Teaching Artists

Lee O. Barker is a professional set designer known for creating environments that serve the director’s vision. Prior to pursuing a career in set design, Lee’s interests were divided between Architecture and Mechanical Engineering. He holds an MFA in Theatre – Design and Technology from UMKC and currently works as a Scenic Designer in Houston, taking on fabrication jobs and commissions to support their burgeoning design career. He also serves on the faculty at Lamar University.

Brendan Bourque-Sheil is a playwright whose works — including Sunrise Coven, Dogrose Patrol, The Book of Maggie and Between Two Caves — have been produced in New York City, Chicago, Houston, Cincinnati and Ann Arbor. He has been named a finalist for the National Playwrights’ Conference at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center, the Reva Shiner Comedy Award, and Southwest Theatre Productions’ “Plays With a Strong Female Lead” Competition. He has appeared on World Channel’s Stories From the Stage, and frequently contributes to the monthly Houston live show Grown-Up Storytime. For nine years, he worked as a teaching artist for the Alley Theatre and a consultant in Creative Writing for the Kinder High School of Performing and Visual Arts.

Austin Brady is a Houston based actor and teaching artist. He is currently a member of the Drunk Shakespeare Society at The Emerald Theatre. His work in Houston includes productions at The Alley Theatre (The Servant of Two Masters, Oskar), AD Players (The Christmas Play That Goes Wrong) Creative Movement Practices (Gideon: And the Blundersnorp) and Main Streets Theatre for the Youth.

Alan Brincks is a Houston based actor, director, and teacher. He is an Intermediate Actor Combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors.  He has a BFA in Theatre and a BA in English Literature from Nebraska Wesleyan University, an MFA in acting from the University of Houston, and has studied at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London, England.

Skye Bronfenbrenner is a teacher, fight director, intimacy director, director, actor, and storyteller specializing in movement. She currently teaches BFA Movement for the Actor at the University of Houston’s School of Theatre and Dance and has taught Movement and Stage Combat at Rice University, Kinder High School for the Visual and Performing Arts, and teaches Movement/Combat for HGO’s Bauer Studio as well as their Young Artist’s Vocal Academy. Her fight and intimacy direction has been seen at Catastrophic Theatre, Rec Room Arts, Thunderclap Productions, Rice University (Department of Visual and Dramatic Arts and the Shepherd School of Music), and the University of Houston (School for Theatre and Dance as well as the Moores School of Music). She graduated with an MFA in Acting from the Professional Actor Training Program at the University of Houston and has performed at Stages (Roe) and the Houston Shakespeare Festival (Much Ado About Nothing, Macbeth) here in town, as well as the National Tours of Beauty and the Beast, Guys and Dolls, and the international tour of Shrek the Musical.

Emily Buesing holds a degree in Theatre and Dance with an emphasis in Acting. Some of her favorite performance credits include The Importance of Being Earnest (Cecily), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Judy), Luna Gale (Cindy), The Birds (Julia), and more recently, her role as Shelby in The Garden Theatre’s production of Steel Magnolias. Emily has also had the pleasure of working as a teaching artist, choreographer, assistant director, and director with multiple children’s theatre companies in Houston and surrounding areas. She loves helping foster kids’ imaginations through the art of theatre and is excited for the opportunity to continue this with the Alley.

Earlyssa Cooper (Earl the Poet) is a dynamic poet, educator, and community advocate. She was the first Poet Laureate of Huston-Tillotson University (2018-2020) and has since shared her love of poetry with students and community across southeast Texas. She also served as a Teaching Artist at Tyler Junior College and Willowridge High School in Houston – contributing to the growth of aspiring poets. Earl holds a Mass Communication degree from Huston-Tillotson University and expanded her horizons by studying international business at Heilongjong University in Harbin, China. She is a published author, with the release of her book “Wounds of a Warrior” in 2021. She is also active in the slam community and can be seen performing her Slam Poetry across Houston. After many years of mastering how to suffer in silence this 26 year old Houstonian has made it her personal mission to heal out loud with her tribe of warriors. Giving them the courage and the platform to share their wounds openly and creating the safe space for them to do so. Passionate about all things mental health, motherhood, and poetry related – this young woman is a force to be reckoned with.

Juan Sebastián Cruz is an actor, musician, and circus artist in Houston with a BA in Visual and Dramatic Arts from Rice University. He has been a Teaching Artist with the Alley since 2017, focusing primarily on elementary school students with Staging STEM programs in both English and Spanish. He enjoys combining his artistic experience with a highly dynamic teaching style to encourage children to move and learn in unconventional ways. Some of his acting credits include – Alley Theatre: The Odyssey (Telemachus), A Christmas Carol (Prop Boy/Tiny Tim), 72 Miles To Go. . . (Aaron), The Winter’s Tale (Mamillius). Stages Repertory: My Mañana Comes (Pepe), PANTO Alicia In Wonderland (White Rabbit/Chosteen Cat). Alley All New Festival: Untitled Horse Play (John), Torera (Ensemble), 72 Miles To Go… (Aaron). La Jolla Playhouse: Fandango for Butterflies and Coyotes (Understudy). La Mama Studios: My True Selves. 4th Wall Theatre: Between Riverside and Crazy (Oswaldo). TUTS: Guys and Dolls (Drunk/Bartender/Ensemble).

Ricardo Dávila Born in Florida to Puerto Rican parents, raised by the backyards of Chile, Brasil, and Argentina, trained in New York (NYU, BFA), matured in Connecticut (Yale, MFA), reborn in New York (National Alliance of Acting Teachers certification), and now journeying through Texas (upcoming: Sin Muros Borderless Theatre Festival @ Stages – May 2023).

Reyna Janelle is a multi-faceted Houston artist who fell in love with the arts as a young praise dancer and reciting poetry, such as Maya Angelou’s Phenomenal Woman, in elementary school talent shows. Her love for theatre soon followed. She earned a BS in Engineering from OU and MS from Drexel College of Medicine with plans of becoming a physician. However, after her mother’s passing to colon cancer, her passion for acting rekindled. She has since gained commercial, film, and television credits in Texas, Georgia, Louisiana, and Florida. Some theatrical credits include Stages: cullud wattah; Rec Room Arts: Is God Is; The Ensemble Theatre: BeatBox: A Rapparetta,  The Secret Life of Avatars, The Lawsons: A Civil Rights Love Story. Reyna is committed to a lifetime career of storytelling and humanizing every role she undertakes. She is passionate about creating  narratives that transform souls and transcend time, space, and culture. As a former educator, she is excited to return to the classroom and positively impact her community by empowering young minds through creative freedom and the arts.

John Ryan Del Bosque is excited to be spreading Christmas cheer another holiday season at Alley Theatre! Other credits include Sweeney Todd (Ensemble/Pirelli Us), Hands on a Hardbody (Jesus Peña), TUTS. Pageant The Musical (Miss Bible Belt), Rocky Horror (Riff Raff), Forestburgh Playhouse. Pedro Pan (Ensemble), NYC Fringe. Drag Wonderettes (Missy), Spelling Bee (Chip), La Llorona (Self), Stages Theatre. Proud Teaching Artist with Alley Education! Much love to family, friends, Arturo, Chicobaby! @johnryandel.

Michelle Elaine is a Resident Acting Company member. Michelle originated the role of Miss Scarlet on the First National Tour of Clue: A New Comedy. Favorite Alley Theatre credits: A Christmas Carol, Clue, Dead Man’s Cell Phone, Sense and Sensibility, Sweat, Quack, and All The Way. Michelle was awarded the Houston Press Awards Best Supporting Actress for her role as the title character in Clyde’s at The Ensemble Theatre. Stages: POTUS. Check out Michelle’s web series @castmedammit on YouTube! michelleelaineofficial.com.

Patrick Fretwell is grateful to work with the Alley Theatre and help serve students all across the Houston area.  Patrick is a graduate of the University of Houston M.F.A. Professional Actor Training Program. Selected acting credits include Claudio (Much Ado About Nothing), Billy Bibbit (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), Romeo (Romeo & Juliet), Albany (King Lear), and Claude (Hair). Originally from South Carolina, Patrick is also a graduate of Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina.

Eric Powell Holm is a theater-artist and musician from Brookings, South Dakota. He trained as an actor with the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater BFA program in Minneapolis, and as a director with Columbia University’s MFA program in NYC. He was a curator and producer at the multidisciplinary art-space Cloud City in Brooklyn from 2014-2019, and has co-founded several theater/performance ensembles, including The Strange Capers, The Wild Plan, and the BREAD Arts Collective. He makes original music for young people, as Teacher Eric, and for grownups, making ‘radical queer country music.’ Holm is a Teaching Artist with the Alley Theater and a theater professor at the University of Houston.

Vincent “Blackbluez” Johnson is a writer, poet, and actor who has been performing poetry in Houston since 2002. He was introduced to slam poetry competitions in 2007 and has been on more slam teams than anyone else in Houston, TX. He created his own “chap book” and recorded an album of his poetic offerings. Next, he became the primary director and stage manager for JalaWorld Productions. He began coaching critically acclaimed and rewarded slam teams in 2016. Shortly after, he became a Slam Poetry and Creative Writing Teaching Artist. In 2023, he released a book of poetry entitled, “A Coward’s Funeral” and has been lighting stages up with dynamic performances of his new collection.

Original Las Vegas company of Jersey Boys (Lorraine); NYC Credits: ABBA’s Kristina (pre-Broadway workshop), Joy (Off-Broadway); Regional: Beauty and the Beast (Belle), Mack and Mable; TUTS: Anything Goes, Cats, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Camelot, Man of La Mancha, Spamalot, A Chorus Line, Elf, Hands on a Hardbody, Sweet Potato Queens, All Shook Up, The Ugly Christmas Sweater Musical; Alley Theatre: Cowboy Bob, A Christmas Carol, Sherlock Holmes, Toward Zero, Quack, The Three Musketeers; Catastrophic Theatre: Small Ball; 4th Wall Theatre: The Father; Teaching experience: St. John’s School (Houston), The High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (Houston), The Professional Performing Arts School (NYC); First Place both as Presidential Scholar In the Arts and NFAA.

Matthew Lawrence serves as Primary Programs Co-Manager at Alley Theatre. He has worked regionally as an actor and choreographer in California, Washington State, Utah, Oregon, and Texas. His work has been seen with the following companies: PCPA Theatrefest, The 5^th Avenue Theatre, The Village Theatre, Oregon Cabaret Theatre, Utah Festival Opera, The Great American Melodrama and Vaudeville, Mainstreet Theatre, and Santa Clarita Regional Theatre. As an educator, he has taught for Village Theatre and various private schools in Seattle Washington. Before joining Alley Theatre’s ECE team, Matthew was the Fine Arts Consultant for the United Way Greater Houston’s Bright Beginnings. His work in the educational field has resulted in four publications in the NAEYC Teaching Young Children Magazine. Matthew holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in child development and family studies from the University of Washington where he was awarded with a certificate of high scholarship. In addition, he holds an artist diploma from PCPA: Pacific Conservatory Theatre.

Monica Marcha fell in love with improv in 2013 and has since studied and performed across the country. Currently, she is an instructor at Station Theater: The longest running longform improv theater in Houston. Additionally, she is a mainstage performer at Coronation Theater, Houston’s newest improv theater. Monica is a Senior Applied Improv Trainer in Station’s corporate training program, and she has collaborated with national brands to integrate improv into their work culture. One of her most notable achievements through improv is the creation of Ma’am Jam, an improv jam open to all female and female-identifying improvisers of any experience level. The resulting female presence in the Houston comedy community has been truly remarkable.

Mayra Monsivais is a Houstonian who studied acting at the University of Houston. Credits include Stories of Us (TEATRX), Oskar vs. Thingamabob (Alley Theatre), Oskar and the Last Straw Tour (Alley Theatre), Inner View (Sin Muros: A Latinx Theater Festival. Stages), Sonia Flew (TEATRX), El Huracán (Mildred’s Umbrella Theater Company). Oskars Not So Simple Comeback (Alley Theatre), La Vida Es Cortos/Life Is Shorts (TEATRX), O: A RHAPSODY IN DIVORCE! (Mildred’s Umbrella Theater Company). Mayra is also a working actor in TV and film, including commercials, TV roles, and music videos. She had been with the Alley as a Teaching Artist since 2019 and looks forward to many more.

Camryn Nunley Stages: Black Superhero Magic Mama (Corey Brackett), 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Mitch/Olive’s Dad/Dan Dad). We Are Proud to Present…(Actor 4); Alley Theater: Oskar’s Not So Simple Comeback: Frank, The Christians (Choir Ensemble) Camryn would like to once again thank his Mom for quite literally everything.

Jen Onopa (Primary Programs Co-Manager) is a director and educator who is passionate about innovative approaches to theater making, community engagement, and teaching and learning. She has directed and produced numerous devised performances, contemporary plays, and works of puppetry in New York City, Chicago, and Massachusetts, and has toured work to the National Arts Festival in Makhanda, South Africa. She is a co-founder of the Massachusetts-based Re/Emergence Collective, which makes performances centering community healing. An educator for 25 years, she has taught for the New York City Department of Education, Mount Holyoke College, UMass Amherst, Redmoon Theater, and the Creative Arts Team in NYC.

Brenda Palestina (she/her) is a Houston based director, actor, and teaching artist with a BFA in Acting from the University of Houston. Brenda is a co-founder of Happy Hour Readings, a play reading series at Rec Room Arts that elevates emerging Houston artists and fosters community among them. Acting credits include: Stages: Panto Alicia in Wonderland (Hortensia); Teatrx: Sexo y Tortillas (Marcia), Don’t Quit (Kendall); The Garden Theatre: Midsummer Night’s Dream (Snout, Cobweb). Directing credits include: ConcertiaHTX: Cloud Tectonics; Teatrx: The Hummingbird’s Wedding; Octarine Accord: Advance Man (Assistant Director); Happy Hour Readings: Atacama, Override.

Luis Quintero is thrilled to be back at the Alley to reprise his role is A Christmas Carol. Other Alley credits include American Mariachi, Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Sweat. Regionally he has performed in Henry V, Loves labours lost, Romeo and Juliet, Mr. Burns, Macbeth, Cyrano, and Into the Woods at Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival; Twelfth Night at Two River Theater; American Mariachi at DCPA and The Old Globe San Diego; The River Bride at Stages Rep; and Around the World in 80 Days at A.D Players. Luis is also playwright, lyricist and composer. His Hip-Hop adaptation of Medea will be co-produced this summer at the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival and then Off -Broadway with RedBull theater. Luis loves teaching with the Alley Theatre and The River Performing and Visual Arts Center. God bless us everyone!

Daniel Regojo is a Houston native with a BFA from the University of Houston main campus. Some of his past credits include a performed understudy role as Jason in Clyde’s, Erik in Massacre: Sing to your Children, Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing, and has been a part of several Oskar tours with Alley Theatre. He also does voice overs for anime with Sentai Filmworks and is a cast member at The Department of Wonder in Sugarland. In his free time, Daniel practices music and snuggles with his cat. He enjoys exploring different mediums of art and is excited to share that passion with these young artists.

Gabriel Regojo is excited to be back at Alley Theatre. Previous Alley credits include: Jane Eyre (St. John Rivers), Sense and Sensibility (Male Swing). Additional credits include: Classical Theatre (Company Member): War of The Worlds (George), R.U.R. (Alquist), Nevermore (Actor 1), Lysistrata (Cinesias); Catastrophic Theatre (Core Ensemble): Eddie goes to Poetry City (Eddie), The Blackest Shore (Stuart), Bootycandy (Actor 5); Stages Repertory Theatre: My Mañana Comes (Jorge), Water by the Spoonful (Elliot); Rec Room: Sender (Jordan), Exit Strategy (Luce); Mildred’s Umbrella Theater Company: Dry Land (Victor). Gabriel is also a current Teaching Artist with Alley ECE and Voice Actor with over 40 credits in anime and video games.

Luisana Rivas can often be found performing in solo recitals, chamber music works, and operas both in Houston and nationally. Her passion and professional expertise lie in researching, lecturing, and performing the music of underrepresented BIPOC composers from Latin America. Additionally, she has extensively toured schools in the Houston area with Houston Grand Opera’s Opera to Go!, where she currently serves as the mezzo swing in Katie: The Strongest of the Strong by Faye Chiao. Luisana holds dual citizenship from Venezuela and France and has studied in Panama and the United States. In addition to her work as a singer, she is dedicated to uplifting communities through the arts and is proud to serve as a Teaching Artist for HGO and Alley Theatre.

Ciara Shabree is a Chicago native and currently Houston based actor with her BFA in musical theatre from Sam Houston State University. Some of her recent credits include; 4th Wall Theatre: Fairview. AD Players: Miss Maude, Apollo 8, No One Owns Me. Stages: Panto Hansel and Gretel. Bayou Theatre Company: For Colored Girls. She has always had a strong passion for teaching and performing, so she is super excited to be able to help introduce young students to the arts and hopefully ignite that same spark in them.

Crystal Skillman is an internationally award-winning playwright, fictional podcast writer, and comic book author. She has written for Stories Podcast (Wondery Kids), Girl Tales, Adventure Time comics, and Marvel comics. New Plays include THE ROCKET MEN and RAIN AND ZOE SAVE THE WORLD. She is the author of the NYTimes Critics’ Pick plays GEEK, CUT, and KING KIRBY which you can listen to on Broadway Podcast Network. In addition to being a TA for the Alley Theatre, she teaches playwriting at The New School, ESPA at Primary Stages, the Dramatists Guild Institute, The Playwrights’ Center, and is a TA teaching playwriting for Theatre Development Fund. www.crystalskillman.com

Sarah Sneesby is a Director, Choreographer, Movement Director, Teacher, and Movement and Intimacy Practitioner in theatre for the stage. She strives to bring equity to the rehearsal room through empowering the actor to take an embodied, collaborative ownership of both the creative process and the final product. She holds an MFA in Movement: Directing and Teaching from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

Gabrielle White is a Houston-native playwright, poet, and actor with a BFA in acting/directing from Sam Houston State University. After participating in the Alley Theatre’s HYPE program as a teenager, she has been inspired to create scads of differing plays ever since – one of which was showcased as part of SHSU’s 10-minute play festival in 2020.  As a credited educator with a published anthology of poetry in 2021, as well as a completed American Sign Language and Interpreting program under her belt, she finds herself especially eager to blend her range of skillsets and experiences in varying ways as a teaching artist. She hopes to lead by example in the promotion and importance of theatre arts (and artistry as a whole!) in everyday life.  

Annie Wild is an actor currently based out of Houston with a BFA in Musical Theatre from The Boston Conservatory. She has lived and performed in NYC, Los Angeles, Houston and other parts of Texas. She was most recently seen performing at The Alley Theatre in Hilary Bettis’ Untitled Horse Play. A native Houstonian, she has loved working with The Alley as a TA since 2018. You can also find Annie on film (most recently The Dancing Monkey) and voice acting for audiobooks with Hachette Audio and anime with Sentai Filmworks. When not performing, Annie loves to cook, spend time with family, go camping with her partner, Jeremy and snuggle with their chonky black cat, Spooky Mama.

Sharon “Rain” Young is a Texas raised artist who has been writing for as many years as she can remember. From local venues such as the Redefinition Experience at the Ensemble Theatre to states across America, she has captivated audiences with her performances. In addition to being a nationally known slam poet, playwright, and published writer – Rain is the coach and 2018 Slam Champ for the “Gawd Slam!” Poetry Team, a four-year Word Around Town Touring Artist, and has emcee’d a weekly poetry and music show alongside legendary DJ Robert “Showbiz” Mosley on KCOH Radio. Having been declared by The Houston Chronicle as one of Houston’s most talented artists, Rain also received the 2016 Eye on Excellence Award, a Lone Star State Emmy, and “Artist of the Month” in Dialogue Magazine. She also wrote a poem for KHOU Channel 11 Houston which aired during the Super Bowl and the Grammy’s. Rain is the voice and writer of the Hurricane Harvey relief commercial on channel 11 and has appeared in KTRK 13 News commercials as well.  She is the proprietor of “RAW EMOTIONS ENTERTAINMENT” and carries just that into her leading role as Skyy Rivers in the poACTry stage play, 48. Rain lives for art but sites a strong education as one of life’s most important tools. She channels this belief into both her job as a teaching artist at WITS and Alley Theatre and her own education as a graduate of Communications at University of Houston.