The Hollywood Fringe is about democratizing theatre and making theatre creation more diverse, and the Access Advisory Board works to create space where that can come to fruition. This happens by making recommendations to the organization and community at large, spearheading programming, and engaging the community in dialogue around equity and inclusion. Work that has come out of these meetings is a 5-year accessibility plan, a 2-year awards equity plan, and more. The Access Advisory Board also holds open forums for the Fringe community to come together and address issues that may come up within the festival scope and the theatre community at large.
Interested in joining the Access Advisory Board? We review applications on a rolling basis and would love to hear from you! Click here to apply!
Founding members of our Access Advisory Board: Ella Turenne, Matthew Robinson, Michelle Roshanzamir, Natasha Lewin, Peerada Meemalayath, Royce Shockley, Rufino Romero, Spencer Frankeberger
Ruby Marez is not just a triple threat, but a quintuple threat as a comedian, drag performer, actor, writer, and first-generation Latina! Her solo show “The Ramón Show: Spiritual Cheerleading 101” featuring her drag king Ramón has garnered critical acclaim and won multiple awards at the Hollywood Fringe Festival in 2022, including “Best Immersive and Games Show,” “Pick of The Fringe,” and a “Producers Encore Award.” Ruby currently tours this award-winning show to colleges, theaters, and various venues across the United States. And when she’s not entertaining audiences with her solo show, she’s bringing her drag king Ramón, to festivals, comedy shows, and immersive, interactive events. Ruby is also a multi-talented writer, co-writing the original comedic pilot “Year Zero,” which was an I.F.P. finalist, (now known as The Gotham Awards) and went into development in 2018. Ruby’s acting skills have not gone unnoticed either, winning Best Actress for the short film “Corações em Fogo” at the Culture and Diversity Film Festival in 2019. Her sketch comedy duo, Arroz Con Pho, has performed at Second City L.A., in the Los Angeles Diversity in Comedy Fest, and most recently to a sold-out house at S.F.’s Sketchfest in 2023! Ruby’s creative endeavors span beyond the entertainment industry. She’s also a published writer, with her essay on growing up as both Puerto Rican and Jewish in the Midwest featured in the book “What We Brought Back: Jewish Life After Birthright-Reflections by Alumni of Taglit-Birthright Israel Trips.” Check out Ruby’s and Ramón’s upcoming shows and videos on their websites: www.theramonshow.com, www.rubymarez.com And Follow Ruby and Ramón on IG: @ramonlovesyou & @queenrubes
Diana Elizabeth Jordan is an Award-Winning Actor, Solo Artist, Theater & Filmmaker, Disability & IDEA Influencer and founder & Chief Creative Artivist Of The Rainbow Butterfly Café. She has been cast in over 60 theater productions, film and television including CBS’s S.W.A.T. She was one of 20 actors selected from over 7,000 applicants for the inaugural Warner Media Discovery Access Talent Showcase. She performed her solo show Happily Ever After (One Woman’s Journey To Find A True Love) at the 2021 Hollywood Fringe where she received a diversity scholarship, Pick of The Fringe and an Encore Producers Award honors. She is an award nominated director, a producer, the founder of two production companies Dreaming Big On A Swing Entertainment and The Rainbow Butterfly Café. Diana is a member of SAG-AFTRA and Actors Equity Association and one of the disabled advocates for Women of Color Unite and serves on The Hollywood Fringe Diversity Committee. Whether portraying a character, sharing a personal story, directing, or producing a project, Diana is committed to celebrating the power of resiliency and disability intersectionality through the transformative power of storytelling. www.dianaelizabethjordan.com @fromtheheartdej on twitter, tiktok and Instagram
Ana Karina Cano Actress, producer, and dancer, Ana Karina Cano is originally from Chihuahua, Mexico. With a diverse background in performance and production, she has studied classical theater, acting, and improvisation at various art schools in Mexico and France. She further honed her craft in direction, screenwriting, and production at Vancouver Film School in Canada. Ana also trained in acting and audiovisual expression at UC3M in Madrid and at prestigious institutions in New York City, including HB Studio, T. Schreiber Studio, and The Acting Studio, as well as at the New York Film Academy in Los Angeles. Ana Karina is quickly emerging as a prominent figure in the entertainment industry, recently winning the 2025 Tec Woman Award in Mexico, recognizing her contributions and trajectory in the industry. Alongside Taylor Bazos, Ana co-founded MultilinguArt, a creative production company dedicated to producing multilingual and multicultural projects. Using her expertise as an actress and dancer, she brings captivating stories to life on stage and screen. The company’s standout production, Baby Rock, wowed audiences at the Hollywood Fringe Festival and received praise at the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. MultilinguArt also amplifies underrepresented voices through its educational programs, workshops, and productions across Los Angeles and Mexico, bridging cultural divides with compelling storytelling.
Jon Gentry is, in the words of one Hollywood agent, an “overeducated” actor. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, he received his BA in English from Harvard where he served as President of BlackCAST (Community and Student Theater).He holds his MFA in Acting from the American Conservatory Theater. As a teaching artist, he co-directed an original production of “Child Life” in collaboration with the UCSF Children’s Hospital and led a series of acting workshops with community centers throughout the Bay Area. He is currently on the acting faculty at the Los Angeles Performing Arts Conservatory where he specializes in teaching the Michael Chekhov Acting Technique.Regional theater credits include Clybourne Park, Marcus; or, the Secret of Sweet, A Christmas Carol (A.C.T.), Romeo and Juliet, All’s Well That Ends Well (Shakespeare Santa Cruz) and Trouble in Mind (Aurora Theater Company). TV/Film: Meeting Matt Damon, Outlaw Empires (Discovery), Griot’s Lament, Fishers of Men, Zero Sight: Bad Call. Most infamously, he voiced Fallout 4’s ‘Preston Garvey,’ going viral for iconic lines and winning the hearts of fans worldwide.
TL Forsberg is an internationally celebrated singer & performer in the Deaf Culture, American Cultural Ambassador on Disability, award-winning playwright, Theatrical ASL Interpreter, and trauma-informed Speaker & Coach. Renowned as “The Deaf Lady Gaga,” her life story is featured in the award-winning documentary, ”See What I’m Saying: The Deaf Entertainers Documentary.” She plays Olivia on ABC’ Disney’s “Switched at Birth,” and the band’s rock star stylist in VH1’s Reality TV Rock Star Series, “SuperGroup.” As a musician, she opened for Alanis Morissette & Tori Amos, Fishbone and Esthero and wrote the theme song, “Deaf"initely for Miss Deaf International. Her critically acclaimed, award-winning solo show, “The Book That Won’t Close-Confessions of a Love Addict,” celebrates diversity within the d/Deaf Culture, won an Encore Awards at The Binge Fringe Festival, Whitefire’s SoloFest two years in a row, a diversity scholarship in the 2021 Hollywood Fringe where it was nominated"Top of The Fringe", won “Best of Broadwater’s,” (Producers Encore Award) and “Namba Arts Solo Splash Award" for cultural education and female empowerment.
TL mentors artists to reclaim their stories, embrace their voices, and live with authentic integration. For more information on her Theatrical ASL Interpreting and embodiment coaching for actors please visit www.tlforsberg.com
Matthew S. Robinson* is a playwright and director who has made several Fringe shows including “Olivia Wilde Does Not Survive The Apocalypse”, “BlackBalled” and “Mary’s Medicine.” A member of the Fringe Access Committee and Scholarship Panel, he is committed to fostering more inclusion and access to the performing arts throughout the Los Angeles area. www.matthewsrobinson.com
Spencer Frankeberger is an award-winning Greek-American actor, director and producer, and an improviser. He is a graduate of iO West, Second City Hollywood, UCB, and ComedySportz LA. Recent credits include: Impro Theatre (Summer Camp, Process, & Book It!), Late Night with Chucky (Host/Comic swing) at Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood, and Squeaky the Rat and The Infinite Husk (premiering at SXSW in 2025). He is also a board-certified music therapist with 15 years of classroom management experience and a tour guide on the World-Famous Studio Tour at Universal Studios Hollywood. He has an MFA in Film Production from Florida State University and is the commissioner of a couple Fantasy Football leagues. Hollywood Fringe Festival credits include: Coasterthon Catastrophe: An Amusement Park Musical (Winner: Trope Buster Award; Winner: Encore Producer’s Award; Nominee: Sustainability Award), Gunfight at the Not-So-OK Saloon, Jamba Juice: The Musical (Winner: Encore Producer’s Award – sold out run), and Wounded, by Jiggs Burgess (Director; Pick of the Fringe; Off-Broadway run). He is a huge theme park enthusiast with a theme park podcast called Theoretical Thrills (IG/TikTok: @spencer101f; www.spencerfrankeberger.com)
Michelle Roshanzamir* is the Executive Director of Donna Sternberg & Dancers and Founder/Consultant at MVR Creative. Receiving her BFA from CalArts, and MBA (and minor in Theatre/Arts Management) from CSULB. The work she does centers around helping creators, entrepreneurs, and nonprofit leaders bridge the gap between the vision of what they want to do with the business side to actually make it happen. She helps leaders develop the business strategy; develop and run programs and events; develop systems and operations; and create a plan of action so you can remove the stress, increase revenue, and bring your vision to life.
Kevin Neighbors I am a theatre and film artist. As an actor and writer I have produced a solo show titled. VERSATILE: stories from inside the closet of a half black gay man. Premiered at the White Fire’s Black Voices Theatre Festival. I have also written a one act play White Room and comedy vignette series, Things White People Say, hosted at the Sacramento B Street Theatre.
Natasha Mercado is a performer, writer, and director whose work lives where vulnerability and absurdity meet. A first-generation mixed-Latina artist, she creates worlds that are intimate, strange, and unapologetically alive.
Her work centers the intelligence of the body and the audience relationship, building comedy through presence and invitation. David Shiner, co-creator of Cirque du Soleil, once called her “fearless and completely out of her mind.”
Natasha’s practice spans solo performance, immersive theater, and film. Her award-winning solo works Tree and #1 Son have toured internationally from Hollywood to the Edinburgh Fringe, earning sold-out runs, critical acclaim, and extensive recognition. Across her work as a performer and director, she has received over 50 award nominations, winning more than half.
On screen, Natasha has appeared on HBO, Adult Swim, Broadway Video and TBS, and was named an Emerging Content Creator by the National Association of Latino Independent Producers.
Natasha is the creator of Soft Clown, a performance philosophy that treats sensitivity as a strength and pleasure as a compositional tool. As a director and teacher, she leads workshops in the U.S. and internationally, working both in-person and virtually with artists across borders.
In 2026, she created Soft Clown Fest at the historic Lyric Hyperion Theater, transforming the venue into four simultaneous performance environments featuring up-close clowning and unconventional staging with over 60 performances throughout the day. The festival marked a significant expansion of her site-responsive, immersive practice and her interest in intimacy, technology, and audience proximity.
Across mediums, her work asks a persistent question: How do we stay soft in a world that asks us to harden?
Samantha Bowling is a mixed (Cherokee, Powhatan desc.) writer/comedian and actress based in LA but originally from the land of Goetta and Skyline chili, Cincinnati OH (Miami and Shawnee territory). Her one woman show “This Was Never Supposed To Be A One Woman Show (A One Woman Show)” premiered in 2023 to sold out audiences and critical acclaim at the Hollywood Fringe Festival where she won The Producers Encore Award, as well as several nominations including Best Solo Performance, The Cultural Envoy Award and Best Immersive Show. Her second solo show Missions won The Eastwood Revival Encore Award. Her writing credits include the zombie apocalypse comedy feature Zombesties, the existential queer black comedy pilot The Damned, the Dark comedy pilot The Deathwishlist, part of the narrative video game Life Is Strange Double Exposure, and several tv shows currently in development. Her acting credits include Life Is Strange (Double Exposure), “Tomb Invader” on Syfy, “Blood Brother” on Amazon, “Back to Awesome” on Apple TV. In her spare time she swims, plays banjo and practices yoga. She has a thicc ass, a big heart, and a very good pit-bull mix, Bowie. She is repped by FRP Talent.
Mayuri Bhandari is an Actress, Dancer, Figure Skater, and Yoga Professor. Performing in both Bollywood and Hollywood industries; she is the first South Asian figure skater to showcase figure skating on Indian National Television and is a National figure skating champion. She has worked with Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, and Hrithik Roshan. Her short film BINDI received recognition at film festivals in Athens, Berlin, Seattle, and Los Angeles. Mayuri’s work was recently featured at the United Nations Women’s Event in Los Angeles. She has appeared in popular Indian TV shows like “Dare 2 Dance” (Indian SYTYCD). She has starred in film and television shows such as Lincoln Lawyer (Netflix), Dave (FX/Hulu), Rebel (ABC), Nightingale (Prime), 911: Lone Star (FOX), and Dare 2 Dance/Just Dance (Star Plus). Her voiceover work includes Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony), Ms. Marvel (Disney), Shantaram (Apple), Netflix, and many audiobooks (Penguin Random House). She has also done several theater productions- starring as the lead in Clown Bar at the Hudson Theater and AA Sketch at the Ruskin Theater Co. in Los Angeles. Mayuri fuses her art with activism; she is an advocate for women’s empowerment, indigenous rights, and environmental activism. She’s a yoga and dance professor at Loyola Marymount University.
Chris Grace I’m a gay Asian comedian and actor that loves scallion pancakes. I believe in joy, learning, connection, and truth.
Yousaf Sajid is a writer, actor, and storyteller featured on The Moth Mainstage and in his solo show, Natural Born Citizen, at the 2025 Hollywood Fringe Festival. He has produced and starred in comedy shows at UCB Theatre and The Groundlings and performs sketch comedy with the Los Angeles indie sketch team Paperback. His writing explores the humor, tension, and tenderness of being first-generation, Southern, and Muslim. After starting his career in the nonprofit sector supporting families in Central Virginia, he moved into the arts and marketing. Yousaf holds a bachelor’s degree and an MBA from the University of Virginia. Catch him on social @heyitsyousaf.
Diana Romero: After initially supporting at-risk youth in Hollywood as a social worker, Diana embarked on a journey to write and produce film and television. Her firsthand encounters with incarcerated, runaway, and homeless adolescents fueled her passion for social justice. This commitment led her to create the impactful and award-winning film, Niña Quebrada, which dives into the realities of sex trafficking. Finding herself reliant on a wheelchair in 2018, Diana remained committed to her pursuit of creative expression as a writer. Transitioning into TV writing, she contributed to projects like CW’s 4400 and Freeform’s Good Trouble. She also wrote episodes for Terry Thoren’s (Rugrats) web series, My Life is Worth Living. With a BA in social work from Whittier College and an MFA from the American Film Institute, Diana has continued learning her craft through various fellowships, including the PGA's Power of Diversity Master Workshop, The Disruptors, Disability Belongs Mid-Career Lab, and as a semi-finalist for the Disney Writing Program, demonstrating her commitment to her art and chosen profession. Diana is a recipient of the Hollywood Fringe Festival Scholarship, where she premiered her solo show, Me, Myself and Other in June, 2025. Beyond her career, Diana finds joy in life with her partner, her dogs, swimming, writing and comedy.
Aerrol Ampeloquio (air-roll amp-el-oh-kyu) is a Los Angeles-based producer, writer, and film programmer. Aerrol was a recipient of the 2024 I See You Film Programming Fellowship and 2024-2025 Woods Hole Film Festival Programming Fellowship. They are also a recipient of the 2025 Hollywood Fringe Festival Scholarship producing a musical called “Katotohanan” that is inspired by the Lumad community.
Since 2020, Aerrol has amassed several skills and experiences on set as a videographer working with distinctive peoples and organizations like the American Health Association, Executive Producer Pookey Wiggington, comedian Russell Peters, and punk band The Tarrys. They also started producing during this time including projects for Korean-American pop group Coffeecats, Filipino-American band ZOS!MO, and the 6-episode web series “POST”. One of their producorial concerns is creating safe and healthy working environments on set. They currently serve on the 45th screening committee for the Hawai’i International Film Festival. They are also a proud member of Malaya Movement in their Los Angeles chapter serving as their membership officer, an organization created in response to the worsening human rights conditions in the Philippines, and the Programmers of Colour Collective, a collective of BIPOC film programmers from around the world. Aerrol aims to share diverse and inclusive stories from marginalized voices while providing a platform for their narratives.
Through producing, storytelling and film programming Aerrol hopes to make the world a kinder place.
Rejyna Douglass is an interdisciplinary artist, technologist, and arts advocate whose work transforms theatre, film, and music. She is the creator and performer of Trans Mom vs. Family Court: Justice Sees No Gender, a solo play that earned standing ovations and multiple awards at the Hollywood Fringe Festival. Blending live original music, storytelling, and multimedia, her work confronts injustice, celebrates resilience, and amplifies the voices of marginalized communities.
An internationally recognized live looping artist, Rejyna performs solo and with her band, releases music on her independent label, and serves on the board of the International Live Looping Festival nonprofit. She operates a professional music and media studio in Burbank, maintains a strong presence across social media, and leads the design and implementation of workflow automation and AI systems that streamline creative, technical, and professional industries, driving efficiency, innovation, and transformative results.
As a Restoration VFX Supervisor, she has preserved Star Wars, James Bond, and Disney animated classics. At Deluxe Entertainment, she served as a data architect and creative technologist, leading the digital restoration of the DC Comics film catalog and developing revolutionary accessibility technology that allows Deaf and hearing‑impaired audiences to experience sign language in cinemas through mobile and wearable devices.
Previously Art Director at Footlights, she designed playbills for Southern California theatre productions. Rejyna is a public speaker and webinar leader on branding, crowdfunding, marketing, multimedia, and websites, helping artists transform ideas into sustainable careers. She is also a consultant on emerging musical instrument technology, creating documentation and product demos for Looperlative and Digitech, and a skilled graphic designer, photographer, video editor, streaming specialist, and database developer.
On the Hollywood Fringe Festival Access Advisory Board, Rejyna helps shape programs, policies, and initiatives that impact every artist and audience, advancing accessibility, equity, and opportunity while making the Fringe a national model for transformative access in the arts.
Christopher Moncayo-Torres is an award-winning Ecuadorian-American writer, actor, director, dramaturg, teaching artist and live-storyteller, born and bred in Queens, NY. He first practiced creative writing while pretending to study for his forensic psychology degree.
He is the co-founder and Managing Director of Fail Better Arts, a BIPOC centered community of multi-disciplinary art-makers who safely experiment together with their unfinished, messes-in-progress through low cost workshops. He produces and hosts the monthly live storytelling-workshop show, Fail Better Story Time in Chinatown, LA. Visit www.failbetterarts.com for more info.
He’s also been featured on The Moth Radio Hour podcast and currently one of their storytelling instructors.
He made his Hollywood Fringe Festival debut in 2024 as a Scholarship Winner. That year he performed alongside his 80 year old Ecuadorian father, who made his acting debut, (yes, really) in “No Sabo” (formerly Habla y te Salvas: True Stories of a No Sabo Kid from Queens & his Guayaco dad) - a solo-ish show about rekindling their once estranged relationship, despite their language barrier. That year it was the winner of the Best Two Person Show, Denver Fringe Festival Exchange Award and Eastwood Independent Theatre Award (Best of Venue). He’s now working on a live-ish cooking show with his mother who will call in from Ecuador.
As a member of the HFF Access Board & Scholarship Deliberation Committee he’s excited to give back to a community that gave him so much. Find him on IG @christopherfromqueens or via email Christopherfromqueens@gmail.com
Jon Gentry (he/they) is a multifaceted artist whose credits span theater, film, television, and gaming. Born and raised in Houston, Jon infuses his art with a tri-coastal (East, West and Gulf) perspective on Black queerness in America. His award-winning solo show “Black Bastard” has been presented at the Hollywood Fringe Festival, Santa Monica Playhouse, PlayGround Solofest, Whitefire Solofest, Out Front Theatre, and the LA LGBT Center.
Regional theater credits include Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Mark Taper Forum, Boston Court Pasadena, International City Theatre, and Casa 0101. Screen credits include "SoMang," “Behold A Lady,” and "TEN." He gained viral recognition as the voice of Preston Garvey in "Fallout 4," with his memorable (and meme-able) performance.
As a teaching artist, Gentry has collaborated with The Moth, Young Storytellers, Get Lit and the Los Angeles Performing Arts Conservatory. Invited to the inaugural GLAAD Black Queer Creative Summit, he is a storyteller who thrives at the intersection of truth, artistry and innovation.
MFA: American Conservatory Theater BA: Harvard University
Follow his journey @theejongentry or visit theejongentry.com
Adriana Martínez Barrón made her Hollywood Fringe Festival debut in 2025 with "I Hope You're Having Fun in Hell, Dad", which she wrote, directed and produced. The play, which was awarded an Honorable Mention by the Fringe Scholarship committee, debuted to sold out performances, great reviews and a Hollywood Reporter mention. Adriana won second place Loud Karma Emerging Women and Nonbinary Playwright Award for the play.
A graduate of USC, where she was awarded the prestigious Stark Special Project producing grant, Adriana has had a long career as a TV and Film executive. She is currently Head of TV and Film for Stacey Abrams' Sage Works Productions under a first look deal with UCP and Universal Pictures. Prior to that she worked as Vice President of Drama Series Development at CBS Entertainment, Vice President of Film at Eva Longoria’s UnbeliEVAble Entertainment, Manager, Latin American Original Series and Latin America Content Acquisitions at Netflix and Creative Executive at Mexican Superstar Eugenio Derbez's production company 3Pas Studios.