Peer Mentor Program

What We Do

UP Peer Mentors serve as a resource for student mentorship on all live performance and production topics including developing and producing a project; designing, building, and installing scenery and equipment; and planning and executing load-in and the tech process. We’re here to help during any phase of mounting a show and share knowledge of technical skills. The Peer Mentors are always happy to meet with and advise any student working on (or maybe just still thinking about) a theater project.  Peer Mentors are also available for outside consultations, assistance, and support during load-in.

Remember, there truly are no silly questions! We are all here to help, and are never far from phones or the internet. If we can’t answer your question, we know someone who can! Feel free to contact any of us directly. Our contact info can be found below.

If you are interested in becoming a Peer Mentor, visit our Work Study page for info on applying.

Who We Are

Dhruv Bhalla

Dhruv (MC ‘27; he/him/his) is a prospective Computer Science and Economics major from Mumbai, India, and is pursuing Education Studies. Having never participated in performing arts in high school, Dhruv has really loved the welcoming theatre community at Yale. He has primarily worked in Stage Management and has also explored production, technical direction, and lighting design. Dhruv is, famously, never outside the theatre, but he does enjoy board games club and meeting new theater makers. He would love to help with anything theatre (or not) related, so please reach out!

dhruv.bhalla@yale.edu, Cell: 203-508-4328

Allison Calkins

Allison (BF ‘27; she/her/hers), hailing from Cincinnati, plans to double major in Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies along with The History of Art. She has ample experience in lighting design and electrician work. Allison is always open to providing advice regarding Vectorworks, Lightwright, board programming, or the design process. Further, she also works in the lighting industry outside of Yale—so please reach out if you are at all interested in the professional field!

allison.calkins@yale.edu, Cell: 513-725-6710

Lyndon Chen

Lyndon (TC ‘28; he/him/his) is a double major in Music and Economics from the UK. Within Yale theater, he most enjoys music direction, but also has costume designed, sound designed, and played in the pit for many productions; he has also worked as the Dramat’s Costume Shop Manager. Outside of theater, Lyndon sings with his a cappella group, Yale Out of the Blue, works as a peer tutor for the music department, and is a member of Yale Club Squash. He is Yale’s (self-proclaimed) premier harp glissando programmer, though is happy to field questions on other topics if absolutely necessary. 

lyndon.chen@yale.edu, Cell: 203-285-0165

Emily Currie

Emily (BR ‘27, she/her/hers) is a biomedical engineering major from New Hampshire. Emily’s primary theater specialty is costuming, and she is very passionate about sewing and costume construction in particular. Outside of theater, she is the president of The Writer’s Room and a member of Yale Club Jump Rope. She is very grateful to have found her passion for costuming through the Yale theater world, so please feel free to reach out to her with any questions about specific shows or costumes, or even just about what costuming is like at Yale in general!

emily.currie@yale.edu, Cell: 603-918-6548

Molly Dellavalla

Molly DellaValla (MY, ‘29) is from Jackson, New Hampshire, just south of Mount Washington. She’s worn many hats in theater, from producing to working in props and costume design, and before coming to Yale she stage-managed a local music variety show. Since 2020, she has also fronted and played guitar for her family’s band, The DellaValla Trio. Outside the theater, Molly is (probably!) majoring in MCDB and Humanities and loves reading, baking, and spending time outdoors, whether running, skiing, or swimming. 

molly.dellavalla@yale.edu, Cell: 603-307-4603

Talia Hsia

Talia (JE ‘27; she/her/hers) is an Economics major and Computer Science and French minor from New York. She has loved theater since middle school and spent a good portion of her high school and college years engaged in the stage production scene. At Yale theater, Talia primarily works in stage management and lighting design, but has taken on design roles in props, sets, and sound. When she is not running a show, Talia enjoys debating with the YDA and organizing events with her residential college council. She loves talking to people about all the random tasks and roadblocks in theater production and invites you to reach out about any questions or problems you might encounter or even if you just have a crazy story to tell. 

talia.hsia@yale.edu, Cell: 646-647-5448 

Victoria Mnatsakanyan

Victoria (TD ‘27, she/her/hers) is a Cognitive Science and History of Art double major from Toronto, ON with a certificate in Italian. Growing up, Victoria performed in and directed a number of theatre productions; at Yale, she discovered the production side and now enjoys producing most of all. She is the Executive Producer of the Yale Artist’s Cabaret, and was previously the Secretary and Treasurer of the Yale Dramatic Association. Outside of theatre, Victoria can be seen giving tours on campus or performing with her sketch comedy group, Red Hot Poker. If you have any questions about theatre, Yale, or theatre at Yale, don’t hesitate to reach out!

victoria.mnatsakanyan@yale.edu, Cell: 203- 832-0177

Maya Molina

Maya (JE ‘28, she/her/hers) is from Baltimore, Maryland and is majoring in Environmental Studies. She started her time in Yale Theater producing the Dramat Froshow, and since then has dabbled in as many different things as possible, including electricianing, technical directing, assistant stage managing, and lighting designing (and while not technically true, she claims to have assistant costume designed). She was once the Dramat’s Production Officer, and outside of theater dances with Yale Jashan Bhangra. She’s gained and learned so much from the many welcoming and capable people in Yale theater, and is excited to help other people enter its thralls. Please reach out about anything theater tech related (or anything theater related at all!)

maya.molina@yale.edu, Cell: 667-303-5905  

Owen Pinhasi

Owen (MC ‘28, he/him/his) is a Physics major from Cleveland, Ohio, pursuing certificates in Energy Studies and Statistics & Data Science. He has experience as a lighting designer for a variety of shows (17o1 Records, CPA, Thesis, Dramat), head electrician, and as secretary for the Yale Dramat. He also loves building and working on sets! Outside of theater, Owen is involved in renewable energy on campus and the Undergraduate Aerospace Association, and he spends a bit too much time playing pool and crocheting. Please reach out with any questions about lighting/electrician-ing, or Yale theater in general!! 

owen.pinhasi@yale.edu, Cell: 262-444-2450

Bella Pramanik

Bella (SM ‘29, she/her/hers) is an Electrical Engineering major from Connecticut. She began her Yale theater journey as the Production Electrician for Slammed and has since gone on to serve as Props Designer for the 2026 Froshow, Arcadia, Assistant Electrician for Midsummer and Mean Girls, and Assistant Producer and Production Electrician for Come From Away. Outside of theatre, Bella works in the Quantum Laser Across the Sound lab, acts as Music Lead Genre Editor in Cortex, and is a counselor for Camp Kesem. Please don’t hesitate to reach out for help with lighting, tech, design, or anything in between!

bella.pramanik@yale.edu, Cell: 860-999-1814

Lilly Price

Lilly Price is a History Major from Seattle, Washington. Her theater specialty is stage management, but she dabbles in sound, lights, direction, and set design. When she’s not in the theater, she loves to spend time outdoors! She is so grateful for everyone in Yale theater and loves the community she’s found. Please reach out with questions about anything theater related, and she’ll be happy to help!

Contact: lilly.price@yale.edu Cell: 206-484-8968

Celina Qu

Celina (PC’29, she/her/hers) is an Architecture and Comparative Literature double-major from Vancouver, Canada. Her main theatrical interest is scenic design and technical direction, but she has dabbled in everything from electrician work to hair design to stage management. Outside of the Green Room, she is the Creative Director for The New Journal, Business Chair for Spring Fling, a Literary Editor for the Yale Literary Magazine, and more. Right now, she is thinking about opera, weird furniture, and the colour orange. Don’t hesitate to reach out about anything theatre-related (or anything-related, for that matter) — she would love to meet you!

celina.qu@yale.edu, Cell: 203-653-5850

Liliana Rauer

Liliana (PC ‘29 she/they) is a Mechanical Engineering and Archaeology major from Boise, Idaho. Her main experience is in technical directing, though she has played around with sound and lighting. She is also the Spring Mainstage Producer for the Dramat. Outside the theater, you can find Liliana enjoying the fresh New Haven air during a run, nerding out over Magic: the Gathering, or having a chaotic karaoke night with her friends. She strives to create an equitable and accessible theater environment for students of different backgrounds and experience levels! If you have any questions about set construction or technical theater in general, please reach out. I would love to help!

liliana.rauer@yale.edu, Cell: 208-488-9737

Alex Shadman

Alex (TC ‘27; he/him) is a Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies Major from Northford, Connecticut. His primary focus is Stage Management, and he plans to pursue a career in this field after graduation. He also has experience as an actor in the Yale theater scene and would be excited to provide support to students interested in either field! Outside of theater, Alex works as a tutor in American Sign Language and often plays alto saxophone with the Davenport Pops Orchestra. Before Yale, he had not discovered his passion for Stage Management, and so it’s never too late to learn something new! If you have any questions about theatre, both at Yale and elsewhere, definitely reach out!

alex.shadman@yale.edu, Cell: 203-212-7381

Sophia Williams

Sophia (TC ‘28; she/her/hers) is a Computing and the Arts major from northern Vermont. She has learned so much from being involved in the Yale theater community and is passionate about sharing her knowledge with others, especially new theater-makers! Her main area of expertise is sound engineering and sound designing, however, she also has experience with projections and set building. Sophia is very rarely outside of the theater but when she is, she enjoys live music, spending time with friends, and drinking coffee. She can also be caught mixing shows for Yale’s radio station WYBC! Sophia is always willing to talk anything sound or Yale theater related, and she will not hesitate to physically help troubleshoot technical issues. Please feel free to reach out at any time for any reason, and she will try her best to help!

sophia.williams@yale.edu Cell: 802-370-1100

Cindy Zhong 

Chuer (Cindy) Zhong (TC ‘29, she/her/hers) is a Global Affairs major from Brooklyn, New York. Her first exposure to theater at Yale was working as an assistant producer with the Yale Dramat. Since then, she has worked as a sound designer and engineer for a couple shows, and is diligently working on writing a variety of plays (to be produced at Yale…hopefully!) Outside of theater, you can probably find her working at the Asian American Student Association or watching a movie with her suitemates. Please reach out if you have any questions about sound/theater/literally anything else, she’d always be happy to help!

cindy.zhong@yale.edu, Cell: 631-829-7128