Senior Management & Founders

Stephanie Carrillo
Artistic Director • Leading Producer
​Founding Member
StephanieCarrillo@KBTheatre.org
​Stephanie Carrillo is a founding member of K.B. Theatre and the company’s Artistic Director. She’s an actor, director, and teaching artist. While pursuing her MFA in Acting at Ohio University, she’s been leading her own classes at the University, teaching acting to non-majors along with Voice and Speech to sophomore acting majors. She recently taught Tantrum Theatre Kids where she invited young female artists to take ownership of their artistry while producing their first production. She received her BFA from the University of Texas at El Paso where some of her title roles include Medea in Medea and Margery in Hand to God.
Jesús López Vargas
Associate Producer • Designer
Founding Member
​​[email protected]
Website & Personal Portfolio   |   C.V. / Resumé
Jesús López Vargas is a founding member of K.B. Theatre Company.
They currently reside in Long Beach, CA (which sits on the traditional ancestral lands of the Tongva people, also known as the Gabrieleño.) They are the production coordinator & leading producer of New Swan Shakespeare Festival in California and they lead the company's outreach program during the year.

Jesús currently works freelance as a photographer, graphic artist, and educator for the arts. On their free time they care for plants, lifts things, and works at healthily unlearning all the poopoocaca that comes along with being raised in a capitalist binary monogamous patriarchy.  

​They were proudly born & raised in México.
Merle DeWitt III
General Manager • Designer
Founding Member
MRDeWitt@KBTheatre.org
Website & Personal Portfolio
​
Merle DeWitt III's is a theatrical projection designer, lighting designer and media artist currently based out of Long Beach, CA, USA.Currently he is a Lighting Designer for Radiance Light Works, with clients such as Universal Studios, Netflix, Mattel, amongst others.

Merle has designed and assisted both nationally and internationally with some of his recent credits including Assistant Projections Designer for David Murikami on Flaming Arrow, (Saudi Arabia, December 2022) & Projections Designer on Curie, Curie (Amsterdam, January 2022). Merle has also been the projection designer & technical director for various Transversal Theatre Company productions both locally in California and abroad in Europe and North Africa. Separate from his freelance creative endeavors, Merle is a lead producer and founding member of MOON Collective, an art collective focused on bringing a platform to younger members of the arts community to experiment across their various disciplines.

Senior Artistic

Stephanie Carrillo
Artistic Director
StephanieCarrillo@KBTheatre.org
Jesús López Vargas
Associate Creative Director
[email protected]
Website & Personal Portfolio
​C.V. / Resumé
Kezia Waters
Associate Theatre Director
[email protected]
Website
Brandon Ray Alba
Associate Movement Director
[email protected]
Website & Personal Portfolio
Kezia Waters is a performing artist, playwright, actor, director and teaching artist from Waterbury, Connecticut. As a teaching artist Kezia has led a Children’s Theatre Workshop in Puerto Plata, Domincan Republic and has served as a Drama Director for Neighborhood Music School, New Haven, CT where he devised and directed six children’s shows about social justice. Before and while obtaining a BA in Theatre Art ( Performance) from Western Connecticut State University he interned for 2 Shakespeare Companies: Shakesperience Productions Waterbury, CT and Connecticut Free Shakespeare Stratford, CT. Outside of performing he is also a playwright produced in New York City for the 10th season of the Obie Award winning Festival The First This Time. Kezia continues to perform and has studied and been mentored by broadway actors Julio Matos and Tony nominated Elizabeth Parkinson. He is currently in his 2nd Year at Ohio University pursuing an MFA in Acting. He is currently creating his own theatre pedagogy called S.O.F.T. which incorporates Black ritual techniques as it relates to devising orginal work.
Brandon Ray Alba is a choreographer & performance artist. He is a Los Angeles native, but now resides in El Paso, Texas. Brandon is currently working as a dance instructor for British Ballet Academy. He graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Dance Performance and is working on receiving a degree in Counseling. 

He is the founder and co-director of MOON Collective, where he's collaborated and produced various multi-media performative works. Brandon was the co-founder & co-artistic director of Fawnz Dance company under which he produced & choreographed: In-Utero (2016-17) & REDVelvet (2018). His works include M@lfuNc7ion (2016), Tribe (2018), Spark (2019), & Seasons (2019).

Producing Associates

Nancy Batres
Outreach Associate
NBatres@KBTheatre.org
KBTheatre.org
Nancy Batres (She/her) is an actor, teaching artist, and one of founding members of K.B. Theatre. Acting credits include: ¡Lotería: Game On! - Reading (CCAE Theatricals), Knots - Reading (Moxie Theatre’s Lamoise New Works Festival), The Hispanic/Latino/Latina/Latinx/Latine Vote (TuYo Theatre), A Hearty Poway Legend (Poway Historical and Memorial Society), Somos Aire (Teatro Las Hermanas), Real Women Have Curves- Reading (Carlsbad Playreaders), Pásale Pásale (TuYo Theatre), Remember That Time (Playwrights Project), Resistance Creates Beauty (Blindspot Collective - Connecting Flights project at SD International Airport), A Play About Something (Backyard Renaissance Theatre Company/ La Jolla WOW Festival), Aztec Pirates & The Insignificance of Life on Mars - Reading (San Diego REP’s Latinx New Play Festival), and A Mother's Mother (Playwrights Project).
Jessica Keasberry-Vnuk
Associate Producer
JLKeasberry@KBTheatre.org
KBTheatre.org
Jessica is a producer, manager, and writer. Theatrical companies that she has worked at in various capacities include Pasadena Playhouse, Center Theatre Group, The Old Globe, Williamstown Theatre Festival, South Coast Repertory, Ojai Playwrights Conference, Laguna Playhouse, Transversal Theatre Company, and International City Theatre. Jessica is currently the Producing Assistant at the State Theatre of California and 2023 Tony Award Recipient, Pasadena Playhouse.
Shelby Caughron
Associate Director
[email protected]
KBTheatre.org
Shelby Caughron has experience in various areas of theatre including acting, directing, choreography, theatre management & stage management. Her directorial credits include many devised pieces, most recently being Tzaqik | a tale, of many with K.B. Theatre Company & Untold: A Verbatim Play with MiraCosta College Theatre. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Drama from UCI as well as an Associate Degree in Drama from MiraCosta College. She is the Assistant Box Office Manager and Production Assistant for the Moonlight Amphitheatre in San Diego.