Ms. Kelly Marie Pate comes to OCSA after spending nearly 20 years as a stage manager working in professional theatre. Her career includes touring on the first national tours of Cameron Mackintosh’s Oliver, the 25th Anniversary Tour of Annie, Cameron Mackintosh’s My Fair Lady, RENT: The Broadway Tour, Lincoln Center’s South Pacific, and Dreamworks Theatrical’s production of Shrek, the Musical. Ms. Pate also served as stage manager on Cirque du Soleil’s resident production of IRIS: a Journey Through the World of Cinema, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Locally, she has stage managed over 20 productions at Musical Theatre West in Long Beach. Passionate about hands-on education, she implemented the first stage management program at California School of the Arts – San Gabriel Valley in Duarte and built a K-grade 3 music and theatre program for younger students in Glendale, California. Ms. Pate holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in musical theatre from East Carolina University and a Master of Fine Arts in theatre education from the University of Mississippi for Women.

Ms. Victoria Hoyt-Heydon is a graduate of USC’s Thornton School of Music and OCSA’s Production & Design program. Ms. Hoyt-Heydon has worked for Live Nation, Sennheiser, and Sumerian Records. She has designed sound for USC theatrical productions such as Crimes of the Heart and Taming of the Shrew, been A1 for Fullerton College’s productions of American Idiot, Parade and Twelfth Night, and was resident A2 for all Musical Theater West shows at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center, including Nice Work if You Can Get It, White Christmas, and In the Heights. She has worked tech crew for Bigger Hammer, been a Production Runner for The Mill, and was Assistant to the Costume Designer for Atelier Mela (including 3D Theatrical’s Beauty and the Beast). She was also a freelance entertainment technician for Southern California. She is excited to “come back to her roots” and have the opportunity to give back to the school that started her in her profe­ssional journey.

Mr. Jeremy Sewell is a 20-year veteran of the entertainment industry. Mr. Sewell began his career working for his high school as an audio engineer and flyman for outside productions. Looking to expand his knowledge, he applied and was accepted to an internship program with the California Center for the Arts, Escondido. After completing his two year internship, Mr. Sewell was offered a house position as a Union Audio Engineer. Mr. Sewell served in the audio department for three years before being promoted to Technical Coordinator, managing The Center Theater and Technical Theater Internship Program. During his two year stint working with interns, Mr. Sewell caught the teaching bug and decided to shift into public education. He served for seven years at Canyon Crest Academy and a year and a half at Oceanside High School as a Technical Director running the school’s performing arts centers, and teaching live production. In 2019, Mr. Sewell once again wanted to expand his knowledge so he left education and went into the private sector. During this time, he served as a project manager, technical director, lighting programmer, Video Technician, and Audio Engineer.

Mr. AJ Culpepper has been working in theatre and live event production for 10 years. He started his journey in production in high school, hosting and performing in local concerts around Southern California over summer break. When he graduated, he attended California State Polytechnic University, Pomona and received his bachelor’s degree in the Music Industry Studies program with an emphasis on music technology. During his postgraduate years, Mr. Culpepper has engineered two NPR Tiny Desk Artist Concerts which have gone on to receive accolades for their mixing and production. To give back to his city he founded Sounds From Within, an independent creative artist community dedicated to giving independent artists a platform to showcase their talent and ideas. As an artist and production engineer himself, Mr. Culpepper loves to show the benefit of using audio and video technology to convey the artistic vision of the performer. As part of the live production industry, Mr. Culpepper has worked hard to provide and support production platforms that showcase marginalized and BIPOC voices.

Ms. Cat Elrod is a Special FX Makeup Artist from Long Beach, CA, specializing in Beauty, Glamour and Prosthetic Makeup. She is a personal Makeup Artist to legendary musician "Uncle" CHARLIE WILSON. When not making movies, she designs costumes and directs shows for The Garage Theatre in downtown Long Beach, for which she is a Board & Company Member.  She is also Department Head Makeup & Costume for the live show Delusion: Haunted Play, a one-of-a-kind immersive theatre experience in Los Angeles. She is lucky to share her wealth of skills and experience with students at the Orange County School of the Arts teaching the Fundamental, Intermediate and Advanced Makeup.

Mr. Tyler Francavilla studied acting at Marymount Manhattan College and worked as an actor for over 20 years. He has been a series regular on several television shows and guest starred on many more including Mad Men, NCIS, The Mentalist, and Criminal Minds. Additionally, he has appeared in many national commercials.

Ms. Kim Jones began her costuming career as the supervisor for Long Beach Civic Light Opera working with such celebrities as Carol Burnett, George Burns, Sammy Davis Jr., and Dom Deluise. She went on to do commercials, corporate shows, the Opening Ceremonies of the Special Olympics in Alaska and three Super Bowl Halftime shows staring Prince, Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson and Queen Latifah. She currently works at the Honda Center on shows starring Pink, Ariana Grande, Ricky Martin, Enrique Iglesias, and Disney on Ice. She teaches the Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced Costume Design classes, as well as two Fashion Elective classes. Her greatest joy is applauding the successes of her students.

Ms. Amanda Linhardt is a graduate of Concordia University Irvine earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in technical theater with a focus in production and design and a graduate of California Institute of the Arts (CalARTS) receiving a Master of Fine Arts in theatre. She has designed, built, and painted various productions from the high school to college level.

Ms. Crystal Shomph is a graduate of University of California, Irvine, receiving a Bachelor of Arts with an emphasis in drama, and a Master of Education degree from Hope International University. She began her theater career back in high school working and performing on stage. Ms. Shomph began her lighting career in 1996 working on student projects at Cypress College and has been designing lighting for various community colleges, local theater, and other groups for more than 20 years.

Ms. Shomph previously served as adjunct faculty at Cypress College and is currently at Irvine Valley College, having taught various introduction to theater classes. She had her first regional show at International City Theatre, previously worked as lighting designer for Golden West College, and is also an active volunteer as a lighting consultant for a local community theater group.

Ms. Ashley M. Strain is very excited to be a part of this wonderful educational opportunity for young artists. Born and raised in California, she attended Eastern Sierra Academy, California State University, Stanislaus where she earned a bachelor’s degree in theatre arts, and California State University, Fullerton where she earned her Master of Fine Arts degree in theatre arts. She has been fortunate enough to travel around the country seeing new places, meeting new people, and doing what she loves. Ms. Strain’s scenic design credits include Picasso at the Lapin Agile (CSUS), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Bigfork Summer Playhouse), Anne Frank and Me (Lexington Children's Theatre), Always... Patsy Cline (Allenberry Playhouse) and many more. Every day is a new adventure, and she wouldn't be able to do it without the continuous love and support from her family, friends!

David Zahacewski, a Connecticut native, moved to Southern California in 2017 to receive his MFA in Lighting Design from CSU Long Beach. After receiving his MFA in 2020 he opened his own entertainment design business (Cewski Designs, LLC). He has been working in the Los Angeles Theatrical, Opera, Dance, Film, and Concert industry for the past 5 years. Mr. Zahacewski is the resident designer for Jaxx Theatricals, San Pedro City Ballet, Golden State Pop Orchestra, Bob Cole Conservatory of Music, House of Bards, and Cray Project. Mr. Zahacewski is elated to join OCSA’s team of fantastic faculty and staff and looks forward to spreading and receiving as much knowledge as he possibly can. He teaches the P&D Intro to Props and Scenic Design classes.