Chris Severin is an amazingly talented, versatile, and accomplished master-musician from the Treme area of New Orleans. He graduated from the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) in 1976 during its adolescence and later attended Southern University of New Orleans (SUNO) for music education.
The greats Alvin Batiste, Ellis Marsalis, and Walter Payton were all a part of Mr.…
LISA MORASCHI SHATTUCK is a New Orleans-born theater artist. She is co-founder of Catapult, a theater laboratory dedicated to original theater. Locally, she performs with Mondo Bizarro, NEW NOISE, Vagabond Inventions, Southern Repertory Theatre, and ArtSpot Productions. She has performed for San Francisco’s Storyworks and Cutting Ball, Phoenix’s Childsplay, and Charleston’s PURE Theatre. Nationally and internationally she has performed in CRY YOU ONE and SEA OF COMMON CATASTROPHE funded by Creative Capital and New England Foundation for the Arts.…
Jose C. Simbulan (he/him/his) has been on the podium and in the pits of various theatres over the past 35 years. His work as a music director, conductor, pianist, and keyboard player has provided him with the opportunities to work at Barrington Stage Company, Milwaukee Rep, Arena Stage, Arizona Theatre Company, Connecticut Repertory Theatre, The Kennedy Center, Baltimore Center Stage, Ford’s Theatre, Signature Theatre, and Charleston Stage Company; as well as the Broadway productions of Lestat and A Chorus Line, and the national tours of Mamma Mia!…
Originally from Japan, Natsumi Sugiyama has been a member of the Shizuoka Performing Art Center (SPAC) under the leadership of renowned director Tadashi Suzuki. There, she performed in “Kachikachiyama”, “Ivanov”, “Cinderella” and more. After her involvement with SPAC, she joined famous Tokyo based Theatre Company Ku na’uka lead by artistic director Satoshi Miyagi, and performed many leads such as Narukami in the play of the same name, Desdemona, Helen of Troy, and Electra to name a few.…
Tianna Pourciau Sykes is a dance educator, choreographer, and performing artist with experience spanning 20 years. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Kennesaw State University. As a dance educator, Tianna specializes in classical ballet and modern dance instruction, with extensive experience in dance curriculum design and development. Throughout her career, she has taught various forms of dance, including ballet, modern dance, jazz dance, tap, hip-hop, and contemporary dance, as well as musical theatre dance.…
Emerging tenor Mark-Anthony Thomas is a native of New Orleans, Louisiana. He is graduate of the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts, where he studied vocal music and received a Certificate of Artistry under the tutelage of Phyllis Treigle. He was selected as a winner of the New Orleans Junior Philharmonic Society competition in 2009.…
Mrs. Amy Tilling moved to New Orleans in July of 2005 and despite being welcomed by Hurricane Katrina only a few weeks later, she is here to stay in New Orleans. Mrs. Tilling earned her Bachelors of Science in Secondary Mathematics Education from the State University of New York College at Cortland (2000) and has just earned her Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Texas at Arlington (2014).…
Phyllis Treigle is a native of New Orleans and is the daughter of the great bass-baritone Norman Treigle. She holds a B.M. and M.M. from Loyola University and she made her professional debut with the New Orleans Opera Association in 1980. She has since appeared with this company several times, most notably as Senta in Der fliegende Holländer in 1998.…
Michel Varisco’s work explores the relationship between the natural world and man-made through photography, video, sculpture, printmaking and installations. She received her MFA from Tulane University and studied in France (Cleveland Art Institute) and Cortona, Italy (University of Georgia) and has taught at NOCCA|Riverfront since 1996. Teaching honors include several National Foundation for the Advancement in Teaching in the Arts awards and numerous Scholastic Art and Writing Awards for Teaching.…
