Stage & Tech
Joshua Billiter • Theatre Tech
Joshua's journey into the realm of theater technology commenced during his high school years, fostering an enduring passion for the technical facets of the craft. Embracing this ardor, he pursued a lighting major at the College of Santa Fe (later transitioning to Santa Fe University of Art and Design) where his connection to the Greer Garson Theater solidified. Engaging mentors like John Weckesser, technical director George Johnson, and Costume Designer Cheryl Odom, Joshua honed his skills across diverse theater domains. Notably, his pivotal role in transitioning theater technology from analog to digital offered him profound insights into seamless integration and troubleshooting. Proficient in QLab programming, Joshua's expertise spans lighting and sound design, technical integration, and multimedia playback systems. His trajectory from managing student-based networks to leading IT departments underscores his adaptability, leadership, and multifaceted technical acumen within theatrical and IT domains.
More information: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-billiter-a6132b89/
Email: joshuabilliter@gmail.com
Miles Blitch • Sound Design • Backstage
Within just a decade, Miles has almost thirty dramatic productions under his belt. He has collaborated with a wide range of companies, from Valley Youth Theatre to the Arizona Opera. Miles has also been thrice recognized by the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival for his work in stage performance and sound design. Having loved performing and listening to musical scores since childhood, his extensive knowledge now serves him well as a sound designer. His innate verbal skills were honed by his international background and cum laude degree in Asian Studies at ASU, leading to both a deeper understanding of other cultures and a self-produced and -performed noh play.
Miles is equally at home onstage or backstage, and takes great pride in being part of the entire theatrical experience!
Contact: meblitch@hotmail.com
Mel Boudreau • Technician and Artist
Mel is a well-rounded theatrical technician and artist from CT and NY, and is very excited to begin her journey in theatre in The Land of Enchantment.
She began her career in technical theatre as a high school student at the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts in Connecticut. She has worked for many companies around CT, working shows and changeovers as a stagehand, carpenter, and electrician. After freshman year at Ithaca College, Mel began working in repertory opera as a stagehand at The Glimmerglass Festival and at The Santa Fe Opera. Prior to the COVID-19 shutdowns, Mel worked as a full-time carpenter and shop hand at Daedalus Design and Production, a fabrication shop in Brooklyn, NY. Now she works from home for Dogwood Event and Design, Inc. doing illustrations for children’s books.
Other than doing theatre, she keeps her artistic side alive and well by painting, drawing, playing music, and photography during her free time.
Suzanne Cross • Stage Manager
Suzanne has a long work history with multiple theaters from Louisiana to North Carolina to Santa Fe. Since 2015, she has worked as stage manager or ASM with multiple local groups. Besides six productions with Dr. Robert Benedetti’s New Mexico Actors Lab (2016–2017), she worked with the Santa Fe Playhouse (Macbeth, 2015), Red Thread Santa Fe (Almost Maine, 2017), Teatro Paraguas (Motherf****r with a Hat, 2017), Shakespeare in the Garden (The Tempest, 2017), Ironweed Productions (The Crucible, 2017), and Oasis Theater (The Water Engine, 2018). Suzanne has been an active volunteer for various Shakespearean productions and for the International Shakespeare Center.
When not in rehearsal, Suzanne works as a paralegal, intimate caterer, and expert in Elizabethan cooking.
Contact: Text Suzanne at 505.603.7891 or burstallcross@gmail.com.
Jazmen Escarcega • Stage manager, ASM, Board Operator, Backstage
For the past six years Jazmen has been studying and working on her craft as a techie. She is a recent graduate from NMSU with a BA in performing arts and an emphasis in stage management. Her work history is in New Mexico, with a range from musicals (25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, 2020), event coordination (Enchantment Awards, 2021) and straight plays (Wolves, 2019). Although she is early in her career she is dedicated to learning as much as she can in theatre and stage management. Jazmen is a resident in New Mexico and wishes to continue to grow and be a part of the performing art community any way she can.
Contact: Jazmen2408@gmail.com
Danielle Fugler • Costume Design
I have been sewing and crocheting since I was a child, and have made original costumes for productions of "Young Frankenstein", "Aliens with Extraordinary Skills", and "Spamalot" to name a few. I am a member of the Central Florida Costumers Guild and Tampa Bay Seamsters, and I have a degree in Graphic Design. I frequently work as a face painter at public and private events in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, and I own an upcycled fashion business. I love the research involved in making historically accurate garments from all eras of the past.
Carla Garcia • Stage Manager
Carla grew up in Santa Fe and has many ties to the community, including as a Board Member of the Santa Fe Playhouse. In Santa Fe, she has stage managed for the Santa Fe Playhouse, Ironweed Productions, DNAWORKS, Teatro Paraguas, Wise Fool, and Z-Productions. She has also worked with Shakespeare in the Garden, Requerdos Vivos, Just Say it Theater, and Theater Grottesco, among others. Carla holds a B.S. from Northwestern University’s School of Communications. Carla spent more than ten years in nonprofit administration, including at the Santa Fe Community Foundation and the Santa Fe Animal Shelter & Humane Society, but is currently working as the Events Assistant for Meow Wolf. She has done everything from finding the zen moments in data entry to coordinating the organized chaos of special events. Ultimately Carla finds her varied roles rewarding, as long as she can further the causes closest to her heart.
Contact: carla.m.garcia@gmail.com
David Kelley-Daithi • Set Design, Painting, Crew
David has studied at the University of Wisconsin, the Art Students League of New York City, and in Lucca, Italy through the Pratt Institute of Art where his studio was located in the Cathedral Santa Maria Bianca. He has exhibited in museums, galleries, universities, and city centers across North America, Ireland, Italy, and Argentina. Daithi has taught art in many surroundings, such as the McColl Center for the Visual Arts in Charlotte, North Carolina; Save the World Project in Kathmandu, Nepal; Nimbus Arts in Napa Valley, California; and most recently at Madison College and as Artist in Residence at the Goodman Community Center in Madison, Wisconsin. His art can be found in many private, public, and corporate collections.
Set Design:
Nimbus “Off, Off Broadway” • St. Helena, CA • 2010–2012 • Children’s theater • design and teacher
Mustard Seed Festival • Napa, CA • 2009 • set painter for tablos
Bisbee Repertory Theater, AZ • 1999 • set painting
I am friendly, reliable and work well with others. If I can help your production.
Contact: daithiartstudios@gmail.com
Kristen Mancini • Set Design, Production
Kristen is a passionate designer, artist, and musician who naturally has found a place within the theatre as a means to combine all mediums. A professional interior designer by trade, she is looking to expand her horizons through theatre and stage production opportunities. Kristen is here to assist you with designing or drafting ground plans and elevations, 3D renderings, set construction, painting, and lighting. You can view her portfolio of work in both design and theatre on her website.
Website: www.kristenmancini.com
Contact: kristen_mancini@comcast.net
Ruth Mikos • Stage Manager
Ruth grew up in Iowa and moved to NY to pursue her MFA at Pratt Institute. While a student she joined Blue Man Group as backstage crew. After graduation, she spent several years working at Getty Images, then with Props For Today where she honed her production skills working with a variety of event, stage, and media clients including Saturday Night Live. She then moved on to JesGordon/ProperFun Event Production, working on large-scale productions before breaking off to focus on art and freelance business management. After moving to Santa Fe, Ruth worked as Assistant Stage Manager for All Too Human. She is thrilled to join The New Mexico Actors Lab as Assistant Stage Manager for the 2017 Season!
Contact: ruth@ruthmikos.com
Jaye Oliver • Graphic Design, Costume Design, Set Design
As a graphic design artist running my own business since 1988, and as a long-time
volunteer in fine arts and theater arts for almost that long, I have had much experience in the
skills useful to theater productions on multiple levels. For example, I designed and built Renaissance costumes for the Detroit Institute of Arts for their Renaissance performances which are still in use today. Besides art costuming and design, I design publicity, posters, rack cards, programs, and other graphic projects.
My most recent local assignments in costuming include designing and building for
Shakespeare’s Macbeth (Santa Fe Playhouse, 2015) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream
(Santa Fe Shakespeare Society, 2012). I have prepared graphic art and programming for
four art galleries, fundraising events for the Santa Fe Humane Society (Barkin’ Ball: three
years of decor, stage design, and props), two years of decor/stage design for JIN’s annual
Matsuri, and the large annual Eldorado Studio Tour booklet, ads, postcards, and other
promotional work.
Contact: 505.820.1959
jayeOliverArt@gmail.com
Alina Pontius • Sound Designer & Live Technician
Alina is excited to join the Santa Fe community. Trained in California and New York, she brings youthful exuberance and technical expertise to theatre and multimedia performance. Most recently she collaborated with a NYC-based choreographer to create the score for dance piece Maria, which enjoyed an introductory showing at the Gibney. She is most interested in absurd, fantastic, and magical themes, and has used her technical knowledge of video projection to workshop hybrid forms of live performance.
Alina holds a BA from Sarah Lawrence College and is available to staff concerts, events, lectures, backstage crew, and recording sessions. She is also a freelance video editor.
Contact: 949.363.3724
alina.pontius@gmail.com
Talia Pura • Costume Design
Talia began designing and sewing her dolls’ wardrobes at the age of five, and her own at thirteen. Her first field of study at the University of Manitoba (Canada) was Interior Design. This was followed by a theatre degree which included set and costume design courses.
Since relocating to Santa Fe in 2016, Talia designed and built the costumes for Rosemary Zibart’s historical drama, All Too Human, at Warehouse 21. She has extensive experience in costuming for theatre and film. Some highlights include Macbeth, The Wiz, Dracula and many new original plays, giving her the opportunity to work on period costumes, fantasy, and modern attire.
talia@taliapura.com or 505.428.8508
Skip Rapoport • Lighting Designer
Skip has designed lighting in New York, Los Angeles, and many points in-between; at New York’s American Place Theater and Dance Theater Workshop, Los Angeles’ Vanguard Theater and Schönberg Hall, and Chicago’s Body Politic Theater. His clients have included The Acting Company, Mark Taper Forum’s New Theater for Now, Donald Byrd and the Group, and Nevada Dance Theater. In Santa Fe, he has designed for The Lensic, Theaterwork, Theater Grottesco, Ironweed Productions, Teatro Paraguas, New Mexico Actors Lab, and many others. Skip is especially proud of his work with New Mexico School for the Arts, Santa Fe Prep, and JSIT, working with the next generation of theater artists.
Lynn Roylance • Documentary Photographer
Providing rehearsal and production photographs for press and social media.
Client list: Adobe Rose, For Giving Theatre Ensemble, ISC, New Mexico Actors Lab, Red Thread Santa Fe, Santa Fe Classic Theater, Santa Fe Playhouse, Threshold Theatre, Vortex Theatre, Albuquerque, Upstart Crows, Z Productions - Theatre
505.660.4966
lynn@flappingbrain.com
Lesley Reveles • Stage Manager
Lesley is a native Long Islander and has stage-managed for numerous regional theaters in New York, including Grey Room NYC, Theater Three, Gateway Playhouse, and the American Theater of Actors. Past management credits include Fiddler on the Roof, Macbeth, The Sound of Music, Sweeney Todd, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Clean House, Elegies: A Song Cycle. Graduate of Santa Fe University of Art and Design with a B.A. in Theater.
Jeffry Thomas • Stage Manager, Set Creation, Lighting, Business Manager
Jeffry began his career in theater at the nationally-acclaimed Children’s Theater Company in Minneapolis where he designed and executed full seasons. As an Equity stage manager, he was responsible for more than sixty productions and also directed regional touring shows. He then went to the esteemed Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis where he contributed to the planning, preparation, and execution of main stage house productions and national touring shows. His activities included everything from set creation to lighting and directing the backstage, technical aspects. He also served as lighting technician on Guthrie regional touring shows.
In Denver, Jeffry managed the region’s largest talent agency, directing the hiring and booking of talent, the training school for actors and models, and serving as an agent for sports figures—primarily Olympians. He also served as President for the Colorado Film and Video Association where he managed the business of the non-profit and their efforts to strengthen and grow the creative media community. He was chosen as the Managing Director of the United States Environment Film Festival in Santa Monica, CA, where he organized event activities, media, celebrity contract negotiations, and other business. Since that time, Jeffry has served in management for several other media-oriented companies and became certified as a mediator and mediation consultant primarily for the City of Denver.
He is currently enjoying semi-retirement in Santa Fe and looking forward to contributing to the local theater community.