Drama Faculty
FULL TIME FACULTY
bree valle
Artistic Director of Theatre Program
bree valle studied Contemporary Performance (Directing) at Arizona State University
with Circle Repertory founder Marshall W. Mason. In addition, she spent 3 years working
at the Institute for Studies in the Arts—partnering with performance pioneers Leslie
Hill and Helen Paris and interdisciplinary devisor Rachel Rosenthal. Major influences
in bree’s unique style belong to mentors David Smukler at York University and Richard
Armstrong of the Roy Hart Institute in France. The foundations of her Movement Design
came from David Barker’s Connected Motion and, most recently, with Anne Bogart’s SITI
Company in New York. As a professional freelance director, bree continues to work
with universities and forward-looking theatres to create new work that challenges
the individual artist to connect with questions about their own history and to create
imaginative, playful and transformative theatre. Her guest artist work includes residencies
with Teatro de La Vuelta del Siglo in Jujuy, Argentina, Universidad de Costa Rica,
Universidad Autónoma de Centro América and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México,
Madball Theatre Company in Mumbai, India and Paper Balloon Theatre Company London,
England.
Her performance research has been presented at the International Popular Culture Conference in Toronto Canada, International Drama/Theatre and Education in Bergen, Norway, PSi Conference at Penn State University and the International Sound Symposium X in Newfoundland, Canada.
In all, bree has directed over 90 shows nationally and internationally. Currently, bree serves as the Artistic Director of the Cuesta College Theatre Program. In 2021, she received the Gold Medallion the most prestigious award given by the Kennedy Centre in Washington DC for her work as a theatre director.
To contact bree, please email her at bvalle@cuesta.edu
PART TIME FACULTY
Barbara Abbott
Instructor: Theatrical Costume Construction
Barbara Harvey Abbott is thrilled to have recently joined the Performing Arts team
at Cuesta and teaches Costume Construction (DRA 236 & 237), because she loves helping
people develop the ability to sew, or deepen the skills they already have. She studied
Technical Theatre at Pepperdine University and received her MFA in Costume Design
from Indiana University. Locally, Barbara has designed costumes for shows at SLO Repertory
Theatre, Opera SLO, and Central Coast Gilbert & Sullivan and worked as a Cutter/Draper
at PCPA. In addition to costuming, she enjoys raising her four young daughters and
has a passion for fermenting foods and exploring the art of hand sewing and visible
mending. She shares her visible mending and alteration projects on IG @seamstressbabs.
barbara_abbott@cuesta.edu
RYAN FLORES
Instructor: Entertainment Lighting
Ryan Flores (he/him) is excited to join the Cuesta College Theatre Program as part
of its instructional faculty. His involvement with Cuesta dates back to 2016, and
he brings nearly a decade of professional lighting design experience to his role.
Ryan has served as the Lighting Designer for several of Cuesta’s acclaimed productions,
including The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which earned 11 national
awards at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival in 2023. He was honored
to receive a design award for his work on this production, collaborating with an exceptional
creative team.
In addition to his contributions at Cuesta, Ryan works as a freelance Lighting Designer and Technical Director throughout the Central Coast. He collaborates with approximately 15 groups annually, bringing a wide array of live events to life. His extensive experience working with diverse teams and technical systems has sharpened his skills and creative vision.
Ryan is the Manager and Technical Director of the Templeton Performing Arts Center, where he is leading the PAC into a dynamic new chapter, establishing it as the premier indoor performance venue in North San Luis Obispo County.
Theatre, particularly theatrical lighting design, is Ryan’s true passion. He is deeply inspired by the transformative power of technology in storytelling and has contributed to nearly 150 live productions, including plays, musicals, and immersive fundraising events. When not working on a production, Ryan enjoys traveling, watching horror movies, and exploring innovative live performances.
As part of Cuesta College’s nationally recognized theatre program, Ryan is eager to
share his expertise and inspire the next generation of lighting and technical theatre
artists. With access to two fully equipped performance spaces, students have the opportunity
to learn and grow through hands-on experiences. Ryan emphasizes clear communication
and collaboration, fostering an environment where technical theatre artists can thrive
and create outstanding productions.
ryan_flores@cuesta.edu
PHILIP VALLE
Instructor: Introduction to Theatre
Mr. Valle is a writer, director and musician. His earliest play, The Stall. was first
produced by the Dept. of Theatre while he was an undergrad at U.C. Berkeley, majoring
in comparative literature. After moving east, as head of theatre at Northland College,
Wisconsin, Mr. Valle was awarded a grant to direct The Ophelia Project: a devised
touring collaboration between teenage girls and their respective communities. He received
his MFA from Arizona State University, where his multimedia work, Lincoln’s Sassy
Nation, was awarded full production by the IST - Institute for Studies in the Arts.
Mr. Valle has taught courses in Theatre History, Playwriting, Directing, Acting and Devising for Northland College, Arizona State, University of La Verne, Cuesta College and the Department of Theatre and Dance at Cal Poly. He has been the guest artist for Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in Mexico City and The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., where he taught master’s workshops in directing and devising. In 2020, Mr. Valle received the Outstanding Faculty Award from Cal Poly’s Honors College, where he developed a course in Creativity.
Mr. Valle’s original theatrical works, performed in the United States, Canada and Mexico, are inspired by the history of social justice, from the civil rights movement to the anarchic rise of rock and roll. Recent productions of his plays pool ’63, Refried Elvis and the immersive play Ghost Ship received numerous national awards, including Outstanding Production of a Devised Work and Outstanding Theatrical Creation from The Kennedy Center. In 2019, Mr. Valle presented his research in the "Cognitive Science of Creativity" at Queen’s University – Belfast, Northern Ireland. In 2022, Mr. Valle joined collaborators in Mumbai India for an ongoing devised theatrical/film project addressing global Climate Justice and the fashion industry entitled The Bombay Runway.
Mr. Valle is currently the co-founder of The Staging Change Project, an outreach program addressing Climate Science by providing transformative performing arts curriculum to thousands of students across San Luis Obispo county. In 2025, Mr. Valle and his student research team will present a workshop about Environmental Justice for the International Drama and Education Conference in Athens, Greece.
SUPPORT STAFF
Michelle Wright, Performing Arts Division Assistant
805-546-3195
