Meet the Honors Class of 2024 - The Theatre Lab

Meet the Honors Class of 2024

Amanda Okaka
Amanda is a research consultant living, working,
and running in Washington, DC. Originally from Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, she earned a Masters in Public Health from Boston University. She is an avid traveler who has always been drawn to storytelling in all its forms. She is excited to participate in the Theatre Lab’s Honors Conservatory and dedicate this year to learning and self discovery. Through the Honors Conservatory she hopes to refine her skills as an actress and gain tools to live out her artistry more fully. Amanda enjoys spending her free time with family and friends, singing, and/or baking.
Anais Cantillana
Anais Cantillana is a young actress from Chile, who started her acting and performing arts education at a very young age at The School of Arts and Technology in her home country. Through her formative years Anais has been lucky to be part of many projects in different areas like Theatre, Ballet and Film. After finishing High School she decided to continue her education in the US finding her way to the Theater Lab’s Honors Conservatory program this year. She has a tremendous passion for the arts and a thirst for knowledge, that’s why she is incredibly excited for this new chapter in her career.


Andrew Chi
Heeding the lifelong penchant to perform and nurturing the newfound mindfulness for mental health, Andrew left his career as a public defender in Brooklyn, New York to study acting. After a couple of years, taking classes and being a part of The Theatre Lab’s Creating a Role class of 2023 production of Arcadia, he joined this year’s Honors Acting Conservatory class of 2024. He hopes to
one day combine his devotion to acting, hobby of writing (and cooking), and Asian-American
diasporic journey to discover roles for the stage
and screen. 
Cameron Keys
Cameron began acting as a philosophy undergrad
at Arizona State University and worked on the Universal Studios film Tropic Thunder as a production assistant. His graduate work in science and technology policy explored documentary filmmaking as a research tool for laboratory ethnography. For some years Cameron provided
on-air analysis of academic research trends for a niche internet television show called Consciousness Central. In Amsterdam, he moderated a public debate on neuroscience topics (“The Brainstorm Sessions”) with Nobel Prize-winning mathematician Sir Roger Penrose and others. He subsequently earned graduate degrees in business administration and public administration. Cameron currently works as a social science analyst at the Library of Congress.


Cearra Guisbert
Cearra Guisbert (also known as Cc) grew up acting in community theatre and school productions in small town Indiana. She studied acting at the Indiana Repertory Theatre in high school and at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee before moving to the DMV and finding her way to the Theatre Lab’s classes last year. She has always dreamed of pursuing a long-term course study dedicated to acting and is eager to engage in the local arts
scene while attending the Honors Conservatory.
Cc delights in any chance to learn and perform in the theatre. She looks forward to the program of study she has committed herself to and the opportunities that lie beyond it.
Carl A. Miller
Carl A. Miller is thrilled to be part of the 2024 Theatre Lab Honors Acting Conservatory.  Carl appeared last year in Theatre Lab’s production of “Arcadia” and in the One-Act Festival at the Howard County Center for the Arts.  Outside of acting, he is a pianist and a storyteller. Carl grew up in Maryland, lived in North Carolina, California, and Michigan, and is now happy to be back living three miles from where he went to high school.  Carl works as a quantum scientist at NIST and the University of Maryland.

Daniel Moore
Daniel L. Moore is a native of Washington, DC. Mr. Moore is a 2011 graduate of The University of the Arts in Philadelphia with a BFA in Ballet. He has had the pleasure of working with U.S Cultural Connect Ambassador and actress Debbie Allen, also in three of her award-winning musicals at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in his earlier pre-professional career starting at the age of 16. Mr. Moore was also asked to be a part of a television show called ‘A Chance To Dance’, produced by Nigel Lythgoe of ‘So You Think You Can Dance’, where he worked in-live television for over 4 months. That pushed his desire to pursue more film and television outlets, which made him want to merge dance with acting. As Mr. Moore continues to work in the entertainment industry, Mr. Moore keeps reminding himself to never stop learning as he continues to love the work he does strongly. Daniel is so excited to be apart of the Honors Acting Conservatory Program 2024 through The Theatre Lab. 
Donta Hensley
My name is Donta Hensley. My friends call me Hensley. My mother settled down in Alexandria, Virginia where I was born in the year 1991. Growing up, inside Fairfax County, it was my idea to become a cartoonist! I thought about traveling to California where I would become an employee at Dreamworks. I loved drawing cartoons. Those images of talking broomsticks and flying monkeys inspired me to become an animator. Not too many years later, I discovered theatre arts. Ever since 2009, I have been working on real characters, real dreams, and real plots under imaginative circumstances. I am happy!
Hui Zhu
Hui Zhu (She/her) born and raised in Shanghai, China. She came to the states in 2014. As a millennial heavily influenced by Hannah Montana, she is an accountant by day and actor by night. She started acting in 2023, recent works include stage reading for Anacostia playhouse and student films. She lives in Northwest Washington DC. When she is not acting, she likes to go to the museum, hiking, snowboarding and hanging out with her cat little rice.


Jeffrey Stanley
Jeffrey Stanley is a writer, voice actor, and dancer who has worked primarily as a freelance audio technician and stagehand in the D.C. metro area for the past two years. He grew up helping his family run The Studio Cooperative in Southern Maryland and has spent multiple summers working as a counselor at Burklyn Ballet Theatre, where most of his performing experience comes from. While he has had small parts in audio dramas and podcasts, the Honors Acting Conservatory is his first foray into traditional theatrical acting and he is thrilled for the opportunity!

We use cookies to improve your experience and deliver personalized content. View Cookie Settings