronicles. Off Broadway: World premiers with Playwrights Horizons, Manhattan Theatre Club, Public Theatre, and Lincoln Center. Regional: Premiers with Dallas Theatre Center, Denver Theater Center, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Humana Festival of New Plays. Lucille Lortel Award for The Whale (Playwrights Horizons). Multiple Henry Hewes Design award and Drama Desk nominations. jessicapabst.com.

Michael Frayn was born in London in 1933. He began his career as a reporter for The Guardian and later The Observer. After leaving the Observer he continued to write as a columnist as well as publishing novels and plays for television and stage. His plays for stage include Copenhagen, After Life, The Two of Us, Alphabetical Order, Donkeys’ Years, Clouds, Balmoral (Liberty Hall), Make and Break, Noises Off, Benefactors, Alarms and Excursions, Look Look, Here and Make and Break. Other translations include four full-length Chekhov plays (The Cherry Orchard, Three Sisters, The Seagull, and Uncle Vanya) and four one-act plays (The Evils of Tobacco, Swan Song, The Bear, and The Proposal). Mr. Frayn is married to the biographer and critic Claire Tomalin.

André Pluess Broadway credits include Goonight Oscar (Belasco); The Minutes (Cort/Studio 54); 33 Variations (Eugene O’Neill Theatre); I Am My Own Wife (Lyceum Theatre); and Metamorphoses (Circle in the Square). Off-Broadway credits include The Clean House (Lincoln Center); Milk Like Sugar and BFE (Playwrights Horizons). Regional credits include multiple productions with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, McCarter Theatre, Center Theatre Group, Yale Repertory, Arena Stage, Steppenwolf, Chicago Shakespeare, Berkeley Repertory, La Jolla Playhouse, and South Coast Repertory.

Amanda Roberge is a New York-based costume designer for theater, opera, film and television. She is invested in pursuing sustainable design practices. Recent works include the Climate Change Operas, (BAM, world premiere), Pamela Palmer (Williamstown, world premiere), and Abe Lincoln in Illinois (Berkshire Theater Group). MFA NYU Tisch School of Design for Stage and Film.

Brenda Abbandandolo Broadway: Mary Jane, The Sign In Sidney Brustein’s Window (2023 Hewes Design Award). Off Broadway: Scene Partners (Vineyard), The Sign In Sidney Brustein’s Window (Bam), Camp Siegfried (Second Stage), A Case For The Existence Of God (Signature), Russian Troll Farm (Virtual: Obie Award), Moby Dick (A.R.T), Octet (Signature), Continuity (MTC), Enemy Of The People (The Guthrie), I’ll Get You Back Again (Roundhouse), The Team’s Mission Drift (National Theatre of London). Film/ TV: The Quiz Lady, Coda (Academy Award Best Picture), An American Pickle, The Disaster Artist, Saturday Night Live (Associate CD). Other: MFA/NYU TSOA, The Team, bnadesigner.com.

Nick Vaughan is a Houston-based interdisciplinary artist who generally collaborates with his husband Jake Margolin. Solo exhibitions include: McClain Gallery, Blaffer Art Museum, DiverseWorks, OSUMA, The Invisible Dog, Art League Houston, Aurora Picture Show, Devin Borden Gallery, and non-traditional community-facing venues. Theater: Off-Broadway: The Royale; Roosevelvis; Mission Drift; Architecting. Regional: Newtown; Jane Eyre; Henry V; Seder; Cloud 9. Dance [with Jake Margolin]: Weathering; Calving; Thank You For Coming: Space; Thank You For Coming: Play; Thank You For Coming: Attendance.

Curmira A. BillStage management credits include: Main Street Theater for Youth: (Stage Manager) Elephant and Piggie’s “We’re In A Play”, Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type, Cinderella, Last Stop on Market Street, Dragons Love Tacos, The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963, A Little House Christmas; Ensemble Theatre/Alley Theatre: (Stage Manager) Radio Golf (Staged Reading); Ensemble Theatre: (Stage Manager) Pullman Porter Blues, Phenomenal Woman Maya Angelou (Houston Premiere); Lionwoman Productions TX: (Stage Manager) Playhouse Creatures.

Brandon Clark is in his 3rd season with Alley Theatre. Previous credits include Seared, Noises Off, A Christmas Carol, Thornton Wilder’s The Emporium, Cowboy Bob, Torera, and Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. Texas Shakespeare Festival (SM): Romeo and Juliet, The Book of Will, (ASM): Othello, Into the Woods. BA, Theatre: University of Northern Iowa. Proud member of Actors’ Equity Association. @brandontclark

Alberto Segarra Alley Theatre: Jane Eyre. Recent credits include: The Lehman Trilogy at Maltz Jupiter Theatre, Camelot at Village Theatre, Romeo & Juliet at Folger Theatre, Business Ideas at Alliance Theatre, The Scenarios at Studio Theatre, The Honey Trap (Helen Hayes Award) at Solas Nua, The Joy That Carries You (Helen Hayes nomination) at Olney Theatre Center, Blood at the Root (Helen Hayes Award) at Theatre Alliance, and Look Both Ways Kennedy Center/Theatre Alliance TYA (Helen Hayes nomination).

John Coyne has designed stage sets for numerous companies across the U.S., including Alley Theatre (Jane Eyre), The Shakespeare Theatre Company, The Alliance Theatre, Dallas Theater Center, Guthrie Theater, The Old Globe, The Public Theater, Goodspeed Musicals, Yale Repertory Theatre, The Olney Theatre Center, Triad Stage, Ford’s Theatre, California Shakespeare Theater, Center Stage, Geva Theatre Center, and Portland Center Stage.

Elizabeth Williamson (she/her/hers) is an OBIE Award-winning director, dramaturg, and adapter. Alley Theatre: Jane Eyre. Broadway/West End: The Inheritance (Tony, Olivier, Critics Circle, Evening Standard, GLAAD, and Drama Desk Awards for Best Play, Outer Critics Circle Honoree), A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (Tony Award for Best Musical), Anastasia, Some Like It Hot. Off-Broadway/ Regional: About Face, ACT, Berkeley Rep, Cal Shakes, Court Theatre, Hartford Stage, La Jolla Playhouse, The Old Globe, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Pioneer Theatre, Primary Stages, Steppenwolf, Theatre de La Jeune Lune, The Vineyard, Westport Country Playhouse, Williamstown Theatre Festival, The Young Vic in London. Williamson’s adaptation of Jane Eyre is published by TRW, she received a 2007 NEA Fellowship in Literary Translation and is a member of SDC and LMDA. Education: M.St., Oxford University; B.A., Bennington College; trained at the École Internationale de Théàtre Jacques Lecoq. Williamson currently serves as Artistic Director of Geva Theatre in Rochester NY.

Aja M. Jackson is thrilled to return to Alley Theatre! Previous Alley: The Nerd. Broadway: Fat Ham*, Lempicka*. Off-Broadway: A Commer­cial Jingle for Regina Comet, Rock and Roll Man, Monsoon Wedding*. Regional: American Repertory Theatre, The Hunting­ton, Hartford Stage, Everyman Theatre, Shakespeare and Company, Olney Theatre. Dance: Modern Connections, HoldTight, Ailey 2, and Hubbard Street Dance Chica­go. Awards: OEAA Outstanding Lighting Design for Kinky Boots (2022). *Associ­ate/Assistant. Proud member of USA 829. ajajacksonlighting.com @ajamjackson

Molly Wetzelis a professional voice and dialect coach and actor. She’s an Assistant Professor of Voice and Speech at the University of Houston and teaches clients from around the world through her private business, “molly does dialects.” She holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from Otterbein University and an MFA in Acting from the University of Houston.

Susan Hilferty has designed costumes and scenery for over 400 productions worldwide. Alley: Little Comedies, Wonderland, and The General from America. Best known for Wicked (Tony Award) still running after 20 years. Other notable: Taylor Swift Speak Now World Tour, Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey Circus, Something Wicked | Susan Hilferty Costumes at McNay Museum in San Antonio, Aida Metropolitan Opera. Her many honors and awards include: Three Lifetime Achievement Awards (Alley Theatre, USITT. and Irene Sharaff). Faculty: NYU/Tisch Graduate/Design (25 years as chair). susanhilferty.com.