Bonnie Cullum | Producing Artistic Director
Bonnie Cullum co-founded The VORTEX in Austin in 1988. As Producing Artistic Director, she has collaborated with the ensemble of VORTEX artists to create and present 30 seasons of new work—more than 350 innovative and distinct productions. She has directed more than 60 world premieres as well as dozens of published works. In 2009, Cullum was inducted into the Austin Arts Hall of Fame. She received an MFA in Directing from the University of Texas at Austin and a BA in Theatre from the University of Kansas. Thrice honored as Austin’s Best Director by the Austin Chronicle, Cullum received B. Iden Payne Awards for Best Director for Sarah Silver Hands (2011, NEA-funded opera), Troades: The Legend of the Women of Troy (2008, original play with music), Moby Dick (2002, original play adapted from Melville), and Despair's Book of Dreams and the Sometimes Radio (2000, original musical). The VORTEX has been honored with more than 100 B. Iden Payne Awards for Outstanding Productions, Original Scripts, Original Scores, Acting, Design, and Extraordinary Events. She founded VORTEX's award-winning Summer Youth Theatre in 1991 to provide free theatre opportunities for youth, nurturing several generations of young artists. Cullum is internationally recognized for her experimental productions and her advocacy of cutting-edge artists. She lives in East Austin with her husband Chad and their belovéd cats. She loves dancing, singing, and magic.
Melissa Vogt | Managing Director
Melissa joined the VORTEX administrative team as Managing Director in 2013. Melissa first appeared on The VORTEX stage in 2003 and has starred in numerous productions. She received B. Iden Payne Awards for her leading role in Vampyress in 2005, her ensemble role in Wake for the Dark Poet in 2004, and for ensemble work and original score in Sing Muse. Other notable VORTEX work includes SPIRIT, EARTH, :Humpty, Beirut, The Dragonfly Princess, Pink Sun, Bell(e), hOle, and Pythia Dust, garnering Melissa many B. Iden Payne Nominations for Excellence. Melissa has designed masks and manifested puppets for many notable VORTEX productions, including Atlantis: A Puppet Opera, The Chimponauts and the Mechanical Phantom, Sarah Silver Hands, Changelings, and more, as well as collaborating with Ethos and Electronic Planet Ensemble on vocal arrangements and scripts for a variety of performances. As a tech enthusiast, she initiated livestream performances of new work at The VORTEX with Howlround TV, a national theatrical commons. Most of the graphic design for the theatre starts with her, and The VORTEX has even dabbled in augmented reality posters! Melissa holds a BFA in Acting from Texas State University and a certificate in “Just Google It” from The Internet. She worked for several years in New York where she toured professionally with Chamber Theatre Productions and has also toured with The North Carolina Shakespeare Festival. In addition to her vast artistic experience, Melissa has many years of experience in business administration, sales, and marketing and was Artistic Director of One Shot Productions in NYC. Melissa is also President of the Manor Road Merchant’s Association and a board member of Alliance Française d'Austin.
Krystle CLINE | financial DIRECTOR
Krystle moved to Austin in 2007 and has been with The VORTEX since 2010. She was awarded Rookie of The Year in 2010, Rod and Staff (2014), and Audit Monarch (2016). She is a VORTEX company member, theatre lover, adventure enthusiast, humanitarian, archaeologist, occasional painter, and experienced wielder of The Force. Krystle has a BA in Anthropology and Business from The University of Texas, and a MA in Anthropology with a focus in Maya Archaeology from Texas Tech University. She is a presenting member of the Society for American Archaeology and serves as Treasurer/Secretary on the Board of Directors of the Manor Road Merchants Association.
Rudy Ramirez | Associate Artistic Director
Rudy has directed for The Vortex Repertory Theatre, The Austin Bike Zoo, ColorArc Productions, ScriptWorks, Shrewd Productions, Sky Candy Aerial Arts, Teatro Vivo and The University of Texas at Austin, as well as performance work at Dixon Place (NYC) and readings at The Lark (NYC), The Playwrights’ Center (Minneapolis) and The Parsnip Ship (NYC). He is a five-time winner of the B. Iden Payne Award for Outstanding Direction, a nominee for the 2015 NNPN Director’s Fellowship and was named Best Director by the Austin Chronicle Reader’s Poll in 2017. He is also the creator of two autobiographical performances: Footnotes for People Who Don’t Speak Spanish with Beliza Torres Narvaez and Promised Land: A Radical Queer Revival. He received his MA in Performance as Public Practice from UT Austin in 2012.
Alex Cogburn | Box Office Manager & Keeper of the Butterfly Sanctuary
Alex was born and raised in San Antonio by two musicians, and developed a love for performance at an early age. He played French Horn and Bass Guitar and began acting in High School. The love of theatre led him to set building and all aspects of running the show. After receiving a BA in Theatre and Dance from UT Austin, Alex worked at a Martial Arts School (Aim & Focus Karate/Tang Soo Do) slitting his time as an instructor and actor. He loved his work as an actor/technician, and at the same time, training/instructing as a Martial Artist professionally was fulfilling. He eventually took a full time job in Martial Arts. He was an instructor of Tang Soo Do for seven years before he realized he needed Theatre back in his life. He returned to The VORTEX where he had previously performed in Murder Ballad Murder Mystery. He started with a two-week engagement running the Box Office. He was soon the Box Office Manager and helping with set building, organization, maintenance, and gardening. He took upon himself to sustain and grow The Butterfly Garden that The VORTEX had started and made his own and has achieved a Nationally Recognized Butterfly Garden though the North American Butterfly Association.
Tamara L. Farley | TECHNICAL ASSOCIATE
Tamara grew up in Dallas, ran away to Colorado briefly, and returned to Austin to find The VORTEX. In 2007 she started stage managing for the VORTEX performance Dark Goddess. She's now totally hooked and states she'll never leave!
Teresa Cruz | ASSOCIATE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Teresa is a theater director raised in Austin, Texas. She is a company member, technical assistant, and general operations assistant at The VORTEX and loving it! She has been able to travel the country working at different theater companies (Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Center Theatre Group in L.A., Ars Nova in NYC, and The Ground Floor at Berkeley Rep) in varying capacities. She graduated from Connecticut College with a degree in Psychology and in Theater.