Staff

Doug Santana
Director of Performing Arts

Doug Santana has been a presence in the Bay Area theater community for the past thirty years and has been involved in the Archbishop Mitty Performing Arts department since he directed the Marx Brothers farce, Room Service, in 1998. Since then, he has directed over 50 productions at theatres up and down the penninsula. His productions have been recognized by The Rita Moreno Awards, The Stage Top Honor Awards and The National Youth Theatre Awards, including Bright Star (Winner; Best Musical from Rita Moreno Awards), One Man, Two Guvnors (Winner: Best Production and Best Direction from National Youth Theatre), Little Women (Winner: Audience Favorite Musical from Rita Moreno Awards), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Winner: Best Musical and Best Director from The Stage Top Honors and National Youth Theater) and The Drowsy Chaperone (Winner: Best Director from The Stage Top Honors and Best Musical from National Youth Theatre). He is also the creator and director of Archbishop Mitty's sketch comedy group, Pardon My French, a year long Performing Arts class that focuses on improvisation, comedy writing and performance. 

As an actor, Mr. Santana has appeared across the United States and Canada in the North American tour of Bye Bye Birdie and the national tour of Theatreworks USA's Lyle, Lyle Crocodile. Recent regional credits include Francis Henshall in One Man, Two Guvnors (Palo Alto Players), Cogsworth in Disney's Beauty and the Beast (CMT Marquee), Gomez Addams in The Addams Family (Palo Alto Players) and Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Foothill Music Theatre). Mr. Santana holds a B.A. in Theatre from Santa Clara University and a M.A. in Theatre and Film from San Jose State University. He lives in San Jose with his wife, and fellow performer, Elizabeth and their daughter Maddie.

Lauren Bevilacqua
Exodus Director

Amanda Folena
Drama Teacher

Amanda Folena has a BA in Theatre from the University of Southern California and an MFA in Acting from Purdue University. Special honors include the Jack Nicholson Award for Best Actress, the USC Dance Award for Best Choreography and the National Irene Ryan Award for Acting at the Kennedy Center ACTF National Competition in Washington, D.C. During her time in Los Angeles, Mrs. Folena assisted producer/director Neel Keller on The Laramie Project and choreographed extensively with USC’s Dance Repertory Company. Mrs. Folena was the Assistant Artistic Director and Co-Producer of An Urban Nutcracker that premiered at the Bing Theatre. She also created She’s A Lady, a cabaret show that opened at the University Village Theatre to raise money for theatre students. Mrs. Folena has worked with several Bay Area companies, such as San Jose Repertory, Opera San Jose, Diablo Theatre Company, Center REP, Ray of Light, Foothill Music Theatre, City Lights Theater Company, Broadway By the Bay, and Summer Repertory Theatre in Santa Rosa. Directing and choreography credits include The Producers, Kiss Me Kate, Anything Goes, Hair, Dead Man Walking, Gypsy, La Boheme and Compleat Female Stage Beauty.Professional acting credits include Monica Lewinsky in Aphrodisiac, Mama Spears in Becoming Britney, Georgie in The Full Monty, and Tamar in First Person Shooter. Mrs. Folena also has experience in television commercials and voice-overs with KTVU Channel 2 Productions, The Granville Group, and Wildwood Productions.

Prior to working at Mitty, Mrs. Folena was the Artistic Director at Broadway By the Bay whose company received various accolades, including the Theatre Bay Area award for Most Outstanding Production of a Musical for In the Heights. She also served as the Casting Director and Company Manager for City Lights Theater Company while teaching private voice lessons and group exercise dance classes at Equinox and Reach Studios in Palo Alto.  She currently lives in Gilroy with her husband and theatrical comrade, Justin Karr, and their children, Felicity and Hunter.

Justin Karr
Technical Director and Performing Arts Facilities Manager

Justin received his BA in Theatrical Performance from Purdue University. While he started off as an actor, he slowly gravitated to the less applauded area of backstage work.  He is thoroughly enjoying the challenge and reward of his new duties. He has experience in stage management, production management, technical direction, and compiling sound effects for various productions. He has managed theaters for the Academy of Art University in San Francisco and Serra High School. Other local technical credits include Broadway by the Bay, Hillbarn Theater, Foothill Music Theater, and Santa Rosa Summer Repertory.

Mr. Karr lives in Gilroy with his amazing wife, Amanda Folena, and his children, the apples of his eye, Felicity and Hunter.

Mason Kimont
Instrumental Music Director

Mr. Kimont is a long time bay area resident, having grown up in San Jose and getting his education at San Jose State University. At San Jose State, Mr. Kimont was an active member of the Orchestra, Concert Choir, and the Choraliers, and was honored to study conducting with Dr. Charlene Archibeque. While attending SJSU, Mr. Kimont musically directed dozens of shows, many of them at Children's Musical Theater San Jose. In his time in the Bay Area, he has worked with many local theater companies including TheatreWorks, City Lights, and San Jose Stage.

Mr. "K" came to Archbishop Mitty in the fall of 1999, and became the Director of Performing Arts in 2002. In his leadership, the Performing Arts department grew from one Concert Band and one Jazz Band into five different instrumental groups and an AP Music Theory class. The growth in the department spurred the building of the new Schott Music Center, which opened in January 2012. For fifteen years, Mr. K was proud to oversee what many consider to be the top performing arts department in the Bay, having been recognized both locally and nationally in all disciplines. 

Gillian Ortega
Performing Arts Manager

An alumni from the Archbishop Mitty High School Class of 2018, Gillian is a Bay Area native.  Throughout her high school years, you could always find her  in the Kinkade Theatre taking part  in a variety of Performing Arts Events, Build Crew Meetings  and the Theater Tech Program. Having graduated from the University of Oregon in 2021, Gillian earned her B.S. in Theatre Arts, with a focus in theatrical production and design. She was overjoyed for the opportunity to return to the program that sparked her theatrical passion in 2021 as the Performing Arts Intern. 

Gillian is a proud recipient of the Jane Childs’ SILV Scholarship and a Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival 2021 Region 7’s Honorable Mention for Future Promise in Scenic Design. When she is not designing for the stage, you can find her dabbling in several other theatrical departments including management, projection, properties, and acting!  Most recently, she was nominated for Best Supporting Performer in the 2023 Regional Broadway World Awards for her role as Pearl Krabs in The Spongebob Musical at Palo Alto Players.  Some of Gillian’s other  past works include Misery (Scenic Design/Palo Alto Player), The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Scenic Design & Properties/AMHS) &  School Of Rock ( Featured Female/Palo Alto Players). Fun Fact: If you are ever in the mood for a Christmas movie, you  can spot Ms. Ortega as a background actor in HBO Max’s Holiday Harmony starring Brooke Shields, Jeremy Sumpter, and Annelise Cepero!

Anethra Rhodes
Dance Director

Mrs. Anethra Rhodes has been the Director of the Dance Program at Archbishop Mitty High School since 2010, when she choreographed the Stage Top Honors and National Youth Theater winner for best musical, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Mrs. Rhodes is also the coach for the AMHS Royals Dance Team, which has received many awards and recognitions at USA Dance, Disney Performing Arts and in the local community. She was first introduced to dance at the age of three, with the title role of: Dancing Flower. She fell in love immediately and has been dancing ever since. Mrs. Rhodes began teaching dance at the age of sixteen, and has since taught at several Bay Area dance studios, Children's Musical Theater San Jose and choreographed for many local elementary and middle schools. After receiving her BA in Dance and Minor in Musical Theater from San Jose State University, Mrs. Rhodes decided to make the big move to New York City, to pursue her performance career. While living in New York, she also trained at Core Pilates NYC, and became a certified Pilates instructor. She soon became a highly demanded  instructor at Core Pilates NYC, Uptown Pilates and Equinox in Manhattan. Upon returning back to California, Mrs. Rhodes became certified in vinyasa flow yoga, training with Jennifer Prugh of Breathe yoga studio in Los Gatos.

Mrs. Rhodes has danced and trained with Sterling Dance Theatre, Studio 10, Western Ballet, Steps on Broadway and Broadway Dance Center. As a performer, she was a company member of University Dance Theater, Company One, Visual Rhythm Dance Company and also appeared in numerous stage productions at American Musical Theater of San Jose, Broadway By the Bay, Ohlone Summerfest and Cabrillo Stage. Some of her favorite performances include: Charity in Sweet Charity; Val and Kristine in A Chorus Line; Erma in Anything Goes; Frenchie in Cabaret; Graziella in West Side Story; and Agnes in Gypsy.

Erin Simon
Choral Director

Mrs. Erin Simón has been the director of the choral program at Mitty since 2010. She holds a B.S. in Music Education from Duquesne University and a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from Binghamton University. Previously she has performed with the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, Mission City Opera and the San Francisco Cabaret Opera. Over the course of two summers she was a resident artist at the Ezio Pinza Council for American Singers of Opera in Oderzo, Italy where she performed in a series of concerts throughout the area and trained with world-class teachers and conductors. Under Mrs. Simón’s direction, Mitty’s choirs have earned Command Performance ratings at CMEA Festivals as well as the Folsom and Santa Cruz Jazz Festivals. 

Mrs. Simón teaches Mitty’s Jazz Choir, Vocal Ensemble, Concert Choir, Chamber Choir, and AP Music Theory course. She has also vocally directed over ten musical productions on campus. In her free time, Mrs. Simón enjoys spending time with her wonderful husband, Scott, and their three children.