Get to Know Us!

ALAN BRINCKS recently arrived in Houston from Iowa via New York City, and continues to work locally and regionally as an actor. As a teaching artist, he has worked with kindergarten to undergraduate age ranges. Alan is a graduate of the University of Houston with a MFA, Nebraska Wesleyan University with a BFA, and has studied at Shakespeare’s Globe in London.

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. A native Houstonian, she has loved working with The Alley as a TA since 2018. When not performing, she loves to cook, read, play ukulele and get outdoors whenever she can.

BRENDAN BOURQUE-SHEIL is a playwright, prose writer, and Literary Associate for The Landing Theatre Company, focused on new play development. His plays have been produced in Houston and Chicago. His stories have appeared on KPFT’s So What’s Your Story, and the monthly live show Grown-Up Storytime, where he is a regular contributor. In addition to teaching for the Alley these past four years, he teaches Playwriting and Creative Non-fiction at Houston’s High School of Performing and Visual Arts.

BRET SHUFORD’S Broadway credits include Wicked, Cirque Du Soleil’s Paramour, Amazing Grace, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Beauty and the Beast, and The Little Mermaid. Other N.Y. credits include Actors Fund Benefit performances of A Wonderful Life, Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, On the Twentieth Century, and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. Shuford’s credits outside of New York City include the National Tour of Lincoln Center’s South Pacific and Dr. Fine/Dr. Madden in Next to Normal at the Adirondack Theatre Festival. He originated the role of Vernon Castle in Castlewalk, a new musical presented as part of the New York Music Theatre Festival. He has sung with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, and the Fort Worth Symphony. Shuford also has been seen on TV and Web series including Law and Order SVU, Alpha House, Submissions Only, and My Dirty Little Secret. His film credits include Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street, Bedfellows, and Uncle Melvin’s Apartment.

CAMRYN NUNLEY was born in Tyler, Texas and raised in Arlington, Texas. He received his BFA in Fine Arts with emphasis in Acting and Directing from Sam Houston State University. Camryn has been in productions all over Houston including the Alley Theatre, Stages, and Main Street Theatre. In the field, Camryn loves to play and is energetic and empathetic to all those around him.

CHANEY TULLOS has worked regionally as an actor, director, and stage manager. He has performed with companies including Ford’s Theatre, the American Shakespeare Center, Virginia Stage Company, The Colorado Shakespeare Festival, SITI Company, and the New Orleans Shakespeare Festival. Before moving to Houston, 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. Additionally, Chaney also served on the faculty of the prestigious New Orleans Center for Creative Arts where he helped students earn spots in the nation’s best acting programs. He holds an MFA in Acting from LSU and is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA.

DANIEL REGOJO is Houston native with a BFA from the University of Houston main campus. Some of his past credits include Erik in Massacre: Sing to your Children, Steward in Polar Express, Dogberry in Much Ado About nothing, and has been a part of several OSKAR tours with Alley Theatre ECE. He also does voice over work with Sentai Filmworks. In his free time, Daniel practices music and snuggles with his cat. He tries to emphasize finding the joy in the work done in different artistic mediums, and is excited to share his passion with these young artists in the making.

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).

DOMONIQUE CHAMPION is an actor and Teaching Artist from Houston, TX who obtained his BFA in Acting from the University of Houston School of Theatre and Dance. Since graduating in 2014, Champion has performed and taught workshops for the Houston Shakespeare Festival, Texas Shakespeare Festival, Tennessee Shakespeare Company – and toured for Montana Shakespeare in the Parks, the Utah Shakespeare Festival, and Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He also spent several summers teaching for Main Street Theatre at home in Houston.

ESME L. WU She has an MA in playwriting from Royal Holloway, University of London, and a BS in Communication Studies and BA in Theatre/Dance from the University of Texas at Austin. Teaming up with Chaney Tullos, she will be organizing and revitalizing our relationships with Partner Schools and the Alley’s online digital classroom resource – Alley Re-Sourced.

B. Connor Flynn is delighted to return for Amerikin, his third production with the Alley Theatre. He was previously featured at The Alley in 2018 as Antonio in Twelfth Night and has worked as a Teaching Artist for the ECE program. Other notable productions include: Main Street Theatre: The Hard Problem (Spike), Christmas at Pemberley (Mr. Darcy) and The Landing Theatre Company: The Best Punk Band in Conway Missouri (Various Roles).  Connor also appeared at the Edinburgh International Fringe Festival as Duke Vincentio in a production of Measure 4 Measure.

GABRIEL REGOJO is a Houston native and has worked all over Houston. Previous credits include, Alley Theatre: Survivors: an Alamo Play; Stages: Water by the Spoonful, Ultimate Christmas Show Abridged, My Mañana comes; Classical Theatre Company: Lysistrata; Mildreds Umbrella: Dry Land, Heroine Free Summer. Gabriel also has done VO for several animes and video games.

Gabriel has been a teaching artist for 2 years and is very excited to be going back to schools!

JEN ONOPA is a theater maker and educator who creates highly collaborative, socially transformative theater. She is a co-founder of The Re/Emergence Collective which creates devised work centered around community healing. She has directed devised and contemporary plays in New York City, Chicago, and western Massachusetts, and toured to the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, South Africa. Jen has taught at UMass Amherst, Mount Holyoke College, the NYC Department of Education, The Creative Arts Team in NYC, and Redmoon Theater in Chicago. She has an MFA in Theater Directing from UMass Amherst and is an associate member of SDC.

JUAN CRUZ has lived in Houston for over a decade now but was born in Bogotá, Colombia. He has a strong sense of his dual identity as a Colombian-American and enjoys embracing both cultures. A graduate from Rice University, he earned his B.A. in Visual and Dramatic Arts with a concentration in theatre in 2016. A previous coach at Discover gymnastics now turned Teaching Artist, he hopes to combine his artistic experience and highly dynamic teaching style to encourage children to move and learn in unconventional ways.

Singer LUISANA RIVAS is noted for her heart-rending expression in performance of both opera and art song, with a special focus on the music of Latin American composers. She is a frequent performer with The Ponce Project Foundation of Houston, where she also serves as Latin American Initiatives Director. Luisana has been a Teaching Artist and performer with Houston Grand Opera’s “Opera to Go!” for two seasons, playing Rosina in Barber of Seville in Texas and Lord Tiger/Monkey Queen in Monkey and Francine in the City of Tigers.

Luisana is originally from Mérida, Venezuela, and has pursued music studies in Panama and the United States. She enjoys volunteering and working to uplift communities through the arts.

NYCHOLLETE EASTER is a Houston based director, actor, and singer! Originally from Houston,Texas, Nychollete has been doing theatre for 10+ years and considers herself to be a well rounded theatre artist. Nychollete recently received her bachelor’s of arts in acting and directing from Stephen F.Austin State University in Nacogdoches,Texas. Nychollete strives to tell stories that represent a diverse group of characters and people! Nychollete has been a part of numerous productions including Talking With (Stephen F. Austin State University) and Dog Sees God: Confessions of A Teenage Blockhead (Stephen F. Austin State University) both of which she assistant directed! Nychollete just finished a year-long directing fellowship. During the fellowship Nychollete got to assistant direct their Mainstage production of Jitney!Nychollete has also had the opportunity to direct several new plays including Turn-Up by Eugene and Naima Russell which premiered at The St.Louis Black Repertory Company as a part of their 21-22 touring season. Nychollete is very excited to be back in her hometown and hopes to bring the importance of the arts back to her community!

PHILIP KERSHAW is a multi-disciplinary artist who graduated from the University of Houston MFA Acting program after earning his undergraduate degrees at the University of Maryland, College Park. He has appeared in local productions for Theatre Under the Stars, Houston Shakespeare Festival, A.D. Players, Unity Theatre, Dirt Dogs Theatre Co. and The Ensemble Theatre. He has also worked regionally at Peterborough Players, Adventure Theatre MTC, The Wheel Theatre Company and Round House Theatre. He recently directed the world premiere of How I Learned to Play Tennis at UH, and Fences at Kinder HSPVA. He is also writing a full-length play, titled FELLOWSHIP, as a member of Rec Room’s Writer’s Group.

SCOTT GIBBS is a professional actor working in commercial, voiceover, and theatre from Houston, Texas. He has been a Teaching Artist with the Alley Theatre for 4 years and holds a BA in Theatre Arts from Centenary College Of Louisiana. His professional experience as an educator has focused on Physical Comedy, Commedia dell’arte, and Improvisation. Scott’s regional teaching credits include: Charleston Stage (SC), Seaside Repertory Theatre (FL), Merry Go Round Playhouse (NY); and locally: Main Street Theatre, Page Parkes Talent Agency, and Alley Theatre Summer Conservatory.

SHARON “RAIN” YOUNG is a published author, national slam poet/spoken word artist, playwright and actress. She has written several poetry-based commercials for KHOU Channel 11; her most recent one for their “HOPE after HARVEY” Campaign. Her most notable accolade is a Super Bowl commercial that she performed which also earned airtime during the GRAMMY’s. This poem won the 2016 Eye on Excellence Award as well as a nomination for the Lone Star State Emmys. Over the last 8 years she has performed in various venues locally and state to state and has held lead roles in various plays. She’s very active in the community as an artist, host and promoter where The Houston Chronicle reviewed her as one of Houston’s most talented artist. She currently attends the University of Houston where she’s majoring in Mass Communication.

Broadway:Hello, Dolly! starring Bette Midler, An American In Paris, On The Town (2014 Revival OBC), Billy Elliot The Musical (Older Billy/Scottish Dancer OBC). Off-Broadway: Silence! The Musical (Dream Lecter). National Tour: Come Fly Away (Sid), The Phantom Of The Opera 25th Anniversary Tour. Regional: Chicago Lyric Opera: Oklahoma! (Dream Curly), TUTS Houston: Jerome Robbins’ Broadway (Monotony Soloist). TV/Film: My Children, Boardwalk Empire, Momsters: When Moms Go Bad, Forever, Pose, and Fourth Position.

STEPHEN HANNA also danced with the New York City Ballet where he rose to the rank of principal dancer. He danced principal roles in Balanchine’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Agon, Brahms Schoenberg Quartet, Chaconne, Concerto Barocco, Cortège Hongrois, Diamonds, Divertimento No. 15, Emeralds, The Four Temperaments, La Valse, Liebeslieder Walzer, The Nutcracker(Cavalier), Robert Schumann’s Davidsbundlertanze, Serenade, Stars and Stripes, Symphony in C(2nd movement), Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux, Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2,Tchaikovsky Suite No. 3(Elegie), and Western Symphony. In Robbin’s 2 and 3 Part Inventions, Dances at a Gathering, Fanfare, The Four Seasons, Glass Pieces, The Goldberg Variations, I’m Old Fashioned, Interplay, Les Noces, and Piano Pieces. In Martin’s Fearful Symmetries, Les Gentilshommes ,Octet, Swan Lake(Prince Siegfried, Benno), and The Sleeping Beauty(Gold, Blue Bird, Wolf). Richard Tanner’s Ancient Airs and Dances and Soirée. In Albert Evans’s Haiku and in Boris Eifman’s Musagete. Mr. Hanna also appeared in the film Centerstage during his time with City Ballet.

VINCENT “BLACKBLUEZ” JOHNSON began his journey as a slam poet in 2007. The art form married two of his favorite things: acting and writing poetry. He has competed on seven slam teams and has coached other slam poets for two years. His mission is to put the expressive artform of slam into many hearts across the nation. He is thrilled to be teaching Slam Poetry to middle and high schools with the Alley Theatre ECE Department.

WESLEY WHITSON is a native Houstonian actor and teaching artist. Wesley received his BFA from The University of Houston School of Theatre and Dance. Since graduating in 2017, he has performed with theatres including Prague Shakespeare Company, Virginia Shakespeare Festival, Main St Theatre, Unity Theatre, Houston Shakespeare Festival, and The Alley Theatre. As a teaching artist he has worked with K-12 ages ranges.