Meet The Company
Prospect Theater Company brought together 13 Community Arts Associates to devise and facilitate the event.
Robert Ariza, Viveca Chow, Michael De Souza,
Alexandra de Suze, Kristina Dizon, Zina Ellis,
Kaisha S. Huguley, Janice Landry, Matthew McGloin,
Ian Miller, Emily Preis, Violet Prete, Cliff Sellers
Robert Ariza is a native New Yorker from Queens, and is so happy to be working with Prospect Theater on Tree Tales! A proud alum of LaGuardia Arts High School and the University of Michigan, he is most recognized for his work in the Chicago company of Hamilton, the national tour of Les Misérables, and the Broadway revival of Spring Awakening. He was also seen Off-Broadway in Spamilton, and the world premiere of Soot and Spit. Other NYC credits include Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and I Am Harvey Milk at Lincoln Center. He has worked regionally at Music Theatre Wichita, the Maltz Jupiter Theatre, Goodspeed, the Hangar Theatre, and Olney Theatre Center. Robert is featured on the original cast recording of The Theory of Relativity, and has appeared on Peacock’s original series "GIRLS5EVA." Apart from his work on stage and screen, Robert is also a singer-songwriter who plays piano, guitar, ukulele, and harmonium. IG: @robertariza, Twitter/TikTok: @bobertariza, robertariza.com
Viveca Chow hopes to heal and empower the world through her creative endeavors. She made her Broadway debut in the Miss Saigon revival, and can be seen as one of the faces for brands such as YSL, Buzzfeed, Ferragamo and many more. Don't forget to hug yourself and say 5 kind things you love about yourself today. IG: @helloitsviveca; TikTok: @vivecachow.
Michael De Souza is an artist and performer originally from Michigan. Highlights include the Transport Group revival of Once Upon a Mattress, and the world premiere of A Little Princess at Sacramento Theater Company. Quarantine hobbies include learning the trombone and numerous zoom cabarets. He is so happy to join Prospect and build this community.
Alexandra de Suze cannot not be more thrilled to be entering the world of live theatre again with Tree Tales. She has sung, acted, written and directed all over New York City and New England, including turns at New York City Center Encores!, Theatre at Judson, Prospect Theater, York Theater, and Speakeasy Stage. She has hosted cabaret, directed for various festivals, has written for storytelling events, and has a satire series “Reince Preibus Tried…And other tales from the White House” on Facebook. In the meantime, she is the alto at Madison Avenue Baptist Church, is regularly behind the kit as part of The Summer Replacements, recently shot two short films, has been doing all sorts of Zoom theatre, and you can find her on YouTube with collaborator Richard Binder as #BinderSuze. www.alexandradesuze.com
Kristina Dizon is excited to return to Prospect Theater Company! Previously, she has worked on the staged readings of The Day Boy and the Night Girl (Nycteris) and Move Meant (Dora/Marguerite/Dancer). Other NYC works include Longview (Zoë) with APAC and Stormy Weather (Tina Jane). Her past credits are Evita (Musical Theatre West) and the national tours of Sesame Street and Baby Shark. Kristina is a California native where she graduated from Cal State Fullerton with a BFA in Musical Theatre. She is grateful to Cara and Dev, and also thanks her mom and Jose. Website: kristinadizon.com IG/TikTok: @kristinamjdizon
Zina Ellis (she/her/hers) is thrilled to be making theatre again with Prospect! She recently toured North America as Marie, the Fairy Godmother in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, and other favorite credits include Rona Lisa Peretti in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Claire in Ordinary Days and Phoebe Meryll in The Yeomen of the Guard. In addition to acting, she writes comedy and produces a podcast about the films of director/choreographer Kenny Ortega (@breakingfreepod on all platforms!). Zina has also toured nationally and internationally with numerous vocal ensembles, usually a cappella. When not doing way too many creative projects at once, she works as an educator and tries to discover the best restaurants in the city. Thank you for being here! BA Yale University. zinaellis.com @abitoverzellis
Kaisha S. Huguley is a NY based multi-hyphenate artist originally from Washington, D.C. Prior to the Covid-19 crisis, Kaisha was preparing to take the stage in Kinky Boots (Pat/Trish U/S) at Arts Center of Coastal Carolina. Most recently, Kaisha played the role of Office Services in a TikTok Musical entitled Work from Home alongside Broadway stars, Kevin Chamberlin, James Synder, and several others. Additionally, she was selected as 1 of 100 creatives in the inaugural TikTok for Black Creatives program in partnership with Macro. Kaisha’s most recent stage credits include Miracle on 34th Street and The Full Monty (Argyle Theatre). When Kaisha is not on stage, she’s creating content for her online fanbase via her TikTok, Podcast: A Kaisha Story, YouTube Channel, and Blog. She also has a podcast with her husband, Quinton called The Happily Huguley Podcast. In addition to being an actor and creative, Kaisha is the Director for Cultural Competency & Creative Initiatives as well as a Faculty Member at The American Musical & Dramatic Academy (AMDA NY). Kaisha is committed to teaching, giving back to, and empowering the next generation of artists and creatives.
Janice Landry is delighted to be back with Prospect Theater after appearing in Stage Fright and an abbreviated version of The Hello Girls for Fleet Week. Off-Broadway: Love and Yogurt (NY Theatre Barn), Dear Edwina (DR2), and National Pastime (Playwrights Horizons). Tour: Disney On Classic with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra (Anna in Frozen, Nala in The Lion King). NY/Regional: Woody Guthrie's American Song (Saint Michael's Playhouse), The Irish... And How They Got That Way (Kimmel Center), Give My Regards To Broadway (Bucks County CPA), NYMF, NY Stage and Film, and many Irish concerts with the “Galway Girls.” Janice is also a writer who often performs as an actor/musician. Much love to Martin and Jack! www.janicelandry.com
It is with honor and respect that Matthew McGloin steps into the creative space of Tree Tales as our world slowly heals. His previous credits include the following: NY/Off-Broadway: The Hello Girls (OCR, Prospect Theater Company/59E59), Bastard Jones (The Cell), CasablancaBox (HERE Arts), workshops/readings with Tectonic Theater Project, Abingdon Theatre Company, Dixon Place, The Lark. Regional: 2 Pianos, 4 Hands (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park), The Play That Goes Wrong (Repertory Theatre St. Louis), Murder for Two (Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre), Beautiful Star (Triad Stage), The Lieutenant of Inishmore (Signature Theatre), Misalliance, Cinderella (Olney Theatre Center), As You Like It (Folger Theatre), History on Foot (Ford’s Theatre), various shows at The Kennedy Center, Virginia Shakespeare Festival, & others. TV: “Primal Instinct” (Investigation Discovery), “The Food That Built America” (The History Channel). Training: BFA Acting, UMBC. Check out the latest and greatest at www.matthewmcgloin.com and on Instagram @jackie_of_all_traits.
Ian Miller is a music director, pianist, and singer-songwriter originally from St. Louis, MO. His music direction credits include Felix Starro off-Broadway (Ma-Yi Theater Co), Paulo Tirol’s On This Side of the World (Three Hares; Prospect Theater Co.), and AHRC’s “Our Broadway” – a musical theater program for adults with intellectual disabilities throughout NYC. As a pianist, Ian has worked with the Yale School of Drama, the Story Pirates, the Young People’s Chorus of NYC, the Nightingale-Bamford School, Vocal Ease, and the recent Broadway revival of West Side Story. In 2020, Ian was selected to participate in the Johnny Mercer Songwriters Project, and he released his debut EP of original music, In Between.
Emily Preis is a New York City-based maker, performer, and organizer. A proud citizen of the Osage Nation, Emily loves any opportunity to explore the incredible power of storytelling and community sharing. Since receiving her BFA in Drama from NYU Tisch’s Experimental Theatre Wing, she has collaborated with her advisor, Mauricio Salgado, to turn her thesis, Performance as an Act of Tribal Sovereignty, into a Theatre Studies course to be offered at NYU in the spring of 2022. For her work as an actress, she was named one of the finalists for Yale Indigenous Performing Arts Program’s inaugural Misty Upham Award for Young Native Actors. Select credits include: Your Good Friend Jay Silverheels (YIPAP), Flying Bird’s Diary (AICH), Bingo Hall (AICH), Michael Crowe Presents: The Dick Cavett Show (ETW), Measure for Measure (RADA), When Farah Cries (Borderlight International Theater Festival).
Violet Prete Born and raised in New York City, Violet has been acting since the age of 8 with Kid’s Company, appearing in Into the Woods, Once on This Island, and Annie, in the lead role. She sang with the Manhattan Girls Chorus at Carnegie Hall under the direction of Leon Botstein and Zubin Mehta, and she was featured in HBO’s "I Can Be President" and Nickelodeon’s "Nick News with Linda Ellerbee." Violet graduated as a Drama major from the Professional Performing Arts High School in the Waterwell Theater Company where she performed the roles of Buggerlaus in Ubu Roi and Duke Senior in As You Like It. She appeared in several Columbia University School of the Arts productions including Alkestis at the Connelly Theater and The Book of Esther as Esther. She appeared in the films Mourning on Charlotte Street and Red White and Detroit. She studied at the Lee Strasberg Institute and has worked with Prospect Theater Company since age 12. She has been working as a research assistant on the upcoming biography of Stevie Nicks. Violet attends Princeton University.
Cliff Sellers Originally from Wilmington, Delaware! Graduated from the historical Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. Select credits include: Follies, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Hairspray, Dogman: The Musical!, and the National Tour of the musical adaptation of the Emmy Award winning PBS show “Odd Squad” as Agent Orion! @CliffSellers