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Toni Aybar, Director

Toni teaches Theater Arts at Brighten Academy and is the Director of Brighten Broadway. She founded the theater program in 2013 and has since produced and directed 13 shows at Brighten. Her heart is made happy by working with these amazing kids. She would like to thank the administration at Brighten for allowing her the artistic freedom to tell these stories, the incredibly talented and dedicated production team who make the vision become a reality, the Drama Booster team that keeps her sane, and also her wonderfully creative family, who not only support her sacrifices of time (and clean laundry) but support the program in creative and technical roles. She hopes you find the beauty in the story of Matilda and enjoy the talents of the cast and crew family! Credits include: A Fairy Tale Christmas Carol, Alice in Zombieland, The Snow Queen, The Aristocats, Tiny Tim’s Christmas, Peter Pan, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Junie B Jones, Willy Wonka, Robin Hood, Little Mermaid, Mary Poppins, Hamlet and now Matilda.

Alexander Aybar, Choreographer Alexander Aybar, 20, is an actor and director, as well as a rising double major in both the B.A. Film and Media and B.I.S. Theatre (Acting Concentration) degree programs at Georgia State University. Alex has been involved in every production Brighten Broadway has put on, either on the stage while attending BACS or as part of the creative team in high school and beyond. He has starred in 32 different productions as an actor, with roles including Marius in Les Miserables, Jimmy in Thoroughly Modern Millie, and The Beast in Beauty and the Beast. Alex is a worship leader at The Journey at DFUMC, and is also the founder and executive director of The OutCast Co, an upcoming non-profit theatre company for collegiate students and young adults dedicated to inclusion and amplifying LGBT stories. He is an advocate for mental health awareness and believes theatre has the power to change lives. In his incredibly rare free time, he enjoys napping, Waffle House (a little too much), horror movies, and playing his keyboard. He'd like to thank his family for their support in his art, Arrik for putting up with it all, and the maggots for continuously exceeding his high expectations for performance. He hopes you find the show revolting :)