Company members Henry Alexander Kelly and Carene Rose Mekertichyan.
We are grateful to our company of actors, directors, designers and administrators
that help make Hero happen.
The producing and design team of TEA
HERO THEATRE's LEADERSHIP TEAM
Elisa Bocanegra, Producing Artistic Director
Joseph Henderon, Associate Artistic Director
Ashley Busenlener, Director of Communications
Ashley Weaver, Associate Producer & Resident Stage Manager
Additional Staff
Amanda Denbeck, Creative Content Director
Emanuel Loarca, Associate Director of Special Latiné Programs
Joseph Henderon, Associate Artistic Director
Ashley Busenlener, Director of Communications
Ashley Weaver, Associate Producer & Resident Stage Manager
Additional Staff
Amanda Denbeck, Creative Content Director
Emanuel Loarca, Associate Director of Special Latiné Programs
The amazing actors of TEA
Meet OUR FOUNDER
Elisa Bocanegra is a Puerto Rican artist and the founder of HERO Theatre. Her work with HERO Theatre has been featured in The Los Angeles Times and American Theatre Magazine and is a favorite amongst local theatre critics. Elisa is a 2022-2023 Fulbright Award recipient. She also won the TCG Leadership U Grant, the nation's largest grant of its kind, for her work with HERO Theatre. This provided her the opportunity to be part of the Leadership Team at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for two seasons. Her stage directing credits include TROY, a modern retelling of THE TROJAN WOMEN about women and houselessness in Los Angeles. She directed TROY and worked alongside Kilroy List playwright Amina Henry in the development. Other directing credits include Festival Irene: A Tribute to Cuban Playwright Maria Irene Fornés, The Floating Island Plays by Eduardo Machado, and a new screen and stage project called Nuestro Planeta, which focuses on educating Latiné audiences about environmental justice within the Americas. Elisa is mentored by Patrisse Cullors, co-founder of Black Lives Matter. She graduated with an MFA from Cullors' Social & Environmental Arts Program for activists at Prescott College. Elisa was part of the inaugural NEXUS Cohort at New York Stage and Film and later the recipient of the Pfaelzer Award. As an actor, her first film, GIRLFIGHT, won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Film at The Sundance Film Festival. She recurred on Season 2 of Apple TV's Physical starring Rose Byrne and also adds Christmas With You to her numerous film credits. She has extensive experience performing at major theaters around the country in addition to The Roundabout Theatre Company in New York.