CJ Ochoco 

President / Founding Member

she/her/hers

Education: 

BA Fine Arts: Theatre Track (Stage Management Focus), University of Guam

Masters of Arts Leadership and Cultural Management, Colorado State University 

Graduate Certificate in Strategic Communications, University of Maryland Global Campus 

Biography:

CJ Ochoco is a Guam-raised theatre creative who currently travels between Nashville, Guam, and everywhere in-between. She earned her BA in Fine Arts: Theatre from the University of Guam (2016), her Masters of Arts Leadership and Cultural Management through Colorado State University (2019), and her Graduate Certificate in Strategic Communications from the University of Maryland Global Campus (2023). CJ enjoys wearing many hats. While her first passion was stage management, she has found joy in producing, arts administration, playwriting, and even bass playing for Guam band “Friends with Instruments.” From the University of Guam Theatre to the Guam International Film Festival to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, CJ has been involved with various arts organizations. In 2018, she helped Breaking Wave Theatre Company, where she serves as the President and primary Producer for the company. CJ believes in the healing power of the arts, and she believes that healing can begin when everyone has the space and opportunity to share their stories. She aims to use her skills to create and elevate diverse storytelling, on stage and behind it.

James Aevermann

Vice-President / Treasurer

he/him/his

Education:

BA Political Science, University of Guam

BS Investigative Forensics, University of Maryland Global Campus

MS in Biology with a concentration in Forensic Biology, University of the Southwest 

Biography:

James Aevermann is an artist who has dabbled in many different mediums including writing, acting, building, and blacksmithing.  James' involvement with the theatre has been a hobby of his the past several years, with his involvement ranging from acting, writing, building sets, and designing props. He has had a hand in many UOG productions and has been involved with Breaking Wave Theatre Company since their first production, Tuesdays with Morrie. James recently completed a Master of Science in Forensic Biology from the University of the Southwest while remaining a part of BWTC and continuing his passion for the arts on Guam. He is also still a practicing blacksmith, striving to ensure that the art does not disappear from the Pacific.

Jerome Ocampo

Secretary / Founding Member

he/him/his

Education:

BA Fine Arts: Theatre Track, University of Guam

Biography:

Jerome graduated from the University of Guam with a Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts: Theatre. His work continues with the Breaking Wave Theatre Company as one of its founding board members. Focused on technical theatre, Jerome has experience in lighting, sets, prop management, with his primary interest in sound design. He has designed for several UOG and BWTC productions.

Joyce Torres

Director

she/her/hers

Education:

BA Fine Arts: Theatre Track (Acting Focus), Minor in Political Science, University of Guam

Professional Acting Conservatory,  Stella Adler Art of Acting Studio

Biography:

Joyce Torres is a storyteller, actorvist, and artist born and raised on the island of Guam. She has a BA in Fine Arts: Theatre with a minor in Political Science from the University of Guam (2014) and attended the Stella Adler Art of Acting Studio Professional Conservatory Program (2018). Based in Los Angeles, Joyce is a Jill of many trades. When she’s not writing, directing, or exploring new ways to tell stories, Joyce is a vocalist and cajon player in "Friends With Instruments,” an all-girl acoustic island pop trio. In 2018, she premiered “Comfort,” a solo show honoring the life of Maria “Lola Rosa” Henson, the first Filipina to publicly talk about her time as a comfort woman during WWII. Joyce is an advocate for original works and enjoys creating spaces that encourage diversity, inclusivity and empathy. She believes the best theatre connects strangers, starts conversations, and provides opportunities to listen and heal. Some of her favorite roles have included: Vanda (Venus in Fur), Kendra (Gloria), and Lady Macbeth (Macbeth).

Hannah Elmore

Director

she/her/hers

Education:

BA Fine Arts: Theatre Track, University of Guam

Biography:

Hannah Elmore is an actor, director, and writer based on Guam. She holds a BA in Fine Arts: Theatre from the University of Guam. Hannah has been in various UOG productions including her most notable roles as Viola/Ceasario (Twelfth Night), Masha (Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike) and Honey (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) Hannah has been a member with Breaking Wave Theatre Company since their launch in 2018. She has had the privilege to serve the company in the capacities of Outreach Coordinator (21 Chump Street, Much Ado About Nothing) and Assistant Director (Unspoken Volume I, Volume III). Hannah recently played Beatrice in BWTC’s production of Much Ado About Nothing. Her favorite stories to write and direct are comedies because she believes that laughter is the best form of medicine and can truly feed the soul.

Christian Jay Santiago

Founding Member

he/him/his

Education:

BA Fine Arts: Theatre Track, University of Guam

Biography:

Christian Jay Santiago has tried his hand at many different artistic pursuits, including painting, graphic design, comic book drawing, sewing and amateur interior decorating. He is lucky to have found theatre, where each production poses new and interesting challenges in which he can apply his existing skills and develop new ones. He received his BA in Theatre from the University of Guam, where he designed the sets for three main stage productions. Additionally, he was the scenic designer for five children’s summer theatre camp productions. His goal as an artist is to use his skills and knowledge to foster local talent and a greater appreciation for the arts through theatre-based education on Guam and in the Pacific.

Sierra O'Neill

Founding Member

she/her/hers

Education:

BA Theatre Education, Emerson College

 MA Applied Theatre, The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama

Biography:

Sierra moved back to the island of Guam after getting her Master's and starting her own theatre company in London. As the co-artistic director of her London theatre company called Art Lingual, Sierra performed in a show she co-wrote and directed called The Dirty Word, which looked at the United Kingdom's immigration debate. She also created and performed in an immersive and participatory theatre piece called How to Make a Home in an East London Theatre festival back in the summer of 2017, where in which participants created their own roles and communities and then had to face the daunting question of relocation when crisis hit. Sierra's passion is two fold: theatre and education. She specifically focuses on working with immigrants and refugees out in London and is excited to be a part of a theatre company here in Guam that works with and for the local community. Her goal is to continue to develop both Art Lingual and Breaking Wave to be companies that are pillars of the community and places that represent support and change. Or just change the world with theatre, one day at a time, whichever comes first.

Beefshanx

Founding Member

he/him/his/they/them

Education:

BA Fine Arts: Theatre Track, University of Guam

Biography:

Beefshanx, a graduate of the University of Guam with a BA in Fine Arts Theatre, specialized in acting. His college years were marked by diverse roles in productions like Shakespeare's classics and local plays, where he excelled in acting, and dabbled a little bit into stage management, lighting design, set design etc. 

After retiring from acting, Beefshanx ventured into graphic design while actively supporting the Breaking Wave Theatre Company. His life is a canvas of creativity and advocacy.

Serf Mannaky

Any Pronouns

Education:

BA Fine Arts: Theatre Track, University of Guam

Biography:

Serf Mannaky has always had a love of the Theatre Arts at a young age. Unable to participate in high school, he took advantage of the University of Guam’s Theatre 101 class and fell in love. Majoring in Theatre, he explored the different aspects of Theatre and found his talent as an actor, a playwright, a stage manager, and a director. As an actor, Serf’s brilliant performances include his debut as Matt in Allan Baker’s …last and always, a comic relief nurse in a local play called On The Inside by Christelyn Joy Ochoco and Joyce Lynn Rose Torres, Robin Goodfellow (or Puck) in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Nights Dream, and different characters in Moises Kaufman and the members of the Tectonic Theater Projects’ The Laramie Project. He has stage managed phenomenal shows, such as Eve Ensler’s Vagina Monologues and Neil Simon’s Barefoot in the Park. As a director he directed shows such as David Ives’ Sure Thing and Joseph Kesselring’s Arsenic & Old Lace. Serf also has a published play called A Parent’s Decision in "The Voices of Guam Playwrights Volume I." He wishes to continue to write more stories, especially stories relating to life in the Pacific.  As the University of Guam’s first Chuuk native to graduate with a BA in Theatre, Mannaky intends to pursue education to teach the world of Theatre in the Pacific in hopes others may come to love and appreciate the craft.