KRod has been the director at Buena since 2015. Her vision centers on community and providing an inclusive space for students to be creative as well as to provide high quality entertainment for the student body and community. She appreciates your continued support.

This was Mr. Downey’s 18th production as vocal director for the musicals here at Buena, but the first with the help of Molly Ensminger! He cannot thank her enough for coming in and sharing her talents and expertise when he was unable to come to rehearsal. Mr. Downey has had the honor to study voice locally with Linda Ottsen, Elizabeth Helms, and Erica Lazerow, and is so thankful to have the opportunity to direct the Buena High School Choir during the school day. There truly is nothing more joyous than singing together in harmony with others, so it has been a privilege getting to see this hard-working cast learn how amazing and special musical theater is, especially since this is the first musical we’ve been able to perform for an audience since 2019! Mr. Downey would also like to thank Karen Rodrigues, Tawny Watson,Tatum Harris, and Madison Simpson for such awesome collaboration, and he would like to commend Mr. Gianelli and Mr. Coates for coming out to perform with our students! Most importantly, he would like to thank his lovely wife and son for being supportive of the extra hours that he put in on this project!

This is Mrs. Ensminger’s first professional role as Assistant (to the) Vocal Director for Spongebob the Musical. She is thrilled to be working with Mr. Downey once again, especially on such a fun musical as this one. She is beyond grateful for his leadership, guidance, and expertise. Fun fact: Mr. Downey and Mrs. Ensminger were Popeye and Olive Oyl in the 2003 production of Popeye here at Buena! Mrs. Ensminger previously studied voice with Jodi Farrell and has performed in several productions. She majored in Theater at CSUN and has also performed as an independent artist for a few years during college. She is also very grateful for this opportunity to return to the world of drama and work with such an amazing crew: Karen Rodrigues, Tatum Harris, Tawny Wilson, and Maddie Simpson. Spongebob has been a staple for kids (and adults) for well over 20 years, and to see how enthusiastic people still are for it is a real treat. Shout out to Mr. Coates and Mr. Gianelli for volunteering their time to be a part of this! And, a HUGE thank you to my family for their support and patience as we all juggle our ways through life. Thank you for coming to the show! Enjoy!

Madeleine Wilkowske is the Activities Director and Dance Program Director at Buena High School. For several years, she divided her time between choreographing and teaching dance at various sites around the district while studying dance at UC Irvine. She finally found her home at Buena in 2019 and created the dance program and the Buena Dance Team. When she's not planning school activities and coaching the dance team, you can find her spending time with her dog and her husband; she loves to go camping and spend time with her family.

Tawny Watson has been a choreographer for eight years and a dancer for 24 years, learning and teaching here in Ventura. This is her third musical production at Buena. She is very grateful to be back and ecstatic to be doing SpongeBob! It’s been so rewarding to see the cast to grow in so many ways. Tawny hopes to work with all of them again. A sincere thank you to Karen Rodrigues for having her again and being so supportive. Thankful for all of the work of Kevin Downey and Molly Ensminger. There is no dance without song. She is sincerely appreciative of Tatum Harris and Madison Simpson for all their input and help! Thank you all for coming and enjoy the show!

Tatum has been the assistant director, or performed, in more than eight shows at Buena, and she couldn't be more thankful for the continued opportunities to do so. She would like to thank tech and crew for making this experience so enjoyable, and her boyfriend Spencer for keeping her grounded.

Madison Simpson is currently studying theatre arts at Ventura College with plans to transfer to a four year university. She was in eight Buena productions before she graduated in 2020. This is her second time working as an assistant director and helping with the set production process. She is very grateful for the experience and learning opportunities.

Kathryne is a freshmen that is very excited for the show. This is her second production and she thanks you for coming. As a student in Buena's Stagecraft class, she's worked intensively on this show and hopes you enjoy it!

This is Jacob Gill's fourth show and the first one he wasn't on stage for. He hopes you give the cast and crew a goof round of applause because they're wonderful people who have worked hard and deserve it.

This is Danika's second production at Buena. On top of the musical, she has been playing the cymbals in Drumline, a witness in Mock Trial, and is an aspiring poet. She would like to thank her fellow crewmates for making rehearsals more interesting.

This is Harper's second show as the Hair and Make Up Artist.