Joseph Ribeiro

Joseph Ribeiro has years of experience as an actor, director, musician, academic, instructor and voice coach. He has starred on television and in feature films in his native South Africa and abroad, and now lives in the United States. South African roles included Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, Feste in Twelfth Night, Lucio in Measure for Measure, Lord Brockhurst in The Boyfriend, the Dauphin in St. Joan, Dr. Rank in A Doll's House and Montjoy in Henry V. Since his arrival in the United States, Ribeiro has played Fagin in Oliver, Caiaphas in Jesus Christ Superstar and the Mysterious Man in Into the Woods. For his role as Judge Pitkin in On the Town, Governor/Innkeeper in Man of La Mancha and Pickering in My FairLady, he won Ginny Awards for Featured Actor from the American Music Theatre of San Jose. Ribeiro has performed a number of roles for Shakespeare Santa Cruz including Friar Francis in Much Ado, Prince Escalus in Romeo and Juliet, Dr. Bartolo in The Marriage of Figaro, and the Duke in Two Gentlemen of Verona. He was delighted to be cast by Shakespeare Santa Cruz in the world premieres of two pantomimes, Cinderella (where he played the Dame, Mrs. Baden-Rotten,) and Gretel and Hansel, where he did a number of 'dame' roles including Ivana B. Sweet and the Witch.

A Fulbright Scholar in the seventies, Ribeiro received a master's degree from Columbia University. He is an instructor in the Theatre Arts Department at Cabrillo College in Aptos. He plays piano and organ, composes, conducts and has been organist and choirmaster in a number of churches, both in South Africa and in the U.S.