NEW – Teaching Artists

Michael Leonel Sifuentes, is a Latin-American actor based in Houston, and a graduate of the University of Houston School of Theatre and Dance B.F.A Program. Most recently they appeared in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Bottom) & Romeo and Juliet (Capulet) with the Houston Shakespeare Festival, Escobar’s Hippo (Narrator) at the Stages’ 2024 Sin Muros Festival, ConcertiaHTX’s production of Cloud Tectonics (Nelson), and Measure for Measure (Duke Vincentio) and The Tempest (Gonzalo) with The Prague Shakespeare Company. Michael has also appeared in Clyde’s by Lynn Nottage (Rafael) at the Ensemble Theatre. Aunt Julia & The Scriptwriter (Genaro) with Main Street Theater, and Shakespeare in the Shade’s Henry V (Exeter). Other credits include Rumpelstiltskin (Uta/Guard), Henry V (Gower), Middletown (Cop), The Orestia (Chorus D), and Kid Simple (Foley Artist/Radio Announcer) at the University of Houston.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.  

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.