School of Theater

Daniel Passer creates work as a performer, writer and director.  For the past 12 years, Daniel has been a lead Clown and Comedy Conceptor for Cirque du Soleil and Dragone Entertainment. He was the comedy and clown act designer for Cirque’s critically acclaimed “Zarkana”... Continue reading »

Jane Pickett is a writer/director based in Los Angeles. In 2008, she received her MFA in Writing for Performance from CalArts, and her play Autopilot was featured in the REDCAT NOW and Philadelphia and Edinburgh fringe festivals. In 2009, she directed her play Someone in Florida Loves Me,... Continue reading »

Travis Preston is Artistic Director of the CalArts Center for New Performance and Dean of the CalArts School of Theater. He directs theater and opera throughout the world. Most recently, he completed the world premiere of CalArts Center for New Performance’s Augustine Machine ou... Continue reading »

Joe Rohde is a Creative Executive at Walt Disney Imagineering in Glendale, California. Imagineering is the creative arm of the Walt Disney Company that designs and builds everything from cruise ships, theme parks, rides and attractions, hotels and infrastructure systems for the company’s... Continue reading »

Melissa Ruge is a Ventura County based freelance stage manager and the Production Manager at the Lehrer Vocal Institute of Music Academy of the West. Her love of storytelling through performance started at an early age singing, acting, and dancing at community events and producing small scale... Continue reading »

Victor Sandoval Torres holds a BFA in Theater Management from California Institute of the Arts, and has been Associate Costume Shop Manager for the School of Theater since 2017. At CalArts, Victor enjoys guiding BFA and MFA students through the physical production process, including sourcing and... Continue reading »

Originally from Philadelphia, Heidi has made her home in Los Angeles since 2001, and has enjoyed working as an actress, teacher, director and expert vocal coach across the US for the past two decades. She was certified as a Designated Linklater Voice Teacher by Master Teacher Kristin Linklater... Continue reading »