Meet The Ensemble

R. Réal Vargas Alanis (They/Them | inde/ima | Elle/Elles) is a world-renowned, 2-Spirit, interdisciplinary artist from Winton, CA (Yokut) and Sahuayo, Michoacán, México. They are a co-founder and Core Leader of IN THE MARGIN, an Arts and Service organization uplifting intersectional QT,BIPOC voices through artistic mediums centering social justice. Réal's work has garnered recognition by Broadway Licensing, Candela Summer Playwright Fellowship, the Kennedy Center, Center for Cultural Power, the National New Play Network, EDM Maniac's Maniac Academy, and as a finalist for the Drama League's Beatrice Terry Playwright-Directing Residency and Alicia Keys’ Hell’s Kitchen Directing Fellowship on Broadway, among others. Réal is an award winning stage director, published playwright, member of the Dramatists Guild, and serves as a casting director, wedding officiant, and co-owner of Sexii Tacos. 

Elio Amador (he/they) is queer, trans, and disabled Chicane theatre artist based in the Bay Area. He is currently an ensemble member for Alternative Theater Ensemble, and officially began working with ATE in 2024. They have had one-act plays produced by The Pear Theatre and The Empty Space. He’s been seen as an actor at Center Repertory Theatre, Theatre Rhinoceros, Play Cafe, NCTC YouthAware, and more. They have also directed for Chanticleers Theatre and for Playground SF’s Monday Night Playground after doing a directing apprenticeship with the latter.

Eric Avery is Black queer interdisciplinary artist and cultural organizer with over fifteen years of professional experience in theatre, interactive performance, and community-based art. This dedication to relationship-centered process has put Avery in collaboration with partners at non-profit organizations, municipalities, social service agencies, universities, farms, community centers, prisons, art galleries, and private homes. In addition to collaborations, Avery has independently created and produced over 25 original productions. They earned a Bachelor's in Theatre & Film from the University of Kansas and an MFA in Theatre Arts from Towson University. Awards and honors include: Bessie Award (Outstanding Visual Design), Lavender Magazine Best of List (Outstanding Performance), Elliot Norton Award (Outstanding Design), Zellerbach: Community Arts, Dresher Ensemble Artist Residency, MAP Grant, East Bay Fund for Artists, and TBA: CA$H grant.

Diana Burbano was named as part of the Los Angeles Times' “La Vanguardia” 2022. Diana is a resident artist at Center Theatre Group, The Latino Theatre Company, and Breath of Fire Latina Ensemble. Diana’s play Ghosts of Bogotá premiered at ATE in 2020, just before the pandemic shut down. Fabulous Monsters, a Latinx Punk Rock play, premiered at The Public Theatre of San Antonio, featuring the music of FEA in 2023. She has commissions with Center Theatre Group, Artists Repertory Theatre, and Livermore Shakespeare Festival. Residencies include Marfa Live Arts, Workshop Theatre Lab at Echo Theatre, and the Mercury Company for Artists Repertory. Diana has been awarded the Advance Gender Equity in the Arts Grant 2022, the Bay Area Rella Lossy Award, the Long Beach Arts Council Professional Artist Grant 2019, 2020, and was a 2021 Jane Chambers Awardee for excellence in Feminist Playwriting. She represents Southern California on the Dramatists Guild council. www.dianaburbano.com 

Tanis Parenteau is an actor/producer and member of the Métis Nation of Alberta of Cree descent. She joined ATE in 2021 as the Tribal Liaison/Outreach Coordinator. Tanis is on the SAG-AFTRA National Native Americans Committee and is also a casting associate at tbd casting co in NYC. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Acting from The New School for Drama. www.tanisparenteau.com.

Emily Preis (she/her) is a proud citizen of the Osage Nation and a New York City-based performer and collaborator. Alternately performing and working administratively for theaters, her work deals with dreams and circles, relationality - and jokes, of course! Emily is lucky to have collaborated with some really awesome folks, including: Eric Avery, Siobhan Brown, Elizabeth Cook, Sabine Decatur, Madeline Easely, Imani Guy Duckett, Miranda Hall Jiménez, Daniel Leeman Smith, Madison Mayer, Calliope Pina Parker, Mauricio Salgado, Madeline Sayet, Andrina Smith, Henu Josephine Tarrant, Drew Woodson, AlterTheater, Groundwater Arts, New Native Theatre, Perseverance Theatre, Safe Harbors NYC ensemble, and more. She was a finalist for YIPAP’s inaugural Misty Upham Award and a 2023 Greenhouse Playwriting Resident at SPACE on Ryder Farm with Deborah Cowell, storäe michele, Najee Omar, and Maleek Rae.

Leah Sanginiti (she/her) is a multiracial interdisciplinary artist from Oakland, California, whose work centers accessible strategies for creativity and trust in our capacity as agents for change. Leah specializes in script development and storytelling with youth and non-theatre practitioners, and her original works and workshops have been produced throughout the United States and Asia. She currently partners with Berkeley Repertory Theatre and Alternative Theater Ensemble to train educators and community members in belonging and consent-affirming strategies in theatre, art, and everyday life. As a performer, Leah has worked with theatres around the U.S., including Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Davis Shakespeare Festival, and Golden Thread Productions, and has toured globally with Bay Area Children’s Theatre and Bri Reads. Her upcoming immersive theatre project, When They Ask If We Were Real, explores intercultural and intergenerational stories of resistance from Indonesia, Taiwan, Bulgaria, and the U.S., and will be produced by ATE in 2026. leahsanginiti.com IG: chleah

Zoë Aiko Sonnenberg (she/her) is a writer, dramaturg, and educator. She joined ATE in 2022 and, as an ensemble member, has worked on several projects as a producer, dramaturg, and communications leader. Zoë has worked with numerous major production companies and performing arts organizations in New York, Los Angeles, Boston, and the Bay Area, and she is dedicated to the development of new work for stage and screen. Zoë earned her B.A. in English with a minor in Theater and Performance Studies from Stanford University and her M.Litt. in Playwriting and Dramaturgy from the University of Glasgow. She is currently pursuing her M.S.W. at San Jose State University, where she is studying narrative performance as a tool for social justice. zoeaiko.com