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2026 Student, Alumni and Faculty Spotlights
Broadway. Film. Television. Beyond.
The Sands College of Performing Arts community can be found wherever great stories are told and bold creative work is made. From Broadway and television to design studios, rehearsal rooms, and international festivals, our students, alumni, and faculty are building careers, creating new work, and contributing to the future of the performing arts.
Faculty Spotlights
Clinical Professor of Design Matsy Stinson designed costumes for , a new Foreigner musical directed by Adam Pascal. Production & Design students Kissel Barrantes ’28, Cassandra Booker ’28, Spencer Andrade ’28, and Mel Zago ’27 also contributed to the production.
Graham Kindred, Chair of Production Design, Stage Management, and IPE, designed the lighting for at the Argyle Theatre in Babylon, NY.
Jamibeth Margolis, Assistant Program Head of BFA Acting, served as U.S. Casting Consultant for directed by Joel Grey and presented at the Elgin Theatre in Toronto.
Mandy Moore, Director of the LA Semester, choreographed and served as Supervising Choreographer for the 98th Academy Awards.
Adjunct professor Keelay Gipson's play received a staged reading as part of the Tony Award-winning Broadway Advocacy Coalition and Working Theater’s STAGELEFT Festival at Theater Row.
Student and Alumni Spotlights
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Acting for Film and Media (AFaM)
Alum appears as Nico Hayes in the latest season of the Emmy-winning comedy .
BFA Acting
Alum Ashley Romans was named , recognizing her outstanding work and growing impact in the industry. Fellow alumni are also making moves across screen projects: Raél Ba was cast in the television pilot Mammy Is a Star, inspired by the life of Academy Award winner Hattie McDaniel; Skye Friedman stars in Lemonade Blessing, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and was later featured in; Shea Vaughan Gabor landed a role in Amazon’s indie horror film ; Hayley Griffith appeared in the CBS pilot Regency; Öykü Güven appeared in Netflix’s ; and Jesse James Keitel appeared in Prime Video’s .
Commercial Dance
Alumni and students performed on some of the industry's biggest stages this year. Fifteen alumni and two current students appeared in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, while seniors Emma McWilliams, Aiden Powers, Nate Judy, and Sithu Sinley performed on a skit with Harry Styles and Chloe Fineman. Alumni Jada Simone Clark and Valeria Yamin joined the cast of , Marina Palarca '26 joined national tour, and alum Erik Barker earned a 2026 NextGen Choreographer nomination. Rockette Sydney Mesher was also featured in , and alums Jared Alexander and Daniel Santiago appeared in .
International Performance Ensemble (IPE)
Recent graduates Ava Escobado, Adam Ashton, Gannon Dean, Avery Loving, and Liadin Stewart, along with junior Nicholas Ferrari, presented original devised works The Prospectors and We Men of Science at the internationally renowned Sibiu International Theatre Festival in Romania, showcasing Sands artists on a global stage.
Musical Theater
Alumni and students continue to shine on Broadway and beyond. Chris Arredondo made his Broadway debut playing Ponyboy Curtis in ; Phoenix Lafreniere joined the cast of as Dorothy; recent graduate Mason Olshavsky joined the cast of , and current junior Carly Gendell originated the role of Edith in Off-Broadway. Current Musical Theater major/ Dance minor Brett Barthelemy was named a finalist for competition, while Tyrik Iman-Washington Jr. created , an original musical celebrating the power of R&B and Hip Hop as vehicles for storytelling and social change.
Production and Design for Stage and Screen
Production Design alumni continue to contribute to award-winning work across theater and entertainment. Chris Darbassie earned a nomination for Best Sound at the , while Justin West worked on multiple Tony-nominated productions, including the Tony-nominated set of , the Tony-nominated revival of , and .