ATX Theatre’s Ensemble of Leaders & Advisors
Mary Alice Carnes, Board Chair
(she/her) serves on the Voces Oral History Center Recourse Council at the University of Texas. She also works in communications with FUNauctions. She has been a part of the nonprofit sector for many years in Austin, Texas with organizations focusing on arts and culture, basic needs and best practices for nonprofit organizations. Mary Alice has also worked with many area theater organizations as actor, director, producer, and volunteer. Mary Alice is helping to build ATX Theatre’s Board Book and is Chair of the ATX Theatre Board of Directors.
Luis Ordaz Gutiérrez, Board Member
(he/him/his) is a theatre director/actor, dancer, and writer. Luis' work blends cultural exploration, historical research, and unconventional performance art, driven to unpack the Hispanic/Latino/Latinx experience. Since 2008, Gutiérrez has served as the artistic director of ProyectoTEATRO, whose mission is to engage recent immigrants, bicultural communities, and first-generation families through cultural arts programming in Spanish. Luis is on the board of ATX Theatre for a second year.
Simone Alexander, Advisor
(she/her/hers) is a freelance artist, arts administrator, and arts advocate. Simone has spent the last seven years in Austin working in the nonprofit field and theatre community. She serves as Producing Artistic Director and Founder of New Manifest Theatre Company, Development Director of Ground Floor Theatre, and Visitor Relations Manager at The Contemporary Austin Museum. Simone has volunteered through service on the B. Iden Payne Awards Council, the UTeach Fine Arts Council Advisory Committee, and the ACC AAS Tech Theatre Advisory Committee. Simone helped initiate ATX Theatre’s creative blueprint in 2021 and serves as an advisory board member.
Sharron Anderson, Founding Executive Director
(she/her/hers) is an Austin native-returned-home after living in NY, where she worked as an actor and casting director. She's appeared in 100+ theatre productions across the NE and SW, and holds a BA & MFA from UT Austin. Sharron co-founded Lysistrata Project, the first worldwide theatrical peace event, during which Aristophanes' anti-war comedy was read in 1,029 locations in 52 countries and in every U.S. state on a single day in 2003. Sharron co-founded ATX Theatre in 2020, was on the creative blueprint team in 2021, and manages the daily operations of the organization. Member: Actor's Equity Assoc. & SAG-AFTRA.
Cecelia Gay, Board Treasurer
(she/her/hers) currently works as a Key Second Assistant Production Accountant at HBO. Previous experience includes teaching at Austin School of Fashion Design, tutoring private design students, and consulting extensively in fashion and costume/makeup design for Florida Grand Opera, KidsActing, Austin Shakespeare and House of Torment, among others. Cecelia's creative and flexible thinking, honed at Miami International University of Art and Design, brings a pragmatic playfulness to the ATX Theatre board. “Theatre should be both sustainable and fun to make.”
Prince Elvin Camp, Jr., Board Member
(he/him/his) graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary with an MA in Media Arts and Communications with a focus on theatre. He received a BA in theatre from the University of Texas at Austin. He has directed, produced, and starred in 2 one-man shows and has appeared in indie and feature films. During his tenure as Sr. President with Multimedia Maze LLC, he has directed over 100 business commercials, music videos and mini-documentaries. Prince is a native Texan from Dallas with a heart for small businesses, nonprofits, and entrepreneurs. Prince is also Head of Professional Services for Google’s Vendor Management Organization where he has been employed for 15 years.
Inge Rider, Advisor
(she/her/hers) is Austin’s ultimate theatregoer! She moved to Austin in 2006 to be close to family. Having always liked live theater, she was delighted to discover the abundance of it here in Austin and has been a "faithful audience member" from the very beginning. She lives in South Austin with her 2 dogs and her cat. Inge serves on the Membership & Mixers Committee. Inge is an advisory board member.
Gina Houston, Board Member
(she/her/hers) is an ATX Theatre board member, a working actor, and a philanthropist. She holds a BA in theatre with a minor in Voice from St. Edward's University. She studied with SITI Company, in the Droznin System, and with Oliver Worthington and Dennis Whitehead. She's worked with ProArts Collective, Mary Moody Northen Theatre, The VORTEX, Georgetown Palace, Hyde Park Theatre FronteraFest (3 Best of Fest performances), Public Idiot Theatre, Salvage Vanguard, UT Dept. of Theatre, The OffCenter, City Theatre, Scriptworks Out of Ink, ACC Drama Dept., Austin Summer Musical for Children, Austin Shakespeare, Trinity Street Players, Ground Floor Theatre, and Paramount Story Wranglers, among others. Gina serves on the Austin Arts Commission.
Ann Ciccolella, Board Member
(she/her/hers) is a director and playwright. Ann was the Executive Director of Austin Circle of Theatres, a pre-cursor to ATX Theatre. She's directed in Austin at ZACH Theatre (where she served as managing director for 8 years), Zilker Theatre Productions and Austin Shakespeare (where she continues to serve as Artistic Director in her 16th year). Ann has directed at various NYC theatres and also served as Associate Director for Shakespeare on Wheels and Artistic Director of Renaissance Theater Company. Ann has a degree in Dramatic Literature, History of Theater & Cinema from NYU. Ann co-founded ATX Theatre and helped initiate ATX Theatre’s creative blueprint in 2021. Ann serves on the ATX Theatre board of directors.
Rommel Sulit, Advisor
(he/him/his) has 20 years of experience in structural, civil, landscape, and specialty architecture. He specializes in design and detail, but has expertise in all phases of production and construction, and works in BIM 3D modeling systems such as ArchiCAD, Revit, AutoCAD. He holds a master's degree in architecture from UT Austin and an undergraduate degree in visual art from The University of Chicago. As a theatre professional as well, Rommel co-founded Street Corner Arts and has performed for the stage, film, and TV after training at the School at Steppenwolf. Rommel is an advisory board member.
Minerva Villa, Board Member
(she/her/ella) graduated with her B.F.A. in Acting from Texas Tech University in 2009 and again in 2021 with her Masters in Education from the University of Illinois. Minerva was an educator for twelve years and has taught every grade level spanning from kindergarten to seniors in high school. Minerva now works as the Curriculum Designer and Trainer at Jolt Action, a Texas-based multi-issue organization that builds the political power and influence of Latinos in our democracy. When she's not busy educating others, you can find her on stage in several spaces across Austin as an actor or behind the scenes as a director. Currently, Minerva is a Story Wrangler with Paramount Theatre's Literacy to Life program where she helps bring children's stories to life on stage. Minerva is passionate about the arts, education, and ensuring that these kinds of spaces remain inclusive, diverse, and joyful. She is honored to be part of the ATX Theatre Board for a second year and is excited to serve her beloved theater community in Austin.
April Hudson, Board Member
(she/her/hers) has worked for and/or volunteered with theatres in the Austin area for the past decade, including Zilker Theatre Productions, Austin Playhouse, Austin Jewish Repertory Theatre, Trinity Street Players, TexArts, Texas Musical Theatre Workshop, and the UT Department of Theatre & Dance. She's also a theatre Mom, having produced two theatre professionals who grew up doing Austin theatre. One is now a working Equity stage manager and one is finishing up her degree as a genuine triple threat. April has volunteered for ATX Theatre since 2021, and is a 2nd-year board member.
Robert Matney
(he/him/his) Robert Matney is VP of Strategic Partnerships at Yonder. He has worked as a social media analyst and practitioner, web developer, actor (stage, voice), and theater director. Matney is co-producing artistic director of Breaking String Theater and the technology designer at the Hidden Room Theatre. He has spoken at SXSW every year since 2011 with the Hidden Room and Look Left Look Right about their work on Skype theatre and linking actors and audience using technology. Matney graduated from The University of Texas in 1998 with a degree in philosophy and having studied Shakespeare-in-Performance at the Shakespeare at Winedale program. Robert is an Advisor for ATX Theatre until we can sweettalk him into being a full board member -- someday. If we're lucky. We love you, Rob!!!
January 20: ATX Theatre Giving Circle Appreciation, 5-7 p.m.
February 24: Board Meeting #1 on Zoom
March 23: Producer ConFab #1 at 10:45 a.m. (in person)
April 20: Board Meeting #2 at 10:45 a.m. (in person)
May 18: Producer ConFab #2 at 10:45 a.m. on Zoom
June 1-2: Citywide Auditions
July 14: ATX Theatre night at Zilker Summer Musical (Legally Blonde)
August 24: Producer ConFab #3 at 10:45 a.m. on Zoom
September 21: Board Meeting #3 at 10:45 a.m. on Zoom
September 28-29: Volunteer @ Austin Coffee Festival! (Sign up in July)
November 2: Producer ConFab #4 at 10:45 a.m. (in person)
December 7: Board Meeting #4 at 10:45 a.m. (in person)