Mojada Program

Damaris Garcia (Medea) is a third-year MFA student in the Television Film and Theatre (acting option) Program at Cal State LA. This is her fourth production here at Cal State LA. Her most recent role was Flor in The Night Shift. She also got to perform in last Fall’s production of Something Rotten as well as taking on the role of Metzli in Loop Group. While at Cal State LA, Damaris discovered a newfound passion for acting in front of the camera. Damaris attended Cypress College and while she was there, she performed in Grease, Legally Blonde, In the Heights, and Hair. After graduating from Cypress College, she continued performing when she transferred to Cal Poly Pomona where she earned her BA in theater. Damaris is extremely excited to take on the role of Medea. This is a role she has been working towards throughout her last two years in this program. She is extremely honored to tell this story alongside her fellow castmates and amazing director. Damaris plans to pursue a career as a full-time acting teacher and director. She also wants to continue to act in television, film, and theatre after completing her MFA. 

Joe Gutierrez (Jason/Hason) is a Theatre Major/Performance option student at Cal State LA, from Pacoima, California. Joe transferred from Los Angeles Mission College with an Associates in Theatre Arts, where he played the Father in LAMCs production of Blood Wedding by Federico Garcia Lorca in the fall of 2022. In addition, he played MacDuff in the fall of 2023 production of Shakespeares Macbeth, which was invited to present at the 56th Kennedy Center American College Theater (KCACTF) Region 8 Festival In Glendale. Joe also studies at The Core, in the Michael Laskin Studio. Joe is grateful for the opportunity to have worked alongside such talented actors, instructors, and friends who have left a lasting impact on him, and he hopes he was able to offer them his most heartfelt contributions. Best piece of advice Joe has is: When life shuts a door… open it again. It’s a door. That’s how they work.  

Rica Anonas (Tita) is a first-year MFA student in the Television, Film, and Theatre program (acting cohort). She previously attended Fullerton College where she studied acting & performance, stage combat, and participated in multiple productions. Some of her previous roles include: Peter Quince in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Mrs. Alexander in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Dr. Violet Garcia in Fourth Planet, and Irina in As We Know Them (The Larking House). She is also a budding intimacy choreographer and most recently worked on 9 to 5 the Musical and Romeo & Juliet at Fullerton College, as well as The Comedy of Errors at Long Beach City College. She is grateful for the opportunity to perform her first show at Cal State LA, and would like to thank her friends and family for their unwavering love and support.  

Elizabeth Marie Morales (Armida) is a 4th year student at Cal State LA. Elizabeth is majoring in Theatre with the Performance option. She was born and raised in Los Angeles. She has been involved in acting since her Elementary School and Middle School days. She was also involved in Christmas and Easter plays at her church. She took a break in High School to focus on playing basketball and other sports activities. Elizabeth is now excited to be back in acting and is looking forward to the journey and the challenges this new chapter of her life may bring. This is Elizabeth’s first production at Cal State LA and she is looking forward to it. Due to Elizabeth’s schedule, she hasn’t been able to join any productions but is now determined to join as many as possible. Elizabeth would like to thank her cast, directors, and designers for making this a memorable first production for her.  She would also like to thank her family, her best friend Sarah, her German Shepherd Bo, and many others for their unconditional support. 

Crystal Nieto (Josefina) is from Van Nuys, CA majoring in Theatre and Dance/Performance Option in what is her final year at Cal State LA. She is a transfer from Los Angeles Valley College, this is her 2nd performance at Cal State LA and she is beyond excited to share this character; more so this incredible rendition of the Greek tragedy, Medea. It has been a beautiful journey for her to be a part of this amazing production and meeting some loving human beings along the way. She has performed in productions Fools by Niel Simon, Love and Information by Caryl Churchill, All Together Now by MTI, and the Panza Monologues by Virginia Grise and Irma Mayorga. She hopes you enjoy the show and is immensely grateful and thankful to her family, friends and mentors that have supported her and inspired her to continue pursuing her love for theatre in all aspects. 

Tessa Slovis is an Actor, Director and Educator. She is a proud alumna of Barnard College at Columbia University and received her MFA in Acting from USC. She began acting professionally at the age of 9 and has performed Off-Broadway and regionally over the past 20 years. Tessa has appeared in recurring and guest star roles on The Walking Dead:The Ones Who Lived,  Grey’s Anatomy, New Amsterdam and Law and Order: SVU as well as Cooper Raiff’s SXSW winning feature, Shithouse. During her time as a MFA candidate, Tessa wrote her short film Pizza Party, a magic realist retelling of the night before the Larry Nassar trials began. Pizza Party went on to screen at 25 national, international and academy-qualifying film festivals. It was awarded special Jury Mention at the Ashland Film Festival, the Female Gaze award at the Portland Film Festival, as well as nominations at Academy Qualifying Florida Film Festival, Indy Shorts, Cinequest and Rhode Island Film Festival. Her 3 subsequent films have screened at festivals around the country, and she is currently in development to direct her first feature.  In February of 2025, after a hit run at the Denver Fringe Festival this past summer, Tessa will once again be directing actress Jen Ponton in her poignant solo play Sugarcoated, off-broadway at The Flea Theater in New York City. She is forever motivated to create art with a strong center in activism. Tessa spends her time developing work with screenwriters and has an insatiable passion for producing and directing female and queer led storytelling. She is proud to be working with CSULA for the first time on this glorious play, with this heart-on-their-sleeves cast of actors and creatives.  

Arnold Bueso has designed scenery, costumes, lighting, projections, and performance media both nationally and overseas for theater and industries like opera, museum exhibits, fashion, art installation, immersive theater, and film. On Broadway, he assisted on Curtains and Young Frankenstein, and he has collaborated with Off-Broadway companies like The Brooklyn Ballet, StudioEIS, Izquierdo Studios, FringeNYC, Soho Rep, 2ndStage, Fashion Week, Performa, and many others. Regional work includes design residencies for various companies in SoFla, UT, OH, and CA. Internationally, his work has traveled to Prague, Warsaw, the UK, Puerto Rico, and the U.A.E. As a professor, he has taught design and technology courses in NYC, South Florida, and CA and currently teaches scenic and costume based courses at CSULA.

Karyn D. Lawrence is a theatrical and entertainment lighting designer as well as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance at Cal State LA. Selected regional/local theater credits include Center Theatre Group, South Coast Repertory, La Mirada Theater, East West Players, Boston Court Pasadena, The Pasadena Playhouse, International City Theatre, Antaeus Theatre Company, Ebony Repertory Theatre, and Arizona Broadway Theatre.  She is the resident lighting designer for the New Swan Shakespeare Festival in Orange County. In addition to lighting for the stage, she is Radiance Lightworks’ lead lighting designer for Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood.  www.kdlightingdesign.com 

Nat Houle is an LA-based sound designer, audio engineer, and composer born and raised in New York with nearly fifteen years of experience in audio. She recently received her MFA in Sound Design at the University of California, Irvine. On the West Coast, she has worked with Arizona Theatre Company, Pacific Conservatory Theatre, Geffen Playhouse, Western Stage, Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles, Cal State Northridge, and of course Cal State LA. In between running around doing gigs and making sounds go boom, she enjoys tea ceremonies, meditation, and yoga. natssounddesign.com & nmhspatial.com 

Carly DW Bones is a theatre director, intimacy coordinator, sex educator, community facilitator and theatre witch. They work at the intersections of performance, ritual, sexuality, gender, community, and trauma-sensitivity. Carly created and directed at the feminist theatre ensemble, The Illyrian Players, from 2011-2019. She has also directed at: Coin & Ghost, The Echo, EST LA, Inkwell Theater, Kayenta Center for the Arts, The Road, Rogue Artists Ensemble, The Vagrancy and more. Carly is a freelance intimacy coordinator in the Los Angeles area for professional theatre companies (A Noise Within, Antaeus, Boston Court, Coeurage, Coin & Ghost, East West Players, EST LA, Ghost Road, Greenway Court, IAMA, Moving Arts, The Road, Skylight, Son of Semele, StarKid) for university theatre programs (Cal Lutheran University, CSULA, CSULB, Occidental College, UCLA, USC, Pomona College), and sometimes for film (Hypochondriac, Serpentine Pink, Next of Kin, My Life Stopped at 15). Connect: [email protected] and www.thespomancer.com 

Cindy Campos is a transfer student from East Los Angeles College and is a junior at Cal State LA with an emphasis Theater Design. Cindy is currently a Prop Supervisor in charge of Props for Mojada: Medea in Los Angeles.  

Chance Vano is a 3rd year Cal State LA TAD major, Design and Production Option. Transfer from Sierra College, Rocklin, CA. Singer/Songwriter and Multi-Instrumentalist. Photographer/Videographer. Lighting Designer and Stage Manager. Upholding the ritual of theatre as a vehicle for joy, cultural celebration, and catharsis. Select theatrical credits include: Snoopy!!!: The Musical (Guitar), Murder on the Orient Express (ASM), Ring Round the Moon (SM), The Crucible (SM), Guys & Dolls (SM), Friday Stage Nights!!! (LD, SM). For Maria, always. @vanomusicfm 

Mia Zell is a 3rd-year production major, and this is her fifth production here at Cal State LA. Mia would like to thank her friends and family for supporting her throughout every production process.