my backbone

Although the retreat and festival have come and gone, I still have a few acknowledgments I'd like to make. As you may have guessed, I'm primarily responsible for coordinating the retreat. My work for this year's event began as last year's retreat was concluding just as my planning for next year's retreat has already begun. During the week of the retreat, I place all my trust in my stage managers and production assistant who keep things running smoothly as I continue to run around behind the scenes tinkering with the schedule, resolving individual matters, etc.

This year I am particularly indebted to my team who not only managed to overcome all pitfalls and keep everyone on track but helped me retain at least a small portion of my sanity. To Crystal, Pam, Joan, and Jonathan: thank you for everything.

Crystal Mercado, Stage Manager for The Red Road and Different Doesn't Mean the Same

Crystal is a 2008 graduate of Arizona State University's Theatre for Youth MFA program. She has taught theatre, creative drama, puppetry, and theatre for social change with students of all ages, including her thesis project, an inter-generational visual art and theatre performance involving teenagers and elderly women in Guadalupe, AZ. She was a full-time intern at Inside Out Community Arts in Venice, CA, a socially based theatre arts program for middle school students. Her work in San Diego includes being a stage manager and teaching artist for the Old Globe's trans-border, bilingual touring production of Romeo y Juliet/a. In her first year at Young Audiences she has helped establish a free professional development series for teaching artists in San Diego. She also co-coordinates field trips, and teaches theatre at Hoover High and Kearny High Educational Complex.

Pamela Sevilla, Stage Manager for Carbon Black and Fancy Dancer

Pam graduated from SDSU in the Spring of 2008 with a BA in Theatre Arts Performance and has continued at SDSU as an MA candidate in Theatre Arts. Performance credits include: Desire Under the Elms, Songs for a New World, The Jungle Book, The Grapes of Wrath, In the Beginning, and Lord Derby's Giant Eland. Previous projects: Bunbury: A Serious Play for Trivial People (Director, Skull and Dagger), Kiss of the Spider Woman (Director, SDSU Juries), The Glass Menagerie (Assistant Director), Stone Cold Dead Serious (Stage Manager, Skull and Dagger).

Joan Hurwit, Stage Manager for The Frybread Queen

Joan is currently earning her MA in Theatre Arts at San Diego State University. At the 2008 Student Research Symposium, she won the only undergraduate Presidential Award for a directorial/creative production proposal. She recently served as the assistant director/assistant dramaturg/blog manager for Native Voices at the Autry's production of Wings of Night Sky, Wings of Morning Light and is currently the Dramaturgy Intern at La Jolla Playhouse.

Jonathan Tsang, Production Assistant

Jonathan is currently a student at SDSU majoring in Television, Film and New Media; Production emphasis. Prior to SDSU, he was a financial analyst for various companies.