Performance Artists Staff | Natural History Museum of Los Angeles

Performing Arts

Our Performing Arts Program currently features NHM's Dinosaur Encounters and Hop, Slither, and Stalk series, and the Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits' Ice Age Encounters. We create educational interactive experiences that inspire wonder and discovery in audiences of all ages.

Our seasonal programming complements the Museum's exhibits and public programs, be sure to visit several times a year to see new shows with different set of characters.

Performing Arts Staff

Whether operating a marionette, or engaging in full suit puppetry, performers have a unique set of skills that involve rigorous athleticism, movement-based theater performance, and improvisation training, as well as a basic understanding of science and nature.

Operating our large-scale creatures is a form of puppeteering called 'full suit' performing.

Enrique Escajeda

Saber-Toothed Cat / Triceratops Full Suit Performer
Enrique is a graduate of Cal State Long Beach where he attained his degree in Communication. Enrique has a background of a wide range in the physical field of Performing Arts, including stunts and aerial acrobatics. Some more recent venues that he has performed in is the Knott's Berry Farm's Wild West Stunt Show, Pirates Dinner Adventure, and Orange County Aerial. Enrique is always up for learning new fun and exciting things to try and bring to life.

Jenny Gillett

Saber-Toothed Cat / Triceratops Full Suit Performer and Puppeteer
Jenny received her B.A. in Theatre and English Literature from Occidental College in Los Angeles, and has since continued her studies at Second City Training Center in LA, where she graduated from the Conservatory Program. Jenny also spent a year in Paris working as a nanny, learning French, and attending acting classes at Bilingual Acting Workshop. She is an experienced actor, writer, and teacher (theatre and yoga), and a proud member of Moving Arts Theatre Company in Silver Lake.

Brian Meredith

Puppeteer Lead / T. rex Full Suit Performer and Puppeteer
Originally from New Jersey, Brian received his Liberal Arts Degree from the University of Richmond and his Masters in Fine Arts from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He also performs in the Wild West Stunt Show at Knott's Berry Farm and is a member of the American Jousting Alliance, which is based in Lockwood Valley.

Eli Presser

T. rex Full Suit Performer and Puppeteer and Puppet Mechanic
Eli discovered puppetry in Chicago during the summer of 1996. Since that time, his pursuit of the art form has taken him on a great adventure. He has had the privilege of studying and performing alongside many artists, including Basil Twist, Janie Geiser, Michael Montenegro, and Blair Thomas. Under the mentorship of Janie Geiser, Eli became the first puppetry student accepted to the Cotsen Center for Puppetry Arts at CalArts in 1999. Notable work includes puppetry for Basil Twist's “Arias with a Twist” at REDCAT, Norah Jones’ music video “Sinkin' Soon,” and Jessica Yu's Sundance-nominated documentary "Protagonist.” Eli worked for the City of Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs in arts education and for Redmoon Theater, creating puppet theater for Chicago museums and parks. Through these experiences he has developed a deep respect for the transformative power of arts education and community centered art making. As a T. rex puppeteer and puppet mechanic for the NHM, Eli continues to work towards the creation of performances that fulfill the public’s need for artistry, education, and inspiration.

Michael Serwich

T. rex Full Suit Performer, Puppeteer and Puppet Builder
Michael is a graduate of the Chicago Academy for the Arts and De Paul University where he studied playwriting and performance. He's worked in many capacities with several puppet companies both in Chicago and Los Angeles including Redmoon Theater, Incurable Theater, and Bob Baker Marionette Theater. He now writes, builds and performs with the Los Angeles based puppet troupe, Unknown Hands.

Mark Stuver

T. rex Full Suit Performer and Puppeteer
From Colorado, Mark Stuver began his career in performance at Middlebury College (B.A. Theater-Dance). In San Francisco, Mark danced with Kathleen Hermesdorf and Joe Goode Performance Group among others, with Jess Curtis/Gravity in San Francisco and Berlin, and with Lisa Race, Ezra Caldwell, and Paul Matteson in NYC. Mark created and performed original dance-theater in San Francisco, at the Dublin Fringe Festival, at Dancers' Workshop in Jackson, Wyoming and at Middlebury College. With Project Bandaloop (2000-2011), Mark performed a hybrid of rock climbing and dance on Late Show with David Letterman, America's Greatest Performances on PBS, and at venues in South Africa, Singapore, China, South Korea, Oman, Turkey, Italy, Norway, Canada, Poland, Brazil, India, at the Kennedy Center and off cliffs, buildings and in theaters across the U.S. He also works as an actor and screenwriter.

Jaquita Ta'le

Saber-Toothed Cat / Triceratops Full Suit Performer and Puppeteer
An L.A. native, Jaquita is a graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts (Experimental Theatre Wing), with a double major in Drama and Dramatic Writing. She also has studied poetry and performance in Johannesburg, South Africa at the University of Witwaterstrand, and modern dance with the Ludwig Foundation in Havana, Cuba. Credits include: ER, Criminal Minds, Roswell, Cagney and Lacey: The Movie, and Hanging with Mr. Cooper.

Brittaney Talbot

Saber-Toothed Cat / Triceratops Full Suit Performer and Puppeteer
Brittaney Talbot is an honors graduate from the University of Connecticut where she received a BFA in Acting with a Concentration in Puppetry. While at UConn, she was a member of Connecticut Repartory Theatre. Favorites include Hair (puppet captain/soloist) and the ensemble work, Icarus (assistant puppet builder/ Lead ensemble). She is a member of the international performance company SplitKnuckle and enjoys writing and building her own puppetry work. Since moving to the West Coast, she has been a freelance puppet performer and builder throughout Southern California and currently works in Entertainment and Guest Talent Programs at Disneyland. She is also a fitness instructor, specializing in LesMills BodyComabt and CXWorx and triathlon enthusiast. She was a proud member of Team USA in 2009 in the ITU Triathlon World Championships in Australia and 2010 Age Group Champion in the Orange County Triathlon Series.

Ilana Turner

Performer and Program Coordinator
Ilana is a Los Angeles-based performer, writer, and educator. She has toured her original work in the U.S. and Europe as both a solo artist and as a collaborator with such ensembles as ARTEL (founding member), City Garage, Theatre Revelation, and others. She is one half of the female clown duo, Duckbits, and a co-founder of commedia dell’Arte troupe, Studio Zanni. She has performed and taught educational theater for the last decade with organizations such as Bluepalm, East L.A. Classic Theater, and the Zoe Barnum Continuation High School, where she directed at-risk teens in the creation of theater performance. She has also taught professional development to teachers of at-risk youth. She is endlessly fascinated by our world and grateful to blend her love of natural history and theater at NHM.

Jonathan C. K. Williams

Saber-Toothed Cat / Triceratops Full Suit Performer and Puppeteer
Jon has been part of the performing arts team at NHM since December 2010. He attended CSU Los Angeles for a degree in Theatre Arts & Dance and while there was introduced to ensemble/experimental/physical theater. During and since that time he worked with some outstanding artists at the forefront of the field including Anne Bogart/SITI Company and Mary Overlie, the originator of Viewpoints improvisational technique. Also quite the daredevil, he spent some intensive time training with Diavolo Dance Theater and Catch Me Bird. When not at the Museum you can find him performing with different theater groups like Son of Semele Ensemble and Opera Del Espacio or in the gym giving people a great workout! Then check the dance floor, local hiking trails, or a nice (comic) bookshop.

Peter Wylie

Performing Arts Manager
With over twelve years as a professional actor and eleven years teaching and managing theater-related educational programs, Peter is extremely glad to have found a home here at the Natural History Museum. He received his M.F.A. from the University of California, San Diego, and B.F.A. from Carnegie Mellon University. Prior to his position here at NHM, he worked in educational programming at the La Jolla Playhouse in La Jolla, California; Olney Theatre Center for the Arts, Olney Maryland; and the Shakespeare Theatre, Washington, D.C.

Betsy Zajko

Saber-Toothed Cat / Triceratops Full Suit Performer and Puppeteer
Betsy joined the part time staff in April 2010 as a host, puppeteer and content creator, and is known to visitors as “the lady inside the Triceratops and Saber-Toothed Cat.” Betsy’s specialty in voice and movement-based performance has led to a career in theater, film, and television including roles for HBO (Curb Your Enthusiasm), Showtime (Proximity), Sony Pictures (Mothman Prophecies, Assassination Files), Columbia Pictures (Striking Distance, Money for Nothing) and BBC (The Journey). Betsy’s stage work includes Steppenwolf, Geffen, Trap Door, Redmoon, Rogue Machine and the Cleveland Playhouse. Also an award winning narrator, Betsy is the host and co-creator of A Change Of Season heard on National Public Radio. Betsy is a vocalist with Breathing Room Yoga Music which has recorded two albums, and a company member of Rogue Machine Theatre in Los Angeles. She serves on the advisory board of directors for Awassa Children’s Project, aiding children and fighting AIDS via social issues circus theater in Ethiopia.