What's Up with Our Alumni?
Jacob Vigil
Jacob is now attending a 3 year Bachelor's in fine arts for acting for film, at New York Film Academy in Los Angeles.As Jacob attends New York Film Academy he will have access to universal studios back lot, a state of the art equipment room with the industry's best cameras and sound equipment, full access to a floor in Burbank studios where Shows such as Arrow and Flash are edited and processed, and hands on training by teachers who are in the business today. Jacob couldn't have made this possible with his friends and his loved ones. His mentors, Mr. Collett and Mr. Clark, gave him all the tools needed for his adventure. Jacob is determined to make his goal become reality. However, no matter how big and flashy it might be in the industry, he will always be a panther at heart.
Karisa Collett
Karisa has been volunteering for Little Elementary's after school program. She sings in two church choirs, is an acolyte, and an active participant in many activities at First United Church of Arvada. She is a martial arts student as Seo's Martial Arts School. Before that she was a tap dance student with Lena Line-Murphy's Repertory Company.
Kira Vuolo
Kira is pursuing a BFA in Theatre Performance at the University of Evansville in Indiana, where she recently portrayed Agafya in Gogol's "Marriage." Kira spent the spring 2016 semester studying abroad at Harlaxton College in Grantham, England, during which she had the fortune of visiting Stratford Upon Avon during the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death and attending a performance by The Royal Shakespeare Company. Kira spends her summers teaching performance-related classes and camps at The Arvada Center for the Arts & Humanities.
Ben Pilcher
Ben recently graduated from the University of Northern Colorado in the Spring of 2017 with his Bachelor's Degree in Music Business with a certificate in Arts Entrepreneurship. He is currently working towards achieving his goal of working in studio production and audio engineering. His time at Pomona in the PAH program gave him an incredible taste of the power of the arts world, and he carried this inspiration into his choice to pursue music as a profession.
Jack Richard
Jack is just starting his first year in the School of Music program at the University of Northern Colorado, and is determined to earn his degree in Music performance. One of the things he loves about Pomona, is how professional each of the different areas of the program are. Jack also enjoyed how it gives you small, but distinct examples of what life in the real world of showbiz is like. He may grow up and move on to his own life overtime, but Pomona will always hold a position in his heart.
Malissa Stark
After receiving her B.A. in Creative Writing from Columbia College Chicago, Malissa took a job as Marketing Coordinator for a Denver-based sunglass company, Piranha Eyewear where she currently works. As Marketing Coordinator she writes copy for advertisements, writes commercials, manages social media, and creates sales and promotional materials. She recently began working towards her M.A. in Science Writing from Johns Hopkins University with the hopes of one day becoming a science journalist. Though she did not pursue a career in theatre, Malissa attributes her love of story crafting to the Catwalk Theatre Company. Her writing has been published in The Chicago Tribune, Eco News Network, Crack the Spine, the Colorado Review, and more.
Heather Croke
Heather is currently in her second year of the Civil Engineering Technology program and pursuing a minor in Mathematics at Colorado State University-Pueblo. In fall, she obtained a Resident Assistant position in which she can improve her leadership abilities. On her free time, Heather likes to explore to historic town of Pueblo by bike riding to the River Park, boogie boarding, rock climbing and is in the process of learning how to kayak.
Lindsie Livingston
Lindsie is currently majoring in Journalism and Communications and minoring in Business at Colorado State University and plans to graduate in the Fall of 2015. She is a disc jockey for the campus radio station 90.5 KCSU and interning with 91.5 KUNC (an NPR affiliate). After graduation, she hopes to use her radio experience as well as her theater and choir background from Pomona High School to pursue a career in radio.
Jackline Valdez
Jackline is currently attending Colorado State University and is majoring in Music. She has participated in the universities Mixed Chorus and Women's Chorus, and has been accepted into the Universities top choir called Chamber Choir. This choir toured all around Colorado to promote CSU and will be traveling to Japan in the summer of 2013. Jackline has also been in CSU's production of the opera Dido and Aeneas and looks forward to further participation in musicals and operas to come!
Jesse Collett
Jesse is proud to be a panther AGAIN! He graduated from Pomona in 2010 and went to the University of Northern Colorado where he got a degree in musical theatre and a degree in theatre education. He graduated in December of 2014 and moved to Florida where he proposed to his fiancée Gina. After a short time substitute teaching in Florida he drove cross country to be back home at Pomona. This will be his first season as a director of The Catwalk Theatre Company.
Stephanie Furguson
Stephanie is entering her Junior year of college at Metro after transferring from Santa Fe University of Art and Design. She is currently studying Theatre with a focus in youth education. Stephanie hopes to one day teach the importance and wonders of theatre at the Arvada Center, because she knows the impact that it had on her in her younger years. Stephanie is currently an entrepreneur with her own nanny/babysitting business. She is also on call as a Child Liaison at the Arvada Center, and helped previously with 'Ragtime'. Stephanie credits the PAH program for steering her in the right direction and teaching her what to expect in college. She is thrilled with where her path in life has taken her so far.
Will Heberlein
Will is a proud graduate of the Catwalk Theatre Company, now going into his third year at Colorado College. There he studies Ancient Greek, World History and anything else he can pull off. Will’s time at Pomona, in roles such as the Mysterious Man in Into the Woods and Pete in Almost, Maine, brought him together with incredible people and prepared him well for studying the plays of Euripides. In his spare time, Will sings with CC’s Chamber Chorus and writes stories. He plans to study abroad in Athens in the fall.
Patrick May
Patrick graduated PHS in 2010 and is currently studying Musical Theatre Performance and Theatre Education at the University of Northern Colorado. He also received training as a company member in the theatre program at Stephens College. Patrick recently co-directed A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM with the Evergreen Players Summer Drama Camp and will be directing FROG & TOAD: THE MUSICAL for UNC's Theatre For Young Audiences touring company.
Dane Olhrogge
After graduating Pomona High School and PAH in 2010, Dane left to attend DePaul University in Chicago, Il. Through doing theatre in high school the only thing he was absolutely certain of when graduating was that he knew he enjoyed participating in projects that told stories that made people ponder, question, and rethink different aspects of life. With that, Dane chose to study a different medium of that, "filmmaking." Two years since graduating Dane is in Chicago and working on professional/student films, commercials, shorts, and webshows. In addition he's currently finishing up a brief summer internship in Los Angeles working for a major production company reading scripts looking for future projects. While here he was a Production Assistant in a University of Southern California grad student thesis film titled, Furies of War. Dane is looking forward to going back to Depaul and continue his hard work, love and dedication, to create interesting, and new stories in the visual arts.
Becky Rodenburg
After graduating from Pomona High School, Becky attended college at Colorado State University. After 3 1/2 years of knowlege, travel, justice, and entertainment, she pursued a very rewarding and enlightening career that many wish to do, but only some wish to do right.
Becky is finally fulfilling her dream as a superhero. She spends her days saving other's personal lives, speaking words of encouragement, and helping estranged mortals become the best that they can be. She assists growing humans in observing the world from a different angle and educating them in the arts of kindness and passion.
Becky teaches 7th grade reading and writing intervention at Creighton Middle School and couldn't think of anything better to do with her powers.
Shelby Scott
Shelby graduated from Pomona and the PAH program in 2010. She is currently a junior at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana studying public relations with a minor in history. As a student of the Ball State Honors College, Shelby's classes are still arts and humanities focused and she attributes her current honors college success to her participation in the PAH program. She has recently completed her second corporate internship and spent a semester studying in London, England where she took classes focused in art history and theatre.
2009
Ryan Dunn
Ryan is currently a Senior at the Univeristy of Wyoming, pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts, with an emphasis in Lighting Design. He is currently employed as the Venue Master Electrician for the Department of Theatre and Dance, and Electrician/Carpenter for several other small venues on and off campus. Ryan hopes to pursue a career as a theatrical electrician upon graduation, possibly in New York, LA, or Las Vegas.
Micheal Trzos
Micheal is a proud alumni from the University of Evansville where he received his BFA in theater performance. He currently resides in Chicago where he works as a freelance director and part of the house management staff at Victory Gardens Theater. Recently, Micheal assisted directed Marcus Gardley's An Issue of Blood at Victory Gardens theater and has returned from a magical summer in Vermont where he directed You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown and two melodrama as part of the summer melodrama festival at the New England Youth Theater. He has also had the pleasure of working at the Williamstown Theatre Festival as an acting apprentice in 2012 and at the New Harmony Project as an literary intern in 2013.
2008
Noelia Antweiler
Noelia is currently working at the Actor's Theatre of Louisville for the 2012-2013 season. She graduated in May from the University of Wyoming with a BFA in Theatre and Dance and minor in psychology. She has worked regionally with the Idaho Repertory Theatre, Grandstreet Theatre, the Pioneer Playhouse, and the Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre. Noelia also works intensely with prisons, teaching inmates the basics of acting and playwriting. She founded a program of this nature at the medium security prison in Wyoming, and hopes to continue this work while in Louisville over the next 9 months.
Daniel May
Daniel is currently a licensed professional engineer in the state of Colorado. He currently works as a Gas System Engineering Supervisor for Xcel Energy. After graduating from Pomona in 2008, Daniel attended the Colorado School of Mines where he graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering.
Alex Dean
Alex Dean (Rodriguez) is an actor, writer, photographer, director and comedian in Los Angeles, CA. After graduating for Stephens College with a B.F.A. in Theatre he started a production company called, "Secondhand Smog." He will be appearing in a production of Urinetown in Hollywood in October around the same time his first feature film will be released, "American Lie." He starts production on his second feature, "Missing Miranda" in September.
2007
Andrew Garling
Andrew recently graduated from the University of Northern Colorado. There he received a Bachelor's Degree in Musical Theatre as well as a Minor in German. He appeared in UNC's productions of Chess, The Adding Machine, Blood Brothers as well as the Little Theatre of the Rockies’ production of The Music Man. Andrew is very proud of the theatre education he's received both from Pomona High School and from UNC. He is currently pursuing a career in Law Enforcement and will be attending a Police Academy. Although Andrew is pursuing a career outside of theatre, he will always support the theatre world as it holds an extremely special place in his heart.
2006
Alyse DeSoto
Alyse lives in Austin, Texas after completing her degree in Theatre Management at the University of Evansville (Ind.). She received her MBA in May 2013 from Concordia University Texas. Currently, Alyse is the Admissions and Recruitment Coordinator for the Department of Theatre and Dance at The University of Texas at Austin. Hook 'Em! She also works as a House Manager for Texas Performing Arts. Prior to relocating, Alyse spent two seasons with The Santa Fe Opera.
2005
Anna Burkey
Anna graduated form the University of Northern Colorado in 2009 with honors and a double major in Acting and Public Relations/Advertising. Previously Anna served as a board member at the Vintage Theatre in Denver. Currently Anna resides in Denver working in Supplier Management at Western Paper Distributors.
Rachel Ilk
Rachel is a 2005 graduate from Pomona High School and A Rocky Mountain School of Dance. Rachel has been dancing since the age of three and competing since she was eight. She has won two national championships and national titles as a musical theater soloist. She started teaching and choreographing at A Rocky Mountain School of Dance and Performing Arts at the age of fifteen. She took home her first national choreography award at sixteen and has been recognized for her choreography several times since then, including a national championship in musical theater in 2008, and a second place national finish in jazz in 2009. While attending CSU, Rachel danced with the “Golden Poms,” and in several shows produced by the CSU dance program. Rachel is currently working with a local dance company called “Soul Work,” where she is a dancer and choreographer. She is also teaching at Starstruck Academy of Dance in Centennial, CO. Rachel has had the pleasure of doing choreography for both Pomona and Green Mountain High School’s theater programs. She also works regularly with the Chatfield High School pom teams. Rachel is a master’s candidate at the University of Colorado at Denver in Public School Counseling.
Caitlin Joseph
After graduating with a Bachelor's in Secondary Education with a specialization in Biology, Caitlin took an unconventional route to explore an interest in food and agriculture. Caitlin is currently working in a variety of capacities around local food systems, farming, and education. She is the manager of a farmers market in Ann Arbor, MI, works on an organic farm, and in various capacities with "farm-to-school" non-profit organizations. She has utilized what she learned in theater in a variety of ways, especially as an educator on farms, in gardens, and in classrooms. She is also in a band that is currently working toward recording an album of original songs.
Greyson Lewis
Greyson currently resides in Los Angeles, CA. He has had two national old spice commercials and one national kayak.com commercial appear this year on television. His sketch comedy group Secondhand Smog has had their first comedy rap hit as a top seller the day it came out on iTunes. He has traveled to perform at the American Stage theatre in St. Petersburg FL and has been booked to perform in The Mystery of Irma Vep in Tulsa, OK this year. He is in the process of bringing the Seven Day Shakespeare Company from New York to Los Angeles.
Mark Meiden
Is currently working towards his BFA in Acting at the University of Wyoming. Mark starred in this short film The Deer & The Antelope . The film had to be Wyoming based and Mark won a $25,000 award from the organization who sponsored the contest. The money has to go toward another production that will be based in Wyoming. Mark is the scruffy character in the film. To see the short film on YouTube click here. While Mark was at Pomona he appeared in Footloose, Run for Your Wife, West Side Story, Copacabana and The Diviners.
Andre' Rodriguez
After spending three years at Pomona High School as Co-Director of the Catwalk Theatre Company, Andre' became the Director of the CenterStage Theatre Company at Westminster High school. Andre' holds a B.A. in theatre education from the University of Northern Colorado where he is currently working on his masters. Outside of teaching Andre' enjoys spending time with his bride and taking outdoor adventures. Andre' would like to thank the students for demonstrating professionalism, character, and for their commitment in making sweet art.
Zach Shotwell
Zach studied at the University of Northern Colorado where he received his Bachelor of Arts in Acting. After that he spent some time in Denver working with Curtain Productions and the Vintage Theatre on shows like Romeo and Juliet, Annie, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Bedroom Farce and Equus. Currently he lives in New York and is building his resume and reel with projects like The Gayest Christmas Pageant Ever!, A Frivolous Affair, I Was Up, and Little Red and the Riding Hoods. He is also a founding member of a newly formed company called Seven Day Shakespeare. Works there include; As You Like It, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Much Ado About Nothing.
Margo Sweany
After graduating from the University of Colorado with a BS in Business Administration and Finance in 2008, Margo moved to Chicago, Illinois to pursue a career in financial services and wealth management as a registered investment adviser. Margo still engages the arts in her personal life; taking dance class, volunteering with children's music programs and taking full advantage of the amazing shows that come through Chicago.
Beau Augustin
Beau served the Pomona community for seven years as the Catwalk Theatre Company Director leading the company to many national and state awards. He now works with the Denver Public Schools Arts Teachers by fostering new opportunities in Dance and Theatre curriculum and instruction. Beau earned his Bachelor Degree in Theatre Education from the University of Northern Colorado, and is completing his Masters Degree in Directing with the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. Beau also serves Colorado Educators through his work on the Colorado Thespians State Board, and multiple writing teams with the Colorado Department of Education. The education he got at Pomona is at the core of who he is and his drive for making a difference in this world.
Kendra (Collett) Petersen
Kendra graduated from Pomona in 2004. After studying acting at the University of Northern Colorado, she worked on a degree in film making and multimedia. She married Casey Petersen in 2009 and started her own business, KNCProductions, featuring videography, photography and graphic arts. With her business she is actively supporting the arts in education and doing a lot of work for Pomona specifically. She has three wonderful daughters, Áine, Lorelei, and Calliope.
Elizabeth Milligan
Elizabeth graduated from Lake Forest College outside of Chicago in 2008. After teaching social studies for three years at Conifer High School, Elizabeth will be teaching 8th grade U.S. History at West Denver Preparatory Schools.
2002
Brent Chase
Brent Chase is a Los Angeles based artist where he works as an actor, stuntman, and camera specialist. A theatre student and athlete, Brent began his career as a stuntman wowing large live audiences with fights, falls, and motorcycle tricks in up to four shows daily. Some of his theatrical credits include Christian in Cyrano De Bergerac, Danny in Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, and The Dumb Waiter. He continued his training at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Hollywood while earning a BA in Speech Communication, Acting and Directing from Colorado State University. In 2007 Brent was recruited and accepted into the talent pool for Cirque Du Soleil as a clown performer and "specialty act." He continues a relationship with the worlds largest stage company. Brent has appeared in Television shows for G4 Network, E! Network, Comedy Central, Discovery, MTV, NBC, while performing in short and feature length films, comedy skits, trailers, commercials and video game content. Watch for Brent in the upcoming release of Virtually Heroes (feature), The Watch on Showtime, Unusual Targets on DirecTV 3D channel, Hostage on investigation Discovery, and The Come Up (short) with Patrick Adams.
2001
Kael Smith
Kael Smith is a Denver based songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and sound engineer whose past and current projects include “Sun, Cancelled”, “El Oso Negro”, “Khale” and “Mombi”. His bands have performed in many venues and cities in both the U.S. and Europe. In addition to his current band Mombi, Kael also writes music for TV, film and documentaries. Please feel free to sample Kael’s recordings @ montross-music.com To get in touch with Kael for film scoring, commercial work, studio recording or to just say “hi”, you can write him at suncancelled@hotmail.com.
1996
Denny Paschall
Denny is currently performing in the broadway company of CHICAGO the musical. Other b'way/NY credits include Beauty and the beast, Shrek the Musical, Anyone can Whistle at City Center Encores, Camelot Live at Lincoln Center, Sondheim the 80th birthday concert Avery Fisher Hall/Lincoln Center -to name a few. Adjunct faculty member for NYU/CAP 21 Denny has also taught at AMDA, Ellison Ballet, Broadway Dance Center, and multiple Fosse Master classes and workshops. Married to the one and only Haven Burton! If you don't know her check her out. Much love to his families in NY, LA and Denver. Of course love to his son Hudson the coolest cat he knows.
1986
Mark Devine
Mark was the Theatre Director at Heritage High School in Littleton from 2013-2016. From 2008-2013 Mark was the Theatre Director at Cherry Creek. Favorite Productions as a director at these two schools include Funny Money, Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Foreigner, Brigadoon, Cyrano de Bergerac, Disney's Beauty and the Beast, and The Drowsy Chaperone. Before becoming a high school theatre teacher Mark was an AEA professional actor for 25 years working for places like Disneyland, Princess Cruises, the Arvada Center, the Denver Center (I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change - Denver's Longest Running Show Ever), and the Country Dinner Playhouse (In They're Playing Our Song opposite Tony Nominee Beth Malone!). Mark is currently in two rock bands: Kahuna Beach Party (Beach Boys music) and MM8TR (Mr. Majestyk's 8 Track Revival) playing Awesome 70's Covers!