Faculty and Staff
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James Anderson, Lecturer |
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Lorelei Bayne has been involved in the world of professional dance for over 20 years. She began her studies at the University of South Florida where she earned a BA in Dance under the tutelage of William Hug, Lynne Wimmer, Gretchen Warren and Sandra Robinson. She taught and performed on the East Coast with Philadelphia-based, Melanie Stewart Dance Theatre and Karen Bamonte Danceworks, before moving to New York City. She has performed in the works of 20th century dance notables Jose Limon, Mark Morris, Ann Reinking, May O’Donnell, and Mark Dendy, and during her 14 years of professional work based in NYC, also performed with Elizabeth Streb, Clarinda MacLow/ cml performance group, Lynn Marie Ruse/ FREEFALL, and many independent NYC dance makers. Her own choreography (Lorelei Bayne Performance Projects) has been presented throughout New York City and nationally. She received her MFA in Dance from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Bayne is a certified Yoga Instructor (Integral Yoga Institute/ NYC) and holds a Pilates floor certification (PhysicalMindInstitute/ NYC.) She was associate producer and camera operator on a documentary with director Khalda Logan in 2003, “And then they flew…” presented in the 2004 Dance on Camera Festival at Lincoln Center, New York City. Bayne’s broad experience in the dance field includes work as a teaching artist in the New York City public schools and as a visiting guest artist, faculty member, and choreographer at several universities’, including Western Connecticut State University, James Madison University, University of South Florida, University of Vermont, and the University of Louisiana. Currently, Ms. Bayne’s primary area of interest and research is dance theatre and interdisciplinary performance forms. She was the Co-Artistic Director of the Sacramento- based Dangerous Lorraines Dance Theater with dance artist Melissa Wynn from 2007-2010. Bayne currently serves as the Dance Coordinator and is an Associate Professor at Sacramento State. |
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 Jeff BercumeTechnical Director (916) 278-7726 \ e-mail: jeff.bercume@csus.edu |
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Ed Brazo, Assistant Professor of acting technique and musical theatre, joined the faculty of Sacramento State Department of Theatre & Dance in 2002 after maintaining a professional career for over 25 years. Ed heads the musical theatre program and has directed Cabaret, Crazy for You, A Chorus Line, and 42nd Street. |
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Andonia Cakouros came to Sac State in 1977. She earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Pittsburgh and her graduate degree at Northwestern University in Chicago. She has taught a variety of courses to a diverse population of students: courses in acting for majors as well as General Education courses and courses in Communication and Music. As an actress, director and choreographer she enjoys the satisfaction – and exhaustion – of artistic expression. Her productions at Sac State include A Thousand Cranes, There’s a Fence Around My House, andAntigone. She has worked as a respondent for the Lenaea Festival and as an advisor to students within and beyond the Department of Theatre and Dance; she has sought and learned from the continual connection with students. She has been recognized locally and nationally for her work in acting, directing and choreography |
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Stephanie Conrad is a 1989 graduate of U.C. Berkeley with a BA in ART with an emphasis on theater. Stephanie began her career in scenic painting as an independent contractor, including five years at American Musical Theater in San Jose from 1993 thru 1998 and Children's Musical Theater of San Jose from 1995 through the present. She has also plied her craft for Sacramento Opera, Music Circus, Theatre Works, the Alcazar Theatre in San Francisco, Opera San Jose, and Fresno Ballet. While focusing primarily on a career as a scenic artist, Stephanie loves all aspects of production and has had a varied career. She became intrigued with properties during her first experience working with Music Circus in 1993. Since that time, she has been Properties Artisan for 20 Music Circus productions including the Wizard of OZ, 2004, Disney's Beauty and the Beast, 2005 and Hello Dolly, 2007.
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Andrea Cool is an alumni of Sacramento State, from her B.A. in 1976 through receiving an M.A. in English in December, 2009. She has worked for Sac State since 1998 and came to this department in Fall 2005. |
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Leandro Glory Damasco Jr. started his professional career with Nicholas Leichter at the Joyce Theater in New York City. He has performed Leichter’s Killa solo at Sacramento State and Marin Academy, where he was commissioned to teach and perform as a guest artist. Leandro served an apprenticeship with Joe Goode Performance Group during the premiere of Traveling Light in San Francisco. He has also extensively performed the reworking of Randee Pauvfe’s Misgivings at Sacramento State, Arizona State, and San Francisco State. Leandro has worked intensively with Diavolo Dance Theatre, learning the repertoire of Trajectoire, earning the nickname “Engine.” Leandro also had the privilege to attend the 2010 American Dance Festival in Durham, North Carolina on scholarship, where he was selected by Richard Seigel and Elizabeth Corbett to be part of the William Forsythe Project. In addition, Leandro had the upmost honor to be chosen by Jean Freebury to perform Merce Cunningham’s Inlets 2 at Duke University’s Reynolds Theater. Recently, Leandro graduated from Sacramento State with a BA in dance, where he worked closely with Lorelei Bayne, Melissa Wynn, Lisa Ross, Nolan T’sani, and Deborah Froh Miller. He now teaches locally and at CSU Sacramento as adjunct faculty and had the privilege to teach at the 2011 ACDFA in Long Beach. Leandro continues to perform; having the honor to work intensively with Project Bandaloop and Axis Dance Company in Oakland, Ca. Currently, Leandro maintains a professional career as a sought after soloist while working for Paufve Dance, Lorelei Bayne Projects, and Red Bucket Dance Theatre. |
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Miche lle Felten Acting (916) 278-6280\ e-mail: mfelten@csus.edu Michelle Felten, Assistant Professor of Acting and Voice, joined the Sacramento State Department of Theatre & Dance in 2004 after an extensive performing career. Michelle holds an MFA in Acting from the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, a BA in Drama from UC Irvine, and an AA in Theatre from San Joaquin Delta College. A member of both Actor’s Equity and SAG, Michelle’s performing resume includes: the national touring shows 42nd Street as Dorothy Brock and Nunsense II as Sister Robert Anne; off-Broadway productions of Secrets Every Smart Traveler Should Know andMama’s Pearls; the world premiere adaptation of Chekhov’s The Black Monk – co-produced by Laterna Magika of Prague; and leading roles in regional productions of Evita, I Do! I Do!, Man of La Mancha, Annie Get Your Gun, Personals, and Six Women with Brain Death. Her television, film, and commercial credits include: NBC’s Midnight Caller; TransAmerica Insurance, B of A and Long’s Drug. She has studied voice extensively with Studio A.C.T. and the Fitzmaurice Voice Technique with both Catherine Fitzmaurice and Saul Kotzubei in Los Angeles. Besides acting and voice, Michelle also teaches Audition Technique, Shakespeare Styles and coaches acting privately both on and off campus. Her directing credits include CSUS productions of Loose Knit, Picnic, Assistant Director duties for 42nd Street and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, and the Sacramento premiere of The Last Five Yearsfor the Highwire Arts Projects. In the summer of 2009,, Michelle directed Mame for the Summer Repertory Theatre in Santa Rosa. |
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Philip Flickinger joined the Sacramento State Theater and Dance department in the fall of 2011. He joins the faculty after spending five years with Diavolo Dance Theater under the direction of Jacques Heim. Mostly recently Flickinger choreographed and assistant directed Watashi Niwa Jishingu Aru by Leslie Ishii. He also choreographed Antigone for EastWest Players Acting Conservatory. |
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Dr. Linda S. Goodrich began her dance training in ballet, modern, Afro-Haitian and jazz dance. Born in Columbus, Ohio, she danced with and then directed several different companies in the Ohio region before moving to New York to continue her studies. She earned her M.A. (1972), Ph.D. (1976) at The Ohio State University, and her M.F.A. in Choreography and Performance (1982) at Mills College. Moving to the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 70’s, she performed in Stompin’ at the Savoy as well as playing the lead role in Carmen Jones. She has directed and choreographed such shows as Dancing at Lugnasa, The Colored Museum, Jar the Floor, Cabin in the Sky, Raisin, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbo Was Enuf, Sisters and The Old Settler. She has performed with Sacramento Theatre Company (Jar the Floor and To Kill A Mockingbird, Oakland Ensemble (For Colored Girls…), and other regional theaters throughout California and Ohio. She is the For the past 15 years she has served as the Artistic Director and Faculty Advisor to Sacramento/Black Art of Dance (S/BAD) a modern dance group that follows the traditions of black concert dance and Ms. Katherine Dunham and one of the founding members of Ebo Okokan, an Afro Cuban Dance Ensemble. She also produced and choreographed Viva Carnival (2002); Sideshow (2003), and Pop Rocks (2006) for the California State Fair. She made her Sac State directorial debut with Venus in 2002. Dr. Goodrich is very committed to working with community arts organizations, frequently directing productions at the Sacramento non-profit performance venue Celebration Arts Theatre where she also serves as a board member. |
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One of the founding members of Ebo Okokán, Harold grew up in San Francisco, and has been a student of Afro-Cuban music for over 25 years. Some of his teachers include Francisco Aguabella, Alfredo "Coyude" Vedeax, Regino Jimenez and Carlos Aldama. Muñiz has performed and recorded with such noted musical greats as Lazaro Ros, Carlos Santana, Francisco Aguabella, Bobby McFerrin, Clare Fisher, and Israel Lopez "Cachao". He has been giving private and group Afro-Cuban percussion lessons for over 20 years in the San Francisco and Sacramento areas. For the pest eight years he has been on the faculty of Sac State as a consultant and part-time staff in the African/Caribbean dance class. He is also on staff at the Afro Cuban Drum & Dance seminar at CSU Humboldt. Muñiz is the winner of the SAMMIES Critics Choice Award-Drummer/Percussionist, and a recipient of the Artist in Residence grant program from the California Arts Council. |
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Cindy Piccinini started at Sac State in 2007 and came to the Department of Theatre & Dance from Sonoma State University. She is the original “continuing student,” having taken classes off and on for the past 20 years. Her goal to graduate before needing a walker! |
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Dr. Roberto D. Pomo is Professor of Theatre History and Film Studies. At Sacramento State, he has served as Director of the Honors Program, Chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance, Interim Director for the School of the Arts, and Coordinator of the Film Studies Program. In 2009, Dr. Pomo was selected as winner of the university’s The John C. Livingston Award. Dr. Pomo’s teaching (graduate and undergraduate level) and research concentrate on Latin American Drama, Latino/Chicano Drama and Theatre, Latin American film, Film Theory and Criticism, Theatre History, Performance Theory, and Multicultural Perspectives in American Cinema. A co-author of The Longman anthology of World Drama and Theatre: A Global Perspective, and The Longman Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Drama, Dr. Pomo’s current work center in the areas of playwriting and translation. Dr. Pomo was a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, in the field of Caribbean Literature and Performance Theory. He was also an NEH Fellow at the Center for Twentieth Century Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, in the area of Post-Modern Performance Studies. As Artistic Director of the Elenco Experimental for 12 years, Dr. Pomo directed productions grounded in the areas of political theatre and multicultural performance aesthetics. Dr. Pomo holds the Ph.D. in Theatre History and Theory from the University of Utah, a Master of Arts in Dramatic Literature from the University of California, Davis, and the Bachelor of Arts in Drama and Theatre from Brigham Young University. Born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Dr. Pomo is a citizen of the United States of America. |
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Ron Reisner first started working for Sacramento State’s Department of Theatre & Dance as a Graduate Student in 1996, while studying lighting and set design. In 2007, Ron became a full-time assistant professor, teaching lighting, stagecraft, and set design. Ron also serves as Production Coordinator and oversees the development process from idea to opening night. Ron’s lighting and set design achievements include North Star, Loose Knit, 42nd Street, Lorca in a Green Dress, The Good Woman of Setzuan, Picnic, Bat Boy, Twelfth Night and Dance Sites. |
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Mary Robinson, a theatre alumni, teaches children's theatre, appreciation of acting and puppetry, and is the Department of Theatre and Dance's Promotions Director. |
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Lisa Ross is the Co-Artistic Director of Red Bucket Dance Theatre, a ground-breaking new contemporary dance company based in Sacramento, CA. Her choreography infuses a blend of jazz and contemporary movement with theatre, often engaging the audience in thought-provoking dialogue. She has danced professionally with Dale Scholl Dance/Art, Ruth Rosenberg Dance Ensemble, the NBA Sacramento Kings Fastbreak Dance Team, the United Spirit Association, the Universal Dance Association where she performed in London, England and even as a character artist for the Sacramento Ballet. She has choreographed and performed in such works as "Chicago", "A Little Night Music", "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum", "What Price, Liberty?", "The Music Man", "Berlin to Broadway", "The Wiz" and many others. Lisa has been an adjunct faculty member at CSUS since 2000 and is a proud alumni. She is happily married and enjoying her most challenging but rewarding role thus far, as mother to her three beautiful children; Gwendolyn, Angela and Zane. |
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Nolan T’Sani - Following a successful and extensive performing career as a soloist with the New York City Ballet, Nolan T’Sani has been a choreographer, teacher, ballet master and director of his own company. Mr. T’Sani received his formal training on full scholarship at the North Carolina School of the Arts and the School of American Ballet prior to joining the critically acclaimed New York City Ballet. Under the directorship of the late George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins, Mr. T’Sani performed numerous leading roles which includeSerenade, Jewels, Symphony in C, Midsummer Night’s Dream andBrahms Schoenberg Quartet, and danced with such renowned ballerinas as Patricia McBride, Suzanne Farrell, Gelsey Kirkland and Allegra Kent. In addition, Mr. T’Sani toured with the company throughout the United States, Europe and the Soviet Union.
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Audrey Walker Audrey Walker is excited to begin her first year in the costume shop at Sacramento State University. Originally from the Bay Area, Audrey began costuming for her high school theatrical productions (Newark High School) that led her to San Jose State University where she earned her B.A. in Theater Arts. Audrey’s done almost every job there is in the costume world - Stitcher, Dresser, First Hand, Cutter, Costumer, and Designer. Most recently, Audrey was an Adjunct faculty at Ohlone College, teaching Hair/Make-up and Costume construction and design. Some of the other places that Audrey has worked include Walt Disney Productions , Berkeley Repertory Theater, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Theatre Works, Oberlin Dance Collective, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, San Francisco Opera, San Jose Repertory Co, Berkeley Shakespeare Festival, Old Globe Theater, Civic Light Opera / AMT , Children’s Theatre Workshop. |
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African American Theatre, Theatre History, Dramatic Literature (916 )278-7719\ e-mail: mwilson@csus.edu Dr. Melinda D. Wilson Ramey, joining the faculty of the Department of Theatre and Dance in Fall 2005, utilizes theatre and drama to engage the social and cultural circumstances that both strengthen and strain individuals and communities. Her scholarship examines the construction of youth identity in African American dramas from the civil rights movement and Black Power era to argue that the historical moment influenced the ways in which African American playwrights purposely used the stage to discuss issues relevant to the life chances and life choices of Black teenagers. Her acting and directing credits include Dearborn Heights , Day of Absence , The Colored Museum , and various productions with Rhythm & Roots Performance Company in Nashville, Tennessee. Dr. Wilson holds a Ph.D. in Theatre and Drama from Northwestern University, a M.A. in Theatre also from Northwestern, and a B.A. in African American Studies from Vanderbilt University. |
Dr. Linda Goodrich
