Rising Youth Theatre’s staff and leadership team is comprised of youth and adult artists with a wide variety of expertise and experiences. As a staff team, we work in a collaborative, horizontal power sharing structure, where major organizational decisions are made collectively.
Because we are pushing back against hierarchies, we don't use traditional titles. We're all collaborators, with different accountabilities. Producers, Transformers, Journeyers, Apprentices - we're all part of the leadersh team
Don't know who to contact? See below for the point people you can connect with on each team!
Raeana Casillas (she/her/hers) is a first-generation immigrant with a passion for film and performance art. She has been a performance artist since she was nine years old. The work she does focuses on social justice and human rights. Raeana believes that by reaching people through performance art, we can make changes in our laws and open conversations in different communities. The first play Raeana participated in with Rising Youth Theatre was Antonia, a Chicanx adaptation of Antigone. She continued to work with Rising Youth Theatre on different productions such as Light Rail Plays, The 100th Day, and more. She is now a Journeying Artistic Collaborator with Rising Youth Theatre, a Health and Wellness Youth Co-lead at Re:Frame Youth Arts Center, and a senior student at Arizona School for the Arts.
Sofía Arlea Fencken (she/her) is a Transforming Artistic Collaborator with Rising Youth Theatre and a student at ASU majoring in Latin American Studies and Photography. Sofía makes art as a form of expression, as she believes that art can be an effective way of communication and exploration of new ideas for non-traditional spaces - crafting, music, and storytelling are all part of her practice.
Elena Gandy (she/her/hers) is a Latinx artist with a passion for social justice and music. She is currently a high school senior in the downtown Phoenix area. Elena has previously worked with Rising Youth Theatre as a member of their 2020 Creative Interventions Youth Program cohort and is currently working with the organization as an Apprentice Artistic Collaborator. Her areas of interest are mental wellness for BIPOC youth as well as inclusive and representative curricula in the K-12 educational system.
Kate Haas (she/her/hers) is a Phoenix-based performer, writer, teaching artist, and collaborator. She holds a BA in Theatre from Arizona State University, where she especially enjoyed working on the Student Production Board to help produce student-driven work. She has also been part of the ensemble with Childsplay since 2007, and has spent many months during the year touring theatre into schools and devising new work with her students. Kate believes in the power of art to stimulate conversation, empathy, self-expression, healing, and social change; and she is passionate about integrating the arts into educational curriculum. She also works in the Doctoring program at the UofA College of Medicine in downtown Phoenix, where medical students train to communicate efficiently and empathetically with their patients. Kate is the Financial Collaborator for Rising Youth Theatre, and has also appeared in The Light Rail Plays, which she loves due to its emphasis on creating art in unexpected places.
Carlos “Freddy” Lara (he/him) is a bilingual Mexican actor, as well as a teacher, filmmaker, and active member of his community. He is currently the resident Teaching Artistic Collaborator with Rising Youth Theatre, which has been one of his artistic homes since 2015. He has performed on stages all over Arizona, taught elementary school, and built hundreds of puppets throughout his career. In his work he always works to advocate for kids like him - for young people who come from similar backgrounds, similar challenges, and similar histories - making sure that their voices are heard and that they have the power to change the world through their art.
Trinity “Trini” Lugo (she/her/hers) is a 20 year old Latinx artist, poet, actress, and writer. She is a Transforming Artistic Collaborator with Rising Youth Theatre, where she has been working since 2016. She has worked as a director, performer, and crew member, but is most passionate about writing, and is the editor of Rising Youth Theatre’s online literary magazine, Speak Up Sound Off. Her favorite things to do are playing video games, reading books, and/or binge watching tv shows. She was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona but like most people, she hates the heat. She’s hardworking and a big dreamer. She hopes to leave her mark in the world.
Thameenah “Ty” Muhammad (she/they) is a 20 year-old Black {Afro-Caribbean} queer artist and activist. Ty is a Transforming Artistic Collaborator with Rising Youth Theatre and a co-founder of RE:Frame Youth Arts Center. She is the Arts Camp Manager for the Rising Youth Theatre and Phoenix Center for the Arts Summer Camp. They are a multidisciplinary artist whose main mediums include: acting, dancing, poetry/spoken word, and visual art. Ty’s work reflects the fire in her heart; they aim to help the world the best she can, whether that’s during a protest or by joking with everyone they meet.
Leah Reid (she/her) is an afro-indigenous activist, dancer, performer, poet, and visual artist. She has appeared behind the scenes in several productions as part of her studies in Fine Arts. Her attention to detail and sense of direction has led to her participation as a sound board operator for the production of La Ofrenda and a Stage Manager for Antigona followed by 14. Shes received two KCACTF Stage Manager semi-finalist nominee awards in 2019 and 2020 as well. It wasn't until her final year of her studies that she wanted to expand her presence from behind the curtain to being onstage. A native to California, Leah now resides in Arizona and aside from school she works with her local community theatre groups known as Rising Youth Theatre and Re:Frame Arts. She wishes to continue her passion for the arts in order to be a voice for those left unheard.
Julio-Cesar Sauceda (he/him) is a Producing Artistic Collaborator and leader with Rising Youth Theatre. He is a writer, filmmaker and storyteller who is artistically and personally motivated by social movements and research and is passionate about mentorship and learning from young people. He was a member of the 2020 Hispanic Leadership Institute cohort and is currently an MFA in playwriting at Arizona State University and completing certification in Liz Lerman’s Critical Response Process.
Sarah Sullivan (she/her/hers) is a theatre artist, arts administrator, and writer living, working and creating in Phoenix, Arizona. She is a Producing Artistic Collaborator at Rising Youth Theatre, where she focuses on administrative and operational work, building systems that create systemic change and support radical and innovative artmaking. She holds an MFA in Theatre for Youth from Arizona State University and a BS in Theatre and English from Northwestern University. Her background is in both creative and administrative work, having taught and directed all over the Phoenix area, and previously serving as the Director of Development for Childsplay in Tempe. She makes art because it’s how she makes sense of the world, how she builds connections and bridges between people, how she learns and grows.
Lotte Torres (they/them) is an artist and a senior at Metro Arts Institute. They have been working with Rising Youth Theatre since 2019, and they are now working with the organization as a Journeying Artistic Collaborator. They make art because they want things to have meaning - art is how they build meaning in the world around them. In addition to working with Rising Youth, Lotte loves to bake, draw, and write.
Xanthia Angel Walker (she/her/hers) is an ensemble-based theatre artist, director, facilitator, creative strategist, and educator. She works locally, nationally, and internationally at the intersections of multigenerational collaboration, site-specific performance, justice, dialogue, and community. She earned an MFA in Theatre for Youth from Arizona State University. Xanthia is a Producing Artistic Collaborator of Rising Youth Theatre. Xanthia is also a founding member of the Las Fronterizas Ensemble, which creates original multidisciplinary work to honor, celebrate and visibilize stories of people and place that shape binational communities. Xanthia is a certified facilitator of Liz Lerman’s Critical Response Process. She works with the Design and Arts Corps at Arizona State University, dedicated to learning that centers community wisdom in community-engaged partnerships and practices in arts and design. She is the winner of the 2015 Phoenix New Times Big Brain Award in Performing Art. Her writing is featured in the anthology Staging Social Justice: Collaborating to Create Activist Theatre. She is honored to be a part of the reproductive health ecosystem as co-Chair of the Board of Directors of Planned Parenthood Arizona.
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