COLLABORATORS

Lead Organizer/Choreographer/Dancer A
JACE PASTRAS

Stage Manager
LUZ de VENUS ULLOA

Artistic Visualizer/Sound Op
ANGELY MELENDEZ

Photographer
JET VERELLO

Facilitator
COCO KUEBLER

Dancer B
ARMANI-TÍAGO ESTRADA

Producing Team/
coLAB Arts

Producing Director, Co-Producer
DAN SWERN

Director of Education, Co-Producer
JOHN KELLER

General Manager
JEFF KEY

Producing Associate
VICTORIA MASTELLER

Digital Archivist and Research Associate
DR. ADDIE GORDON

Community Organizer
YEIMY GAMEZ CASTILLO

COLLABORATOR bios

Jace Pastras

Jace Pastras (Lead Organizer/ Choreographer /Dancer A) is a multidisciplinary artist who is interested in art's power to heal and cultivate community. He has had the honor of co-creating in coLAB Arts' annual TrueSelves project for the past two years. He will complete a BFA in Acting from Montclair State University with a minor in creative writing in December 2024, where he recently played Mr. Bingley in Kate Hamill's adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. In addition to his acting training, he is a theatrical director and choreographer. He made his professional directorial debut this spring with a production of The Last Five Years at Blue Fire Theatricals, a Bergen County-based theater company. He is looking forward to the projects and collaborations to come post-graduation. @jaceeepastras

Jet Verello

Jet Verello (They/them) Hello I am Jet! I am an artist of many forms, though since being gifted my first film camera five years ago, i’ve fallen in love with and have become increasingly more dedicated to, the medium of film photography and developing. Since high school my focus had been in video and media production, but there was always the itch to explore my creativity through the still image. I had the intention to start my education in photography during my final year at Brookdale Community College. Sadly, that hands-on learning was interrupted by quarantine. Therefore, i was left to online notes and my own devices to grow my knowledge and experience with photography. Now, four years later, I am proud to call myself a photographer. This exhibition is the first public display of my work. I hope everyone can cherish and connect with it in their own unique way. @jv.mov

Coco Kuebler

Coco Kuebler (they/she) (Facilitator) is a case manager for people with a substance use history who are returning to the community after state-level incarceration; a volunteer at the Pride Center of New Jersey in the board-level role of Community Outreach Coordinator and Organizer; serves on Community Advisory Boards for organizations such as Rutgers Center of Alcohol & Substance Use Studies and Prevention Links' Vision of Hope Recovery Center; and is in their last semester of graduate studies for their dual degree Master's in Social Work and Master's in Public Health. When she is not skateboarding or spending time with loved ones, she is in the middle of a semi-abstract painting and producing gradually more danceable electronic music for her next album. @co.knew1

Luz de Venus Ulloa

Luz de Venus Ulloa is honored to be a part of this play for the 4th year in a row. A previous Rutgers student, Luz is now working on both her HIV Counselor and tester certifications as well as a yoga teacher one. You can try to catch a glimpse of her when she’s riding scooters through New Brunswick, Newark, and Highland Park. She’s thankful to the coLAB Arts team, especially John and Victoria and her dear friends Jace Pastras and Coco Kuebbler.

Angely Melendez

Angely Melendez (Artistic Visualizer/Sound Op) Hi! My name is Angely Melendez, I am an artist, environmentalist, and queer community leader. After graduating from Rutgers in the winter of 2020 with a degree in Environmental Policy, Institutions, and Behaviors I began my professional career at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. After 3 years, I left to join the Green Acres Program at the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. All the while, I had the privilege to help cultivate a DIY Drag Collective called La Gatita while also creating a trans support group called Trans Blessed, helping cultivate a safe haven for the queer folx of Central Jersey. Last year, the coLAB Arts' annual TrueSelves project helped create a documentary on La Gatita and its impact on the local community. I'm honored to have been asked to help in this year's project, especially considering that it has coincided with my top surgery. I was already planning to document my progress, but this project has allowed me to expand and explore other people's journeys as well. I am incredibly proud of this project and hope that all who bear witness to our art will leave with something special in their hearts. @angelymustdie

Armani-Tíago Estrada

Armani-Tíago Estrada (Dancer B) is a montclair state student learning to have a fonder understanding on creepy, squishy thingies inside curious bodies within the field of molecular biology. Much prior to his current sophomore year of university, he’s always shared a love towards arts & genderqueer expression as much as the mathematical expressions he continues to struggle with. You’ll likely find him struggling to do their own drag makeup outside of the semester. They are looking forward to being such a wonderful part of this project and process as much as seeing the team.  @armaniti_ago

This project is a partnership between coLAB Arts and the Pride Center of NJ. Grant funding has been provided by the Middlesex County Board of County Commissioners through a grant award from the Middlesex County Cultural and Arts Trust Fund.

Please join us for our next production, El Vestido de Cristal, the premiere production from coLAB Arts’ Spanish-language theater company, Teatro Esperanza. Performances are Friday, December 20 at 7pm, and Saturday, December 21 at 2pm and 7pm. Registration is free.