Learn more about the Teaching Artists and Staff members who bring our content to life.
Alley Theatre Teaching Artist 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.
Alley Theatre Teaching Artist 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 an MFA, Nebraska Wesleyan University with a BFA, and has studied at Shakespeare’s Globe in London.
Alley Theatre Teaching Artist Juan Sebastián 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.
Alley Theatre Master Teaching Artist 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.
Alley Theatre Teaching Artist
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 art form 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.
Alley Theatre Teaching Artist
Rain 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 artists. She currently attends the University of Houston where she's majoring in Mass Communication.
Alley Theatre Teaching Artist
Gabriel Regojo is a Houston native. He attended the University of Houston, School of Theatre and Dance. Previous Houston credits include Alley Theatre; Alley All New Festival: The Survivors (Santa Ana, Davy Crocket), The Aves (Young man), Stages: Water by the Spoonful (Elliot), My Mañana Comes (Jorge), Ultimate Christmas Show Abridged (Matt), Catastrophic: The Darkest Shore (Stuart), Bootycandy (Actor 5), Rec Room: Sender (Jordan), Exit Strategy (Luce), Mildred's Umbrella: Dryland (Victor). Classical Theatre Company: Lysistrata (Cinesias) Gabriel also has participated in many staged readings for various companies throughout the Houston area. Gabriel has been with the Alley's ECE as both an actor and a Teaching Artist.
Alley ECE, Manager of Community Partnerships
Baldemar Rodriguez was born in Mexico and raised in Pasadena, Texas. He graduated from the University of Houston and holds a BA in Radio/Television/Film and a BA in Theater. Rodriguez has directed and produced films, stage productions, documentaries, commercials and PSA's for ABC, NBC, Univision, Telemundo, among others. He worked at Houston's NBC affiliate KPRC TV2 as an editor and news videographer for six years until he was commissioned to produce a feature film, Grey Focus, which took him on location to Nigeria. He has worked in front and behind the cameras as well as on stage and off stage. He has received several Communicator Awards and Telly Awards for his Creativity in Editing and Cinematography, a Remi Award for Best Feature Film, a CineFest Award for Best Director, and was a recent nominee for the prestigious Imagen Award for Best Director of the feature film In Search of the American Dream.
Alley ECE, Staging STEM & AIN Manager Jasmine Thomas is our Staging STEM Manager and the Resident Teaching Artist in our Arts Integration Network programming. Through our AIN programs, she builds relationships with teachers- offering professional development and mentorship to create fully arts-integrated core classrooms. Before finding the Alley, Jasmine worked as an actress, private tutor, and online consultant for ESL teachers nationwide in New York City. Jasmine graduated from Southwestern University with a degree in Theatre Arts and Communication Studies and is a Teach For America alum, c/o 2012. Jasmine loves combining her loves of education and theatre with the Alley ECE!
Alley ECE, Assistant Director of Education 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.
Alley Theatre Teaching Artist Wesley Whitson is a recent graduate of the University of Houston BFA Theatre Program, recent Houston credits include Houston Shakespeare Festival’s Macbeth (Malcolm, Witch), Mildred’s Umbrella’s Feathers and Teeth (Hugo), and Next Iteration Theatre Company’s Turquoise (Lorne).
Alley Theatre Resident Master Teaching Artist Bradley Dean Whyte has been a Teaching Artist with the Alley Theatre for two years. He has a diverse background as an educator that includes teaching singing, song-writing, and musical theatre performance as well as acting and improvisation. He holds an M.F.A. in Theatre from Penn State and a B.A. in Theatre from UMKC. He has performed with the Utah Shakespeare Festival, Illinois Shakespeare Festival, The Shakespeare Theatre, Cape Playhouse, and Nebraska Rep. He has also written music for regional theatres and self-produces his original pop music under the pseudonym, The Perfectly Violent Dream.
Alley ECE, School Programs Manager Esme LeJeune Wu is a Houston-based writer and educator. Her work has been produced in Houston, San Antonio, Austin, London, and Bristol. After four years in the classroom, Esme joined the Alley Theatre's education department in 2017 to organize and revitalize the relationships with Partner Schools and the Alley's digital dramaturgy at AlleyReSourced. She has an MA in playwriting from Royal Holloway, University of London, and a BS in Communication Studies and a BA in Theatre/Dance from the University of Texas at Austin.