WARWICK, R.I.: The Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre (the Gamm) has launched the Gamm Fellowship Program for emerging artists of color. The 10-month paid fellowship is a collaborative effort with Rhode Island’s public institutions of higher education, designed to provide real-world immersion while fostering mentoring relationships.
Through the Gamm’s 2021-22 season, fellows will work in the creative, administrative, and educational aspects of theatre, advised by Kate Hanson, the Gamm’s associate director of education. Each fellow has also been paired with a career mentor. This fellow cohort will make a stage appearance as townspeople in the Gamm’s season opener, A Lie Agreed Upon.
“We are thrilled to enrich and expand our community of artists and creators here in Rhode Island, particularly with this outstanding inaugural class of Gamm fellows,” said Gamm managing director Amy Gravell in a statement. “Maria, Dan, and Erik were enthusiastically nominated by their professors, and recognized for their talent, commitment, and passion toward creating a life in the theatre.”
“Our organization has enjoyed long-standing, cooperative relationships with our public colleges and university,” said Gamm artistic director Tony Estrella in a statement. “The Gamm Fellowship Program solidifies and formalizes our partnership, and provides access and opportunity for graduates who can benefit from an entree to the challenging field of professional theatre.”
The Gamm Fellowship Program is funded in part by the Otto H. York Foundation.
The 2021-22 Gamm Fellows are Maria Noriko Cabral of Fall River, Mass., who has a B.A. in musical theatre from Rhode Island College (’21), where she appeared in Marvin’s Room, Beauty and the Beast, The Cherry Orchard and more. Maria lived in South Korea before moving to the U.S. for college. She’s previously interned for the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, as well as College Light Opera Company on Cape Cod. Cabral’s mentor is Deb Martin, administrative director of the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust (Admissions, The Night of the Iguana and others at the Gamm).
Dan Garcia of Warwick, R.I., has an A.F.A. with a concentration in acting from Community College of Rhode Island (’21), where he appeared in Fool for Love, Lone Star, Crimes of the Heart, and other productions. Further credits include Bedtime Stories at Seed and Ivy Theatre. Garcia’s mentor is Jeff Church, artistic director at Burbage Theatre Company (It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, Gloria and more at The Gamm).
Erik Robles of Providence, R.I., is a University of Rhode Island B.A. candidate (’22) in philosophy and theatre arts, with a concentration in acting. Erik is CEO of Complex Ambition, a collective that creates video and podcast content about urban music. He has appeared in hip-hop music videos and in the short film After the Happiness. Robles’s mentor is Steve Kidd, head of performing arts at Moses Brown School (True West, A Doll’s House, Part 2 at The Gamm).
