Artistic Ambassador Program
A vibrant group of multi-hyphenate artists local to Central New York who contribute to Syracuse Stage’s mission to engage with and deepen ties to the rich cultural communities of Syracuse and the surrounding region.
“Artistic Ambassadors” are key stakeholders in the local arts scene with existing relationships to Syracuse Stage who will become even more involved in the company’s efforts to serve the community through power of live performance.
Syracuse Stage Artistic Ambassadors
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Carolyn Chave
is a Central New York-based actor. She is passionate about developmental processes and theater for social change.
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Kelly Covert
is second flute/piccolo of The Syracuse Orchestra and core performer with the Syracuse Society for New Music and regularly plays for Syracuse Stage productions.
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Binaifer Dabu
is a storyteller, educator, and actor. Alongside her work on stage, she explores writing and devising original work through solo performance and short plays that invite dialogue, foster belonging, and celebrate cultural connection.
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Andrea Dotto
is President of The Dusty & Dott Company, a CNY-based studio producing original theatre and children's media. Dotto is a multi-hyphenate performer, choreographer, teaching artist, and producer who made her Broadway debut as Betsy in Bandstand, earning a Chita Rivera Award nomination for Outstanding Ensemble Dancer.
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Maya June Dwyer
is a director/choreographer and interdisciplinary performer specialized in movement and immersive theatre. She creates design-forward dance theatre works and is the founding artistic director of The PIVOT Festival of Contemporary Arts.
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Tanner Efinger
is a queer theatre artist living and working in Upstate NY. He is an actor, director, writer, educator and the Artistic Director for Breadcrumbs Productions.
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Derek Emerson Powell
is an actor, writer, and theatre artist living in NYC and CNY. He is passionate about building community and connecting people through the arts.
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Jose Miguel Hernandez Hurtado
is the Founder and Artistic Director of La Joven Guardia del Teatro Latino inc.
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Lilli Komurek
is an actor, singer, director, and educator emphasizing empathy, nuance of character, creative subtext and “telling story through song.”
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Brendan Malafronte
is Co-creator of "The Dusty & Dott Company", Brendan is a performer with a specialty in puppetry and puppet design for both film and stage, having garnered experience from work with Disney, Nickelodeon, PBS, and The Jim Henson Company.
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Alexis Martin
is an aspiring playwright and local actress devoted to telling stories on and off stage. She is a proud member of The Dramatists Guild of America and The Armory Square Playwrights of Central New York.
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Mary Nickson
is a professional musician, storyteller and educator who believes that self-expression is an inherent human need. She aims to amplify authentic, human experience and build relationships that foster meaningful community.
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Krystal Osborne
(she/her) is a multidisciplinary performance artist, voice-over artist and teaching artist currently located in Syracuse. She loves working on new plays, adaptations, under-done plays and developing new theatre.
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Jamie Ann Owens
is a multidisciplinary creative working across marketing, live events, and community engagement. She oversees brand and content for Pausa Coffee, hosts Mark in the Dark at Turning Stone, and helps inspire the next generation of artists through Broadway's Stars of the Future with Broadway in Syracuse.
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Donovan Stanfield
is a Syracuse based actor dedicated to using art and theatre as philosophical pursuits to explore the human condition.
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Karis Wiggins
is a proud ambassador and local actor.
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Blondean Young
is a multidisciplinary artist, director, producer, writer, actor, and arts leader based in Syracuse, New York. She is the Founder and Executive Director of BLAAC (Black Latino Asian Artist Coalition), where she creates opportunities for artists of color to tell bold, authentic stories and build community through the arts.