* denotes founding member

Rogue Staff work to ensure the continued success of Rogue Artists Ensemble. Lead by the Managing Director, they oversee fundraising and group development as well publicity and Rogue Education programming.

Associate Artists are friends, guest artists, and collaborators that have lent their talents to Rogue Artists Ensemble projects.

Sean T. Cawelti – Artistic Director, Ensemble Member, Board Member (back to top)

Designer and Director Sean Cawelti graduated from the University of California Irvine, where he received his BA in Drama with honors in Stage Direction. Mr. Cawelti has studied puppetry at Tisch School of the Arts at NYU and has been a puppeteer since he was just a boy. Sean was awarded a 2006 Technical Achievement Honor for Puppet Oriented Theater Design by the OC Weekly and was nominated for a Los Angeles Ovation Award for his mask design work on HYPERBOLE: epiphany. He serves as the Artistic Director for the performance group the Rogue Artists Ensemble, which creates Hyper-theatrical productions, incorporating puppetry, masked acting, original music scores and theatrical effects. Mr. Cawelti has designed puppets and masks for Cornerstone Theatre Company, International City Theater, The Rude Guerrilla Theater, Opera Pacific, NYU and many others. He has been awarded a Puppeteers of America 2003 National Festival scholarship and his articles have been featured in several national journals.

Emily Coalson – Box Office Manager, Ensemble Member (back to top)

Emily has a B.A. in Drama and a B.A. in German from UC Irvine. She is currently working towards her Masters in Theatre Studies: Design and Production at Southern Oregon Univeristy in Ashland. She has been a Rogue since 2007, has been teaching full-time for seven years, and is currently running the Theatre Arts program at Alhambra High School. Her work with the Rogues keeps her passionate and inspired to create theater with her students.

Haylee Freeman – Communications Director, Ensemble Member (back to top)

Hailing from Montville, Maine, Haylee graduated from Middlebury College in February of 2007 with a joint B.A. in Theatre and Studio Art. She has designed lights for venues in many states, including Vermont and California. Haylee currently resides in Orange County where she works as a stage technician at Disneyland. She is quite excited to be a member of Rogue Artists Ensemble.

Shannon Goldsborough – Assistant Education Director (back to top)

Shannon graduated from UC Irvine with a Bachelor's degree in English and a minor in Drama in June of 2007. As a student there, she served as Artistic Director for "Diversity University Irvine," an on-campus, student-run theater company dedicated to producing works highlighting issues of diversity. She also participated in the ArtsBridge teaching program for two semesters. She joined the Rogues as Stage Manager for Frog Belly Rat Bone in 2007 and is very excited to be working with such an innovative and motivated group.

Kerry Hennessy – Ensemble Member (back to top)

Kerry began working with the Rogues in 2001 with their first production, The Poe Play, and there was no turning back--she's been involved with every show since. Like many of the group, Kerry is a graduate of the University of California, Irvine, where she designed many shows including As You Like It and The Importance of Being Earnest, as well as designing and building costumes for the award-winning UCI Improv Team.  Over the past several years Kerry has designed costumes for various productions everywhere from Orange County to Los Angeles County.  Most recently she built costumes and worked as set costumer on a pilot for Comedy Central.  Kerry enjoys designing for stage, film, and television alike, but above all she loves creating theater magic with her fellow Rogues.

Ryan Maes – Finance Manager, Ensemble Member, Board Member (back to top)

Ryan Maes is also a founding member of Rogue Artists Ensemble and came to the company as the Stage Manager for The Poe Play and Pip. Presently he serves the Ensemble in financial and business development roles. Graduating from the University of California with his B.A. in Drama, Honors in Stage Management and Minor in Management, his passion lies in helping arts and theatre organizations succeed. He is currently furthering his education through UCLA in business and finance. He currently works in payroll auditing with Trust Fund Administrative Services . He has also worked for the National Asset Management division of Production Resource Group, also as the Purchasing Agent for Production Resource Group in Los Angeles and as Production Administrator at Opera Pacific. Ryan also enjoys doing freelance lighting and sound design, painting, finance and web design.

John Nobori - Ensemble Member (back to top)

John Nobori is a proud ensemble member of Rogue Artists Ensemble. He is a graduate of the University of California, Irvine. He loves music and theatergoers such as yourself!

Jenny Owings – Assistant Managing Director, Ensemble Member (back to top)

Jennifer is a graduate of the University of California, Irvine, and graduated with Degrees in English, Drama (Graduated with Honor in Technical Design), and a Minor in Digital Arts. She is proud to have been with the Rogues since its inception, and delighted to be one of the Founding Members of the Ensemble. She has jointly served as the costume designer on many shows, (The Poe Play, D is for Dog, HYPERBOLE: changes) as well as assisting in Mask (HYPERBOLE: epiphany) and Puppet Design (Pip, D is for Dog). Jennifer would like to thank her wonderful family and friends for their continued support and looks forward to a bright, ever-evolving future with the Rogue family.

Katie Polebaum – Ensemble Member (back to top)

Katie Polebaum is a recent graduate of Middlebury College in Vermont with a joint BA in Theater Design and Studio Art. She has been working with the Rogues since moving to Southern California two years ago and is thrilled to join the ensemble! When not working with the Rogues, Katie can be found throughout Southern California working as a technical theater mercenary.

Ben Phelps – Assistant Director of Marketing, Ensemble Member (back to top)

Ben Phelps, born 1980 in Sacramento, California, is currently working towards a DMA in music composition at the USC Thornton School of music. His music has been performed across the West Coast from the Oregon Bach Festival to Los Angeles’ own Definien Project, with whom he has been a frequent collaborator. An active performer, Phelps has been seen as a freelance percussionist throughout the Southland, as Principle Percussion for the American Youth Symphony and on the LAPhil’s Umbrella series. For the Rogues, Phelps has provided original music for several productions and wrote the story and music for The Mysterious Adventures of Johnny Crumb, which the LA Weekly called "enchanting." For more information, visit him at www.benphelpscomposer.com.

Tyler Stamets – Managing Director, Ensemble Member (back to top)

Tyler Stamets comes to the Rogues from the rural San Diego County arts community of Julian, where his love of theatre and performance was cultivated by a musical family. Tyler received his B.A. in Drama from the University of California Irvine where he focused his studies on sound design, technical direction and acting, working on over fifteen productions. Tyler is a founding ensemble member of the Rogue Artists Ensemble and serves as the resident sound designer and technical director. In addition to various Rogue projects, Mr. Stamets has worked with Cornerstone Theater, Opera Pacific and other companies in Southern California.

Miles Taber – Ensemble Member, Board Member(back to top)

A graduate of UC Irvine, Miles has acted as a designer, performer, writer or director for the majority of the Rogues’ productions. Outside of Rogue Artists Ensemble, he has written several short plays, directed a production of Ionesco’s Exit the King, and can frequently be seen improvising with Fullerton’s “Improv Shmimprov” improv comedy troupe. An accomplished performer, Miles was called “a presence to behold and a talent to take note of” by the Sacramento News & Review for his performance in a 2002 production of Orphans. He has a great deal of faith in the vision and ambitions of Rogue Artists Ensemble, and is continuously thankful to be involved.

Megan Wallace – Business Manager, Board Member, Ensemble Member (back to top)

Megan Wallace is a graduate from UC Irvine, where she received a BA in Drama, a BA in English and a minor in Digital Arts. She was also awarded Honors in Design by UCI faculty. For over two years she has been the Resident Co-Costume Designer for the Rogues with her twin sister Jenny and is now excited to fill the role of Business Director. Megan is a Founding Member of Rogue Artists Ensemble.

Christina Aimerito – Education Director (back to top)

Christina began working with the Rogues in 2004, playing the role of Bernice in their second production of The Poe Play. She has been a great fan of the group's aesthetic ever since. Christina was able to hone her skills at the USC School of Theatre where she became the President of The Women's Theatre Organization. After graduating she began teaching with the Los Angeles Unified School District and founded a popular dance troupe, The Dollface Dames. She continues to train in circus arts, and enjoys the wealth of talent that Los Angeles Theatre has to offer. Christina brings her energy into the classroom where she is inspired by student creativity every day. She is honored to be working with the Rogues in such an important department.

Amy Tofte – Development Director (back to top)

Amy has helped artists find funding through grant-writing and building relationships since 1995. A playwright and actor, she is a South Dakota native now living in Los Angeles. Her short play Close Encounter was part of the Quo Vadimus Arts ID America Festival in NYC (November 2007). Her full-length play I’m Your Girl premiered February 2008 in Los Angeles. Amy graduated from the University of Iowa’s undergraduate theater department where she worked with writing mentors John O'Keefe and Art Borreca. After Iowa, she continued to write plays while studying acting at the William Esper Studio, NYC. She received an Arts Alliance Grant for development and production of her one-woman show CATRIX. Amy’s plays and solo pieces have been produced in the Midwest, New York, Mississippi, and Los Angeles. She has acted professionally but takes the most pride in helping to produce other playwrights through a development process. She’s a founding member of Fierce Backbone, a new Los Angeles theater company that serves all stages of play development. Amy is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and The Dramatists Guild of America, Inc. She has been accepted by the CalArts Writing for Performance MFA program and is looking forward to classes starting in September 2008.

Wes Crain – Associate Artist (back to top)

Wes is excited to be a part of the Rogue Artists Ensemble痴 mission of making quality theater that is both accessible and thought-provoking. Since moving to Los Angeles in 2007, he has designed and built costumes for several productions at Sacred Fools Theater in Hollywood, including Hamlet, Shut Up and Madness in Valencia. Before that, he designed costumes for Murder at the 16th Annual Montrose County Spelling Bee in Houston, TX and for Splash nightclub and the Mardi Gras Krewe of Apollo in Baton Rouge, LA. He received a 2009 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for his puppet designs for the Rogue Artists Ensemble痴 acclaimed Gogol Project. Additionally, he has built costumes and worked wardrobe for numerous theatrical venues and arts organizations in LA and Houston, including Center Theater Group, the Ahmanson Theater, The Mark Taper Forum, The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, The Hollywood Bowl, Pasadena Playhouse, UCLA Live, Reprise Theatre Company, J&M Costumers, James Hayes Studios, SAS Theatrical, Houston Ballet, Houston Grand Opera, the Hobby Center, and the Alley Theatre. He thinks toe socks are the zenith of fashion evolution. wcostumedesign.com

Joel Daavid – Scenic Designer for Mr. Punch (back to top)

A native of Texas, Joel moved to Los Angeles in 1993 to attend the prestigious American Film Institute to study Cinematography. While there he received the Blum-Kovler Scholarship and was nominated for the Kodak Scholarship in Cinematography. Joel went on to shoot feature films, short films and commercials on a freelance basis. He has completed the feature film John John In The Sky, which was a winner at the Mississippi Film Festival and MethodFest and has recently been released on DVD. Joel is Cinematographer and Production Designer on the upcoming dramatic short Paper Faces that was photographed in Venice, Italy.

He is now an award winning theater designer and has designed numerous plays including: The Glass Menagerie, All Gods Creatures, Blitzkrieg, 4 X Tenn, Unequalibrium, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Goose and Tom Tom, The Widow’s Blind Date, Plunge, Private Wars, Hellcab, The Birds, Tennessee William’s Two Character Play, Heart of a Dog, Sam Shepard’s Fool for Love, Terrence McNally’s Frankie and Johnny, as well as Snowangel, A Slight Ache, Sensitive Skin and In Arabia We’d All Be Kings for Elephant Stageworks. He was Production Designer for the recent successful run of August Wilson’s Jitney at the Lillian Theater. Joel was nominated twice for the 2006 Ovation Award for the critically acclaimed Bluebonnet Court at the Hudson Mainstage and the Sacred Fools production of Gorey Stories. He was awarded Best Set Design at the NAACP Theater Awards for Blues for an Alabama Sky and Bluebonnet Court and an L.A. Ovation Award and the LA Weekly Theater Award for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. He was recently awarded the Bob Z. Award for Career Achievement in Set Design by the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle.

Joel has also directed and designed numerous musical and operatic shows in Texas and California, including the acclaimed production of Urban Messiah in Malibu and The Nutcracker ballet for The Madrid Theater in Canoga Park. He will begin his life long dream of directing his first dramatic play soon.

Mel Domingo – Associate Artist (back to top)

Melissa is a recent graduate from the UCI Claire Trevor School of the Arts, with a BA in drama and Honors in Lighting Design. She has had the opportunity to work on various theatrical and dance productions as designer and electrician at UCI, Cornerstone Theater and South Coast Repertory. Since graduation Mel has been pursuing many interests including working as a lighting tech for Knott’s Halloween Haunt and The Disneyland Resort.

Patrick Heyn – Associate Artist (back to top)

Patrick Heyn works as a motion video compositor and graphic designer for the Rogues, as well as in his professional career. He is leading the revolution to integrate digital arts into mainstream theatre. He engineered the innovative system that powers all video in the Rogue productions. He created the motion video that brought to life such Rogue shows as D is for Dog, The Poe Play, and HYPERBOLE: epiphany. His work has been seen throughout California, including the Orange County Performing Arts Center (Summer at The Center), Stella Adler Theatre (Magic of Believing), The Maverick Theatre (Frankenstein), University of California Irvine (The Day Maggie Blew Her Head Off, Lucky Stiff, Personals, Nine Shades of Cool, and Live Nude People [with clothes on]). Patrick is a founding member of Orange County's hit improv comedy show, "Improv Shmimprov" and performs this weekly show at the Maverick Theatre in Fullerton. He owns and operates "PMH Media", a graphic design/video production firm.

Nate Hodges – Choreographer, Associate Artist (back to top)

Nate, a native of the SF Bay Area, studied under A Chorus Line veteran, Pamm Drake and received the awards of Teen Mr. Dance and Mr. Dance of Northern California from Dance Masters of America. He later attended the University of California, Irvine where he received a B.A. in Dance and was a member of the nationally recognized and award winning dance companies Kaba Modern and The Etude Ensemble, under the direction of Mr. McKayle. In his last year, Nate was chosen among 9 others from the group to represent UCI at the Conservatoire de Danse in Paris, France. Since UCI, Nate has also been a member of the modern company Louise Rechlin Dancers, the hip hop company Funkanometry SF, and is currently dancing with BARE, under the direction of Mike Esperanza. Nate's choreography, which blends modern, hip hop and jazz technique and styles together to best feature the mood or themes of the project, has been featured in dance groups all across California, including Kaba Modern, The Etude Ensemble, Funks SF, The Jimmie DeFore Centers for the Arts, previous Rogue Artists Ensemble productions, and his own self-produced shows. Nate is very excited to be working with such an innovative and collaborative theatre company where creativity is not only nurtured, but held in the highest esteem.

Jeff Newman – Web Assistant (back to top)

Jeff Newman, yet another graduate from the UC Irvine Drama Dept., is thrilled to assist with web administration for Rogue Artists Ensemble. In the past, Jeff has acted in many shows, notably as “Rosencrantz” in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and “Captain Cat” in Under Milk Wood (both UCI productions), as well as being a captain of the University’s prestigious Imrpov troupe, “Live Nude People (with clothes on)!” Following his graduation as a Regent Scholar last year, he took a turn at producing an original work at the San Francisco Fringe Festival called Woof, Daddy, by Brian Reynolds. Jeff was also scenic/props designer, assistant stage manager, production manager, and graphic designer for that production. On top of pursuing a wide-ranging and active future in theatre, Jeff is also the bass player for “The Best Unsigned Band in LA (KROQ),” Figureone, which is currently recording their first full length album, You Are Alive.

Ego Plum – Associate Artist (back to top)

Ego Plum (born February 27, 1975) is an American musician, composer, producer, and visual artist from Los Angeles, CA who claims to be the grandson of Leon Trotsky and Frida Kahlo. He has waged a war against the conventions of popular music with an arsenal of unorthodox influences - the cartoon jazz of RAYMOND SCOTT, the stop-and-go arrangements of CARL STALLING, the frenetic energy of DEVO and OINGO BOINGO, the peculiar pop sensibilities of groups like the THE RESIDENTS, THE SPECIALS, and XTC. His musical and visual work has been described as pop, avant-garde, surrealist, and absurdist.

Plum serves as the musical director of the EBOLA MUSIC ORCHESTRA, and as the head of EBOLA MUSIC RECORDS, where Ego has releases his own music as well as the work of about half a dozen like-minded artists. Ego Plum has collaborated with artists such as David J (Bauhaus/Love & Rockets), Frank Black/Black Francis (Pixies, Grand Duchy), Steve Bartek (Oingo Boingo), and Gidget Gein (Marilyn Manson) on music projects. His unconventional sound palette and melodic sensibility got the attention of NICKELODEON and he was hired in 2008 to compose the music for Amy Winfrey's hit series, MAKING FIENDS, which currently airs on the Nicktoons Network in the U.S. and on NIckelodeon around the world. Ego's musical subversions can be heard on everything from independent films, to radio bumpers, to television commercials, fashion shows, and most any place looking for new & distinctive sounds. The Rogue Artists Ensembles' GOGOL PROJECT was Ego Plum's first foray into composing for live theater, and Ego is currently working with the Rogue's as an Associated Artist with hopes of developing even more ambitious future stage productions.

Additional information about Ego Plum can be found at:
www.ebolamusic.com and www.egoplum.com

Cari Turley – Associate Artist (back to top)

Cari Turley first collaborated with Rogue Artists Ensemble as a puppeteer and mask performer in 2004’s HYPERBOLE: changes. After performing in HYPERBOLE: epiphany in 2005, she made her technical debut as an Assistant Mask Designer and Assistant Stage Manager for 2007’s Mr. Punch, in which she also puppeteered. She served an an ensemble member from 2007-2008, Communications Director from 2007-2009, and briefly as Interim Managing Director in 2008 before moving to San Francisco and becoming an associate artist. Outside of the Rogues, she has performed in clown acts, operas, modern dance shows, and performance art exhibits, in addition to more traditional stage fare. She holds a degree in Theater from the University of California, Irvine and has studied and performed in three countries.

Rae Walker – Co-Adapter of Mr. Punch and Adapter of Frog Belly Rat Bone (back to top)

Rae Walker is a graduate of the UCI Claire Trevor School of the Arts and former captain of UCI’s improv troupe Live Nude People (with clothes on). She has been ensnared by Rogue Artists Ensemble since one of their first productions: The Poe Play. Currently Bonnie is working on her first novel, a dark fantasy about a world recovering from war only to find themselves thrown back into combat. It contains such original creatures as death baiters, grins and ocklans as well as the ubiquitous unicorn. She would appreciate you buying her book when and if it is published.

Brian White – Illustrator (back to top)

Brian's artistic career began when, at age 4, he brilliantly copied the Peanuts characters printed on his pillowcase to his bedroom wall. Although dismayed by his choice of canvas, his parents encouraged his creativity by giving him a deluxe box of crayons (the 120 set) and plenty of paper.

Years passed as he honed his talent with watercolors, acrylics, oils, and airbrush. Even more years passed and he and his twin brother Craig both graduated from the Art Institute of Houston on scholarship with degrees in Visual Communication.

After two grueling months of commercial art production and design, Brian pursued his love of illustration as Animation Coordinator at M.D. Anderson. It was here that he began his long love affair with...the computer. Working on a Dubner workstation, he designed digital graphics for various television projects, public service announcements, and medical programs. Soon he joined forces with Vic Tamborella of Houston's VTTV to produce some really cool, award-winning graphics and animations for commercial television.

A few years later Brian moved into sole proprietorship and back into the world of print. His kooky characters and wacky scenes have been created for many happy clients including McDonald's, Pepsi, Target, Disney, Pizza Hut, Compaq, Texas Instruments and numerous magazines. And although now he's up and working at a respectable hour, he's often seen by the FedEx guy still wearing his pajamas at lunch time.

Mandy McGowen – Education Program Collaborator (back to top)

Mandy graduated from UC Irvine in 2002 with a BA in English and a desire to change the world. Upon graduation, she moved to San Francisco where she learned the fine art of public transportation and that she was a city girl. In 2004 she moved back to Orange County looking for an opportunity to go to graduate school and what she found was an amazing job working in the youth theatre at the Laguna Playhouse. It was here that Mandy developed her love for educational theatre and decided to take on the challenge of educational director for the Rogue Artists. With the Rogues Mandy has found an unparallel artistic community to work with. Her ambitions only grow as she works with this group of talented and dedicated people.

James White – Graphic Designer (back to top)

James White has been drawing since the age of 4, scribbling down his favorite characters such as Superman, Batman, the Dukes of Hazzard, etc. Being from a military family, he made three big moves through childhood but never strayed from his colored-pencils.

After going through school constantly being yelled at for drawing in class (by teachers, not parents) he applied and was accepted in 1995 to the Graphic Design course at a community college in Truro, Nova Scotia. Graduating with honors he proceeded schooling by taking Interactive Technology. Upon graduation in 1998 he landed a job immediately in the website/graphic design field, all the while keeping up on his traditional drawing, painting and digital creation.

James allowed both sides of corporate design and personal art to feed each other, and on his own time he has created logos, flyers, posters, CD covers and websites for various local music and entertainment companies. Today, James works on personal posters and art prints while still working fulltime in the graphic design industry for a company called ThreeTon in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.