Our Crew
Temishia
Johnson
Production Manager
Temishia Johnson has worked for Riverside Church for three years in the Technical Services Department and was recently promoted to run The Riverside Theatre Department. She holds an MFA in theatre from University of Missouri Kansas City. Temishia is the resident Lighting Designer for Forces of Nature Dance Company, Pure Elements Theatre and Dance and Creative Outlet Theatre and Dance. One of the greatest opportunities she has had was assisting Mr. William Grant III on the Broadway revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Other credits include: the premier of Evy Wright’s 3 Girls on Flatbush; Theresa Rebeck’s Mauritius; Torrey Townsend’s Brief Hours and Weeks, and CB Murray’s Pearl the Musical.
Lauren
Villegas
theatre coordinator
Lauren Villegas is a singer/actor by trade and also an activist-type, a writer, and a dramaturg. She founded Project Am I Right, an initiative to raise awareness and empower actors to end the whitewashing of roles written for people of color, people with disabilities, and TGNC people. She is also an elected Eastern Chorus Councilor for the members of Actors' Equity Association and a proud core member of Fair Wage OnStage. Her first job was running the box office at The Morgan-Wixson Theatre in Santa Monica, California when she was still in high school. She studied opera at Northwestern University. She performs on regional theater stages across the country and her wide perspective of the industry drives her commitment to making meaningful change to the theatrical landscape of New York City.
Jacob Schmid
audio / visual supervisor
Jacob Schmid hails from Minneapolis, Minnesota, and moved to New York to pursue a degree in music and engineering at New York University. With an Interest in theater sound, music recording, sound for picture, and AV system design, Jacob has many hats piling up in his closet. His past clients include PBS, HBO, Showtime, NBC Universal, and Verve Records. To keep the void at bay, Jacob enjoys playing the guitar, long walks on the beach, and soldering D-subs to Tascam pinout standards.
Zac Goin
head technician /
master electrician
Zac Goin is a sassy, southern gentleman hailing from the great state of Texas. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts with an emphasis on Theatrical Design from West Texas A&M University he moved to New York City to carve his own path into the theatre world. You could classify Zac as a nerd with hobbies like collecting comics (DC>Marvel) and playing Dungeons and Dragons (an avid Critter).
Alex Poller
audio / visual technician
Alex Poller is a technician who has worked at The Riverside Theater since 2015. He has done just about all kinds of technical theater work at TRT, NYU Steinhardt, and Off-Broadway. Additionally he’s worked as a stage manager and music director. His favorite experience in the theater was as conductor and music director for a college production of Stephen Sondheim's Company. He is a devotee of the musical theatre and a die-hard Mets fan.