Eight Participants Join the Group That Prepares and Supports Excellence in Emerging Leaders
Center Theatre Group is continuing its mission to uplift, celebrate, and support early- and mid-career staff members at Los Angeles’ largest theatre company by selecting its newest cohort of employees who identify as BIPOC, as well as individuals from intersectional and marginalized identities. The latest cohort, which started in December 2022 and will run through July 2023, includes eight participants from across four different departments at Center Theatre Group.
“The CTG Leadership Circle explores what it means to be an arts leader today and celebrates the leaders of the future,” explained Center Theatre Group’s Education and Community Partnerships Program Manager Aurora Ilog, who is the program lead for the CTG Leadership Circle. “These hour-long sessions allow members of our staff to have the space to cultivate and navigate their individual career journeys. From learning what it means to develop strong teams, identifying components to a shared leadership model and cultivating their own unique leadership style, the CTG Leadership Circle creates a space for staff to grow as leaders in their own regard and within our organization.”
This latest cohort of the CTG Leadership Circle includes Keana Jackson Alfred (Ticket Sales and Services), Eduardo Fernandez-Baumann (Production), Beonica Bullard (Production), Jessica Doherty (Communications), Raul Vega Martinez (Production), Joey Solano (Information Technology), Angelene Storey (Production), and Zane Wayneright (Production).
The CTG Leadership Circle was created to connect participating staff members to facilitated group sessions focused on building skills in arts management leadership. Participants also engage in additional one-on-one and small-group networking opportunities, from informational interviews to topic-based sessions on everything from personal financial management to connecting with CTG Board members to learn about their commitments and responsibilities. In addition, each member is given additional access to professional development.
“Being able to expose participants in the CTG Leadership Circle to not only the importance of developing one’s own authentic leadership style no matter what position they lead from, but also giving them an introduction to the value of executive coaching earlier on in their creative careers has been a full circle professional highlight for me,” shared Elena Muslar, Chief Empowerment Office and Founder of Confide Creative who facilitates the weekly group sessions and conducts individual mid-point check-ins with the cohort. “The significance of this program is unveiled with each participant’s deeper discovery and exploration into who they are, can be, or want to allow themselves to step fully into at work. I always tend to say professional development is personal development. You can’t grow one from a place of intentionality without the other. It’s the confidence one builds in understanding the conversation between the two that truly prepares them for their next phase.”
Center Theatre Group, one of the nation’s preeminent arts and cultural organizations, is Los Angeles’ leading not-for-profit theatre company, which under the leadership of Managing Director / CEO Meghan Pressman and Producing Director Douglas C. Baker, and in collaboration with the four Associate Artistic Directors, Lindsay Allbaugh, Tyrone Davis, Neel Keller, and Kelley Kirkpatrick, programs seasons at the 736-seat Mark Taper Forum and 1,600 to 2,100-seat Ahmanson Theatre at The Music Center in Downtown Los Angeles, and the 317-seat Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. In addition to presenting and producing the broadest range of theatrical entertainment in the country, Center Theatre Group is one of the country’s leading producers of ambitious new works through commissions and world premiere productions and a leader in interactive community engagement and education programs that reach across generations, demographics, and circumstances to serve Los Angeles. Founded in 1967, Center Theatre Group was led by Founding Artistic Director Gordon Davidson until 2005 when Michael Ritchie was the artistic director until his retirement in 2021; Snehal Desai has been appointed the organization’s next artistic director and will begin in August of 2023. Center Theatre Group has produced more than 700 productions across its three stages, including such iconic shows as “Zoot Suit;” “Angels in America;” “The Kentucky Cycle;” “Biloxi Blues;” “Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992;” “Children of a Lesser God;” “Curtains;” “The Drowsy Chaperone;” “9 to 5: The Musical;” and “Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo.” CenterTheatreGroup.org
BIOGRAPHIES (in alphabetical order):
Keana Jackson Alfred (she/her) is a 1st Assistant Treasurer at Center Theatre Group and has been an arts administration professional for over 10 years. As a box office treasurer for Los Angeles’s most prominent theatre company, she aims to work behind the scenes on behalf of artists and creatives everywhere, providing resources, support, and structure for their projects and practices. Keana fell in love with theatre as a child actor, and her passion for storytelling developed into a career as a fashion designer for her namesake brand of womenswear. She transferred her organization and leadership skills to arts management before working at Center Theatre Group. She enjoys combining her zeal for the arts, deep affection for people, and expertise in communication to serve and support the theatre community locally and globally. Her commitment to empowering the disempowered and rising generations has led to her ongoing work with the NAACP, The Piney Woods School, The Music Center, and The World Stage performing arts space in the heart of Leimert Park. At the core of Keana’s work on the stage and off is a belief in the power of community and transformative storytelling. Keana, a Los Angeles native, enjoys writing everything from poetry to stage plays, making whipped shea butter, and gardening. She enjoys skydiving and traveling with her husband, whom she met at the Mark Forum. She currently lives in the Crenshaw/West Adams area of Los Angeles.
Eduardo Fernandez-Baumann (he/him) is the Shop Coordinator at Center Theatre Group. He manages CTG’s woodshop and warehouse while assisting with scenic and prop construction. Before taking the position of Shop Coordinator, Eduardo worked at the Kirk Douglas Theatre as an assistant front of house manager, a talk back leader, a lead concierge, a carpenter, and an electrician. Outside of Center Theatre Group, he has freelanced as a technical director and carpenter at many theatres in the L.A. area. He is an L.A. County native and holds an MFA from The American Repertory Theatre at Harvard and a BFA from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Beonica Bullard (she/they) is an Assistant Production Manager at Center Theatre Group and has been a professional stage manager for more than eight years. She is an African American woman from southeast San Diego, California. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Theater (2017) from San Diego State University and graduated from the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts. Prior to her time at CTG, she worked at various professional theatre companies and organizations including The San Diego Repertory Theater, Moxie Theater Company, Diversionary, Intrepid Shakespeare Company, Playwrights Project, and San Diego Comic-Con. Her honors and highlights include a Certificate of Recognition in Artistic Achievement from the California Legislature Assembly and her role as the Technical Director for the San Diego Comic-Con Masquerade. First joining CTG in December of 2021, she has since co-led CTG’s BIPOC Affinity Space and is a member of CTG’s Accountability Team. In her spare time, Beonica enjoys hanging out with her nine cats, playing video games, and sleeping.
Jessica Doherty (she/her) is the Associate Editorial Director of Center Theatre Group. She oversees and produces CTG’s editorial content about the institution’s community work and season programming across three theatres for their website, social media, and physical Performances Magazine. Outside of Center Theatre Group, Jessica is a researcher with Hearst’s Alta Journal, a quarterly literary magazine publication dedicated to the culture of the American West. She is also a contributor for The Eastsider, where she writes a newsletter that highlights restaurant and nightlife news and includes profiles on artists and personalities on the Eastside of Los Angeles. She is currently a 2023 Los Angeles Press Club Foot in the Door Fellow and was a National Fellow Finalist of the Kennedy Center’s Institute for Theater Journalism and Advocacy from the Los Angeles region. She is a former Executive Editor of Annenberg Media, and a former Managing Editor and later Editor-in-Chief of the digital arts publication Ampersand LA. Jessica graduated from the University of Southern California with a master’s degree in Arts, Culture & Entertainment reporting in 2022 and bachelor’s degrees in Journalism and Theatre in 2020. Though currently living in Culver City, Jessica hails from New York City, where she was a professional actor and attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School for Drama. dohertyjessica.com
Raul Vega Martinez (he/him) is the Prop Carpenter at Center Theatre Group and has been working as a carpenter in various capacities throughout Los Angeles for the last seven years. As the Prop Carpenter, Raul is responsible for building custom furniture and prop pieces for productions across all three stages at Center Theatre Group. Raul received a bachelor’s degree in Drama from the University of California, Irvine and has pursued a career as an actor, later developing an interest in carpentry. Throughout his career as a carpenter, he has built countless set pieces for productions at different colleges around Los Angeles including California State University, Northridge and American Musical Dramatic Academy. As his career progressed, he has built set pieces for Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm, Hulu, and touring Trade Shows. Before accepting his role at Center Theatre Group, Raul specialized in making custom residential furniture and was working towards making his own furniture business tailored towards fine custom woodworking. Outside of Center Theatre Group, Raul is an avid rock climber and alpinist, having made ascents in the Sierra Nevada Mountains as well as local areas throughout Southern California. His ultimate climbing goal is to one day climb Monte Fitz Roy in Patagonia.
Joey Solano (he/him) is the Digital Product Manager at Center Theatre Group. He has over eight years of experience as a digital marketing professional supporting the performing arts. As the Digital Project Manager, it is his passion to bridge storytelling with the digital space through various channels such as CTG’s website. Prior to his time at CTG, he has managed marketing campaigns for over 300 live and virtual engagements including musicals, Broadway headliners, dances, concerts, comedy, arts education, and community events. As a flutist, he has performed on some of L.A.’s most prestigious stages such as the Walt Disney Concert Hall and Hollywood Bowl, and in the orchestra pits of numerous L.A. regional theatres and school productions. As an educator, he taught general music, band, and choir in elementary schools throughout Santa Clarita, CA. Joey is an L.A. native and a graduate of California State University, Northridge.
Angelene Storey (she/her) is the Prop Coordinator at Center Theatre Group. Her role is essential to the success of a production, and requires a combination of organization, creativity, and attention to detail. She has several important duties, including acting as the assistant to the Prop Lead, prop shopping, and scenic painting. In Spring of 2021, she graduated from California State University, Los Angeles with a bachelor’s degree in Theatre Design and Production. She is also a freelance scenic painter and has worked in theaters all around the Los Angeles area, including Boston Court Pasadena, Sierra Madre Playhouse, and East West Players. Prior to working in technical theatre, Angelene studied classical voice and music theory for four years. She has always had a passion for various aspects of art and theatre. In her spare time, she loves to travel, work on her small business, and hang out with her cat, Naboo.
Zane Wayneright (he/him) is the current Stage Supervisor at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. His career in the arts began at the young age of 16, when he was employed through Los Osos High School’s theatre for theatrical and dance rental. Now, he has been a theatrical artist and technician for 15 years. Art and storytelling have always been a focus for Zane throughout his life, and in more recent years, he has explored the ways art and storytelling can be used as avenues for building community and the ways in which identity and socio-economic status affect the way people both receive and tell their stories. After graduating from California State University, Long Beach with a BA in Technical Theatre and Design, Zane spent several years doing odd jobs such as teaching people to paint in bars and restaurants, all while freelancing as a production assistant and stagehand for Disney Live Entertainment at the El Capitan Theatre. After experiencing the fantastical red carpets of Disney, he moved on to help create the magical world of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge as a scenic installer and crew foreman at Adirondack Studios. Currently living in Garden Grove, Zane spends his free time streaming, hanging out with his two happy-go-lucky huskies Zelda and Kipo, and exploring other forms of art.
