Nicole Erwin founded Aria Create Productions over a decade ago with the goal of producing new and innovative theatre works. With her business acumen and passion for the arts, she has since created nurturing spaces for artists and exciting shows for San Antonio audiences.
Originally from Denver, Colorado, Nicole has lived in San Antonio since 1994. She has appeared on stage locally with the Overtime Theater, the Woodlawn Theater, The Playhouse, The Public Theater of San Antonio, the Cameo Theater and the Roxie Theater. She is very engaged in the San Antonio theater community as a board director for the Alamo Theatre Arts Council (ATAC) and the San Antonio Theatre Coalition (SATCO).
The Colorado native holds a Bachelor of Arts in Vocal Music with a minor in Business Administration from the University of Denver Lamont School of Music. She studied Opera under former Metropolitan Opera performers and has studied locally with Dr. Diana Allen, Tim Birt, and Darrin Newhardt. She has performed with The San Antonio Symphony Mastersingers, South Texas Lyric Opera, Lamont Opera Theater, Lamont Chorale, and Lamont Jazz Choir.
Nicole is a repeat vocal talent contest winner and received the Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year award from the Entertainer-Indie Association. Her self-produced album, Lone Star Lonely was recorded in Nashville and had two single releases, Ain’t No Heartache and Tied to the Wheel of Runaway Heart – both were Top Album Cuts in the Gavin Magazine’s Country Chart. Nicole also enjoys acting in films, commercials and doing voice over work.
Jade Esteban Estrada – Artistic Director
San Antonio native Jade Esteban Estrada is a graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. He is an award-winning singer, dancer, actor, and playwright.
His television credits include The Graham Norton Effect (Comedy Central) and In the Life on PBS. Solo theatre credits include The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs, and The Kindness of Strangers.
Self-penned solo theatre shows have included ICONS: The Lesbian & Gay History of the World, Vol. 1-5, Chek It, Baby: A Fabulous Explanation of Anton Chekhov’s Greatest Plays, TransWorld! The Transgender History of the World, A Sign from the Taco Gods (ATAC Award – Best Actor in a Comedy), Magick: An Evening with Aleister Crowley, among others.
His produced plays How Burlesque Saved Christmas, Sinderella and the Glass Zipper, Madame X: A Burlesque Fantasy, Tales of a Hard Nut, Masque of the Red Death, and Eat Me, a burlesque adaptation of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
Past directing credits include The Back-Porch Gang (Overtime Theater), Tortilla Heaven (Pantheon Theatre), Havana, The Bronze Gold Speakeasy (Prohibition Supperclub), Dinner at Dario’s (Theatre Studio), Make Me a Musical (Performing Arts San Antonio), Boys and Girls Together (Milagro Theatre), and Curanderas and Chocolate: Cuentos of a Latina Life (Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center).
Past artistic directorships have included the Overtime Theater in San Antonio, Terrible Infants Theatre Company in Houston, and Experiencia Dance Company in New York. Jade was appointed the artistic director of Aria Creative Productions in April 2022.
In 2006, Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher paid tribute to Estrada by commissioning him the title of Kentucky Colonel, the highest honor awarded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, which acknowledges outstanding ambassadors of goodwill and fellowship around the world. Estrada joined other honorary colonels such as Winston Churchill, Ronald Reagan, Bob Hope, Joan Crawford, Mae West, Johnny Depp, Muhammad Ali and Pope John Paul II.
In 2008, he hosted the 19th Annual South Florida GLAAD Media Awards on Bravo and during the Obama Administration, he was invited to The White House to attend the State Arrival Ceremony welcoming President of Mexico Felipe Calderon and his wife Margarita Zavala.
In 2009, he founded the Acting Masterclass Series where he teaches in-person and virtual workshops in theatre, music, and dance across the United States, Europe, and Australia.
As a journalist, Jade’s work has been published in the San Antonio Express-News, Out in SA, San Antonio Magazine, the San Antonio Sentinel, CultureMap. His column Glitter Political appears biweekly in the San Antonio Current.
Jade is the founder of the New Play Development Series, a program that gives playwrights an opportunity to further develop new works.
Learn more at getjaded.com.
Joseph Urick – Managing Director and Artist in Residence
Joseph Urick is a seasoned actor. New York credits include Taming of the Shrew, Cinderella, and Tinderbox (Frog & Peach Theatre). In Austin, he performed in A Christmas Carol, Evita, Alice in Wonderland at the Zach Theatre. He performed Rooms: A Rock Romance at the Hippodrome Theatre in Florida. International touring productions include Romeo & Juliet and Oedipus Rex. in San Antonio, Into the Woods (ATAC Award), Taming of the Shrew, RACE, You’ve Ruined a Perfectly Good Mystery. He holds a MFA in Acting from the University of Florida.