Carlos rejoined the NMYA team as Music Director Fall 2024. 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 Theater. 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 Sign 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.

An Albuquerque native and lifelong performer, Natalie first joined NMYA when she was eight and is grateful to be back with her home company, sharing the skills and theater etiquette instilled in her by company founder Rick Nickerson. With over 70 productions under her belt before reaching college, Natalie received her BFA in Musical Theatre with an emphasis in Vocal Performance from the Boston Conservatory.  After college, Natalie went on to perform in professional regional productions, gaining her Actors Equity card. Natalie is also certified in “Alexander Technique.” She believes that theater can be the cornerstone for freedom of identity and self expression, and that theater can offer life changing skill sets.  She is looking forward to teaching and directing the next generation of NMYA students. Outside of teaching with our company, Natalie is a stay at home mom, a local performer for many companies, and with her greatest passion being singing, she now teaches private vocal lessons.

Chris is a designer and director, having worked in New York City and Los Angeles in theater, film and television. He recently moved to Albuquerque to be closer to his daughter. He has been the Technical Director of the Actor’s Studio in New York City and president of the Company of Angels in Los Angeles, among other things. Chris is excited to be a part of the NMYA community of fantastic artists, and wonderful young performers. He is also a Tai Chi teacher, leading classes in Albuquerque and online. 

A recent transplant to Albuquerque from Maryland, Shirley is excited to be part of the New Mexico Young Actors family. While in Maryland, she was primarily involved with the Colonial Players of Annapolis, treading the boards and serving on the Board of Directors for 8 years as HR Director and then President. Backstage credits include: Lighting Designer, Stage Manager, Producer, Assistant Director, and Director. Favorite onstage roles include: Lucia Amory (Black Coffee), Kaye (Dog Logic), Laura Warwick (The Unexpected Guest), and Margie Walsh (Good People). She loves working with NMYA’s young actors and helping bring the best of themselves to stage.

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!

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 roles 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.

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.

Cash Martinez, Production Assistant, is absolutely thrilled to be back with NMYA where his love and knowledge of theatre began at age 9. He is passionate to teach and share his skills to the next generation of artists. A local ABQ performer, you may have seen him in the following productions: Next to Normal, “Gabe” (The Desert Rose Playhouse); CLUE: On Stage, “Wadsworth”(Hold the Applause Productions); and most recently Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, “Arthur”(The Adobe Theater). Besides acting, Cash has music directed for Hold the Applause Productions’ Mary Poppins JR and has also directed I Acts such as Dinner With the MacGuffins. He is currently enrolled at the University of New Mexico working towards his Business Administration degree. Besides school and theatre, Cash works as an Assistant Manager at Dion’s and in his free time enjoys singing, cooking, playing piano, and spending time with his loved ones. 

Jacqueline Chavez is an experienced makeup artist who has collaborated with impressive clients such as Netflix, National Geographic, Chanel, Robert Redford and Ali McGraw. She’s not only had the pleasure of working with amazing talent, she has also been featured in Vanity Fair (On Time) and Chaos. Having turned her passion into a successful career, she loves to use her talent in all areas of makeup artistry and is currently head of the Wigs and Makeup Department for multiple production companies in New Mexico. One of her favorite things about theater is the collaboration of different talents to create a magical show.

Aba Ortiz, Costume Designer, is a New Mexico native and has lived in both Albuquerque and Las Vegas, NM. He started sewing when he was five. He would sit next to his mother while she sewed costumes for their family’s annual Christmas show, sister’s dance recitals, or just making clothes for their family. He currently works at Alterations by Kathy, where he continues to learn the art of tailoring and custom alterations. Aba has been designing costumes with NMYA since January of 2023 and is happy to be part of the NMYA family.