About Me:
​  Growing up, my parents threw me into any activity they could. I joined multiple sports teams and after-school clubs, but it wasn’t until 7th grade that I found my passion. One fall evening, I saw Phantom of the Opera at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts. I could not believe my eyes—the beauty of the set and the magic of the theatre took my breath away. I had to know how they created all those effects. How could a boat float across the stage as if it were gliding on water?
The next semester, I signed up for a technical theatre class. I knew that if I wanted to understand how the “magic” worked, I had to start with the foundations of stage production. I dove in headfirst, taking on any job, any role I could. After middle school, I chose to major in technical theatre at a conservatory program in St. Petersburg, Florida. I gained more skills and realized I had truly found my passion.
During my senior year, I worked as a TA for my department head. I spent the year instructing the freshman class, and one day—while teaching a scenic painting lesson—a student thanked me for taking the time to help her. She was proud of her work, and in that moment, I thought I had found my calling. I believed I was destined to be a technical theatre educator, helping prepare the next generation of theatre professionals for the industry.
But as my career progressed, that path began to shift. While working with Busch Gardens Entertainment in Tampa throughout college and the years following, I was exposed to the scale, storytelling, and innovation of themed entertainment. Later, as a foreman scenic artist for Nassal in Orlando, I experienced firsthand the creative, collaborative world of building immersive environments. These roles opened my eyes to a broader canvas—one where artistry, fabrication, and storytelling blend to create experiences far beyond the stage. Over time, I realized that my true passion wasn’t just teaching others how to create magic—it was being part of the teams who dream, design, and build it.
That journey transformed my career goals. Instead of pursuing education, I am now focused on becoming a creative leader in themed entertainment, bringing together my background in theatre, scenic artistry, and immersive design to help shape the next generation of unforgettable guest experiences.

About my position:
I am 1 of 5 Technical Directors for Yale College Arts working in the Undergraduate Production office. Our office is responsible for oversight of technical elements and safety policy and procedures of over 200 student organization productions each year. Performances range from comedy shows, music concerts, A Capella concerts, and fully produced dramatic productions. On top of this, I am the Technical Advisor for the Yale Dramatic Association. One of the oldest student organizations on campus producing 6 MainStage productions a year. 
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The Magic is my WHY:
When the house lights dim, the audience thinks the show is just beginning. They don't know the show started twelve hours ago, fueled by coffee, sweat, and the sheer, brutal will to make impossible things happen.
​We are the ghosts of the theater. We climb the rigging in the darkness, inches from the ceiling, where the air is thick with dust and static electricity. We haul hundreds of pounds of cables, speak in specialized jargon—striking the set, dead hangs, spiking the deck—a secret language known only to the chosen few who live to make magic seamless.
​We are the ones who build the worlds they escape into. The towering castle, the star-swept balcony, the shimmering concert spectacle—it all rises and falls by the strength of our hands and the precision of our timing. We are the architects of illusion, the silent guardians of the suspension of disbelief.
​And the adrenaline? It is a demanding master. The quick change in a blackout, the flawless drop of a curtain, the silent, desperate sprint across the stage to fix a severed cable with 30,000 people watching—it all happens in the shadow, where mistakes are invisible but catastrophic.
​The reward isn't applause. The reward is the silence after a perfect cue. It’s watching the lights hit the star just right, knowing you wrestled that two-ton truss into place. It’s the deep, bone-weary satisfaction when the last truck rolls out at 4 AM, and you stand alone in the empty arena, the silence deafening, holding a wrench like a trophy.
​We live for the moment of perfection, then we immediately destroy it, pack it up, and drive to the next city to build the next dream. This life is hard, it’s lonely, and it leaves permanent marks on your hands and your soul. But we wouldn't trade it. Because the stage is our church, and in the darkness, we find our light.
​We are the engine beneath the spectacle. And we make the magic real.
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Teaching and Leadership Philosophy:
​In theater education, the subject, ultimately, is the student. There is no “one-size-fits-all” technique to approaching theater or immersive storytelling—every actor, director, designer, technician, or creative leader develops a personal approach, drawn from a range of influences and experiences. Ideally, students spend their training encountering, engaging, and testing various methods, tools, and techniques—then identifying, embracing, and personalizing the approaches that best match their unique style.
As a teacher and creative leader, I see myself first and foremost as a collaborator with each individual student in this process of discovery. Whether in a classroom, a scene shop, or a themed-entertainment environment, I aim to equip emerging artists with the values and mindset that will serve them throughout their careers. My own professional journey—from working in entertainment at Busch Gardens Tampa to theatre education, and back too Themed Entertainment leadership—has shaped how I understand leadership: not simply as directing others, but as guiding a team toward a shared vision, empowering them to create experiences that resonate on a deeper, more immersive level.
The collaborative art of theater and themed entertainment requires more than technical skill; it demands empathy, curiosity, resilience, and the ability to work within large creative ecosystems. Students are at a critical point in developing the habits and values that will shape them as future artists, technicians, or creative leaders. A successful instructor or mentor helps instill the qualities that will carry them through a lifetime of work in both the performing arts and the immersive-experience industry, including:

• Value a broad base of knowledge – Embrace the full curriculum, not just the artistic portion. Creative leaders and technicians alike must understand how each element contributes to the final experience. Know everything about something and something about everything.
• Value research and world-building – Whether creating a play’s environment or a fully immersive land, research deepens authenticity. Artists should know how to find information, why it matters, and how it enriches both storytelling and guest experience.
• Value organization and process – Time, resources, and budgets are always at a premium—on stage and in themed entertainment. Strong organization, clear communication, and thoughtful planning make creative visions achievable.
• Value clarity in storytelling – Before beauty, style, or spectacle, clarity is the artist’s primary responsibility. In theatre and themed environments alike, design and technical execution help the audience or guest instantly understand where they are and what story they have entered.
• Value dissent, iteration, and failure – Great ideas often emerge from risk-taking and recalibration. Themed entertainment in particular thrives on prototyping, testing, and refining. Remain the eternal student—mistakes are part of innovation.
• Value collaboration on every scale – Actors, directors, designers, fabricators, and technicians are allies. In themed entertainment, this expands to include engineers, project managers, architects, and creative directors. The best work is never “my show” or “my attraction”—it is always “our experience.”
• Value exploration and imagination – There is never one “right” approach. Play, challenge, experiment, and explore. Seek out the unexpected. In both theater and themed entertainment, curiosity and creative bravery are what keep the work alive.

Ultimately, my philosophy blends the heart of a teacher with the vision of a creative leader. Whether guiding students or teams, I strive to help others discover their strengths, embrace the creative process, and contribute meaningfully to the evolving world of storytelling—on stage, in themed environments, and beyond.