About

Our Mission

The Tallahassee Hispanic Theater’s mission is to present contemporary Hispanic theater productions for the cultural education and enrichment of the of the community while building cross-cultural awareness.

Our Board

Elizabeth Rici

Elizabeth Ricci- outside managing Rambana and Ricci, Immigration Attorneys and acting in court, serves on the Holocaust Education Resource Council and Capital City Chamber of Commerce, is a Girl Scout volunteer, throws murder mystery parties, writes, travels and enjoys photography. She has acted with Jane Fonda and Rosie Perez and is a former member of COCA.

 

Beth Blair (Secretary)

Beth Blair earned a BA in Speech and English from Muskingum College in Ohio and an MS in Education (with an emphasis on the disadvantaged) from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She is retired from a career in public relations and fundraising for both the educational and medical non-profit sectors. Along the way, she indulged her passion for performing in professional and community theater productions. A highlight was her performance as Marie Curie in a full-length play she wrote, “Marie Curie: My Nobel Destiny.”

Curt Blair (Treasurer)

Curt Blair most recently served as administrative director of the Franklin County Tourist Development Council, a post he held from 2007 to 2018. He serves on the Visit Florida Industry Relations Committee, Tallahassee Hispanic Theater Board of Directors and Board of the Tallahassee Council on Culture and Arts (COCA). He is a consultant with the Apalachee Regional Planning Council in the development of a US Highway 98 Corridor “Old Florida Coastal Trail”. He is a graduate of Florida International University.

He is a former Monroe County Commissioner during which time he sponsored both the Monroe County Tourist Development Council and Monroe County Fine Arts Council. His professional career includes hotel and restaurant construction and management, governmental consulting with specialties in health care and local government and management of a number of community organizations.

Curt and his wife Beth enthusiastically support a variety of art related activities and organizations in the community. He is a founding patron of the “Great American Plein Air Paint Out” an annual event in Franklin and Gulf Counties. Both he and Beth have performed in a number of theatrical productions over the years and are major supporters of Southern Shakespeare. Their joint passions are family, art collection, travel, theater, and the Boston Red Sox.

Juan Carlos Galeano

  Juan Carlos Galeano was born in the Amazon region of Colombia. He is the author of Baraja Inicial(poetry, 1986), Pollen and Rifles (1997) a book on the poetry of violence, and Amazonia (poetry, 2003), Sobre las cosas (poetry, 2010), and Amazonia y otros poemas (poetry, 2011), and Historias del viento(poetry, 2013). He teaches Latin American poetry and cultures of the Amazon basin at Florida State University.

 

Mike Herrin

  Mike has been a performer with several local stage companies including Canopy Roads Theater Company, Theater with a Mission, and Opera House Stage Company. Currently, he is the Executive Director of the Monticello Opera House.

 

 

Marcy Palmer

  Originally from Falls Church, VA, Marcy has appeared in Steel Magnolias, Sylvia, Sin, Sex and the CIA, Prisoner of 2nd Avenue at Monticello Opera House and Three Tall Women, The Boys Next Door, The Bad Seed, Witness for the Prosecution, Frankenstein, A Christmas Carol, La Cage Aux Folles and Harvey at Theatre Tallahassee. In addition to working with other local stage companies, including Theater with a Mission and Tallahassee Hispanic Theatre, she has filled lead and supporting roles in over 50 FSU and other independent film projects.

Sonia Mcnelis, MD

  Sonia Mcnelis inherited the love for an eclectic life from a long line of artistic women, who defied their time and social customs. Sonia began performing theater in high school. Her artistic career continued through medical school exploring street theater (teatro callejero) performing in trains and plazas in Helsinki, Rome and Bogota. Since 1988, she has combined the practice of medicine, public health, and plastic arts as means to heal displaced groups. Currently, she explores historical, political and community theater, and enjoys writing poetry.

Alejandra Gutiérrez (President)

  Alejandra has a PhD in Spanish. She also studied theater in Venezuela, and while going to graduate school, she was a member of the Spanish Theater Group at the University of Virginia. Since she moved to Tallahassee, she’s being working with Theater with a Mission, and recently with Polyphonic Bonsai. With Tallahassee Hispanic Theater she is turning one of her dreams into reality: creating a Hispanic Theater group in the US.

 

Anita Miller 

  Anita is a bilingual actress of Colombian heritage who grew up in Panama, where she was active in theater. She studied acting at Northwestern University and appeared in The Romancers (Sylvette) at the Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago. She does bilingual commercials and voiceovers, and enjoys collaborating on films with the students at the FSU College of Motion Picture Arts. Anita is thrilled to be part of the Tallahassee Hispanic Theater presenting contemporary Hispanic theater to the community!

 

Kevin Carr

Kevin Carr has been involved with the Tallahassee Hispanic Theater since its founding as an actor, director, or volunteer. Kevin has been very involved in the Tallahassee theater community for many years. He founded the Canopy Roads Theater Company where he produced and directed shows such as Raisin in the Sun, To Kill a Mockingbird, as well as regional premieres of  Anne and Emmett and Zelda at the Oasis. He helped to organize and relaunch the Southern Shakespeare Company and its education programs, and served as a Board member for the Monticello Opera House for many years. For the Tallahassee Hispanic Theater, he directed productions of Anna in the Tropics and Navigators and has acted or directed as a part of several microtheater festivals. Kevin is currently a faculty member at the University of Texas at Arlington.