Arts and Humanities Alumni Cabinet

Danny Burstein, MFA ‘90

Danny Burstein is an actor and singer, most known for his work on the Broadway stage.

A seven-time Tony Award nominee, Danny won the 2020 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his performance as Harold Zidler in “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” on Broadway. He also received Tony nominations for “The Drowsy Chaperone” (2006), “South Pacific” (2008), “Follies” (2011), “Golden Boy” (2013), “Cabaret” (2014) and “Fiddler on the Roof” (2016).

He has won two Drama Desk Awards, four Outer Critics Circle Awards, and received three Grammy Award nominations. Burstein's performance in “Moulin Rouge!” also earned him the 2020 Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance. Additional Broadway credits include “The Seagull” (1992), “Saint Joan” (1993) and “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown” (2010).

Danny's television work includes a feature-length episode of the BBC sitcom “Absolutely Fabulous” (2002) and a Staten Island father in the first season of “Louie” (2010). He appeared as different characters in six episodes of the original NBC drama series “Law & Order” (1995–2015), and recurred as Lolly Steinman on the HBO series “Boardwalk Empire” (2010–11) and as D.A. Lewis Cormier on the CBS series “Evil.”

His film appearances include “Transamerica” (2005), “Deception” (2008), “The Family Fang” (2015) and “Indignation” (2016).

A graduate of the MFA acting program in the Department of Theatre and Dance, Danny has been an advocate for the theatrical arts as the industry recovers from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as a champion of causes related to ALS following his wife Rebecca Luker's illness and death from the disease in 2020.

Ken Cerniglia ‘95

Ken Cerniglia is a veteran dramaturg, writer, creative consultant, and organizational leader. His dramaturgy includes the Broadway hits “Hadestown” and “Peter and the Starcatcher.”

During 16 years as dramaturg and literary manager at Disney Theatrical, he developed more than 70 titles for Broadway, touring, international and licensed productions, including “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” “Aladdin,” “Newsies,” “The Little Mermaid,” “High School Musical” and “Tarzan.”

Ken is past president of Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas, and co-founder of the American Theatre Archive Project.

He is a proud UC San Diego graduate, receiving his bachelor’s degrees from the departments of Theatre and Dance, and Psychology. He holds a master’ degree from Catholic University and a Ph.D. from the University of Washington in theater history and criticism.

Sandi Logan ‘86

Sandi Logan has been a casting director for more than 25 years, working on television pilots and series, mini-series, reality shows and, most recently, a horror film. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for Best Casting of a Comedy Series for “Monk.” She spent eight years of her career as the vice president of casting at ABC Network and ABC Studios.

Sandi also casts theater projects. For several years, she was the in-house casting director at the Falcon Theatre in Burbank, Calif., renamed the Garry Marshall Theatre. There, she cast 20 productions: two with Garry Marshall as director, including an early Los Angeles workshop of “Pretty Woman” prior to its move to Broadway.

She is currently casting the “Dynasty,” “Nancy Drew” and “Tom Swift” series for the CW Network.

Sandi received her bachelor’s degree in theater (with an emphasis in directing) from the UC San Diego Department of Theatre and Dance, and has taught and lectured at various drama schools around the country, including UC San Diego.

Cristina Sibul '91

Chris Thomes

Emmy-Winning Creative Director and Producer Chris Thomes is a multi-Emmy-award winning executive creative director and producer with over two and a half decades of experience in the entertainment industry. He has collaborated with top brands, crafting innovative and compelling content that engages audiences and inspires them to take action. Passionate about using storytelling to connect with people and create meaningful experiences, Chris is renowned for his ability to bring together diverse teams and inspire them to produce work that is both creative and effective.

As the Chief Content & Creative Marketing Officer for EYEDentity, he focuses on creative content development and production, game development, marketing, insights, research, and innovation for groundbreaking animation and lifestyle brands.

Formerly the Vice President of Creative Services & Strategy at Disney Television Studios, Thomes played a key role in strategy and creative marketing, virtual production, digital show content, presentations, sizzles, pitch concepts, and graphics for the studio's various sub-brands. Previously, Thomes spearheaded marketing strategy at ABC Studios and managed the general oversight of branded digital video programming at ABC’s Digital Studio. In this role, he supervised production for content created by external producers, including derivative digital series, original digital first series, and special event live programming for the Disney-ABC Television Group’s diverse portfolio of broadcast and cable networks, such as ABC Entertainment, Freeform, and Disney Channel networks.

Chris has been honored with multiple Emmys for his work at ABC in digital programming and played a crucial role in launching ABC’s original scripted digital shorts with ABCd.

Before joining the Disney/ABC Television Group, Mr. Thomes oversaw digital production and programming for Saban Brands, managing the digital assets of Power Rangers and Paul Frank, among others.

Preceding his time at Saban Brands, Mr. Thomes led ABC.com's Digital Oscar Experience for seven years. Prior, he served as a creative director and executive producer at Disney Consumer Products and Interactive, overseeing video production and integrated ad sales production. There he earned five Disney Inventor Awards for his contributions to Disney Xtreme Digital and interactive storytelling. At DCPI, Mr. Thomes also produced The Muppets Kitchen web series, a comedy cooking show, and the Webby Award-winning Jim Henson¹s The Possibility Shop, a Disney.com web-based original production focused on instilling creativity in kids and parents and Preschool Time Online, the first interactive virtual world for preschoolers focused on leaning.

Mr. Thomes is an active member of the Television Academy of Arts & Sciences, having served as Governor of Emerging Media programming for three years and co-chair of the digital strategy committee. He also held the position of Vice President, New Media for the Producers Guild of America from 2010-2012. Chris is a regular contributing writer for Produced By magazine and often oversees the Innovation Award juries for both Primetime Emmys and the PGA Awards. Chris also sits on the Board of Advisors for the Creators Guild of America and is the founder of the Southern California Cineforum, dedicated to bridging film and television students to the entertainment industry.

Mr. Thomes holds a BA in Film and Television from the University of California, San Diego.

Hannah Von Heidegger ‘19

Based in Los Angeles, Hannah Von Heidegger is the global education director for the luxury skincare company, Retrouvé. She graduated from UC San Diego in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in history.

While at the university, she was awarded the Armin Rappaport Prize for best honors paper by the Department of History, and joined the Kappa Alpha Theta Fraternity.

Hannah is also an equestrian, a lifelong passion that she continues today, and has represented the United States in international show-jumping competitions. Over the past 15 years, Hannah has also been an avid supporter of the organization Project Angel Food, which provides meals to those in need in the greater Los Angeles area.