DEAR EVAN HANSEN

Shannon Gerrity has spent her life dancing up and down the coast of California. Favorite shows: Hairspray, 42nd Street (twice!), Anything Goes, Memphis the Musical, Grease!, Mamma Mia!, Peter Pan, Miracle on 34th Street, Urinetown and Thoroughly Modern Millie. She enjoys her current role as Ms. Shannon, teaching her chickens (students) and building community through the joy of TAP! at Georgia’s School of Dance Escondido and North County Academy of Dance Bonsall/Oceanside. Thank you for supporting local artists and live theatre!

Tash Gomez is proud to be making her Cygnet Theatre debut in Dear Evan Hansen. She is a multifaceted, Latina artist who is deeply committed to fostering a community

that provokes meaningful dialogue on serious topics. Past Credits; Cakey/BabyBox Gabby’s Dollhouse Live! US National Tour, Joyce/Will OTC’s Stranger Sings, Lita/Angela TUYO Theatre’s La Llorona, Baby/Maria Blindspot Collective’s Another Day In Paradise, Lucha in La Lucha LJP WOW Festival. She would like to thank Blake for his endless mentorship and guidance, and her husband Fredy, for his love and support. <3 www.tashgomez.com IG: @sleepytash

Danny Holmes is a Los Angeles born actor and is ecstatic to be taking on the hilarious role of Jared. His credits include Next to Normal(Gabe), In Pieces (Grey), The Last Five Years (Jamie), Dead Moose (Job), Cabaret (Victor/Cliff u.s), Hamlet(Polonius/Osric), Love’s Labor’s Lost (Boyet). Holmes earned a B.A in Musical Theatre from San Diego State in 2025 and attended the NYC Open Jar Institute in 2023 where he worked closely with Broadway professionals including Susie Carol, Timothy Hughes, Brian Russel Carry, and Joanna Gleason. He is also a local Lighting Designer and works where he can to improve his production craft. An aspiring writer and producer, he works hard to be a ‘jack of many trades’ to continue to work in this beautiful and difficult industry. No one is alone.

David is so excited to go on another adventure with Cygnet and to be a part of such a wonderful musical theatre piece! Originally from Cheyenne, Wyoming, he holds a B.A. in Musical Theatre from the University of Northern Colorado and has performed in San Diego for over 25 years. Notable credits: Forever Plaid, Spamalot, A Little Night Music (Critics Circle Nom.), Les Misérables, Into the Woods, 1776, and many more with Cygnet, SDMT, Lamb’s Players, NVA, Off Broadway Live and others. He’s also the original voice of Shadow the Hedgehog for SEGA’s Sonic games. David has been an AEA member since 1998.

Sydney Joyner makes her debut at Cygnet after having last been seen in 70’s: The Golden Age of the Album with Lamb’s Players Theatre. Selected credits: R-E-S-P-E-C-T 2023 & 2024, Viola/Mrs. Brown in The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, Respectfully Christmas 2023 & 2024, (Lamb’s Players Theatre); Baker’s Wife in Into the Woods (New Village Arts); Joanie in The Full Monty (San Diego Musical Theater). See more at sydneyjoyner.com Sydney would like to thank the entire cast & crew, her parents, siblings, and all the loved ones in her life for their continued love and support!

Recent theatre credits: Eureka Day (Winter, Pasadena Playhouse), The Wedding Singer (Ensemble, U/S Holly; Colony Theatre), Into the Woods (Cinderella, Greenway Court), Shanghai’s World Emporium (Xiu-Ling, Ebell), White Christmas (Betty Haynes, Encore Theatre), Cinderella (Ensemble, U/S Ella; 5-Star), Lend Me A Tenor (Diana, ICT), and Frozen-Live at the Hyperion (Elsa, Ensemble; Disneyland). She is a proud graduate of UCLA’s Musical Theatre program and Brandman University’s MBA program. Much love to the cast, crew, production team, FSE Talent, and her family and friends for their endless support. @kailyn_leilani

Tyler Martinez is so thrilled to be making his Cygnet debut with this beautiful show. He’s currently at the University of California, San Diego, studying for a B. A in Theatre Arts. Select Credits include: Rent (New Village Arts), Merrily We Roll Along (SDMT), Julius Caesar, Gone Missing, She Loves Me, Nerve Endings (UCSD), Passion Play (UCSD Directing), A Funny Thing Happened…, Head Over Heels (Lincoln Theatre Guild). He dedicates this performance to his family, his mentor Lena Ceja, and his dear friend Ricky Lozano for constantly pushing him forward and supporting him. @tyla.martinez

Aiden Meyndert is a San Diego-based professional actor working across Southern California. Cygnet Debut! Regional Credits include Dive Bar Time Machine (Blindspot Collective), Hairspray (New Village Arts), Karaoke Dreams (La Jolla Playhouse WoW 2026), and Seussical (Valverde Stage). This summer, Aiden taught theatre at La Jolla Playhouse’s Conservatory for pre-professionals. B.A. Theatre, UC San Diego. Every day working in theatre is his dream come true. Immense gratitude to Blake and the Cygnet family, as well as to his family and friends.

Nathan Nonhof is originally from Holcomb, Kansas, and is now based in Southern California. He holds an MFA from the California Institute of the Arts. He is the recipient of the Craig Noel Award for his solo performance in Black Séance at the La Jolla Playhouse WOW Festival.

His stage credits include The 70’s: The Golden Age of the Album and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee(Lamb’s Players Theatre), Another Day in Paradise (Blindspot Collective), Richard III and The Tempest (Independent Shakespeare Co.), Julius Caesar (Warriors for Peace Theatre), and Almost Pretty (Vakarian Star Productions). Additional work includes Respectfully Christmas and the Hallmark Channel film Christmas Made to Order.

@nathannonhof

is honored to be a part of this beautiful production. Their previous San Diego credits include: Joanne in Rent with Diversionary Theatre, Celie in The Color Purple and Cece in The Apiary with New Village Arts, Young Phyllis in Follieswith Cygnet Theatre, Beth in Little Women and Squeeze in Our Dear Dead Drug Lord with Moxie Theatre, and as an U/S in The Untitled, Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson The Musical with La Jolla Playhouse. Their previous New York credits include: Nemasa/Reggie/Rainha in a staged reading of Motherloss with the Baryshnikov Arts Center. Their student credits include: Nemasa/Rainha in Motherloss with the Wagner New Play Festival. They are so incredibly grateful to their family and girlfriend for all of their support. You can find them on instagram @niohasafro.

Aya Sherian is thrilled to be making her Cygnet Theatre debut in Dear Evan Hansen! She just graduated with a Theatre Performance B.A from CSULB and is so grateful to be spending her days post-grad singing and dancing. Her past credits include Leta in The Pliant Girls, Lucinda in Into the Woods (MTW), Hope in Urinetown, and Yasmine in “Gutterpunks”. She sends her love and gratitude to her family and her wacky friends. “Say hello before bye-bye!”

Blake McCarty is a director, designer, and creative producer based in San Diego, where he serves as Executive Artistic Director of Blindspot Collective. This marks his sixteenth collaboration with Cygnet, and he’s grateful to be directing for the company for the first time. His work spans award-winning video designs, large-scale immersive projects, original musicals, devised theatre, and documentary plays developed or commissioned by The Old Globe, La Jolla Playhouse, California Center for the Arts, New Village Arts, UC San Diego, and New York University, among others. Upcoming: Into the Woods at Coronado Playhouse and Les Misérables at Canyon Crest Academy. www.blakemccarty.com

A lifelong San Diegan, Theresa Bendorf has built a career spanning more than 25 years as an internationally performing dancer, choreographer, director, creative producer and arts educator. After owning and directing Mystic Dance San Diego for 10 successful years, she joined SeaWorld San Diego as an Entertainment Producer, leading creative development for full-park experiences across all three parks, including the acclaimed Inside Look event, signature seasonal celebrations and high-profile productions. Passionate about developing the next generation of theatre artists, Theresa has worked with students through San Diego Junior Theatre, Mater Dei Catholic, Canyon Crest Academy and the CVE, Sweetwater and San Dieguito Union High School districts. Her choreography credits include SIX, The Prom, The Addams Family, West Side Story, Disney’s The Lion King & Finding Nemo, Mamma Mia!, and Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. Theresa is honored to join Cygnet Theatre as choreographer for Dear Evan Hansen.

Caroline Andrew is a lighting designer and theatre consultant with over 15 years of experience in theatre and live events, and over 5 years of lighting design for themed entertainment. Caroline has worked as lighting and projections designer and associate designer throughout the United States and internationally. They have worked in theatre, live events, dance, and opera at a multitude of venues, including the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Princess Cruise Lines, BlizzCon, Comic-Con, The Old Globe, Cygnet Theatre, and numerous others. They have additionally been a guest lecturer and mentor at San Diego State University, Mesa College, and with various non-profit educational organizations.

Dear Evan Hansen marks Ginger’s debut production with Cygnet Theatre!  She has designed audio for more than 15 years, and lighting for almost as long, for The Tenth Avenue Theater, On Stage Playhouse, and The Rosin Box Project, to name a few. When not obsessively listening to the same song over and over to try to tweak that one sound, she will be found writing software, fixing computers (probably right after breaking them) or reading her 56th book this year. She greatly appreciates the opportunity Blake, Eric, and Craig have given her, to work with this fantastic crew!

Sierra is a lighting and video designer excited to be designing at Cygnet for the first time. You may have seen their work around town at Moxie (Lighting Designer for Pleasure Trials, Co-Lighting Designer for Cry It Out), Diversionary (Projections Designer for TL;DR:Thelma Louise; Dyke Remix,Co-Projections Designer for Manifest Pussy) or with the Blindspot Collective (Lighting Designer for Karaoke Dreams and Another Day in Paradise). www.sierradesigns.co

Theatre credits include: Cygnet Theatre: Angels in America, Parts I & II; North Coast Rep & Laguna Playhouse: A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder; San Diego Rep: A Doll’s House, Part 2, Fun Home, Detroit. La Jolla Playhouse: The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical (sub ASM), Kill Local, WithOut Walls Festival 2017, Tiger Style!, Kingdom City, El Henry (w/ San Diego Rep), His Girl Friday, Hands on a Hardbody. The Old Globe: Power New Voices Festival, Picasso at the Lapin Agile (sub ASM), Sense and Sensibility, The Metromaniacs (sub ASM), Arms and the Man. Production Coordinator: San Diego Theatres. Other credits: Spoleto Festival USA, La Jolla Music Society, San Diego Symphony, San Diego Opera, Pointeworks, San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus. M.F.A., Stage Management: UC San Diego. Proud member: AEA, IATSE 122.

Ali Flores is honored to be part of Dear Evan Hansen, which marks her first show at Cygnet as a Resident Artist! She has been stage managing in San Diego since 2018 and joined AEA in 2025. Ali also creates stage manager content on her social media platforms. Cygnet credits: The Lehman Trilogy (PSM), Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812, Oklahoma!, Follies, A Christmas Carol (ASM), Evita (PA). Other credits: The Play That Goes Wrong (Lamb’s Players Theatre – PSM cover), Latinx Play Festival 2025 and DNA New Works Festival 2026 (La Jolla Playhouse – SM), What The Constitution Means To Me (North Coast Rep – PA), Stranger Sings!: A Parody Musical (Oceanside Theatre Company – PSM), The Ferryman (New Village Arts – ASM), Sesame Street shows (SeaWorld San Diego – SM). Thank you to mom, dad, Bridget, and Cadyn for your constant love and support. Enjoy the show! @stagemanager1618

Karina Ortega is a Hispanic Artist and stage manager from Anthony, New Mexico. Recent credits include Follies (Cygnet Theatre); Bartleby, Powers New Voices Festival, and Summer Shakespeare Studio (The Old Globe); DNA, LatinX New Play Festival, and Is It Thursday Yet? (La Jolla Playhouse). Other credits include productions with El Paso Opera and live events with Show Imaging throughout San Diego County. Karina holds an MFA in Stage Management from UC San Diego.

Kandace Crystal is thrilled to be back at Cygnet and working with Blake! Kandace is a multi-hyphenate theatre maker with a BFA in Acting from Florida State University and a Teaching Artist at Intimacy Directors and Coordinators, Inc.  Select intimacy credits include: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (The Old Globe), Ripped (Loud Fridge Theatre Group), and Dog Sees God (USD).  She hopes to continue advocating for safe spaces and reducing harm in our industry.  Feel free to keep up with her journey on social media, @KandaceCrystal on all platforms.

Dacara Seward is a mental health professional and performer based in San Diego. Holding a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology and more than a decade of experience in counseling, group facilitation, and community mental health, she brings a trauma-informed lens to the creative process. While this production marks her first role as a mental health consultant for theater, her experience as an active performer provides valuable insight into the emotional demands of storytelling. By combining clinical knowledge with firsthand stage experience, Dacara supports the creative team and cast in fostering a respectful, emotionally safe environment while approaching challenging material with care, sensitivity, and authenticity.