Welcome Parents, Family and Friends!

Choosing the shows for the summer productions is a fun task. This year The Jack Oakie and Victoria Horne Oakie Charitable Foundation Summer Youth Program features audience and performer favorites! Munchkins to Montagues! Rubicon is known for our mission to provide superb opportunities for the region’s fledgling theatre artists–both on and offstage. I am grateful to be a part of fostering a safe and wholesome environment for them! Our students learn that the performing arts are a TEAM sport! It is a joy to watch friendships being forged alongside the growth in communication skills and a love of language, music and dance. Sit back! Our students, aged 5 to 25, will be performing for you in culmination of our four distinct 3-to-4 week youth programs which focus on gaining the tools and the fun and reward of creation and of performance. Theatre arts programs geared for young people are alive and well in Ventura thanks to generous patrons and audience members like YOU! Thank you for supporting live theatre and our parent organization, the gem that is RUBICON THEATRE COMPANY!

Please enjoy the show and thank you for encouraging the stars of tomorrow!

Warmly & Dramatically Yours,

Joseph Fuqua
Summer Education Director
Rubicon Theatre Company Member since 2000

WYNSUM JO KEARNS (Director and Choreographer) is excited to lead the Stinky Feet program for her second year in a row! She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Drama from University of California, Irvine and has worked as an educator in both academics and the arts for the past eight years. Wynsum is an alumnus of the Rubicon Summer Education Program, having been in many productions as a young performer, including As You Like It, The Drowsy Chaperone, and King Lear. Wynsum owes her love of the theater to her Grandma Jo, who brought home the first audition notice that started it all. She would like to thank her mom Jackie for always supporting her theatre dreams, Patti Strickland for her mentorship as a director, and Joseph Fuqua for the rewarding opportunity to bring theater to the next generation of young performers.

ANGEL RENEE TORRES (Production Stage Manager) is elated to be stage managing for the Wizard of Oz: Youth Edition! She is 25 years old, trains dogs, and is the Assistant Manager at Silverlake Ramen in Oxnard. While not at work, Angel attends Ventura College, where she is getting her Associates in Social Media Marketing, Theatre Arts, and Psychology! This is Angel’s first time working with the Rubicon and stage managing for youth performers. Past productions she has worked on include Student Directed Play Festival (Spring of 2024) as Assistant Stage Manager, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (Fall of 2024) as Assistant Stage Manager/Sound Operator, and The Edgar Allen Poe Afterlife Radio Show (Spring of 2025) as Stage Manager at Ventura College.

CLAIRE M. CLEARY (Lighting Designer) is excited to be back working on the Summer program at Rubicon. When she’s not designing lights, she is a proud member of IATSE Local 442 as well as the chairperson for the Young workers committee for the local. She is currently working with OVATE Studios with an award winning writer, Susan Kelejian on a LGBTQIA+ short film, HE/SHE/US. Claire’s favorite credits include FuryUS with OVATE, Addams Family the Musical with 5 Star Theatricals and Man of La Mancha with OPAT.

HAL SUFRIN (Sound Designer/Engineer) is a Los Angeles-based sound designer and engineer currently studying Sound Design at the University of Southern California. Recent design credits include Falsettos and Blue Stockings at the University of Southern California (USC), as well as a contemporary adaptation of Sense and Sensibility at Interlochen Center for the Arts. Hal has mixed everything from musicals to Shakespeare, including productions like Much Ado About Nothing (USC) and Bat Boy: The Musical. Originally from Pittsburgh, PA, he has a particular passion for mixing musicals and enjoys ensuring that songs and scenes resonate clearly and powerfully through sound. This is his first season with Rubicon Theatre Company, and he’s thrilled to be part of the team.

SARAH WILLEY (Prop Designer) is happy to be back this year! Sarah is an artist and vintage lover who lives in Ventura with her daughter Vivian. Sarah uses her imagination and treasure-hunting skills to create the ideal prop needed for the scene. Previous credits include Disney’s Frozen Kids, Legally Blonde the Musical, Richard III, Fiddler on the Roof Jr., Sally Sells Seashells, As You Like It, Mamma Mia!, Moana Jr., 101 Dalmatians, Henry V, Addams Family Jr., and Pippin. This will be her fourth summer working as the Prop Designer for the Rubicon Theatre Summer Education Program.

TARA VANONI (Costume Designer) began sewing when she was very young. She has always been extremely creative. Besides drawing, painting, collage-making, and floral design, Tara began designing costumes for theatrical shows. In the theatre arts, she found her passion and built a sophisticated skill set in costume patterning, costume construction, wigs, hair, and makeup, as well as sewing machine maintenance. Her speed was and still is regarded as unique by fellow professionals. Tara enjoys the challenge of creating costume design image boards and costume rendering, balancing the designer’s vision with production costs and actor’s needs. She has worked on numerous shows over the last decade with many theatres and creates custom costumes and costumes for cosplay.

LEXI QUOLAS (Assistant Costume Designer) has been working with Rubicon Theatre since early 2022 and has also had the fortunate pleasure to work on several Rubicon productions including Bonnie and Clyde: The Musical, Twilight: Los Angeles 1992, Lonesome Traveler: Generations, In the Heights, and Dark of the Moon. This will be her third year working with the education program. Other than working with Rubicon, Lexi has worked with Santa Barbara’s Ensemble Theater (ETC) in their productions of Million Dollar Quartet, Dracula: The Comedy of Terrors, and Alice: Formerly of Wonderland. Previous to working with Rubicon and ETC, Lexi was a part of the theatre department at Ventura Community College, working as a Costume Design Assistant, Lead Hair and Makeup, and Prop Assistant for several productions including The Addams Family, Hansel and Gretel: An Opera, These Shining Lives, The Pirates of Penzance, and The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Other productions in which she has been involved include Broadway’s Fiddler on the Roof, South Pacific, and Opera Santa Barbara’s La Traviata. Outside of working in the theatre arts, Lexi has made a career as a professional makeup artist and hair stylist for over 13 years. Her TV and film credits include “Only Here and Now,” “The Countdown,” “Divided,” “Take the Money and Run,”, “Faraway,” and “Olympia.” Lexi holds several Associates degrees in Arts & Humanities, Photography, and Social Media from Ventura College, Proficiency Awards in Makeup and Costuming; and a BA in Art from CSUN. She believes there is no limitation to education and continues to improve her knowledge. To see more of her work, visit her website: www.Lexi-Quolas.format.com

AUTUMN FELDHANS (Assistant Choreographer) is an incoming sophomore at Ventura High School, and just recently ran spotlight in their production of Disney’s The Little Mermaid. She would love to thank everyone in the Rubicon community for the opportunity to expand her knowledge and step out of her comfort zone. She has lately loved getting to explore the theatrical and musical world, and hopes she can help others experience the wonder she feels through The Wizard of Oz: Youth Edition!

LAUREN FREDERICKS (Backstage Crew) is fourteen years old and will be attending Buena High School this upcoming school year. She has done past productions such as The Sound of Music, Fiddler on the Roof Jr., and The Addams Family: Young@Part. She is so excited to participate in this summer’s productions at the Rubicon Theatre.

IAIN RICHARDS (Backstage Crew) just finished their junior year at Foothill Technology High School. This is his first time being a part of a Rubicon play. He is excited for this opportunity to start helping with theatre.

DANIELA ZARAGOZA (Backstage Crew) is a seventeen year-old who currently is a junior at Oxnard High School. She does folklórico at her school and is the president of the club. She works with the AVID program at her school and volunteers at marathons.

DELILAH DIEMEL (Assistant Stage Manager) love for the arts is almost as old as she is, beginning when she performed in her first play at just 10 months old. Since then, she has been involved with a plethora of other projects and productions, including two years as a participant in the Stinky Feet program, several years at Studio V, one year of drama at Ventura High School, and four years as a helper for Stinky Feet where she assisted with Sally Sells Seashells and You Can Too, 101 Dalmatians, Frozen, and now The Wizard of Oz: Youth Edition. She would like to thank her directors and teachers who taught her the value of every role, whether ensemble or lead or tech, and encouraged her to share her love of theatre with the next generation.

CHLOE DIEMEL (Assistant Choreographer) is an incoming sophomore at Ventura High School. She has been part of the Stinky Feet Summer Education program for seven years. Chloe’s love for theatre started before she could walk. Some of her past shows at The Rubicon include Musicville, Aladdin Jr, The Grinch, Sally Sells Seashells, 101 Dalmatians Jr, and Frozen Jr. She would like to thank everyone who has helped make the Rubicon community so welcoming as well as the donors who make it so that the gift of theatre is available to those of all ages.

PENELOPE SERRANO (Backstage Crew) is a first-time helper with the Stinky Feet Program and an incoming sophomore at Foothill Technology High School. She has a big love for theatre and has performed in many plays and musicals. Some of her favorite roles include Damian in Mean Girls, Wendy in Peter Pan, Rapunzel in Into the Woods, and the March Hare in Alice in Wonderland. She loved getting to work with the young performers this summer and had a great time helping the director bring this show to life!

JOSEPH FUQUA (Summer Program Director) is the founder of Rubicon’s Fearless Shakespeare program, now in its fourteenth year. A graduate of the Yale School of Drama, his Broadway and Off-Broadway credits include Brighton Beach Memoirs and 110 in the Shade at Lincoln Center. Regionally, Joseph has appeared at Actors Theatre of Louisville, Arena Stage, Shakespeare Festival of Dallas, Dallas Theatre Center and Ensemble Theatre. On television, Joseph guest starred in “The X-Files,” “The Profiler,” “Brooklyn South,” “The Pretender,” “Chicago Hope,” “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” and “Becker.” Film credits include J.E.B. Stuart in “Gettysburg” opposite Martin Sheen, a role he reprised in “Gods and Generals.” In 2000, Joseph joined Rubicon Theatre as the first company member. Roles at Rubicon include the title role in Hamlet (Indy Award), The Boys Next Door (Indy Award), The Rainmaker (Robby Award and Rep Award), All My Sons (Ovation Award), Bruce Wagner in Conviction, Professor Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady, Marshal Johnson in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Pap in Big River, Thomas Allen in Dark of the Moon, and, most recently, Sheriff Schmid in Bonnie & Clyde directed by J.Scott Lapp. Joseph would like to thank Julia Donlon for making their summers together magical!

SERYOZHA LA PORTE (Associate Summer Program Director) is an actor, musician, and lucid dreamer who hails from the land of Russia. After being adopted and coming to America, he immediately took to the stage. Seryozha is an alumnus of Rubicon’s Summer Education Programs (Shakespeare/Musical Theatre), California Lutheran University (B.Sc., Psychology), and the Pacific Conservatory for the Performing Arts (PCPA). On top of working as the new education associate at Rubicon Theatre, he also works as an actor on the stage and in film/television. Some of his hobbies include playing fiddle, piano, tennis, and making movies. Seryozha’s mission in life is to help people rediscover their imaginations.

JULIA DONLON (Summer Production Director) was born and raised in Oxnard, California, and graduated from Pepperdine University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Theatre Production Design with an emphasis in Stage Management. She spent the years following doing theatre onboard a cruise ship in New Zealand, Ventura County, and around Los Angeles. Previous credits include Bonnie & Clyde, Crazy Mama, Constellations, Once, “A” Train, The World Goes Round, Almost, Maine, In the Heights (Rubicon Theatre), Calvin Berger (The Colony Theatre), Accommodation (Odyssey Theatre) Broadway @ The (Bourbon Room), and The Abode (Edinburgh Fringe Festival). This summer marks her sixth and final season with Rubicon Theatre Company. She is deeply grateful to everyone who has been part of this journey—thank you for changing her life and helping shape the person she is today. Farewell, with love and gratitude!

PENELOPE DE SOTO (Associate Summer Production Manager) is excited to return for her third summer at Rubicon Theatre, now as Associate Production Manager. In years past, she has stage managed for Stinky Feet, volunteered in various positions around Rubicon Theatre, and has performed with both Sarah Lawrence College’s Shakespeare troupe and Ventura High School’s theatre department. Currently, she is a full-time sociology student at Ventura College and works with the City of Ventura as a Youth Afterschool Leader. Penelope is wildly passionate about youth education in the performing arts and is thrilled to be a part of this year’s summer program.

JIMMY CALLAHAN (Summer Technical Director), after his first taste of theatre assisting the previous technical director and working backstage for The Realistic Joneses at Rubicon, Jimmy continued with productions including Dark of the Moon, The World Goes ‘Round and “A” Train. He was also part of the Rubicon production of Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground, traveling with the show to Santa Barbara and Olney Theater Center in Maryland. He has now taken on the role as Technical Director here at Rubicon Theatre.