Welcome!

Selected Works

Hamlet (Pieces 1 & 2), Sharknami: The Musical? (Piece 3), Hope for the Future (Piece 4)

Hamlet

Valencia College, 2025
Set Designer

Drawing & drafting by Draco Aleksander. Photos by Chris Bridges for Valencia College Theatre

The tale of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, is perhaps the most famous in the Shakespearean canon. After Hamlet's father, the king, dies under suspicious circumstances, the prince's mother marries his uncle, kicking off a series of events that will lead to the demise of everyone involved.This version of Hamlet was adapted by director Bobbie Bell to reflect the modern political situation of the mid-2020s. Reframed to take place within the confines of the mental health ward in a supermax prison, the set was designed to evoke the visual look of a surgical theater, surrounding the actors on all sides with the audience and blanketing the whole theater in security camera coverage. This also forced each half of the audience to be aware of the other at all times, reinforcing the presence of the panopticon that we all live within.
After all, Denmark is a prison, but so too is the whole world.

Sharknami

Valencia College, 2023
Technical Director

Photographer: Draco Aleksander

Originally a show at the Orlando Fringe Festival, Sharknami: The Musical? is a parody of a parody that takes place fully within an old beachside bar where a group of survivors don't quite manage to stay alive in good classic shlock fashion.While technically a simple show, this production stands out because it was Draco's first opportunity to act as a technical director with Valencia, and though there were some growing pains along the way, the end result was worth the effort.

Phantasmagoria

Touring Troupe, Since 2019
Stage Manager, Lighting Designer, ALD

Photographer: Draco Aleksander

This troupe of storytellers brings gothic tales of all varieties to their audiences in large tours for Halloween and Christmas, plus occasional special appearances around other holidays and requested engagements as well.Generally handling the small cast/small venue touring shows, but sometimes covering the main stage productions as well, Draco has done stage management and lighting design for Phantasmagoria's Florida shows since 2019.Highlights include working in a variety of settings, including theaters, convention halls, restaurant cabarets, and even a converted mall storefront.

Bullshot Crummond

Valencia College, 2015
ATD, Fly System Designer, Staff Prop Supervisor

Photographers: Kevin Abel (a.k.a. kabelphoto) (images 1-3), Draco Aleksander (image 4)

Bullshot is a parody of early 1900s spy movies, so this production's concept reframed the theater space as a movie studio. To further enhance the experience, we created an exaggerated version of the kind of special effects used for low budget films of the era, including a model plane that flew across the stage, a pigeon that descended from the grid to deliver a message, and a comically large spider to menace the hero.The most impressive part was a simple system that allowed two birds to fly towards one another along the same pull line and have a "fight" that ended with one being dropped to the floor without interrupting the other's continuing motion afterwards.

Full Show History

Below is a full list of shows that Draco has worked on professionally from most recent to the earliest, alongside the role they played in each production:

2025

American Idiot, Valencia College
- Co-Set Designer, Faculty Assistant Technical Director

Hamlet, Valencia College
- Set Designer, Faculty Assistant Technical Director

2024

Orlando Renaissance Festival (2024)
- Front of House Manager

The Barbara Lee Riverside Yuletide, Phantasmagoria Troupe
- Stage Manager, Sound Board Op

The Last Voyage of the Phantasia, Valencia College (Cancelled for funding issues)
- Faculty Assistant Technical Director

Return to the Forbidden Planet, Valencia College
- Faculty Assistant Technical Director

Merrily We Roll Along, Valencia College
- Faculty Advisor to Student Leadership

Boeing Boeing, Valencia College
- Co-Set Designer, Faculty Assistant Technical Director

Phantasmagoria: Wicked Little Tales MegaCon Show, Phantasmagoria Troupe
- Stage Manager, Lighting Designer

She Kills Monsters, Valencia College
- Co-Set Designer, Faculty Assistant Technical Director

2023

Orlando Renaissance Festival (2023)
- Front of House Manager

The Florida Museum of Cursed Artifacts: A Haunted Attraction, Valencia College
- Faculty Assistant Technical Director, Shop Foreperson

Sharknami: The Musical?, Valencia College
- Technical Director

Peter and the Starcatcher, Valencia College
- Assistant Technical Director, Shop Foreperson

Phantasmagoria: Tales of the Undead MegaCon Show, Phantasmagoria Troupe
- Stage Manager, Lighting Designer

Angels in America: Perestroika, Valencia College
- Assistant Technical Director, Shop Foreperson

2022

Orlando Renaissance Festival (2022)
- Front of House Manager

Phantasmagoria: A Christmas Carol & The Canterville Ghost Tour, Phantasmagoria Troupe
- Stage Hand

Phantasmagoria XIII: POE, Through the Tales Darkly Tour, Phantasmagoria Troupe
- Stage Manager

Young Frankenstein, Valencia College
- Assistant Technical Director, Shop Foreperson

Conscious Voices, Valencia College
- Assistant Technical Director, Shop Foreperson

Phantasmagoria: Dark Carnival Two MegaCon Show, Phantasmagoria Troupe
- Stage Manager, Lighting Designer

Angels in America: Millennium Approaches, Valencia College
- Assistant Technical Director, Shop Foreperson

Phantasmagoria: Hauntingly Romantic Tales Tour, Phantasmagoria Troupe
- Stage Manager, Lighting Designer

2021

Orlando Renaissance Festival (2021, Canceled due to pandemic)
- Front of House Manager

Phantasmagoria: A Christmas Carol, A Ghost Story of Christmas Tour, Phantasmagoria Troupe
- Stage Manager

Phantasmagoria XII: Dark Carnival Tour, Phantasmagoria Troupe
- Stage Manager

Phantasmagoria: Dark Carnival MegaCon Show, Phantasmagoria Troupe
- Stage Manager, Lighting Designer

She Dreams of Heroes Virtual Show, Valencia College
- Stage Manager, Streaming Designer

2020

Orlando Renaissance Festival (2020, Canceled due to pandemic)
- Front of House Manager

Phantasmagoria XI: Plague Tales Virtual Tour, Phantasmagoria Troupe
- Lighting Designer, Stage Hand

Rhinoceros (Canceled due to pandemic), Valencia College
- Shop Hand, Laboratory Aide

Phantasmagoria: Valentine's Trick and Treat Tour (Canceled due to pandemic), Phantasmagoria Troupe
- Stage Manager, Lighting Designer

Brighton Beach Memoirs, Valencia College
- Shop Hand, Laboratory Aide

2019

Orlando Renaissance Festival (2019)
- Front of House Manager

Phantasmagoria: Through a Christmas Darkly Tour, Phantasmagoria Troupe
- Stage Manager, Lighting Designer

Aida, Valencia College
- Shop Hand, Laboratory Aide

This One's For The Girls, Valencia College
- Shop Hand, Laboratory Aide

King Lear, Valencia College
- Shop Hand, Laboratory Aide

Mr Burns, Valencia College
- Shop Hand, Laboratory Aide

2018

Orlando Renaissance Festival (2018)
- Front of House Manager

Big Fish, Valencia College
- Shop Hand, Laboratory Aide

My Dear Watson, Valencia College
- Shop Hand, Laboratory Aide

Transition, Valencia College
- Assistant Technical Director, Shop Foreperson

The Miracle Worker, Valencia College
- Assistant Technical Director, Shop Foreperson

2017

Orlando Renaissance Festival (2017)
- Front of House Manager

Evita, Valencia College
- Assistant Technical Director, Shop Foreperson

Next To Normal, Valencia College
- Assistant Technical Director, Shop Foreperson

Creation, Valencia College
- Assistant Technical Director, Shop Foreperson

Seven Year Itch, Valencia College
- Assistant Technical Director, Shop Foreperson

One Man, Two Guv'nors, Theater Winter Haven
- Assistant Costume Designer

2016

Spring Awakening, Valencia College
- Assistant Technical Director, Shop Foreperson

Rattlesnakes & Talk About The Passion, Valencia College
- Assistant Technical Director, Shop Foreperson

The Bourgeois Gentleman, Valencia College
- Assistant Technical Director, Shop Foreperson

Ruined, Valencia College
- Assistant Technical Director, Shop Foreperson

Caught in the Net, Theater Winter Haven
- Costume Designer

2015

Sweet Charity, Valencia College
- Assistant Technical Director, Shop Foreperson, Run Crew Member

Bullshot Crummond, Valencia College
- Assistant Technical Director, Shop Foreperson, Fly System Designer, Staff Prop Supervisor

Metamorphoses, Valencia College
- Shop Hand, Laboratory Aide

Division, Valencia College
- Shop Hand, Laboratory Aide

2014

Bacchae, Valencia College
- Shop Hand, Laboratory Aide

West Side Story, Valencia College
- Shop Hand, Laboratory Aide

Unnecessary Farce, Theater Winter Haven
- Costume Designer

Summer 2025

Basic Stagecraft, Two Sections - Valencia College, LEDP Dept.
Advanced Technical Production - Valencia College, LEDP Dept.
Theatre Design Practicum - Valencia College, LEDP Dept.
Survey of Entertainment Technology - Valencia College, LEDP Dept.

Spring 2025

Basic Stagecraft, Two Sections - Valencia College, LEDP Dept.
Basic Stagecraft Lab, Two Sections - Valencia College, LEDP Dept.
Advanced Technical Production - Valencia College, LEDP Dept.
Theatre Design Practicum - Valencia College, LEDP Dept.
Survey of Entertainment Technology, Two Sections - Valencia College, LEDP Dept.
Introduction to Theater - Valencia College, Theater Dept.

Fall 2024

Basic Stagecraft, Two Sections - Valencia College, LEDP Dept.
Basic Stagecraft Lab, Three Sections - Valencia College, LEDP Dept.
Advanced Technical Production - Valencia College, LEDP Dept.
Theatre Design Practicum - Valencia College, LEDP Dept.
Survey of Entertainment Technology - Valencia College, LEDP Dept.

Summer 2024

Basic Stagecraft - Valencia College, LEDP Dept.
Advanced Technical Production - Valencia College, LEDP Dept.
Survey of Entertainment Technology, Two Sections - Valencia College, LEDP Dept.

Spring 2024

Basic Stagecraft, Two Sections - Valencia College, LEDP Dept.
Basic Stagecraft Lab, Four Sections - Valencia College, LEDP Dept.
Advanced Technical Production - Valencia College, LEDP Dept.
Theatre Design Practicum - Valencia College, LEDP Dept.
Introduction to Theater - Valencia College, Theater Dept.

Fall 2023

Basic Stagecraft, Two Sections - Valencia College, LEDP Dept.
Basic Stagecraft Lab, Three Sections - Valencia College, LEDP Dept.
Advanced Technical Production - Valencia College, LEDP Dept.
Theatre Design Practicum - Valencia College, LEDP Dept.
Survey of Entertainment Technology - Valencia College, LEDP Dept.
Introduction to Theater - Valencia College, Theater Dept.

Summer 2023

Technical Theatre Production - Valencia College, LEDP Dept.

Spring 2023

Entertainment Systems Control - Valencia College, LEDP Dept.
Introduction Audio Visual Tech - Valencia College, LEDP Dept.
Introduction to Theater - Valencia College, Theater Dept.
Technical Theater Production - Valencia College, LEDP Dept.

Fall 2022

Basic Stagecraft - Valencia College, LEDP

Spring 2022

Basic Stagecraft - Valencia College, LEDP Dept.
Introduction to Theater - Valencia College, Theater Dept.

Fall 2021

Basic Stagecraft - Valencia College, LEDP Dept.

Books

Since 2016

Cover Art by: FoxPirateAce

This book series follows Sheela Saltypinch, a goblin mage and "professional lover" whose cheeky attitude and strong sense of responsibility gets her into more than her share of trouble.Across the six published books, there are two arcs; books 1-5 form the first arc and book 6 begins the second, with the next two novels planned to complete it. Though all of the books follow the same lead character, each arc forms its own story, so new readers can start at the beginning of either one without any issues.

Short Stories

Since 2019

Artist: FoxPirateAce

Originally published to Patreon, these short stories are set all around the World of Vaenia, and even take place across multiple centuries. Starring a variety of characters, some of whom know Sheela, many of whom do not, they serve to fill in the gaps and expand the world to make it into a living place.

Draco has a long background in writing adventures for TTRPGs thanks to decades of experience GMing, but they've taken the leap to full game development over the last few years.Below are examples of the games they've released and are currently working on.
If you have any interest in picking them up, click the button below to head over to their TTRPG webstore.

• TTRPG Store

ProtoDrive

Public Beta released in 2023, Development Ongoing

Artist: CacklingMoon

ProtoDrive is a TTRPG all about street racing and the dramatic lives of the drivers who do it.ProtoDrive is Powered by Lancer, with adaptations to make roleplay more impactful to gameplay and deep changes that transform the mecha building & combat mechanics into a robust system for customizing cars & racing them at ludicrous speeds.

So That Others May Live

Released in 2025

Artist: Draco Aleksander

So That Others May Live is a genre-agnostic game about a squad of Search & Rescue personnel deployed in the wake of a disaster in the hopes of saving as many people as possible. The nature of the destruction can vary, from the natural to the supernatural, from the ancient to modern, or even from fantasy to science fiction. Whatever kind of setting is chosen, the mission remains the same:Save lives.Unfortunately, that's always easier said than done.

Cactus Quest

Released in 2023

Artist: Draco Aleksander

Cactus Quest is a game about a group of people who have, for whatever reason, chosen to suffer the difficulties of living in the desert and outside the reach of the law to grow hallucinogenic cacti. Whether the plants are for recreational consumption, hold religious significance, or just to be sold at a profit, it doesn’t matter. You’ve got a passel of land, a patch of cactus, and a duty to protect them from any dangers that might be about, whether they’re real or just in your slightly altered imaginations.Cactus Quest is a Lasers & Feelings hack.

Six-Sided Dungeons

Released in 2022

Artist: Draco Aleksander

Six-Sided Dungeons is a simple grid-based tactics tabletop game inspired by more complex games like Fire Emblem, Warhammer Quest, and Yu-Gi-Oh: Dungeon Dice Monsters. It seeks to provide the thrill of outmaneuvering an enemy commander and striking where they're weakest without the complications of strange dice symbols or expensive miniatures. Instead, Six-Sided Dungeons relies on a shared set of basic minions augmented by each player's choice of henchfolk & commanders, and basic d6s (or the occasional d12) to drive its tunneling and invading action!
With a current roster of ten commanders and their henchfolk to choose from, there's a huge range of playstyles available, from the straightforward Guard Captain and their Mercenaries to the methodical Wizened Sage and their Trainee Wizards.

Return of the Dawnbringers

(In Development)

Artist: Wikimedia Commons

Return of the Dawnbringers is a game about heroes leaving the village they call home to delve into the dungeon-like territory of massive bosses called Tycoons to kill them and rid the world of their evil influence.It is built using the Caltrops Core engine.

Combat Aces

(In Development)

Artist: Wikimedia Commons

Combat Aces is a game about how pilots from all walks of life deal with the drama and trauma of living in an active warzone, and their desperate fights to survive through one more sortie.

Thread of the Gods

(In Development)

Artist: CacklingMoon (Lines), Draco Aleksander (Color)

Thread of the Gods is about people in a post-post-apocalyptic world that has begun to reclaim the creations of those who came before them, but still has little understanding of what their true purpose was.Granted immortality (for a price) by the OcMods that take into their bodies, Climbers ascend the ruins of the Thread that once connected humanity to the stars in search of resources, Blessings, and the truth that is said to be at the other end of the journey.Thread of the Gods is a MÖRK BORG hack.

Sharknami: The Musical?: The Escape Room

Valencia College, 2022
Scenario, Set, & Props Designer

Photographer: Draco Aleksander (Images 1-2), Valencia College Arts & Entertainment (Images 3-4)

Due to ongoing audience restrictions, the decision was made not to mount the full version of Sharknami in the Summer of 2022. Instead, we created an escape room based on the script in which players took on the role of employees at the Beachtown Bar, and were tasked with surviving the storm in one piece.

Escape Artist

The Great Escape Room, 2019
Scenario, Set, & Props Designer

Photographer: Draco Aleksander

In Escape Artist, players are whisked back to the early 1900s and tasked with uncovering the truth behind the "failed" final attempt to contact the ghost of Harry Houdini.Note: Images 1 & 4 come from different installations of the same experience. Perspectives are chosen carefully so as not to reveal too much of the experience's secrets.

Escape the Colosseum

The Great Escape Room, 2018
Scenario, Set, & Props Assistant Designer

Photographer: Draco Aleksander

In Escape the Colosseum, the players find themselves in another time & another place. Captured by the Roman Guards, they must put together clues left behind by previous prisoners, and find their way to the escape.Note: Perspectives are chosen carefully so as not to reveal too much of the experience's secrets.