Cecilia Despres is a multi-hyphenate performer with over eighteen years of stage experience, born, raised, and currently based in Jacksonville, Florida. She started dancing at the age of three and developed a love for performing that led her to seek training in acting and later singing. Cecilia graduated with a theatre arts seal from Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in 2019, completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre with a Dance minor at Jacksonville University’s Linda Berry Stein College of Fine Arts and Humanities in 2023, and completed a Master of Business Administration from Jacksonville University’s Davis College of Business and Technology in 2024. Her past show credits include The Trail to Oregon! (Mother), Cabaret (Fraulein Schneider), The Crucible (Betty Parris), The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Mr. Harry Sayle), In the Heights (Ensemble), and A… My Name Will Always Be Alice (Cover). During her time at JU, Cecilia sang with the Jacksonville University Singers, performing a wide range of choral repertoire from Baroque classics to musical theatre arrangements, which performed in 2023 at the historic St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. She also sang with the JU Rivertones, a treble choir specializing in vocal jazz, in which she served as the choir/sound manager for the group. Both vocal ensembles are audition-only, and Cecilia is forever grateful for the opportunity to perform with both. Cecilia also received the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Music History in 2022 for her research on George Crumb’s Black Angels: Thirteen Images from the Dark Land and the effect of the Vietnam War on Western art music. In her spare time, Cecilia can be found drinking hot tea, going to the gym, spending time with friends, or at a local concert supporting Jacksonville’s music scene.

Resume available upon request.