Student Profiles
MFA Class of 2013
Christina Coates: Originally from Massachusetts, Christina received her BFA in Theatre Performance at
Salem State University, where she was first introduced to the incredible world of
experimental theatre by her mentor, friend, and Naropa alumna, Kate Kohler Amory.
Also, Christina is very proud to be an active member of Ghostlight Theatre Company
of New England, where she has done of her best work as an actor, director, acting
coach, and producer.
Marc Devine: In Los Angeles, Marc Devine served as the media editor for Opera del Espacio, as well
as the assistant editor on Ken Roht's feature film The Bloody Indulgent, and co-directed Roht's one-act opera Permissible Union for the 2010 COLA Awards Show. He is the voice for the Literal System's Production
of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Marc has performed with The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra, ARTEL, needtheater, Ken
Roht's Orphean Circus, Opera del Espacio and Teatro de Facto. Marc holds a BFA from
the College of Santa Fe.
Monica Dionysiou: Monica found her way to Boulder after living and working in Chicago. Her time in Chicago
provided her with the opportunity to collaborate with TimeLine Theatre Company, 20%
Chicago Theatre, The Moving Dock Theatre, Livewire Chicago Collective, Lifeline Theatre
along with many other storefront theatres. She is a proud, founding member and contributing
artist with Chicago's Alluvium Group. Her educational history includes a BFA from
Virginia Commonwealth University and attendance at the Dah Theatre's International
School in Belgrade Serbia. Monica's passions include traveling the world, exploring
new cultures and rediscovering the common bonds that brings all of us together.
Chelsea Gregory: An artist and cultural organizer who has worked through the media of dance, theatre
and poetry, Chelsea's work has been presented by Culture Project, LaMama ETC, LA Women's
Theater Festival and Chicago Hip-Hop Theater Festival. She toured with Eve Ensler
and Jane Fonda's co-production We Got Issues! and choreographed for Cornerstone Theatre's Summer Institute, Yadira DeLaRiva's One Journey and other productions. She has danced with ASE Dance Theatre Collective, Movement
for the Urban Village, Atlanta Ballet and Ned Williams Dunham Company, and studied
with Urban Bush Women, The Limón Institute and Baba Richard Gonzales. Her solo play
The 6 Project has toured to over 10 cities throughout the US.
T'ai Hartley: Born and raised in Seattle, Washington, T'ai graduated from Western Washington University
with a BA in theatre/acting. He has founded two theater companies, Autonomous Theatre
Collective and Blood Ensemble. He recently performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival
with the East/West Project in a self-generated show using Tectonic Theatre Project's
technique of Moment Work.
Elizabeth Horab: Originally from the Midwest, Elizabeth grew up in Fargo, North Dakota doing plays
at the Fargo-Moorhead Community Theatre (FMCT), URSA Productions, and Theatre B. While
going to school at North Dakota State University, where she received her BA in Theatre,
she took a year residency at Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut and directed
Swimming in the Shallows by Adam Bock. For six summers she has taught theatre to North Dakota Governor's School's
students, as well as box office manager and volunteer coordinator at FMCT. Before
starting at Naropa she worked two years in an outpatient classroom at a mental health
hospital in Fargo teaching subjects such as theatre and math.
Matthew Kerns: Matthew holds a BFA in performance theatre from Eastern New Mexico University. His
acting credits include WORKING, The Misanthrope, and Balls: Five one-act plays by Alan Ball. His solo artist credits include Christian Growth with Father Curver, A Quest for the Altar, and Chicken. As a director, Matthew has shepherded such productions as All Tied Up In Love (World Premiere), Noises Off, Kiss Me Kate, and Cabaret. Matthew served as the head of theatre for The Chicago Academy for the Arts, as well
as Sonoma Academy.
James Jesse Peck: A native of Pennsylvania, James graduated from Northwestern University and The Del'Arte
School. He has acted professionally with the Geese Theater for Corrections/Prisons,
Berkeley Repertory Theater, The Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Imago Theater. Recently,
he directed and made masks for Haroun and the Sea of Stories at Ashland High School, and served as an adjunct professor at Southern Oregon University.
He is artistic director of Nutshell Masks and Theater.
Dana Jannel Peterson: For ten years, Dana Jannel Peterson has served as a theatre student, teacher, performer,
poet, and director. Inspired by studies at Double Edge Theatre in 2008, her first
solo piece regarded A Doll's House, song, sand, eye contact, and raw meat. Directing credits include Alice in Wonderland, Much Ado About Nothing, and The Vagina Monologues. For the past two years, Jannel lived and worked in Hanoi, Vietnam, where supported
by Language Link and Blue Dragon Children's Foundation, she taught performance to
ESL students. Jannel also performed in five productions as a member of the Hanoi International
Theatre Society.
Veronica Santoyo: Originally from Mexico, Veronica has a BA in Speech Communication, obtained in Mexico,
and an MA in Drama Therapy from New York University. She studied acting in Mexico
and at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute and the HB Acting Studio, in New York City.
As a drama teacher, Veronica has taught theatre across the academic curriculum, from
kindergarten to college level. She has also conducted workshops in drama therapy and
educational theatre, working with diverse populations: Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome,
speech and hearing rehabilitation, domestic violence, mentally ill and substance abuse
clients.
Caroline Stine: Hailing from Ft. Thomas, Kentucky, Caroline received her undergraduate degree at
Butler University in Indianapolis (Theatre/English Writing) and has worked as a performer,
director, and professional costume designer for the past five years in Indianapolis
and Cincinnati. She is also a director of the children's theatre group, The Cliffview
Players, with whom she explores devised and contemporary theatre. She has also worked
with several international groups in Russia and Italy.
MFA Class of 2014
Gloria Marie Baraquio: A yogi, educator, TV producer, and writer. She comes to Naropa with a background
in church singing, Hula, Tahitian dance, Butoh, modeling, public speaking, actor training,
yoga, aerial yoga, world religions, and meditation. She has an intimate understanding
of the body, the voice, and the human need for expression. She intends to utilize
performance as a way to heal oneself, to inspire audiences, and to foster understanding
between cultures.
Vickie Curtis: Received her BA at Connecticut College and went on to teach Arts and Humanities at
project-based high schools in the Boston area. In class, she revisits classics and
devises original theatre with her students as a means for teaching life lessons, literature,
history, and the social sciences. Vickie founded the theatre program at Meridian Academy:
Performing Arts and Activism. She is at work developing a Summer Theatre Institute
for teachers in collaboration with Richard Weingartner and members of the Wayland
Theatre Ensemble while she hones her own storytelling practice at Naropa.
Kebrina Josefina De Jesus: Born in New York and raised in Miami, Kebrina was bitten by the acting bug at 12
years old. Kebrina has performed in a variety of theatre shows from stage to indie
films. Upon receiving her Bachelors of Communications and Theatre at Millersville
University, Kebrina took a new journey to Dallas to pursue dance. Since moving to
Texas in 2008 Kebrina has built her own company, Casa de Baile Traveling Studio. Casa
de Baile's services include dance instruction, performance and event planning. She
has performed with dance companies Samba Dallas, Salsa Sunrise and Tropico Entertainment.
Kebrina embarked a new chapter in Boulder at Naropa University to develop into a Performance
Artist and one day become a Professor of Theatre and Dance.
Andrea Dudziak: A practitioner/scholar who recently obtained her Masters of Arts in Theatre Studies
at Florida State University where she focused on musical theatre studies and the representation
of mentally–ill women in American drama. In her hometown of Buffalo, NY, she worked
with the local Infringement Festival to create socially conscious theatre pieces including
Push Factor, an exploration of bullying, and My Mind's Prisoner, an investigation
into the experience of mental illness and its discourse. Andrea received her Bachelors
of Arts in Drama and Archeology from SUNY Potsdam. While at Naropa University, she
hopes to use practice as research to explore inter-subjective communication and performativity
of text in Roy Hart work.
Molly Kampf: An Alexander Technique and movement instructor, choreographer and performer. She
has taught in numerous institutions including Central Michigan University, Saginaw
Valley State University and Interlochen Fine Arts Camp. Previously she performed in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. While there, she graduated from the Alexander Alliance
and received a BFA in modern dance from Temple University. Molly is currently at Naropa
University in the MFA program for Contemporary Performance in Boulder, Colorado.
Hrefna Lind: Comes from Iceland. She holds BA from University of Iceland in Literature/Theater
and Drama Education. She has been teaching improvisation, leading art groups, directing
and holding experimental theater workshops and researches based of Grotowski technique.
In 2011, she moved to New York and attended dance classes in Contact improvisation
at Movement Research. She attended a three week intensive workshop at Double Edge
Theater and was truly inspired by the work.
Jamie McKittrick: A Philadelphia based theatre artist who's developed, choreographed, and performed
in Swim Pony Performing Arts' SURVIVE! and Lady M. For Johnny Showcase and the Lefty
Lucy Players, she choreographed and performed as one of the "6 Lady Dancers" for the
2009 Philly Fringe Festival hit Purr, Pull, Reign. Regionally, she's performed in
La Cage Aux Folles, Alice and Wonderland, High Society, and The Robber Bridegroom.
She's toured nationally and collaborated internationally with symphony orchestras
through Enchantment Theatre Company's productions of Scheherazade, Cinderella, and
The Velveteen Rabbit. Also, she taught as an artist in residence for the Roberto Clemente
School and for Muhlenberg College's Performing Arts.
Jenni Messner: Has landed in Boulder by way of Cleveland, Ohio, where she most recently worked with
Cleveland Public Theatre and Theater Ninjas. Just prior, she received her BA in both
Theatre and Psychology at Denison University, and spent a semester in Dublin, Ireland
at the Gaiety School of Acting, the National Theatre School of Ireland. Favorite performances
include clowning with the Canniballoon Brigade, and devising work with Dension's Women's
Performance Group.
Nate Speare: A performing artist based in New York. Theatrical interests include character work,
solo/ensemble work, and body/voice pedagogy. Nate acted in regional theaters in MA
and off-off Broadway productions in New York. He studied at The Mime School in Amsterdam
and as an artist-in-residence with Pantheatre (with the Roy Hart Centre) in France.
He presented a paper called "The Present Actor" to the Mid-America Theatre Conference,
and wrote theatre reviews for Chicago publications NewCity and The Reader. While working
in New York, he performed his solo "We Died of Thirst," which won the Talk of the
Town award at the New England Fringe Festival.
Ye Taik: A New York and Colorado based performing artist and also an independent curator of
multidisciplinary art and media projects. Most recently, he was an artist-in-resident
at Flux Factory as a New York Community Trust Fellow and is presently artistic director
of Ye Taik and the BlackSheep performing art organization. In 2010 he was a selected
artist for The Field Organization and is showcasing at Lower Manhattan Cultural Council
and Harlem Art Alliance, New York. His work is in the permanent collection of the
Library of Congress under the Asian American archive. He is a modest American of the
Burmese diaspora.
Ana Cantorán Viramontes: Born and raised in Mexico, Ana has a BFA in Dramatic Arts obtained in Puebla Mexico,
she is a founder member of Producciones Espintla Teatro, theater company and performance
laboratory interested in research and explore Mexican Folklore as well Mexican ancient
and modern Culture and history. She is very proud of being a member of the Theater
of the Opresed community in Mexico where she was working as a performer at Teatro
Kiosko company in a preventive campaign against the human trafficking.
Jared White: Has been practicing theatre for about 10 years or so. His favorite credits include
"Dead Man Walking", "Good", "The Laramie Project", and "Equus" amongst others. He
is veteran of over 50 stage productions and has been trained in or dabbled in just
about everything except witchcraft. He'd like to thank his parents, and family, his
ex-girlfriends, Big Bird and the Keebler Elves for everything! He loves that he is
finally back in Boulder after a 2 1/2 year absence. You stay classy Boulder!
contact
Liz Acosta, Administrative Specialist
School of the Arts
303-546-3519
lacosta@naropa.edu
NAROPA UNIVERSITY
2130 Arapahoe Avenue
Boulder, CO 80302
Events
