About
About Unity Theatre Collective
For Every Person
The Unity Theatre Collective strives to provide an open door for every person to experience performance pieces that promote social change and inspire insight and empathy.
We intend to accomplish our mission by:
Choosing performance pieces and interpreting them in ways that will incorporate our core values
Making conscious choices in casting to represent every person
Providing means for discussion and education that spurs action and social change in our community
Presenting performances which represent marginalized groups and their struggles
Gather a collective of performing artists of all interests that reflects the fullest range of diversity in our community
Reach new audiences who have yet to have the opportunity to experience the performing arts
Board of Directors
Meet our Board of Directors! Our directors work to make our programs happen.
Laura Covault
Founder & Co-Treasurer
Laura Covault co-founded Unity Theatre Collective with Layla Perez in 2018. Laura has directed over 50 productions all over Southern California and is a professor of theatre as Cal State University Channel Islands. Some favorite shows include The Importance of Being Earnest, Seussical the Musical, The Laramie Project, and She Kills Monsters to name a few. Laura also teaches voice and piano to students of all ages.
Layla Lawrence
Founder
Layla Perez co-founded Unity Theatre Collective with Laura Covault in 2018. She has been performing in and stage managing shows, mostly in educational settings within Ventura County, for the past 20 years. Layla has a fundamental belief that participation in the arts is an important part of developing into happy, healthy, and empathetic humans, and she considers it a great honor to be a part of a collective of likeminded people and looks forward to bringing the opportunity for more Ventura County residents to experience performance pieces that inspire insight and empathy.
Sara Ruiz
President
Sara Ruiz is the President for the Board of Directors. She is an actor, writer, director, and activist from the San Fernando Valley. In 2020, she graduated with degrees in both Political Science and Theatre from CSU Channel Islands. Since she was in high school her passions have been making politics and policy more accessible through the use of theatre and film. She believes that the arts can be used as a tool to break down barriers in the political world. In her free time she enjoys watching movies, thrifting, discussing pop culture, and going on feminist rants to anyone who will listen.
Makiko Compton
Secretary
Makiko Compton is the Secretary for the Board of Directors. She has been participating in theater since high school both on stage and in the background and has no plans on stopping. Originally from the Bay Area, she has been in a couple of Unity Theater productions, the latest of which being Collective Rage as Betty 2. She is currently about to graduate from CSU Channel Islands with a B.A. in Communication with a minor in performing arts and is honored to be a part of a community of people who strive to make accessible and poignant theater.
Griffin Giboney
Co-Treasurer
Griffin Giboney is a recent graduate of California State University Channel Islands with a degree in Performing Arts with a Theater Emphasis. He has been performing on stage since he was quite young, as he came from a musical theater loving family and was raised by two performers. Griffin recently got into directing and has directed multiple productions, including Puffs, The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical and Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He has been on Unity Theater Collective’s Board of Directors since 2023 and has thoroughly enjoyed being a part of this wonderful group of people!
Natalie Katrina Dempsey
Director
Natalie Katrina Dempsey is an Education Specialist and in Port Hueneme, CA, and an avid lover of all things theatre. A graduate of CSUN, she has lived in Ventura County for over 25 years. Raised in a theatrical family, she performed regularly as a child in academic and community theatre settings. She also has experience behind the curtains on sound and lighting. She is very honored to serve on the board and very inspired by all the inclusive and positive values the company upholds. In the future, she hopes to work on playwriting and stand-up comedy.
TJ Ramirez
Director
TJ Ramirez is a member of the Board of Directors. You may have seen them in The Importance of Being Earnest as Algernon or hosting our monthly Online Open Mics. They are recently graduated with their Bachelor’s Degree in Performing Arts at CSU Channel Islands. TJ is proudly Filipino, Dominican, nonbinary, and bisexual. They really connect with UTC’s goal of inspiring insight and empathy, both for the communities they’re a part of and everyone else.
Sharra Lou Arriola
Director
Sharra Lou Arriola has worked as a public school educator for Ventura County since 2016. As a child, they were very shy and found themselves expressing themselves mostly through writing parodies of their favorite shows, writing poems, and playing musical instruments. Now they actively perform stand-up comedy, spoken word poetry, and photography. You may have even seen them in several UTC productions or telling jokes at anime conventions.
