Gabrielle Collins – Managing Director of Accessible Theatre
Native to Texas, Gabrielle attended the University of Texas at Austin, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Applied Learning and Development, Youth and Community Studies, with a concentration in Special Populations and a specialization in Disability Studies in Movement Science. Prior to attending UT, Gabrielle received her Associates of the Arts in Dance from Collin College, during which she began her journey as a dance educator and choreographer. A lifelong appreciator of and advocate for inclusivity and accessibility of the arts, Gabrielle is excited to be working with both NTPA – Starcatchers and NTPA – Deaf Theatre to provide quality performance art experiences to all who walk through the doors of NTPA!
Daymond Sands – Program Director, NTPA Deaf Theatre
dsands@ntpa.org
Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Daymond began performing at the young age of 5. He earned a college degree in Psychology, and continued his college education completing acting courses at Tyler Junior College. Pursuing his dream of being able to perform on stage, sign sing, direct, and create his own show, he became a professional performing artist and an ASL consultant for theatre in 2016. He has spent many years working as a mentor for interpreters and supporting theatres as an ASL consultant. In his spare time, Daymond also works as a freelance photographer and creator and producer of the Youtube show “Click Click Crop,” a photography competition for the Deaf and Hard of hearing.
Jasmine Mathew, CTRS – Starcatchers Adjunct Choreographer
Jasmine Mathew was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA. After growing up with a love of theater and performing dances, Jasmine graduated from Temple University with a degree in Therapeutic Recreation and has been an active Recreation Therapist since 2001, working with pediatric rehab patients, traumatic brain injury patients, nursing home and acute care residents & medical day center kids in PA, NJ, NY & CT. She also worked for Arya Dance Academy in NY, teaching Bollywood dance. After working with “Stretch-n-Grow,” a pre-school ballet & jazz dance company in TX, Jasmine combined her love of working with people with disabilities and her love of dance in her own business “Jasmine’s Beat,” an Adaptive Dance Company that provides inclusive fusion dance classes for people of all abilities. Jasmine is happily married and mom to three beautiful kids, TJ, Arielle and Leo. Her hobbies include dancing, watching movies with friends, and hanging out with her family.
Breanna Spink – Starcatchers Adjunct Director
Bre is a nearly lifelong technician and playwright. She is an alumnus of the National Theatre Institute, where she studied under Complicité, and a member of the Dramatists Guild of America. Her first play, All Things Considered, received recondition through EDTA’s Next Generation Playworks program and is published through Concord Theatricals. Her recent work Confessionals: The Bathroom Play is receiving development and workshopping under director Alison Radkey. Technical credits include stage management in Meemaw’s Magic Mushrooms (dir. Hadley Evans Nash) and The Lion King Jr. (Actors Conservatory Theatre). She also has a long history in costume and sound design. She is excited to be working with NTPA and the Starcatchers and honestly just wants to know where they’ve been all her life.
David Carl – Starcatchers Adjunct Director
David has worked as a teaching artist for Stagedoor Manor, Hoboken Children’s Theatre and Interlakes Children’s Theatre. He has also written some of his own work, and previously collaborated with playwright Owen Panettieri on Vestments of the Gods which premiered in the 2014 NYFringe festival (produced by Lin-Manuel Miranda.) In addition to teaching, he is currently attending law school at SMU Dedman school of law. Favorite recent music direction projects include Kragtar: The American Monster Musical with Theatre Now New York and Thrill Me with Little Red Light Theatre in New York, NY.
Hannah Anderson – Starcatchers Adjunct Director
Hannah graduated from Ouachita Baptist University with a degree in Musical Theater, and currently works as a director for the North Texas Performing Arts, particularly but not exclusively with the Starcatchers program. She has been trained in the Bel Canto school of classical singing for eleven years, and has had the honor of performing such roles as Zita in Gianni Schicchi and Aunt March in Little Women, as well as studying theater at Liverpool Hope University and training with the Opera in Italy program in Urbino. After directing the premiere production of Star Miz: a Star Wars parody of musicals in 2019, she fell in love with the process of putting together the puzzle pieces of a production, having a vision and working with every department to present that vision onstage. Since that time, she has directed multiple productions, including one-act plays, cabarets, and full-length musicals. When she isn’t on or backstage, she enjoys reading fantasy and science fiction novels, drawing, and writing fanfiction and original fiction with her boyfriend.
Angelica Zavala, MT-BC – Starcatchers Adjunct Music Director
Angelica is a board-certified music therapist (MT-BC) and a native of Plano, Texas. She graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s of Science in Music Therapy and a minor in Psychology from Texas Woman’s University (TWU). She is currently pursuing a Master’s of Music Therapy from TWU. Angelica has had the honor of working with various clients in geriatric, school, medical, and psychiatric settings. She completed her clinical internship with a local private practice, where she provided music therapy services primarily for disabled clients with various needs. Presently, Angelica provides home-health services and mental health services for clients of all ages and abilities. Angelica is thrilled to join the Starcatchers, as she is a theatre enthusiast and advocate.
Angelica Jasmine Bates – Deaf Theatre Adjunct Director
Angelica-Jasmine (AJ) Bates is a high school ASL teacher. Yet, she is no stranger to the stage. She has performed in live productions for Miss Texas, local theaters, and has been spotlighted on local news as a goodwill ambassador and leader. Miss Bates is a community advocate, a Deaf ally, a workshop curator of soft skills, and is the reigning Miss DFW for Miss Texas for America Strong.
Miss Bates is a graduate of Collin College with a focus on interpreter education and Deaf studies. She later pursued a university career at Southern Methodist University (SMU) where she earned a bachelor’s degree in public relations and strategic communications with a minor in arts entrepreneurship.
She is excited to share her passion for American Sign Language (ASL) and theater as she continues to support the NTPA Deaf Theatre.
Alexa Sananikone – Starcatchers Adjunct Director
Ms. Alexa has been teaching for NTPA – Starcatchers since 2022. Ms. Alexa works as the theatre/speech teacher at Robinson MS in Plano ISD. She has been involved in theatre since the 4th grade! Ms. Alexa thoroughly enjoys working with Starcatchers and believes wholeheartedly that theatre is for everyone! She would like to thank her family and mentors for their support!
Olivia Thomas – Starcatchers Adjunct Director
Olivia Thomas has been working with Starcatchers since May 2023. She graduated from Collin College with an associates in Game Art and Animation in 2022. She is currently going back to college for her certificate in drama and theatre. She started working with special needs tutoring in college and her passion has continued to grow after finding out her own autism diagnosis. She continues to teach private voice and acting lessons at NTPA and is openly autistic, showing that your neurodivergence is an advantage, not a disability.