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The Native Caribbean Foundation's
Creative 
Team

The group of people that make the magic happen!

Director
Mr. Jelani Corbie 

There is a unique duality of simplicity and complexity with which theatre is able to explore, probe, and agitate the concept of humanity. I’m interested in the cultural contribution made through the creation of theatre. The creation of art is consistently adding to this pool of stories that we reference to make sense of the world around us. We have been considered to be storytellers for as long as recorded history permits us to conceptualize. Storytelling exists in both the mundane and the imaginative; theatre acts as a conduit between the two which allows for a multitude of perspectives, experiences, and ultimately culture to be shared.


I was born and raised in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and as a nation, it is considered to be a historically cosmopolitan epicenter. This unmediated experience of a creolized lifestyle formulated my ideology of one’s individual story relative to the story of a collective group. The concept of ‘home’ is therefore my entrance into theatrical work. The definition of home is one that I consider to be malleable and subjective and can impress upon the human experience in a multitude of ways. For some, home is a physical location that we structure our lives in relation to and in accordance with our needs. For others, home is the people with which we feel the greatest sense of belonging. Theatre seems to be the concatenation of these and additional perceptions of home which creates an experience so alive that an attempt at justly articulating the sheer power of this tool of human expression seems impractical. It is for this reason that I have found an attraction to this medium that attempts to provide answers for the human experience, yet revels in its overall cluelessness because of its boundless nature.

jelani.c.corbie@gmail.com
(917) 420-2610 | (868) 727-2197

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Choreographer

Mr. Triston Wallace

Triston Wallace is a versatile performing arts professional and founder of the Trinidad and Tobago Performing Arts Network.

He has been choreographing for as long as he has been performing; a journey which began when he entered his school’s (St. George’s College’s) annual aerobics routine competition on a whim, with his sister (Alisha Wallace) and Adelle Rostant in 2003. The routine won first place; gained national attention, and their team was invited to perform at the opening of UWI SPEC later that year. Since then he has traveled an extraordinary path, where he discovered T&T’s local Hip Hop culture, other genres of dance, music and ultimately theatre. He has choreographed many award-winning competitive routines along the way and has also been the choreographer for the Eastern Youth Chorale from 2008 – 2011 His other choreography credits include: Fatima College’s Gifts of Blue and Gold 5 (2014); Native Caribbean Foundation’s Big Bad Musical (2015 – 2016),  and Law and Order C-rhyme and Pun-Ishment (2017); Picoplat Music Development Foundation’s The Magic Flute (2017); Presentation College Mixed Choir’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat (2014) as the associate choreographer to Marlon De Bique, and The Music Man (2015). The highlight of his career thus far, however, has been choreographing for Brian Mac Farlene’s Christmas Joy and Simeon Moodoo‘s ‘The Inspector‘ with Naparima College, which returned from the 2017 Caribbean Secondary Schools’ Drama Festival in Antigua, with 10 out of 16 awards, AIDA the Musical with Presentation College Mixed Choir and Native Caribbean Foundation’s Rockin’ Snow White, Princess Whatsername, and Rockin Robin Hood.

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MUSIC DIRECTOR
Mr. Christopher Sookhoo

Christopher Sookhoo is a young musician who has graduated from the University of the West Indies having attained a Bachelors of Arts in Musical Arts with specialization in the areas of choral conducting and vocal training. 

From a young age, he showed promise in areas of music and went on to study up to Grade 8 in both Music Theory and voice, all while having participated in Junior Panorama competitions as a pannist, as well as Music Festival competitions, winning several categories. He has also been an active member of the UWI Arts Chorale, having gone on tour with them to Belize, Panama and Mexico in 2018, and conducted the men's section for performances in the year 2019. 

He has proven himself to be a musical asset to the Presbyterian Church of Trinidad and Tobago having arranged for many of their steel orchestras and also forming choirs in some of their congregations, as well as training aspiring vocalists within the church. Christopher also taught as a part time music teacher in the Felicity Presbyterian Primary School and is currently teaching at the Oak Preparatory Private School. 

Apart from being classically trained in music, he has experimented with other genres of music which incorporate more contemporary styles and has diversified his arsenal of knowledge which was put to good use during his time at the Native Caribbean Foundation where he served his first term as the Musical Director during Princess Whatsername. (2020)

STAGE MANAGER 
Miss Sydney Darius

Sydney has been involved in Theatre since entering Secondary School, and played the lead role in our second production "Law and Order: C-rhyme and Pun-ishment." She has since graduated with a Bachilors in Fine Arts (BFA) and has been giving back to the organization over the years. She has accepted the job of Stage Manager for Rockin Robin Hood, and also assists with administration. 

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SET DESIGN & DIGITAL MEDIA
Ms. Céléna Espinoza 

Celena is an all round student of the arts, and is presently pursuing her degree in Digital Media and Animation. She has served the organization in several key areas, such as set designer, video, animation and special effects designer, backstage, assistant director, and creative assistant. She also has an educational background in Music, Acting, and Dance. Her invaluable contribution to the organization since its inception has contributed immensely to the overall impact of the productions, and the organization's success.   

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