Carlos joined the NMYA team as Musical Director in January of 2023. He has been teaching in New Mexico schools for five years and has been directing music in churches for over a decade. While teaching he has taught almost every kind of music class out there from elementary music to conducting full fledged performances at the National Hispanic Cultural Center and KiMo Theatre. Carlos has taken pride in developing programs of all kind and sometimes tripling their size in just a few years’ time. Carlos studied Music Education at the University of New Mexico (2015-2019). He has wanted to do nothing more than to bring music to life on stage and to have others join him for the journey. Carlos’s mission is to bring unparalleled music education and vocal development within these young actors for many years to come.

Michelle Eiland began training in dance at the age of two at Fishback’s Dance Studio. She is trained in ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, modern, lyrical, contemporary, hip-hop, Celtic, Latin dance, and character movement. She performs, choreographs, teaches, and assists for many theaters and companies in town. In addition to performing, Michelle loves both teaching and learning and holds both a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Spanish, as well as a Dual License in Special and General Education, K-12. She teaches Spanish to grades 8-12 at The Public Academy for Performing Arts (PAPA).  She also has professional and academic experience with Portuguese and American Siagn Language. Michelle is dedicated to accessibility and equity of education. She is a childhood cancer survivor and celebrates diversity through her work. She is honored to have roots in such a deeply devoted arts community here in The Land of Enchantment.

Maria Bertinetti joined NMYA when he was thirteen years old and has performed in six shows with the company. Some of his favorite past roles include Black Beard in Silver’s Secret, Jafar in Aladdin Jr., and Captain Hook in Peter Pan. Aside from theater, Maria enjoys listening to and playing music and having good coffee with good company. He is excited to be rejoining NMYA as a production assistant for the play.

Jeff Mocho, a UNM Alumni with a degree in Theatre, has recently returned to NM from Maryland where he lived for 13 years, and is excited to be teaching for New Mexico Young Actors. While in Maryland he spent two years as a performing teacher with Interact Story Theater, where he and another actor traveled around the Maryland-DC metro area bringing the joy of theater to grade school audiences through performances and theater-based workshops. He has been seen on stage as well as TV and film. Favorite theater rolls include: Len Hoch (Book of Days), Michael Starkwedder (The Unexpected Guest), and The Reverend (The Foreigner). He looks forward to sharing his love of theater with students in the class.

An Albuquerque native and lifelong theater enthusiast, Natalie first joined NMYA when she was eight! She has a BFA in musical theater with an emphasis in vocal performance from the Boston Conservatory and Berklee College of Music. With performance credits from a range of regional and touring productions, Natalie is thrilled to be returning to her childhood home theater.

Mr. Stafford comes from a long standing family business, Sadie’s of NM. In addition to selling amazing salsa, William is working on over 35 years of performing arts credits with over 65 film and theater productions to his name. One of William’s lifelong goals has been to encourage people young and younger to “Believe in their dreams.”

Alexandra Uranga graduated with a BA in Theatre, minor in music, from UNM in 2014 and attended a Musical Theatre program at Circle In the Square Theatre School in NYC in 2015. She attended CNM upon her return to New Mexico and completed the Alternative Licensure Program to obtain her teaching license. She was recently a Drama teacher with Rio Rancho Public Schools for 5 years, teaching middle and high school. Alexandra is also a passionate performer and has performed in several of the community theaters around town over the years. She loves sharing the art of theater with youth and seeing them shine on stage! She is so grateful to be working with New Mexico Young Actors this summer!

More coming soon