PlayGround presents Season 31

29th ANNUAL PLAYGROUND FESTIVAL OF NEW WORKS

May 6th-25th, 2025
Live at Potrero Stage + Simulcast
On-Demand thru May 31

Acknowledging the Legacy of the Land We Inhabit

PlayGround acknowledges that we are on the unceded ancestral homeland of the Ramaytush (RAH-my-toosh) Ohlone (oh-LOW-nee) and Lisjan (lih-SHAH-n) Ohlone, the original inhabitants of the San Francisco Peninsula and East Bay, respectively. As the past and present Indigenous stewards of this land and in accordance with their traditions, the Ramaytush Ohlone and Lisjan have never ceded, lost, nor forgotten their responsibilities as the caretakers of this place, as well as for all peoples who reside in their traditional territory. We recognize the historic injustice of the forcible removal of the Ohlone people from their ancestral lands, and that we benefit from living and working on their traditional homeland. We wish to pay our respects by acknowledging the Ancestors, Elders and Relatives of the Ramaytush and Lisjan Communities and by affirming their sovereign rights as First Peoples. We honor the storytellers of the Ohlone and are grateful for our ability to share and uplift Indigenous stories and those of other historically marginalized communities.

To learn about the legacy of the land you inhabit, visit Native-Land.ca | Our home on native land. To read the complete Land Acknowledgment Policy, click here.

PlayGround’s Anti-Racist Policy

PlayGround recognizes the impact of racial oppression within society and the American Theater and that we have been complicit in White Supremacy culture. Our goal is to co-create safety for our community by identifying and interrupting instances of racism and all forms of oppression when we witness them, through specific actions rooted in the principles of anti-racism and accessibility. In its endeavor to address the implications of our history, PlayGround is committed to its compliance with the following fundamental rights:

• The recognition of inherent dignity and worth of each human being.
• The recognition of equality of all human beings.
• Recognition of rights of ethnic, racial, cultural, linguistic and religious groups.
• Equality and non-discrimination.

PlayGround’s Anti-Racist Policy applies to: all members of the PlayGround community, including employees, independent contractors, volunteers, audience members, donors, and general members of the community.

To read the complete Anti-Racist Policy, click here.

Festival Sponsors

PlayGround is grateful for the following Festival Sponsors, whose generous support makes this year’s PlayGround Festival of New Works possible:

Sharon Baldwin, Ruth Brayton, Madeleine Butler, Joan Cleveland, Sheila Collins, Marilyn Berg Cooper, Krystyna Finlayson, Clint Fleener, Anirvan Ghosh, Lucy Hsu, Tobi Marcus, Linda G. Marks, Veril Phillips, Evelyn J. Pine, John Ruskin, John Ruskin, Miyoko Sakatani, Michael Slade, Nancy W. Smith, Jeffrey Trescott, Ronald Whittier Family Foundation, Janine Wilburn, Darryl Wilburn, Robin L. Wimsatt, and Susannah Wise

To learn more or becoming a festival sponsor, click here.

Programs & Cast Lists

May 6, 2025 7pm PT

Festival Kick-off and Panel
Jim Kleinmann, Co-Founder & Artistic Director
Jediah Craig, PlayGround Alumni
Carl Andrew Johnson, PlayGround Alumni
Daniel Martinez Jr., PlayGround Alumni
Matthew Y. Morishige, PlayGround Alumni
Bridgette Dutta Portman, PlayGround Alumni

May 9, 2025 7pm PT

A Festival Staged Reading

The Red Fortune Cookie 
by Karissa Murrell Myers
Directed by Andy Lowe
Reese…………….Randy Lee
Mandy…….Livia Gomes Demarchi
Joy………………Zoe Chien
Helen…… Sakura Nakahara
Lynda……..Rebecca Pingree
Colby……Christian Wilburn
Dee Dee/LuLu……Rolanda D. Bell

Stage Manager: (INSERT STAGE MANAGER?)

May 10 & 11, 2025 7pm PT

A Festival Premiere Presentation

Work/Shoot
By Matthew Y. Morishige
Directed by Ciera Eis
Mayra Mendoza/Maya Money…………. L. Duarte
Farrah Fenix…………………………………Krystle Piamonte
Aurora/Mother.…………………………Charisse Loriaux
Victor.…………………………………….GG Grilli
Talia/Others.……………………..Jeunee Simon

Stage Manager: Novalynn Stone
Lighting Designer: Brittany Mellerson
Video Designer: Brittany Mellerson
Costume Designer: Anne Yumi Kobori
Sound Designer: Sara Witsch
Fight Choreographer: Bessie Zolno
Production Assistant: K’Zhane McGill

May 12, 2025 7pm PT

A Festival Staged Reading

Yi-An Bu Yi An (Madam Ease is not at Ease)
By Lyra Nalan
Directed by Michelle Talgarow
Yi-An Li…………………………………….Rinabeth Apostol
Hai-Tang/Yu-Lan/Constable.………………..Christine Liao
Ang Li/Imperial Judge/Servant.…………..Ben Chau-Chiu
Ru-Zhou Zhang.……………………..Wayne Wong

May 16, 2025 7pm PT

A Festival Staged Reading

Mycelium
By Juliet Kang Huneke
Directed by Lana Richards
Actor 1………………..Krystle Piamonte
Actor 2……………………...Dom Refuerzo
Actor 3…………………..Nikki Nutterfield
Actor 4…………………Kunal Prasad
Actor 5…………………………….L Duarte

May 17 & 18, 2025 7pm PT

A Festival Premiere Presentation

The Passing Storm
By Jessica June Rowe
Directed by Ely Sonny Orquiza
Andrew………………………………..Matthew Hanjoong
Maya / Chloe / Climber 1 / Climber 4……..Isabel Anne To
Rick / Scott / Radio / Climber 2* / Climber 7…….Michael Ching
Gwen / Climber 3* / Climber 6………………….Lorrie Smith Saito
Nigel……………………………………………..Brian Herndon
Pasang/Climber 5…………………………………….Leon Goertzen

Stage Manager: Novalynn Stone
Sound Designer: Brittany Mellerson
Lighting Designer: Brittany Mellerson
Costume Designer: Nia Jacobs
Production Assistant: K’Zhane McGill

May 19, 2025 7pm PT

A Festival Staged Reading

Winter’s End
By J.S. Puller
Directed by Jim Kleinmann
Cassie………….………....Krystle Piamonte
Wife……………………….Carolina Morones
Butler……………………Patrick Russell
Husband……………………….GG Grilli
Mother…………………………..L Duarte
Jared………………………….Christian Jimenez

May 23, 2024 7pm PT

The 17th Annual Young Playwrights Project

The Poet’s Husband
by Evelyn Grace Callejo (Galileo High School)
directed by Rebecca Pingree
Matthew…………..GG Grilli

Stinky American Pants
by Anya Lu (The Harker School)
directed by Krystle Piamonte
Mei…….Zoe Chien

The Lavender
by Myles-Alexys Jones (Moreau Catholic High School)
directed by Doyle Ott
Michelle……………Jeunee Simon

May 24 & 25, 2024 7pm PT

Best of PlayGround(SF) ’25

Grandma’s First Festivus
by Laura Domingo
Directed by Lana Richards
Indigo…………………..Leon Goertzen
Sage……………Isabel Anne To
Grandma…………Miyoko Sakatani

The Case of the Missing Messenger
by Madeleine Butler
Directed by GG Grilli
Beppe Venerdi………………………………Michael Barrett Austin
Cesca Fabbro………………………………………………Alicia Mason
Witness/Nurse/Friar Laurence/Capulet……..Ron Campbell

The Trial Run
by Daniel Martinez Jr.
Directed by Brittany Mellerson
Dax………………………Justin P. Lopez
Sebastian……………….Leon Goertzen
Cassie…………………………..Zoe Chien

Twas the Launch Before Christmas
By Carl Andrew Johnson
Directed by Tanika Baptiste
Michaela……………………..Jacinta Kambulu
David……………………………………Jake Fong
Nicholas “Nick” Klauson…..Ron Campbell

Ratification Panic Room
By Jediah Craig
Directed by Jim Kleinmann
Aide to an Aide to a Senator………Isabel Anne To

An Emblem of Christmas
by Bridgette Dutta Portman
Directed by Norman Gee
Lex………………….Zoe Chien
Nick/Sam…………….Christian Wilburn
Evie/Faith…………..Alicia Mason

Lighting Designer: Brittany Mellerson
Stage Manager/Board Op: Novalynn Stone
Sound Designer: Brittany Mellerson
Props Artisan: Dianne Harrison
Costume Designer: Aurie Stetzel

These live streams are produced under a SAG-AFTRA New Media Agreement.

PlayGround is a member of Theatre Bay Area, Theatre Communications Group, the League of Chicago Theatre, A.R.T./New York, and a Partner Organization of the National New Play Network (NNPN).

People’s Choice Award

Following the Best of PlayGround(SF) ’25 performances, we invite your participation in the Best of PlayGround People’s Choice Award. Through the People’s Choice Award, our audience can play a direct impact in furthering the career of a promising new playwright. To vote, make a People’s Choice Award tax-deductible donation on behalf of your favorite play(s)/playwright(s) from the evening. Every donated dollar counts as a vote while directly supporting PlayGround’s New Play Commissioning program.

Cast your vote for your favorite play(s) by making a People’s Choice donation via Zelle (info@playground-sf.org), Venmo (our account ID is @playgroundsf and if they ask for the last four digits of my phone, it’s 8541) or on our website at https://tickets.playground-sf.org/TheatreManager/1/online?donationquick=16 (you can also visit the Best of PlayGround page for the People’s Choice donation button). Add a note/memo with your gift to indicate your favorite play(s) or email your selection to boxoffice@playground-sf.org.

At the end of June, we’ll tally up the top vote-getter and recipient of this year’s Best of PlayGround People’s Choice New Play Commission, a full-length expansion and adaptation of their award-winning Best of PlayGround short play. It’s a powerful way of showing your support for new writers and their work, while helping PlayGround continue doing what we do!

Biographies

PLAYWRIGHTS

MADELEINE BUTLER (BoP: The Case of the Missing Messenger), she/her, has had various plays staged for Monday Night PlayGround including A Beautiful Evening, The Story of Our Lives (People’s Choice Award), The River God (Best of PlayGround 2016), The Last Pirogue, Beshert, Stuck, and The Case of the Missing Messenger. Her short plays have also been staged by Playwright’s Center of San Francisco, FABUM (Washington, D.C.), Drama with Friends, and 3 Girls Theatre, including an episode of a collaborative serial radio drama. She has regularly attended the Kennedy Center Playwriting Intensive since 2021 and studies playwriting on an ongoing basis with Anthony Clarvoe.

EVELYN GRACE CALLEJO (Young Playwrights Project: The Poet’s Husband) is an aspiring author and marine biologist who hopes to illustrate misrepresented topics such as grief and disability through a hopeful but critical lens in their art. Her passions for life and science have been with her since birth, but her biggest inspiration is Mary Shelley’s classic gothic novel Frankenstein.

JEDIAH CRAIG (BoP: Ratification Panic Room), he/him, is an aspiring playwright hoping one day to get it right.

LAURA DOMINGO (BoP: Grandma’s First Festivus), she/her, is a Native Hawaiian/Filipina writer and actor based on Oakland, CA. She just completed her first year with PlayGround and is honored to be this year’s winner of the June Anne Baker Prize. She has written screenplays for three Best Film winners for the 48-Hour Film Project (2019 – San Jose; 2020 – U.S. West; and 2021 – San Jose), and her short plays won runner-up in 2023 and 2024 for Silicon Valley Shakespeare’s 48-Hour Play Festival. She is part of the writing pool with SF-based sketch comedy company Killing My Lobster.

JULIET KANG HUNEKE (Festival Staged Reading: Mycelium), she/her, is a playwright and performer who is passionate about theatre that is larger than life. Her new TYA play Hannah And Halmoni Save The World! recently had its world premiere at Filament Theatre. In addition, she was awarded the 2023 ReImagine: New Plays in TYA grant to develop Hannah And Halmoni with Filament. Juliet is also a 24-Hour Plays Nationals alum. Other Chicago writing credits include: Echo’s Inferno (The Understudy), Home For The Summer (Theo Ubique, American Music Theatre Project), and Mechanicals (Impostors Theater Co Footholds Vol. 4). Northwestern 2022!

CARL ANDREW JOHNSON (BoP: Twas the Launch Before Christmas), he/him, is a recent addition to PlayGround SF, with a passion for writing satire, speculative fiction, and comedy. While taking screen and stage playwriting courses at Berkeley City College, he was encouraged by his instructor to submit his work to local theater groups. His writing often draws from personal experiences, blending humor and thought-provoking elements, with the goal of ensuring that audiences leave with both a smile and something to ponder.

MYLES-ALEXYS “MJ” JONES (Young Playwrights Project: The Lavender ), she/her, is a 14-year-old actor, writer and dancer with a deep passion for storytelling and creative expression. Over the past four years, she has been involved in numerous school productions which have earned her multiple accolades. Her experience on stage has shaped her love for bringing characters to life and connecting with audiences on a deeply personal level. She hails from Oakland, CA.

ANYA LU (Young Playwrights Project: Stinky American Pants), she/her, born and raised in San Jose, CA, fifteen-year-old Anya Lu has grown up surrounded by the performing arts. When she was four, Anya took her first vocal course, kickstarting her passion for the stage. She’s performed in several plays and musicals, starring as both Baloo in The Jungle Book and Thirteen from In the Forests of the Night. Outside of performing, Anya enjoys writing as well, prompting her to combine both her passions.

JESSICA JUNE ROWE (Festival Premiere: The Passing Storm) is a writer, playwright, editor, and perpetual daydreamer. Her short plays have been featured on multiple stages in Los Angeles with companies such as Playground-LA and NEO Ensemble Theatre. She is the Flash Fiction Editor of Exposition Review and her own fiction has appeared in Best Microfiction 2022, among others, and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and the Best of the Net. One of her poems is stamped into a sidewalk in Valencia, CA. She also really loves chai lattes.

DANIEL MARTINEZ (BoP: The Trial Run), he/him, is an award-winning playwright and actor. This is his third season with PlayGround, where he’s shared everything from heartfelt solos to existentially horny one-acts. His play Changing Inward was featured in Best of PlayGround. His play Vodka Cran got a staged reading at MCT’s New Works Weekend. When he’s not writing or performing, Daniel helps manage a film school for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. He’s also a two-time semi-finalist in NBC’s Ya Tu Sabes Monologue Slam. He’s thrilled to share The Trial Run with you- enjoy the ride!

MATTHEW Y. MORISHIGE (Festival Premiere: Work/Shoot), he/him, is an actor, musician, and playwright based in the Bay Area. Matthew has been a member of the Playground Writers’ pool since the ’22-’23 season. Matthew is committed to amplifying diverse perspectives and is energized by collaboration with artists across many disciplines.

KARISSA MURRELL MYERS (Festival Staged Reading: The Red Fortune Cookie), she/her, is an award-winning Filipino-American theatre artist based in Chicago. She serves as the Artistic Director and Co-Founder of Bramble Theatre Company. Winner of the 2023 Maxim Mazumdar New Play Award and an O’Neill NPC Finalist, her work has been developed and/or produced at Goodman Theatre, Alleyway Theatre, Paramount Theatre, Strawdog Theatre, Renaissance Theaterworks, Playground, and Bramble, among others. MFA in Performance from University of Hawaii at Manoa, BA in Theatre Arts from Boise State University, and graduate of The School at Steppenwolf. Member of the Dramatist Guild. www.kmurrellmyers.com

LYRA NALAN (Festival Staged Reading: Yi-An Bu Yi An, [Madam Ease is not at Ease]), she/her, is a Brooklyn-based Chinese playwright who tells adventurous stories about coming-of-age, history, mental health, and power structures, centering the female experience and Asian lives. Her plays include Paper Dream (Winner, Judith Royer Excellence in Playwriting Award), Chuan & Mom (Susan Smith Blackburn Prize nominee), Road Less Travelled (commissioned by Silk Road Cultural Center), Drought Girl (Purple Crayon Players), Dream Reunion (Pan Asian Repertory Theatre), and Blue Moon (Circle in the Square Emerging Writers Residency). She holds an MFA in Writing for the Screen and Stage from Northwestern University. Lyra has been a proud PlayGround-NY writer since 2023 and is incredibly grateful to be part of PlayGround’s Festival Staged Reading Series!

BRIDGETTE DUTTA PORTMAN (BoP: An Emblem of Christmas), she/her, is a playwright and novelist whose plays have been produced locally, nationally and overseas. In addition to the PlayGround SF writers’ pool, she is a member of the Pear Theatre board of directors, the Pear Playwrights’ Guild, the Dramatists’ Guild, and the faculty at UC Berkeley’s College Writing Programs. She received the 2023 June Anne Baker Prize from PlayGround and is currently developing a full-length play about Martian exploration gone wrong.

J.S. PULLER (Festival Staged Reading: Winter’s End), she/her, is a playwright and author from Chicago, with an MSed in education and a BS in theatre from Northwestern. An award-winning member of the American Alliance for Theatre and Education, she has written about the social-emotional benefits of arts education with the UChicago Consortium on School Research. She is the author of two novels, CAPTAIN SUPERLATIVE and THE LOST THINGS CLUB. She also has several published plays, including: WOMEN WHO WEAVE, PERSEUS AND MEDUSA – IT’S ALL GREEK TO ME! (, THE DEATH OF ROBIN HOOD, and five titles with Plays for New Audiences.

ACTORS

RINABETH APOSTOL (Festival Staged Reading: Yi-An Bu Yi An, “Yi-An Li”)

MICHAEL BARRETT AUSTIN (BoP: The Case of the Missing Messenger, “Beppo Venerdi”), he/ him, is a PlayGround member, who appeared in ‘Apertures of Love in Times of War’ at the PlayGround Festival last spring. Other recent performances include the Marin Theatre workshop of ‘The Bridge’ (a new musical by Patricia Cotter and the Kilbanes), ‘Fallen Angels’ at The Aurora (SFBATCC award nomination for featured performance), ‘A Christmas Carol’ at Center Rep and the ‘Chinglish’ at SF Playhouse (SFBATCC nomination for principal performance). Favorite projects include The Kilbanes’ musical ‘As You Like It’ (SF Shakespeare Festival), ‘The Elephant Man’ (Hillbarn), ‘Finks’ (TheatreWorks) and ‘Red Hot Patriot’ with Kathleen Turner (Berkeley Rep). Michael toured America with The National Theatre for Children and Italy with Shakespeare at Stinson, and has appeared on television, film and in countless commercials. He is a contributing player with ARC, an alumnus of Just Theater and TheatreFirst and the proud husband of Emily and father to Lucille. www.michaelbarrettaustin.com

ROLANDA D. BELL (Festival Staged Reading: The Red Fortune Cookie, “Dee Dee/Lulu”), she/her, born & raised Oakland Ca, Rolanda has taken the career route as a storyteller for the last 15 years. Rolanda’s work & accomplishments include: BATCC nominee for her role in OTP production of A Thousand Ship, Berkeley Rep Theater School as a director for 2024 High School Theater Festival & 2023 RHE Artistic Fellow recipient. Recent Theater Credits include: Co-Founders with A.C.T, A Thousand Ships with Oakland Theater Project, Shipping & Handling with Crowded Fire Theater, Midsummer Nights Dream with Shotgun Players, POTUS with Berkeley Rep, Is God Is with Oakland Theater Project and Paradise Blue with Aurora Theater. As her resume continues to grow you can see more of her work in original film Blindspotting, Netflix Original film All Day & A Night & voice actor in deleted scenes for PIXAR Animation films LIGHTYEAR & Inside Out 2. Rolanda is SAG-AFTRA & represented by JE Talent. @rolandadene

RON CAMPBELL (BoP: Twas the Launch Before Christmas, “Santa”; The Case of the Missing Messenger, “Nurse, Friar, Capulet”), he/him, Ron Campbell is a veteran of more than 150 theatre productions spanning 12 countries on 4 Continents. A lead clown with Cirque du Soleil, Teatro Zinzanni and Ringleader of the Lone Star Circus, Ron has been a writer and performer with Playground for many years.

BEN CHAU-CHIU (Festival Staged Reading: Yi-An Bu Yi An, “Hang”), they/them, is currently performing in Yellow Face as DHH at Shotgun Players. Some of their acting credits include Triumph of Love (SFCM); Lucky Chances (PlayGround Solo Fest); Cymbeline, Much Ado About Nothing (SF Shakes); As You Like It, The Winter’s Tale (Cal Shakes); Poor Yella Rednecks, The Headlands (A.C.T.). They’re a company member and ambassador for PlayGround-SF, and a founding member of the Director’s Collective. benchauchiu.com

ZOE CHIEN (BoP: An Emblem of Christmas, “Lex”; The Trial Run, “Cassie”; YPP: Stinky American Pants, “Mei”), she/her, is an actor and arts administrator with a BFA in Theater from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where she trained at The Lee Strasberg Theater and Film Institute, Playwrights Horizons Theater School, and the Stonestreet Studios for Television and Film. Zoe is the Casting and Producing Director of 3Girls Theatre Company, and is a PlayGround Associate Producer this season. She feels lucky to be in this industry in a time when so much art is being made in response to our social and political climate, and is proud to represent her mixed-race (Taiwanese and Italian-American) community. For more, visit zoechien.com.

MICHAEL CHING (Festival Premiere: The Passing Storm, Rick/ Scott/Radio/Climber 2/Climber 7″)

LIVIA GOMES DEMARCHI (Festival Staged Reading: The Red Fortune Cookie, “Mandy”), she/her, is a local Bay Area actor, originally from São Paulo, Brazil. She holds a degree in Theater and Performance Studies from UC Berkeley and has worked at the Magic Theater, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, SF Playhouse, Center Rep, Crowded Fire, and Marin Shakespeare. She is a proud member of Playground SF and Latinx Mafia Theater Collective. She is committed to radical representation and inclusion within her own community and the theater beyond.

 L. DUARTE (Work/Shoot, “Maya Money”), they/them, is an actor, teaching artist, playwright and director. Recent projects include: Citizen with Word for Word – Z Space, House of Desires with Those Women Productions, August: Osage County with San Jose Stage Company, Julius Caesar with PacRep, The Review with Theatre Rhinoceros, Helen! With Theatre of Yugen, Into the Beautiful North & The King of Cuba with CentralWorks. L is a founding member of Latinx Mafia, a Bay Area collective of Latinx Teatristas, working to ensure Latinx stories are valued and accurately represented. Find out more at https://www.facebook.com/latinxmafia/. L is a graduate of UCLA, UCSC, and has trained with A.C.T. and Shakespeare & Co.

JAKE FONG (BoP: Twas The Launch Before Christmas, “Davis”), he/him, is excited to return to Monday Night Playground for the Best of Series! Jake is a Bay Area actor and fight choreographer training with Dueling Arts International where he is proficient in six different weapons! Some of his favorite credits include Private Smalls in A Soldier’s Play, Achilles in Laney’s production In the Wound, and James Baldwin in The Baldwin Centennial with Oakland Public Theatre. Jake dedicates every performance to his wonderful wife Jessica and his father, who’ll always have a front row seat in his heart.

LEON GOERTZEN (BoP: The Trial Run, “Sebastian”; Grandma’s First Festivus, “Indigo”), he/they, has worked at theaters in the Northern and Southern California including Capital Stage, East West Players, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Will and Company, Magic Theatre, Asian American Theater Company, San Francisco Mime Troupe, Road Theatre Company, Cutting Ball Theater, Aurora Theater Company, Bay Area Playwright’s Festival, California Conservatory Theatre and New Conservatory Theater. Film credits include Quitters (with Kieran Culkin and Mira Sorvino) and Beauty and The Blade. Leon is a graduate of the School of Drama at UNC School of the Arts and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association and Screen Actors Guild.

GG GRILLI (YPP: The Poet’s Husband, “Matthew”), he/him, is an actor, director, writer, producer, filmmaker, and teacher. He’s worked at theaters in the Bay Area, New York City, and around the country for over three decades. Recent projects include directing MACBETH and INTO THE WOODS with Bentley School at the Lesher Center. He was the Founding Artistic Director of BrickaBrack, a multidisciplinary ensemble company, from 2012 – 2020. PlayGround member since 2008! Recently with PG: Victor in WORK/SHOOT (Festival), Brad in NATURE’S FINAL SOLUTION (MNP) www.gggrilli.com

MATTHEW HANJOONG (Festival Premiere: The Passing Storm, “Andrew”), he/him, is a film, stage, and commercial actor and model in Northern California. Stage credits include: FAIRVIEW (Capital Stage), A GREAT MIGRATION (B Street Theatre), WICKHAMS: CHRISTMAS AT PEMBERLEY (Capital Stage), and THE GREAT LEAP (Capital Stage). Film credits include: SACRAMENTO (Vertical) and SON MAT (A Place Called Sacramento Film Festival), in which the latter earned him a Best Actor award. Follow him @matthewhanjoong and @thehanseouloh on all social media platforms.

BRIAN HERNDON (Festival Premiere: The Passing Storm, “Nigel”), he/him, happily returns to the Festival of New Works after appearing in last year’s Apertures of Love in Times of War. He is an inaugural company member and started performing with PlayGround in October 2000. Brian has performed at A.C.T., TheatreWorks, Marin Theatre, Central Works and many other theaters around the Bay Area, as well as teaching and creating fight choreography. www.brianherndon.com

JACINTA KAUMBULU (BoP: Twas the Launch Before Christmas, “Michaela”), she/her, Jacinta Kaumbulu is a Bay Area actor. Recent projects include Fat Ham by James Ijames, directed by Margo Hall; as the understudy for the roles of Tedra and Rabby, at SF Playhouse, and Daryo’s All-American Diner by Conrad Panganiban, directed by Mallory Somera at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center.

RANDY LEE (Festival Staged Reading: The Red Fortune Cookie, “Reese”)

CHRISTINE LIAO (Festival Staged Reading: Yi-An Bu Yi An, “Hai-Tang/Yu-Lan/Constable”), she/they, is a Los Angeles based actor who started her artistic journey as a dancer. Her best known role thus far is as the restaurant clerk in the comedy sketch, The ABC Who Can’t Read Chinese. She also played Waverly Jong in Sierra Madre Playhouse’s Joy Luck Club. You can now find her in Fine China on HBO platforms and the video game Life is Strange: True Colors. 

JUSTIN P. LOPEZ (BoP: The Trial Run, “Dax”), he/him, was born and raised in St. Olaf, Minnesota. After being named valedictorian of his high school by finishing 4th out of 19 and picking the biggest straw, he went on to be named runner-up in St. Olaf’s esteemed Butter Queen pageant. It was small consolation to find out, years later, there had been churn tampering involved. He thanks Brunhilda and Heidi Flugendugelgurgenplotz for getting him through the Great Herring War and to where he is now.

CHARISSE LORIAUX (Festival Premiere: Work/Shoot, Aurora/Mother/others”)

ALICIA MASON (BoP: An Emblem of Christmas, “Evie/Faith”), she/her, is a SAG/AFTRA actor, daughter, partner and diligent pet mom. She was raised by parents who served in the military and a mother who was a clinical psychologist, who taught her the value of understanding all that encompasses the human experience. Her goal and mission as an actor is to tell stories that move and transform the audience and highlight the communities of color she grew up in.

CAROLINA MORONES (Festival Staged Reading: Winter’s End, “Wife”)

SAKURA NAKAHARA (Festival Staged Reading: The Red Fortune Cookie, “Mandy”) , she/her, s a San Francisco Bay Area based actor, voice actor, improviser, and teaching artist. Recent on-stage performances include Emmy Lou in ‘The Confession of Lily Dare’ (New Conservatory Theatre Center), Sugar in ‘Tiny Beautiful Things’ (Plethos Productions), Frances in ‘Melancholy Play’, (Theater Lunatico), and Eurydice, Lucina, et al. in ‘Metamorphoses’ (The Pear Theatre). Sakura also performs as a voice actor, recently portraying the role of Parker in the Student BAFTA-nominated virtual reality mystery game, ‘Penrose Station’. Follow Sakura’s adventures (and her cat) @cheeryblissoms

NIKKI NUTTERFIELD (Festival Staged Reading: Mycelium, “Actor 3”)

KRYSTLE PIAMONTE (Festival Staged Reading: Mycellium, “Actor 1”; Winter’s End, “Cassie”; Work/Shoot, “Farrah Fenix”), she/her, is a San Francisco-based actor. Theatre credits include work at Z Space, SF Playhouse, Magic Theatre, TheatreWorks, Bindlestiff Studio, 59E59 in collaboration with Artistic Stamp, and the radio play, THE FOREVER WAVE by Nicole Gluckstern. Screen credits include the award-winning short films BOUND 4 HEAVEN and MEDIAN. She is a 2x Theatre Bay Area Award Finalist for Outstanding Performance in a Principal Role in a Play and was named an MVP of Bay Area Theatre by KQED. Krystle is a Co-Founder/Co-Artistic Director of The Chikahan Company and a company member of PlayGround SF. www.krystlepiamonte.com

REBECCA PINGREE (Festival Staged Reading: The Red Fortune Cookie, “Lynda”) , she/her, is delighted to return to Best of, having been a member of PlayGround’s Acting Company for over a decade. Most recently she played Adira in Exodus to Eden at OTP, Bridget Potter in the original cast of The Kilbanes’ The Code with ACT YC, and The Baker’s Wife in Sondheim’s Into the Woods at Berkeley Playhouse. She holds an MFA in Collaborative Theatremaking from Rose Bruford in London and co-founded Analog Theatre (analogtheatre.org) a member of PlayGround’s IN2 cohort.

KUNAL PRASAD (Festival Staged Reading: Mycelium, “Actor 4”), he/they, is a Theater Artist and recently directed ‘Metamorphoses,’ by Mary Zimmerman at Cal State University East Bay. Kunal was a Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation Fellow on ‘Wizard of Oz’ at American Conservatory Theater, and has an interest in poetry and movement and delving into a story with heart, joy and curiosity. He has directed workshops and residencies at The Magic Theatre, Bay View Opera House, and San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, and A.C.T. As an Actor, Kunal is featured in the indie film ‘Gone in the Night,’ starring Winona Ryder and other credits include: ‘Wives,’ (Aurora Theatre Company) ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns,’ (A.C.T.) ‘Taylor Mac: A 24-Decade History of Popular Music,’ (SF Curran) and ‘Hedda Gabler,’ (The Cutting Ball Theater.)

DOM REFUERZO (Festival Staged Reading: Mycelium, “Actor 2”), they/he, is a Filipinx-American, queer artist hailing from the Pacific Northwest. Earlier this year, they starred as Ren in SFBATCO’s world premiere of cuckoo edible magic and Hyun-Joo/Bartender in Theatre Rhinoceros’s west coast premiere of GUMIHO. As a musician, he has premiered his compositions in Austria and across the so-called United States, and sung with New Voices TIGQ Chorus and AfterGlow Chorus here in the Bay Area. Much love and thanks to their family and friends for supporting their artistic journey with all of its chaos! Instagram: @mirasoulx

PATRICK RUSSELL (Festival Staged Reading: Winter’s End, “Butler”), he/him, has performed in theaters across the Bay Area, including ACT, TheatreWorks, California Shakespeare Theater, San Francisco Playhouse, Aurora Theatre Company, Magic Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, Marin Shakespeare Company, CenterREP, and Shotgun Players. Most recently he was seen in The Play That Goes Wrong at San Francisco Playhouse. Directing credits include Stupid F***ing Bird and She Kills Monsters at SF State University, The Arsonists at UC Berkeley, and All My Sons at Role Players. Film credits include the feature films Being Us and Moss Beach, and the animated short film Rapunzel’s Etymology of Zero. He currently teaches acting at UC Berkeley and movement at ACT. Patrick is a graduate of America Conservatory Theater’s Master of Fine Arts in Acting Program.

MIYOKO SAKATANI (BoP: Grandma’s First Festivus, “Grandma”), she/her, is a Sag-Aftra-e actor, singer, writer, director and producer and a proud member of SF PlayGround. She has worked on stage, screen, web series and commercials over many years. Miyoko has performed on SF Bay Area regional and community theatre stages, including writing and performing her own solo piece. Film credits include the award winning Samuel Goldwyn film “East Side Sushi” (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5706042/) As founding director of Playland Productions, Miyoko has produced films and stage plays. Deepest love and gratitude to Richard, Shanti and dear friends.

JEUNÉE SIMON (Festival Premiere: Work/Shoot, “Talia”; YPP: The Lavender, “Michelle”), she/her, is bicoastal actor, director, and consent educator. Recent acting credits include: The Ripple, The Wave That Carried Me Home u/s (World Premiere, Berkeley Repertory Theatre), Intimate Apparel (Lorraine Hansberry Theatre), La Ronde (Cutting Ball Theater), Men On Boats u/s, performed* (American Conservatory Theater)—as well as the one person shows: Tasha (3Girls Theatre) and Stoop Stories (Aurora Theatre Company). Simon is a proud recipient of the 2017 RHE Artistic Fellowship and was a 2019 Directing Apprentice with PlayGround. www.jeuneesimon.com

LORRIE SMITH SAITO (Festival Premiere: The Passing Storm, “Gwen/Climber 3”), she/her, is excited to be joining SF Playground on this trek to Everest! A graduate of the Honors Acting Conservatory at the Theatre Lab in Washington DC, she has appeared in Lakeboat at Capital Fringe, Amputating Shakespeare at Mitchell Theatre, Distance Frequencies with Rorschach Theatre and others. A California native, she’s happy to be back after surviving her own trek to the humidity and mosquitos on the East coast for many years. Thank you beautiful family for your love and support, always.

ISABEL ANNE TO (Festival Premiere: The Passing Storm, “Maya/Chloe”; Festival Staged Reading: Ratification Panic Room, “Aide to an Aide to a Senator”; BoP: Grandma’s First Festivus,”Sage”), she/her, is an actor, singer, and PlayGround company member based in the SF Bay Area, performing regularly at Monday Night PlayGround, in addition to PlayGround SF festival productions (Starlight and Funny, Like an Abortion). She is excited to appear in the Festival Premiere of Jessica June Rowe’s The Passing Storm. Other selected credits: Tea Party (One Of Our Own Theater), The Jersey Devil Play (Awesome Theatre), and Avenue Q (New Conservatory Theatre Center). Isabel also acted in two short films coming out in 2025: Soul Credit and WIDE. Offstage, Isabel enjoys cross-stitching, baking, and traveling. www.isabelanneto.com

CHRISTIAN WILBURN (BoP: An Emblem of Christmas, “Nick/Sam”), he/him, is a Bay Area actor, who graduated with BA in Theater and Dance from Santa Clara University. Professionally, he’s performed at Monday Night Playground, Playground Zoomfest and PianoFight. He has also done workshop readings as a part of Potrero Stage, Marin Theatre Company, and Berkeley Rep.

WAYNE WONG (Festival Staged Reading: Yi-An Bu Yi An, “Ru-Zhou Zhang”) he/him, has appeared in over 80 productions, mostly operas. He may be seen next as Durdles in THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD with Lamplighters, then as Dr. Caius in THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR with Pocket Opera. Other engagements include SF Playhouse (AS YOU LIKE IT), Shotgun Players (TRIUMPH OF LOVE) and Opera Parallele (DEAD MAN WALKING). His parents and brother migrated to the US from Hong Kong in 1956.

DIRECTORS

TANIKA BAPTISTE (BoP: Twas the Launch Before Christmas) she/they, is a SFBATCC winning director, actor, vocalist, and costume designer in the Bay Area. Regional credits: Delcina/Moms in Dirty White Teslas Make Me Sad (Magic Theatre) Adenikeh in Nollywood Dreams (San Francisco Playhouse) A Shirelle in Beautiful: Carol King Musical (Woodminster), MC in N¿¿ER LOVERS (Magic Theatre) She/Angie in Is God Is (Oakland Theatre Project) Tessie Tura in Gypsy (Mountain Play/RVP) Swing Beehive (Center REP) SBF 1in Single Black Female (Lorraine Hansberry Theatre) Deloris in Sister Act (Pittsburg Theatre Company) Effie in Dreamgirls (Berkeley Playhouse). Select directorial credits: Crumbs From the Table of Joy (Townhall Theatre) Giraffes Can’t Dance ( Bay Area Children’s Theatre) At the Wake of a Dead Drag Queen (Theatre Rhinoceros) Tanika is a 2023 cohort of Theatre Bay Area’s Arts Leadership with Theatre Rhinoceros and a proud member of AEA and a new member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. Love to my family and chosen family. The story is told together!

CIERA EIS (Festival Premiere: Work/Shoot), she/hers, is a director of socio-political new work. Recent: “Love U” (Ca$h Grant), “WORK/SHOOT” (Playground SF), “Pickpocket” (Musical Cafe), “Every Christmas Story…” (Town Hall), “Circle Mirror Transformation” (Custom Made). Ciera has developed new work with Berkeley Rep, A.C.T., Magic Theatre, Shotgun, Founding member of the Director’s Collective (Ca$h Grant 2024), Casting Director with Casting Collective, and member of The Ground Floor at Berkeley Repertory. Past Artistic Director of Custom Made and FaultLine Theater, Directors Lab West 2025 recipient, and SDCF Observer. Upcoming: “Hadestown” (A.C.T. Strand), “Last West” (SVMA). www.cieraeis.com

NORMAN GEE (BoP: An Emblem of Christmas), he/him, has performed in Meet John Doe at the San Jose Stage, a Word For Word production of HOME which toured France, and Much Ado About Nothing in Livermore with SPARC. He understudied BIG DATA at A.C.T. and directed a new work to celebrate the James Baldwin Centennial, more info at www.baldwincentennialproject.com.

GG GRILLI (BoP: The Case of the Missing Messenger), he/him, is an actor, director, writer, producer, filmmaker, and teacher. He’s worked at theaters in the Bay Area, New York City, and around the country for over three decades. Recent projects include directing MACBETH and INTO THE WOODS with Bentley School at the Lesher Center. He was the Founding Artistic Director of BrickaBrack, a multidisciplinary ensemble company, from 2012 – 2020. PlayGround member since 2008! Recently with PG: Victor in WORK/SHOOT (Festival), Brad in NATURE’S FINAL SOLUTION (MNP) www.gggrilli.com

JIM KLEINMANN (BoP: Ratification Panic Room; Festival Staged Reading: Winter’s End; Artistic Director & Co-Founder), he/him, co-founded PlayGround in 1994, along with playwright Brighde Mullins and director Denise Shama, and has served as Artistic Director since 1996. For PlayGround, he has provided artistic and administrative leadership for the past twenty-four seasons, developing PlayGround’s unique array of new playwright and new play incubator programs, including Monday Night PlayGround, the PlayGround Festival of New Works, the full-length play Commissioning Initiative, the New Play Production Fund, Potrero Stage: PlayGround Center for New Plays, and most recently the Innovator Incubator. For PlayGround, he has directed more than one hundred short and full-length plays, including works by Garret Jon Groenveld, Aaron Loeb, Geetha Reddy, Lauren Yee, Katie May, and many others. Recent directing and dramaturgy credits include David Steele’s Vignettes on Love and Ruben Grijalva’s Value Over Replacement. He is a veteran arts administrator with more than thirty years of experience, including stints leading Traveling Jewish Theatre, Smuin Ballet, and Berkeley Symphony, and received his MFA from the Yale School of Drama.

ANDY LOWE (Festival Staged Reading: The Red Fortune Cookie), he/him/dude, was A “California Young Playwrights” winner, earning production of his play at the Old Globe at age 18. He founded San Diego’s Asian American Repertory Theater; Directing & Producing ten seasons as Artistic Director till 2005. Inaugural Coordinator of the “Theatre-In-Residence Program” at La Jolla Playhouse 2007-12. Director of Production & Casting for East West Players the past 12 years. Director/Dramaturg of plays, musicals & immersive experiences; notably “Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along-Blog” Live adaptation (2011), and R&D projects for Disney Imagineering. Fight Director for productions at Laguna Playhouse, UC Riverside, USC, and Ovation Nominated for MAN OF GOD (2019).

DOYLE OTT (YPP: The Lavender), he/him, has performed, directed, and taught with companies including Make A Circus, Splash Circus Theatre, Prescott Circus, Playground, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, San Francisco Circus Center, Antenna Theatre, Golden Thread, and the San Francisco Playwright’s Foundation. As Artistic Director at Children’s Fairyland in Oakland, he has overseen the creation of two new performance spaces, written and directed over 30 plays, and developed Fairyland’s professional Theatre for the Very Young. A member of Actors Equity and a certified Feldenkrais practitioner, Doyle lectures in theatre and dance at Sonoma State University.

KRYSTLE PIAMONTE (YPP: Stinky American Pants), she/her, is a San Francisco-based artist. Theatre credits include work at Z Space, SF Playhouse, Magic Theatre, TheatreWorks, Bindlestiff Studio, 59E59 in collaboration with Artistic Stamp, and the radio play, THE FOREVER WAVE by Nicole Gluckstern. Screen credits include the award-winning short films BOUND 4 HEAVEN and MEDIAN. She is a 2x Theatre Bay Area Award Finalist for Outstanding Performance in a Principal Role in a Play and was named an MVP of Bay Area Theatre by KQED. Krystle is a Co-Founder/Co-Artistic Director of The Chikahan Company and a company member of PlayGround SF. www.krystlepiamonte.com.

REBECCA PINGREE (YPP: The Poet’s Husband) , she/her, is delighted to return to Best of, having been a member of PlayGround’s Acting Company for over a decade. Most recently she played Adira in Exodus to Eden at OTP, Bridget Potter in the original cast of The Kilbanes’ The Code with ACT YC, and The Baker’s Wife in Sondheim’s Into the Woods at Berkeley Playhouse. She holds an MFA in Collaborative Theatremaking from Rose Bruford in London and co-founded Analog Theatre (analogtheatre.org) a member of PlayGround’s IN2 cohort.

ELY SONNY ORQUIZA (Festival Premiere: The Passing Storm), he/him, is a 2023 YBCA 100 Honoree renowned for his unwavering belief in the remarkable power of equity and representation in storytelling to bridge the divide and differences amongst us. As a multidisciplinary Queer Filipino artistic director, stage director, dramaturg, and arts educator and advocate based in the unceded territory of the Ramaytush Ohlone People, colonially known as San Francisco Bay Area, Orquiza utilizes theater and the performing arts to deeply explore the role of the Asian diaspora, Asian American experience, ancestral ghosts, and the complex politics of Queer/ness for the American stage. He passionately champions new works by Black, Indigenous, and Artists of Color, delves into previously untold folklore, and ardently advocates for undiscovered works that prominently feature the narratives of People from the Global Majority.

LANA RICHARDS (Festival Staged Reading: Mycellium; BoP: Grandma’s First Festivus) Lana Richards is a director based in San Francisco. She has been an artist-in-residence at The Dragon’s Egg, Access Theater, and The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, and was a member of the 2024 Directors Lab North in Toronto. She is the Associate Director of Development and a resident company member with PlayGround SF. She was the 2019 Directing Fellow at Parallel 45 Theater. Education: Connecticut College, SITI Company, MICHA, Complicite, Bread & Puppet. Recent selected credits: We Players’s Macbeth at Fort Point (Assistant Director), Heart Piece at Cutting Ball’s Variety Pack, American Hunger at Enacte Arts, Tips for Nervous Fliers (solo performance) at PlayGround’s Free-Play Festival.

MICHELLE TALGAROW (Festival Staged Reading: Yi-An Bu Yi An) 

PRODUCTION & STAFF

ELTON BRADMAN (Sound Designer), credits as a composer/sound designer include two world premieres (Lear at Cal Shakes and Mindplay at the Geffen Playhouse), a West Coast premiere (Trayf), a student production (UC Riverside’s Red Oleanders), Boys Go to Jupiter at Z Space, Nina: Four Women at South Coast Rep, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf at the Geffen Playhouse, The Incrementalist, and Wives at Aurora Theatre, as well as five productions for Oakland Theater Project. Other recent adventures include teaching an online theatrical sound design course for Western Washington University and co-writing a musical adaptation of Giles Andraea and Guy Parker-Rees’s Giraffes Can’t Dance for Bay Area Children’s Theater and the Rose Theater in Omaha, Nebraska. Stop by and say hello at eltonsounds.com

SOLOMON CASADO (Production Assistant), he/him, went to Contra Costa School of Performing Arts for theatre, and graduated from Sojourner Truth independent study. He has worked as a PA for Single Black Female (LHT), and a staged reading of Kaleidoscope (CFT).

VINCENT CHAU (Properties Artisan), recently, Vincent was the props designer and constructor for Heritage《傳承》at UC Berkeley, the scenic model builder and A2 for Matilda at Berkeley Playhouse, the scenic designer for PONY at Cutting Ball Theater, the props observer for Man of God at Shotgun Players, and the scenic and props designer for The After Party at UC Berkeley.

JAMES GOODE (Sound Designer, BoP), he/him, is a composer, musician, songwriter, audio engineer, and sound designer who lives and works in the Bay Area. He’s collaborated with actors, animators, visual artists, writers, and others on a wide variety of projects, including films, gallery and museum installations, live performances, music videos, podcasts, and radio dramas. Local theater productions he’s done sound design for include Richard II (African-American Shakespeare Company), Dot (New Conservatory Theatre Center), Men on Boats (Palo Alto Players), Escaped Alone (Anton’s Well Theater Company), Native Gardens (Center REPertory Company), and Pool of Unknown Wonders: Undertow of the Soul (Oakland Theater Project). https://jamesgoodesound.com

DIANNE HARRISON (Props Artisan), she/her, works with many Bay Area theatre companies, including the African-American Shakespeare Company, JoLee Productions, PlayGround SF, Ross Valley Players, Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC), The Mountain Play, primarily as a stage manager, sound/light board operator, and props artisan. Her other theatre experiences include sound-mixing, co-directing, and costume designing. In 2015, Dianne received a Certificate of Merit from the Kennedy Center’s American College Theater Festival for stage managing the SRJC’s production of Almost, Maine. She is honored to be working with PlayGround SF once again, and thanks her amazing husband for all his encouragement and support.

NIA JACOBS (Costume Designer), she/her, born in Oakland, CA, Nia’s love for technical theatre started when she signed up to do scenic art for her high school’s production of Scapino. In college, she minored in technical theatre, allowing her to practice her sewing skills on productions like Ain’t Misbehavin’ and Eclipsed. Since then, Nia has gone on to get a BA in English from Howard University, alter many costumes, style mannequins, and work on many plays, including four different productions of Peter Pan. In her spare time, she enjoys writing, sewing, and baking.

LIAM KIRK (Stage Manager: Work/Shoot, The Passing Storm, YPP), he/him, recent projects include Brown vs. Board of Education (Asst. Director/Stage Manager, Altarena Playhouse), The Crucible (Production Assistant, Oakland Theater Project), and Teatro Jornalero (Stage Manager, Oakland Theater Project).

BRITTANY MELLERSON (Festival Lighting Designer, BoP Director: The Trial Run) is an East Coast native and graduate of Point Park University’s Conservatory Program, with a BFA in Theatrical Lighting & Sound Design. Brittany is the Resident Lighting Designer for Lamplighters Music Theatre, PlayGround, and the Telluride Film Festival. Recent credits include lighting design for PlayGround’s Solofest 2022, Awesome Theatre’s feature film THEM, lighting and sound design for The Pear’s Mountaintop, and Sunset Baby. Throughout the pandemic, Brittany has been dedicated to sourcing and producing equitable employment avenues within the Bay Area for Black designers and technicians. Up Next: Lamplighter’s Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder; Custom Made’s Blood at the Root; Awesome Theatre’s Coffee Lady.

TAJIANNA OKECHUKWU (Stage Manager) is an actor, film director, producer, and stage manager based in the Bay Area. She obtained her double degree from Azusa Pacific University, a BFA in Theatre Arts, and a BA in Film & TV Studies. In her creative work, she likes to explore narratives through the lens of the Black experience with an Afro-surrealist approach. She is always seeking to tell avant-garde stories that will shift paradigms and shake culture in our society. Tajianna’s recent credits as a Stage Manager include EDIT ANNIE (Crowded Fire Theater), HALIE! The Mahalia Jackson Musical (Lorraine Hansberry Theatre), and CROWNS (Contra Costa Civic Theatre).

LANA PALMER (Sound Designer) is a Canadian-born, San Francisco-based film and theatre maker. As a sound designer and composer, she is proud to have worked with many leading companies in the Bay Area and throughout North America. Her recent credits include Torch Song (Marin Theatre), Josephine’s Feast (Magic Theatre), Hurricane Diane (Aurora Theatre), The Confessions of Lily Dare (NCTC), Man of God (Shotgun Players), References to Salvador Dali… (Custom Made Theatre), and In Love and Warcraft (American Conservatory Theatre/Perseverance Theatre), King Lear and Pericles (San Francisco Shakespeare Festival), Bull in a China Shop (Aurora Theatre), The Humans (San Jose Stage), The Daughters (SF Playhouse), and School Girls; or The African Mean Girls Play (Kansas City Rep/Regional Premiere). Her compositions for film and television are heard on over 100 shows airing worldwide.

JEUNÉE SIMON (Intimacy Coordinator), she/her, is a bi-coastal actor, director, and consent educator. In all of her work, she is dedicated to creating braver spaces where artists can be vulnerable and play. Simon has worked with Aurora Theatre Company, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, American Conservatory Theater, TheatreFIRST, and more. Simon is a proud recipient of the 2017 RHE Artistic Fellowship. She is a believer in the collaborative nature of original plays and has been honored to be part of the new and emerging work being developed in the Bay Area. She is a graduate of Stanford University’s drama program and has trained with Intimacy Directors and Coordinators and Intimacy Coordinators Of Color. Her family hails from Guyana and immigrated to the US when she was 4 years old.

CHRIS STEELE (Costume Designer), they/she, is a queer trans nonbinary performance artist, writer, and activist. Their work centers on highlighting queer narratives throughout history and combating bigotry and white supremacy. Her award-winning drag persona Polly Amber Ross can be found on Instagram @pollyamberross. As a producer, Chris specializes in Marketing and Communications and is currently the Curation Director of Cutting Ball Theatre.

JENNA STEIN-CORMAN (Stage Manager, BoP), she/her, grew up immersed in the bay area theatre community. After graduating from Sarah Lawrence College, she has gone on to work as a teaching artist, stage manager, and director in theaters all over the bay. Currently, she works with Town Hall Theatre, The Berkeley Playhouse, and the San Francisco Mime Troupe. She recently stage managed PlayGround’s 2nd annual “twisted” holiday show, A Very Hitchcock Christmas.

NOVALYNN STONE (Stage Manager, Work/Shoot, The Passing Storm, BoP)

PLAYGROUND, California’s leading playwright incubator, provides unique development opportunities for the Bay Area’s, Los Angeles’ and now New York’s best new playwrights, including the monthly Monday Night PlayGround staged reading series, annual PlayGround Festival of New Works, full-length play commissions and support for the production of new plays by local playwrights through the New Play Production Fund. To date, PlayGround has supported over 250 early career playwrights, developing and staging more than 1000 of their original short plays through the Monday Night PlayGround staged reading series and the PlayGround Festival. PlayGround has also commissioned 90 new full-length plays by 60 of these writers through its Commissioning Initiative and, through the innovative New Play Production Fund, has directly facilitated the premiere of 34 plays at theatres of every size, including three that have gone on to NYC and other major theater communities. Most recently, PlayGround renovated and relaunched the former Thick House Theater in San Francisco’s Potrero Hill as Potrero Stage, a state-of-the-art center for new plays, home to PlayGround’s expanding artistic programs and some of the Bay Area’s most distinguished new play developers and producers. Over the past twenty-four years, PlayGround has served to identify some of the most important new local voices for the theatre. PlayGround’s alumni have gone on to win local, national, and international honors for their short and full-length work, including recognition at the Humana Festival, O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, The Lark’s Playwrights’ Week, New York International Fringe Festival, and others. PlayGround received the 2009 Paine Knickerbocker Award for outstanding contributions to Bay Area theatre, 3 BATCC Awards for Best Original Script for PlayGround commissions, a 2014 National Theatre Company Grant from the American Theatre Wing (founder of the Tony Awards®), and a 2016 Edgerton Foundation New Play Award. Visit https://PlayGround-sf.org for more information.

POTRERO STAGE is a 99-seat state-of-the-art performance space located in the heart of San Francisco’s Potrero Hill neighborhood, operated by PlayGround, and serving as home to some of the Bay Area’s leading new play developers and producers, including PlayGround, Crowded Fire, Golden Thread, and Playwrights Foundation, among others. While the venue is closed during the COVID pandemic, Potrero Stage will highlight the best in online programming by PlayGround, Potrero Stage resident companies, and other Potrero Stage producers. For more information, visit https://potrerostage.org.

PlayGround Opportunities

PlayGround Contributors

PlayGround is deeply grateful for the generous contributions of the many individuals, foundations, corporations and government agencies whose contributions make our work possible. This list reflects gifts of $125 or more committed between May 1, 2024 & May 1, 2025.

GOVERNMENT, CORPORATE, & FOUNDATION DONORS

Alameda County Arts Commission • Amazon • Art Space Development Corporation • Berkeley Civic Arts • Bill Graham Supporting Foundation of the Jewish Community Federation & Endowment Fund • California Arts Council • Grants For The Arts • KFF • Koret Foundation • LA County Arts Commission • Lenore & Howard Klein Foundation • The Leo J. & Celia Carlin Fund • Negley Flinn Charitable Foundation • NIAC • Nvidia • Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation • Rye Financial Services • San Francisco Arts Commission • The Shubert Foundation • The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation

SEASON SPONSORS ($5000+)

Emilie T. & Gordon C. Brooks, Lara Gilman & Jim Kleinmann

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS ($2500+)

Daniel E. Cohn & Lynn Brinton, John H. Gilman, Nitin Nitin & Vasugi Kailasam

PRODUCERS CIRCLE ($1000-$2499)

Randy Adams, Meriko Borogove, Jediah Craig, Regina S. Guggenheim, Just Play Productions, Linda Kremer, Rebecca Martinez, Daniele Nathanson , Arthur & Toni Rembe Rock, Ronald Whittier Family Foundation, John J. Ruskin, Tom Swift, Malachy Walsh, Anonymous

PLAYWRIGHTS CIRCLE ($500-$999)

Linda Ayres-Frederick, Phoenix Theatre SF, Jim Brayton & Debbie Marr, Richard Davis – Lowell, Paulette Donsavage, Keith Goldstein & Donna N. Warrington, Kathryn A Hecht, Toby Inoue, Diane Leonard, Diane Sampson, Janine Wilburn, Maury Zeff, Anonymous (2)

PATRON ($250-$499)

Nina Ball & Jon Tracy, Clint Fleener, Chris & Cindy Redburn, JM Solberg, Jon & Susan Sweedler, Mia Evana Taylor

ASSOCIATE MEMBER ($125-$249)

Cass Brayton, Marilyn Berg Cooper, Michael Fried, Gina Harris, Stanley William Hathaway, Gail Hillebrand & Hugh Barroll, Jean Jensen, Mildred Inez Lewis, Pam MacKinnon, Paris McCarthy, Mark Peters, Doug Peckler and Evelyn Jean Pine , Carolina Rojas Moretti, Abigail May Rosen, Stan Stone, Bex White, Scott Lebus & Susannah Wise, Anonymous

SUPPORTING MEMBER ($75-$124)

Sam & Naomi Abramovitz, Nissa Anklesaria, Mary E. Baird, Robert Battle, Julie Berthold, John Brown, Bruce Colman, Please don’t , Frieda de Lackner, Albert & Joyce Dieda, Krystyna  Finlayson , Anirvan and Lee Anna Ghosh, Hon. John Hale, Martin Haro, Sharlene Hartman, Richard Hillman, Lucy Hsu, Tanuja Devi Jagernauth, Pamela Kennedy, Mike, Erin & Cameron, Michael Kobori and Sachiko Nagai-Kobori, Drew & Carrie Nagel, Jack needleman, Bridget O’Keeffe, Louis Parnell, Veril L Phillips, Bridgette Dutta Portman, Stephanie & David Haines, Kimberly Ridgeway, Emily Brauer Rogers and Gene Rogers, Phyllis Rothman, Miyoko Sakatani, Louel Senores, Alex M. Shafer, Michael Slade, Nancy W. Smith, Kurt Taylor, Lisa Gaye Thompson, Michael E Tuton, Christina Velasco, Christian Edward Wilburn, Anonymous (3)

CONTRIBUTING MEMBER ($25-$74)

Melissa A Argo, Evan Baughfman, Tesia Renee Bell, Anne and Kevin Brady, Thomas Patrick Broyhill, Tom Bruett, Ben Cain, Mark Calhoun, Todd Cerveris, Parvesh Cheena, Ed Chiu, Ronald a Cook, David Cramer, Mark Doyle, Elizabeth Dudak, Deepanshu Dutta, JoAnne Winter and Adrian Elfenbaum, Jerri Farnsworth, Caitlin Floyd, Sandy Hansen, Miss Richelle Lopez Harding, Steve Harper, Brian and Jocelyn Herndon, Jane Hopkins, Uma Incrocci, Michael Kaplan, Ruth Kirschner, Katherine Swan, Angela Loria, Kelley Macmillan, Gabriela Mayorga, Lisa McCaffrey, Colette Meunier & Mark van Norman, Marnie Monogue, Mr. & Mrs. Tom J Monogue, Dionna Ndlovu, Richard Orchid, Vivian M. Pisano, Dorothy Fuller Polash, Shariba Rivers, Charlie Rodriguez, Debba Rofheart, Katie Ryan, Kevin Sabato, Jeunee Simon, Dakota Solomon, William & Sharon Thompson, Colin Thomson & Karen Thomson Hall, Braedyn Youngberg

FRIEND ($1-$24)

Tod Abbott, David Adams, Michael Adams, Scott Adams, Anthony Anello, Micheline Auger, Oscar Avila, Daniela Bailes, Anna Bass, Laura Bennett, Mayuri Bhandari, Erica Blumfield, Roberta D’Alois, Jack Darling, Samantha Dickinson, Eileen Dixon, Amy Dobzynski, Jordan Don, Leah T Dudak, Dr. Morgan Dundon, Amanda Andrei, Emily Esner, Morgan Fabber, Sara Felder, Cherielyn Ferguson, John Flanagan, Linette Floyd, Saiya Floyd, Christina M Freitas Blair, Jake Friedman, Enid Lucchesi Gil, Katie Gnagy Melendez, Anne Gorman, Kara Grayson-Groom, Elizabeth Groenewegen, Julien Gussman, Nay Harris, Laurie Henderson, Wendy Herbert, Leon Macias, Aaron Higareda, Edward Hong, Ellen Ilfeld, Tim Jacques, Brandon Jenkins, Eric Judson, Dawn Juhas, Myung Kang Huneke, Vassilisa Kapila, Jacinta Kaumbulu, Javid Khoshnood, Amanda Kim, Lydia Kim, Frances Ann Krepchin, Shelly Kurtzl, Connor Larkin, Vivian Le, & Jeffry A Leblanc, Gerald May, Eris Mayeroff, Leontyne Mbele-Mbong, Trisha McKethan, Christopher Mehrvarzi, Amy Meyers, Allie Costa, Frank Nims, Dakota Pariset, Phillip Pineno, Fred Pitts, Christian Pizzirani, Melanie Claire Queponds, Charli Renken, Jess Roat, Bill Roberts, Velma Ross , Jason Ruderman, Patrick Russell, Collette Rutherford, Jorge Salas, March Saper, Dr. Jenni Schlossman, Hayley Schueneman, Andrew Seller, Tori Serpico, Baylee Anne Shlichtman, Miss Eden Olivia Sides, Diana Simonzadeh, Sergio Solis, Ginger Marie Standridge, Natalie Standridge, Spencer Talesfore, Sharlee Taylor, Phone Myat Tha, Ian Thielman, Karly Thomas, Sharon Thompson, Miss Isabel Anne Torres, Allison Tu, Miranda Velasco, Kim Webster, Shontel Westbrook, Jo Yuan, William Zhang

To contribute to PlayGround, visit https://playground-sf.org/contribute or contact PlayGround Associate Director of Development Lana Richards at lana@playground-sf.org or by phone at (833) 992-6677.

Become a PlayGround contributor!

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PlayGround Company

PLAYGROUND WRITERS POOL 2023-24

Daniel Baxter, Robyn Brooks, Nicole Apostol Bruno, Madeleine Butler, Jediah Craig, Cherielyn Ferguson, Elizabeth Flanagan, Ipsheeta Furtado, KT Frances Hartline, Sam Hurwitt, Tejahra Jacobs, Ruth Kirschner, Steve Koppman, Sarena Kuhn, Greg Lam, Jennifer Le Blanc, Kristy Lin Billuni, Justin P. Lopez, Mikee Loria, Daniel Martinez, Jr, Alanna McFall, Matthew Morishige, Richard Perez, Bridgette Dutta Portman, Xinyuan Pu, Kimberly Ridgeway, George Rose, David Schweidel, Louel Senores, Stan Stone, Lisa Thompson, Mike Tuton, Kaz Valtchev, Michael Waterson, Christian Wilburn, Maury Zeff

PLAYGROUND RESIDENT PLAYWRIGHTS 2023-24

Cass Brayton, Bailey Jordan Garcia, M.J. Kang, Samuel Kelly Fair Levit, Daniel Martinez, Jr., Matthew Y. Morishige, Molly Olis Krost, Evelyn Jean Pine, Bridgette Dutta Portman, Alexis Standridge, Leela Velautham, Jennie Webb

PLAYGROUND COMPANY

Molly Aaronson-Gelb, Angel Adedokun, Patrick Alparone, Linda Amayo-Hassan, Liz Anderson, Rinabeth Apostol, Michael Asberry, Michael Barrett Austin, Mary Baird, April Ballesteros, Tanika Baptiste, Aldo Billingslea, Millie Brooks, Julia Brothers, Nicole Apostol Bruno, Lizzie Calogero, Ron Campbell, Joy Carlin, Nancy Carlin, Zoe Chien, Ben Chau-Chiu, Tessa Corrie, David Cramer, Will Dao, Anne Darragh, Roshni Datta, Khalia Davis, Natalia Delgado, Dodds Delzell, Livia Gomes Demarchi, Carolyn Doyle, Leticia Duarte, Nora el Samahy, Rebecca Ennals, Gisela Feied, Britney Frazier, Michael French, Claire Ganem, Sarah Gasser, Norman Gee, Douglas B. Giorgis, Linda Giron, Amy Glazer, Cindy Goldfield, BW Gonzalez, Gabriel Grilli, Rudy Guerrero, Rosie Hallett, Katherine Hamilton, Eric Fraisher Hayes, Brian Herndon, Champagne Hughes, J Jha, Colin Johnson, Jennifer King, Dean Koya, Danielle Levin, Amy Lizardo, Jeffrey Lo, Gwen Loeb, George Maguire, Melanie Marshall, Alicia Mason, Leontyne Mbele-Mbong, Julia McNeal, Sam Misner, Brady Morales-Woolery, Lisa Morse, Khary L. Moye, Molly Noble, Karen Offereins, Annette Oliveira, Soren Oliver, Ely Sonny Orquiza, Tony Ortega, Doyle Ott, June Palladino, Carla Pantoja, Louis Parnell, Jed Parsario, Michael Phillis, Krystle Piamonte, Rebecca Pingree, Stephanie Prentice, Ezra Reaves, Virginia Reed, Cathleen Riddley, Kimberly Ridgeway, Katja Rivera, Adrian Roberts, Stacy Ross, Adam Roy, Katie Rubin, Patrick Russell, Miyoko Sakatani, Louel Senores, Robert Sicular, Dave Sikula, Jeunee Simon, M. Graham Smith, Ken Sonkin, Lauren Spencer, Teddy Spencer, Chris Steele, Howard Swain, Jomar Tagatac, Emilie Talbot, Danielle Thys, Isabel Anne To, Jon Tracy, Dane Troy, Mark Rafael Truitt, Liam Vincent, Ian Walker, Maryssa Wanlass, Tracy Ward, Reggie D. White, Christian Wilburn, Wayne Wong, Elena Wright, Hector Zavala

PLAYGROUND AMBASSADORS

Julia Brothers, Jordan Carlson, Ben Chau-Chiu, Julia Crowley, Sheri Flanders, Claire Ganem, Eric Geller, Monica Ho, Tony Kim, Christine Liao, AJ Lily, Ely Sonny Orquiza, Andrew Perez, Ivan Rivas, Miyoko Sakatani, Braedyn Youngberg

PLAYGROUND STAFF

Jim Kleinmann, Co-Founder & Artistic Director
Jacque Bugler, Production Manager/General Manager
Lana Richards, Associate Director of Development
Jonathan Josephson, Director of Marketing & Communications
Bacilio Mendez II, Executive Producer
Norman Gee, Associate Producer
Katja Rivera, Associate Producer
Tessa Corrie, Casting Associate
Patricia Cotter, Casting Associate
Brittany Mellerson, Resident Designer
Sarah Gasser, Resident Stage Manager
Darius Adamson Jr., 2023-24 Producing Fellow
River Bermudez Sanders, 2023-24 Producing Fellow
Zoe Chien, 2023-24 Producing Fellow
Carmia Imani, 2023-24 Producing Fellow
Julie Lippert-Pasco, 2023-24 Producing Fellow
Xinyuan Pu, 2023-24 Producing Fellow
Christy Spence, 2023-24 Producing Fellow
Emily Zhou, 2023-24 Producing Fellow

PLAYGROUND BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Stephanie Prentice, Chair
James A. Kleinmann, President
Emilie Talbot, Vice President
Nitin, Treasurer
Diana Burbano, Secretary
Regina Guggenheim, Chair Emeritus
Tanvi Agrawal
Linda Amayo-Hassan
Hillary DeMartino
Rebecca Martinez
Katie May
Bacilio Mendez II
David Steele
Christian Wilburn
David Steele

www.PlayGround-sf.org
3286 Adeline St #8
Berkeley, CA 94703-2485
info@playground-sf.org
(415) 992-6677