PlayGround presents Season 28

MONDAY NIGHT PLAYGROUND

Topic: “WHODUNNIT“

November 15, 2021 7pm PT

Freight & Salvage + Simulcast

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.

Two Detectives Are Better Than One
By Anne Yumi Kobori
Directed by M. Graham Smith
Detective Sam Spade…………………………………….Khary L. Moye
Detective Inspector Watson………….Gianna DiGregorio Rivera
Lady Adelaide Bird……………………………………..Karen Offereins
Fifi Amouse-Bouche……………………………………Natalia Delgado
Butler…………………………………………………………..David Cramer

In Search of an Ending
By Akaina Ghosh
Directed by Katherine Hamilton
Adrienne……………………………………………………Emily Keyishian
Sarah………………………………………………………..Rebecca Pingree

Click, Like, and Murder: The Case of the Killer Lumpia
By Conrad A. Panganiban
Directed by Ely Sonny Orquiza
Monica Pascual…………………………………………………May Ramos
Vincenzo Premsirat………………………………………….Jed Parsario
Nekesa Moonbeam…………………………………….Miyoko Sakatani
Heinrich Van DeLaVega………………………………….Aaron Wilton
Ilima-Lei Dandridge……………………………………….Danielle Thys

The Zookeeper Caper
By Jennifer Le Blanc
Directed by Susi Damilano
Owl………………………………………………….Daryl Anthony Harper
Julia…………………………………………………………….Danielle Levin
Gibbon………………………………………………………………Adam Roy
Meerkat…………………………………………………..Maryssa Wanlass
Cheetah………………………………………………………..Leticia Duarte

Locker Room
By Alexis Standridge
Directed by Jim Kleinmann
Peter…………………………………………………………Krystle Piamonte
Jefferson………………………………………………………….Rosie Hallett
Dylan………………………………………………………………..Gisela Feied
Mike……………………………………………………….Elissa Beth Stebbins
Brandon………………………………………………………April Ballesteros

They Dun It
By Alanna McFall
Directed by Joy Carlin
Baxter/Detective Manderly (VO)……………Michael Barrett Austin
Lady Reed……………………………………………………………..Lisa Morse
Lady Dormund…………………………………………………….Alicia Mason
Lord Rabbitsby……………………………………………………..Soren Oliver
Dead Body……………………………………………..Michael Barrett Austin

Stage Manager: Dianne Harrison

Sound Designer: James Goode

This live stream is produced under a SAG-AFTRA New Media Agreement.

PlayGround is a member of Theatre Bay Area and Theatre Communications Group,
and an Associate Member of the National New Play Network (NNPN).

People’s Choice Award

Following tonight’s performance, we invite your participation in this month’s 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 award-winning incubator programs.

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 Monday Night 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 the week, we’ll tally up the top vote-getter and automatic semi-finalist for our season-ending Best of PlayGround. 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

AKAINA GHOSH (In Search of an Ending), they/them, is a non-binary Bay Area theater artist. They’ve debuted original works at PianoFight, Z-Below, TheatreFIRST, and The Flight Deck. They are a two-time recipient of 3GirlsTheatre’s Innovator’s Series Grant, and they were a semi-finalist in the National Alliance for Musical Theater’s 15-Minute Musical Challenge with selections from their original musical Lilith. They are passionate about reconstructing historically significant narratives through a gender expansive lens and generating new works that center queer voices and perspectives. This is their fifth season in PlayGround’s Writer’s Pool. Follow Akaina’s work at akainaghosh.com.

ANNE YUMI KOBORI (Two Detectives Are Better Than One) is a Japanese-American theatre artist. She has written multiple short plays for production: The Art of Suffrage (Best of PlayGround 25), Coward’s Flame and Give Me the Sky (MondayNightPlayGround), Simulation (Pear Theatre), Roses in the Desert (Dragon Theatre) and The Disappearance of Betty La Rose (Neighborhood Stories El Cerrito). Her full-length plays Seeds and Every Day Alice premiered with Utopia Theatre Project. Currently, Anne is a co-writer for Braided, in development with Theatre of Yugen. She is also the playwright collaborator for A.C.T’s spring MFA production Neo Symposium. www.anneyumikobori.com

JENNIFER LE BLANC (The Zookeeper Caper) is thrilled to be part of PlayGround.  She adapted Jane Austen’s Persuasion which received its world-premiere at San Jose Stage Company and Defoe’s Moll Flanders which received its world-premiere at Pacific Repertory Theatre. She wrote We Made Bread, a one-woman show adapted from interviews, for Perspective Theatre Company (formerly Arabian Shakespeare Festival). Jennifer has contributed short plays to Shotz, Perspective Theatre Company’s New Works Festival, and Our Digital Stories. Jennifer received her BA in English Literature from U.C. Berkeley and her MFA in Acting from the National Theatre Conservatory.  She is an associate artist with the Perspective Theatre Company and Livermore Shakespeare Festival.

ALANNA MCFALL (They Dun It) is a playwright and novelist based out of the Bay Area. Her debut paranormal road trip novel, The Traveling Triple-C Incorporeal Circus, came out in 2019 with Atthis Arts publishing and was the 2020 Silver Award Winner for Best New Voice: Fiction prize in the Benjamin Franklin Awards from the Independent Book Publishers Association. She has been a member of the Writer’s Pool with PlayGround SF for several seasons, and won the 2019 June Anne Baker Prize for upcoming female playwrights. More information about her upcoming events can be found at alannamcfall.com or on Twitter @AlannaMcFall.

CONRAD A. PANGANIBAN (Click, Like, and Murder: The Case of the Killer Lumpia) is a Filipino-American playwright representing the San Francisco Bay Area. His plays include THE ACT OF CARE, WELGA, RIVER’S MESSAGE and ESPERANZA MEANS HOPE. Conrad’s work has been produced by Bindlestiff Studio, The Chikahan Company, CIRCA Pintig, MaArte Theatre Collective, and the Sinag-tala Filipino Theatrical Performing Arts Association. Awards include: James Milton Highsmith Award Winner (SFSU), National Ten-Minute Play Festival Finalist (Actors Theatre of Louisville), and Bay Area Playwrights Festival Semi-Finalist (Playwrights Foundation). Resident Artist: Bindlestiff Studio. Member: 2021-22 PlayGroundSF Writers Pool, Dramatist Guild of America, and Theatre Bay Area. MFA. San Francisco State University.

ALEXIS STANDRIDGE (Locker Room) is a recent Santa Clara University grad, where she studied playwriting and social justice theatre. She is very excited to be involved with Playground, and to be amongst such amazing artists!

ACTORS

MICHAEL BARRETT AUSTIN’s (They Dun It, “Baxter/Detective Manderly (VO)”, “Dead Body”) recent (pre-pandemic) theatre appearances include As You Like It (SF Shakespeare Festival), Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (42nd Street Moon) and The Elephant Man (Dr. Frederick Treves) at Hillbarn Theatre. He toured the country 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 member of TheatreFirst, Just Theater and PlayGround and proud husband of Emily and father to Lucille. www.michaelbarrettaustin.com

APRIL BALLESTEROS (Locker Room, “Brandon”) is an actor, director, theater educator, stage manager, props designer as well as being Associate Artistic Director at Theatre Cultura and Artistic Learning Programs Manager at the California Shakespeare Theater. She has worked with SF Playhouse, Lorraine Hansberry Theater, Theatre Cultura and is a member of the Latinx Mafia Theater Collective. She recently directed Latinx Mafia’s staged reading of Memoria Del Silencio and will be starring in their upcoming production of Velorio. With every project she does, she hopes to empower and uplift BIPOC voices. She holds a B.A. in Theatre Arts from
California State University, East Bay and is a proud Chicana from East LA.

DAVID CRAMER (Two Detectives Are Better Than One, “Butler”), he/him, has a BFA from the University of New Mexico, studied at London’s Royal Academy and HB Studios in New York. He has performed locally with the Magic Theatre, Marin Theatre, San Francisco Playhouse, Shotgun Players, Word for Word and Ragged Wing Ensemble. Television and film roles include M*A*S*H, The Waltons, Nash Bridges, The Last Word and Falcon Crest among others. He is a delightedly proud member of PlayGround.

NATALIA DELGADO (Two Detectives Are Better Than One, “Fifi Amouse-Bouche”), she/her/Ella, born and raised in the heart of Los Angeles, has always been surrounded by visionary creatives. Her background in theatre continues to spark her passion and curiosity for the world around her, she enjoys connecting with people and exchanging stories. She is the jack of all trades- whether she’s on or off stage, she commands the room with her infectious charm and giving spirit. Memorable roles include: Mercutio (Romeo and Juliet), Blondie (Zoot Suit), Camila (In the Heights) and many more. She has been featured in various Staged Readings through Latinx Mafia and is honored to have the opportunity to read original new works aloud! She is now based in Oakland C.A where she is currently enrolled in Alder Graduate School of Education where she plans on receiving Masters in Education. Less than a year from now, she hopes to be teaching kiddos full time while balancing her love for the performing arts.

LETICIA DUARTE (The Zookeeper Caper, “Cheetah”) (they, them) is a Bay Area radical queer, director, actor, playwright, activist and teaching artist whose recent projects include: Julius Caesar with PacRep, Cry of Curs (an adaptation of Coriolanus by Ken Kelleher) with Tabard Theatre, The Review with Theatre Rhinoceros , Helen! With Theatre of Yugen, Into the Beautiful North & The King of Cuba with CentralWorks. They have also worked with Willows Theatre Co, Berkeley Rep., Crowded Fire, Playwrights Foundation, Bay Area Children’s Theatre and various others. Duarte is a graduate of UCLA, UCSC, and has trained with A.C.T. and Shakespeare & Co. Duarte is a founding member of Latinx Mafia, a Bay Area collective of Latinx Teatristas, who work to ensure Latinx stories are valued and accurately represented. They are also a company member of In Full Color, Lez Writes and FabLab. Their hope for all their work is trying to center their personal practice in liberation pedagogy. Find a full range of work by Duarte at www.sfcasting.com/leticiaduarte

GISELA FEIED (Locker Room, “Dylan”) is very excited to be a part of Monday Night Playground at Freight & Salvage. In 2019, she graduated from PCPA where she had the pleasure to be in the ensemble for the Crucible, play Tootles from Peter Pan, and Hermia from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Currently, she is working with Kaiser Permanente Educational Theatre in the Ghosted program bringing mental health awareness and tools for mental wellness virtually to high schools across Northern California. Muchas gracias por esta oportunidad!

ROSIE HALLETT (Locker Room, “Jefferson”) is the proud recipient of this year’s PlayGround Women Leaders Fellowship for Acting! Her pre-pandemic performances include Mother of the Maid at Marin Theatre Company and Top Girls and Men on Boats at ACT.

DARYL ANTHONY HARPER (The Zookeeper Caper, “Owl”) is an American-born Voice Over Artist and Actor best known for his work in the commercial industry as a Narrator for the award-winning “Honda is Family” campaign and as an ADR performer on films such as Zodiak directed by David Fincher and Bolden directed by Dan Pritzker. Daryl graduated from Chapman University with a degree in Radio, Film, and TV Production, but was smitten by the craft of Acting while taking a basic fundamentals class in an effort to become a better Director. Daryl was signed by the Stars agency in San Francisco, California in March of 2004. Daryl is also a proud member of PlayGround.

EMILY KEYISHIAN (In Search of an Ending, “Adrienne”) is always thrilled to perform with Playground and the talented people involved. Recent projects: Constellations (Gary Green) Comedy of Errors (Emma Schwartz), Abortion, Recklessness, Web (Tao House, Eric Hayes), Cherry Orchard (Town Hall, Susan Evans) Honky (Role Players, Katja Rivera), Other Desert Cities (Role Players, Chloe Bronzan), Come Here Often? (Left Coast, Chris Maltby), $18 Billion Prize (Phoenix, Richard Kuhlman), Hamlet (Arabian Shakespeare, Kevin Hammond), Fiction (Dragon, Erin Gilley), Adventures in Tech (Piano Fight, Allison Page), Top Girls (A.C.T. Costume Shop, Ariella Wolfe), ReOrient (Golden Thread, Erin Gilley, Sara Razavi, Torange Yeghiazarian), Charlotte’s Web (Marin Theater, Tracy Ward).

DANIELLE LEVIN (The Zookeeper Caper, “Julia”) is so happy to be back on stage for the first time in 2 years!!! An actor, dialect coach, and theatremaker, Danielle received her MFA from UC Davis in Dramatic Art this past June. She has been seen in the Bay Area at theatres such as Marin Theatre Company, Shotgun Players, TheatreWorks, and Crowded Fire. Danielle is an Associate Artist with TheatreFIRST and—of course—PlayGround SF!

ALICIA MASON (They Dun It, “Lady Dormund”) is a Bay Area 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. 

LISA MORSE (They Dun It, “Lady Reed”), she/her, is very very happy to be here tonight with all these lovely vaccinated people supporting the arts. She is a longtime PlayGround Company Member.

KHARY L. MOYE (Two Detectives Are Better Than One, “Detective Sam Spade”), he/him, is an actor originally from N.Y and now resides in the Bay Area. He is beyond thrilled to make his PlayGround return and to have live audience members again!! His next project will be “Intimate Apparel” next April 2022 with the Lorraine Hansbury Theater Company. Instagram: kharylmoye

KAREN OFFEREINS (Two Detectives Are Better Than One, “Lady Adelaide Bird”), she/her, is a company member of PlayGround and was last seen on stage in Custom Made Theatre’s How to Transcend a Happy Marriage, having previously performed there in The Pain and the Itch and M. Butterfly. Recent credits include Elevada at Shotgun Players (as well as The Mousetrap, Top Girls, and Our Town), Two Mile Hollow (Ferocious Lotus, where she is also a company member), and Phèdre (Cutting Ball Theater). Past credits include The Potrero Nuevo Project (PlayGround), The Rules (SF Playhouse), and Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Big Funk, and No Exit (AtmosTheatre).

SOREN OLIVER (They Dun It, “Lord Rabbitsby”), he/him, has been a PlayGround company member for a long time and has been working in Bay Area theatre since 1977.

JED PARSARIO (Click, Like, and Murder: The Case of the Killer Lumpia, “Vincenzo Premsirat”) is thrilled to be back in physical space with his Playground family! He is a PlayGround Associate Producer and member of the PlayGround Ambassadors.

KRYSTLE PIAMONTE (Locker Room, “Peter”) is a Bay Area-based stage/screen actor. Theatre includes: RIPPED (Z Space); KING OF THE YEES and DANCE NATION (SF Playhouse); INSIDE OUT & BACK AGAIN (BACT); and TWO MILE HOLLOW (Ferocious Lotus). KQED MVP of Bay Area Theatre. Film/TV include: SORRY TO BOTHER YOU, BOUND 4 HEAVEN, and LUMPIA WITH A VENGEANCE. Her pandemic theatre projects included PlayGround Zoom Fest and interactive theatre-by-mail with Artistic Stamp. She is a Co-Founder/Co-Artistic Director of The Chikahan Company, whose inaugural production, THE ACT OF CARE, premieres during PlayGround’s Innovators Showcase 11/19-11/21. www.krystlepiamonte.com | IG: @xLe

REBECCA PINGREE (In Search of an Ending, “Sarah”), she/her/hers, opens Into the Woods at Berkeley Playhouse this weekend, playing The Baker’s Wife. She’s a regular Director/Performer at Mask Mondays at Standard Deviant, and is currently developing Bud & This is Not Moose & Tweety with Analog Theatre (which she co-founded with Elissa Beth Stebbins) which will be featured as part on Playground’s Innovator Incubator Showcase in the coming weeks. Rebecca holds an MFA in Collaborative Theatremaking from Rose Bruford, and is a proud member of Playground, TBA, TheatreFirst’s T1 Collective, and BAARJ (Bay Area Artists for Racial Justice). ( ), she/her/hers, opens Into the Woods at Berkeley Playhouse this weekend, playing The Baker’s Wife. She’s a regular Director/Performer at Mask Mondays at Standard Deviant, and is currently developing Bud & This is Not Moose & Tweety with Analog Theatre (which she co-founded with Elissa Beth Stebbins) which will be featured as part on Playground’s Innovator Incubator Showcase in the coming weeks. Rebecca holds an MFA in Collaborative Theatremaking from Rose Bruford, and is a proud member of Playground, TBA, TheatreFirst’s T1 Collective, and BAARJ (Bay Area Artists for Racial Justice).

MAY RAMOS (Click, Like, and Murder: The Case of the Killer Lumpia, “Monica Pascual”), they/them, is a Berkeley based performer and educator! Recent credits include writing and performing original music in “Phantasmagoria” (in collaboration with Bay Area Theatre Cypher, Mugwumpin, and Cutting Ball), and their short film “mangmangkik”, featured in Inferno Theatre’s Diasporas in the Dominicile. Come see them in “Bratpack” at Feinstein’s at the Hotel Nikko, playing through December 31st!

GIANNA DIGREGORIO RIVERA (Two Detectives Are Better Than One, “Detective Inspector Watson”), she/they, is a Bay Area actor and musician. Before the pandemic, she had just returned home from a 3-city tour of Quixote Nuevo (Hartford Stage, Huntington Theatre Company, Alley Theatre). Previous credits include: Quixote Nuevo (California Shakespeare Theatre), The Importance of Being Earnest (Aurora Theatre Company), Arcadia (Shotgun Players), How I Learned to Drive (Custom Made Theatre Co.), Ageless (Quantum Dragon Theater), Zoot Suit (UCSC Mainstage). She is currently pursuing her Master’s in Sexuality Studies as San Francisco State University.

ADAM ROY‘s (The Zookeeper Caper, “Gibbon”) Bay Area credits include SF Oasis, Golden Thread Productions, PlayGround, Central Works, 42nd Street Moon, AlterTheater, Marin Shakespeare, New Conservatory Theatre and Circus Center. Adam is a resident teaching artist with Marin Shakespeare and a company member with PlayGround.

MIYOKO SAKATANI (Click, Like, and Murder, “Nekesa Moonbeam”) is a Bay Area actor~singer. Her favorite past shows include, Uncle Vanya, Distracted, Vanya, Sonia, Masha and Spike and You Can’t Take it With You. She performed in the Free Speech Movement and a lead understudy for The Great Wave for Berkeley Rep. Films include the award winning East Side Sushi and A Hundred Blocks (A full list of film credits on IMDb/Miyoko Sakatani). Miyoko performed her own solo piece at the Marsh Theater about her family’s immigration and internment. She is the founding director of Playland Productions

ELISSA BETH STEBBINS (Locker Room, “Mike”), she/her, is a Bay Area actor, teaching artist, and theatre maker. Recent credits include Becky Nurse, and Watch Me (Berkeley Rep), Kings, Kiss, The Village Bike, and Caught (Shotgun Players), In Braunau (San Francisco Playhouse Sandbox Series), Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again. and You For Me For You (Crowded Fire Theatre), The Little Prince (Marin Theater Company), and Minneola Twins (Cutting Ball), among others. Elissa graduated from Santa Clara University, and continued training with Shakespeare and Company, and Atelier Matteo Destro. She is co-founder of Analog Theatre.

DANIELLE THYS (Click, Like, and Murder: The Case of the Killer Lumpia, “Ilima-Lei Dandridge“) is an original acting company member of PlayGround. She dedicates tonight’s performance to Lydia, the finest lumpia maker the world has ever known. RIP

MARYSSA WANLASS (The Zookeeper Caper, “Meerkat”), she/her/they/them, is returning to the Bay Area after two years on the East Coast where she had a baby and learned to raise chickens. Selected Bay Area acting credits include Pericles, As You Like It, Hamlet, Winter’s Tale (SF Shakes), As You Like It (CalShakes), Book Club Play, Breaking the Code (Jewel Theatre). Wanlass is also passionate about social justice theatre and has directed at-risk young adults in Shakespeare plays and taught improv to California’s maximum-security inmates. She is currently the Engagement Director for the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival.

AARON WILTON (Click, Like, and Murder, “Heinrich Van DeLaVega”) is elated to be working with PlayGround again where he is part of the acting company.  Notable stage productions include George Street Playhouse’s “Inspecting Carol” (with Peter Scolari & Dan Lauria), Aurora Theatre Company’s “John Gabriel Borkman” (with Karen Grassle) and the lead in Hudson Stage Company’s “After All” (with Broadway’s Walter Charles & Susan Pellegrino). Film: Jexi, The Boat Builder. TV: Criminal Minds, Sunset Glory. Video Games: Watch Dogs 2, Godfather 2, Mafia: Definitive Edition, Battlefield: Hardline. Commercials: Taco Bell, Xfinity, Wells Fargo, Blue Shield, Tejava, Charles Schwab, Chase, EA Games, Cisco, Adobe, Pixar. 

DIRECTORS

JOY CARLIN (They Dun It), she/her, has been an actress and director in the Bay Area for many years. 25 years a member of the company at A. C. T. and an Associate Artistic Director there for five years as well as the Interim Artistic Director at the Berkeley rep where she also acted and directed. She was graduated from the university of Chicago, went to the Yale School of Drama, Studied with Lee Strasberg in New York and has roots in Chicago’s “Second City“. She has acted or directed at Aurora Theatre, San Francisco Playhouse, Marin Theatre, TheatreWorks, Shotgun Players, San Jose Rep and the Jewel Theatre in Santa Cruz. She has been seen on TV and in films.

SUSI DAMILANO (The Zookeeper Caper), she/her, loves working with PlayGround. She is cofounder and producing director at San Francisco Playhouse. Enjoy!

KATHERINE HAMILTON (In Search of an Ending) is a director and actress and is the Literary and Casting Assistant at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. Katherine is a former directing apprentice at Playground SF and last directed Born Again in the October Monday Night series. Favorite Assistant directing credits include Indiana Repertory Theatre and TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. She is currently playing the role of Charlotte Corday in The Revolutionists at Palo Alto Players, through November 21st. In her free time Katherine is a growing political activist and is a TA at DeAnza College. Proud UCSB graduate!

JIM KLEINMANN (A Well; Artistic Director & Co-Founder), he, 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.

ELY SONNY ORQUIZA (Click, Like, and Murder: The Case of the Killer Lumpia), he/him, is a Queer Filipinx American theater maker based in San Francisco Bay Area. His works focus on championing and uplifting Queer, Asian American stories for the American Theater and their intersection with other identities. He is one of the co-Founder and co-Artistic Director of The Chikahan Company, a new Filipinx American theater in the Bay.

M. GRAHAM SMITH (Two Detectives Are Better Than One), he/him, is an SF based director, who is overjoyed to return to live in-person theater. His production of Father/Daughter at Aurora Theater in Berkeley opens Nov 18 and plays thru December 12. For PlayGround, he most recently directed the 2021 PlayGround Zoom Fest premiere of Jonathan Luskin’s Perfect. He is a member of SDC.

PRODUCTION & STAFF

ANNIE STUART (Associate Artistic Director) has served as casting director for PlayGround for the past twenty-two seasons and in 2005 was named Associate Director. As a freelance casting director, her other credits include Marin Theatre Company, Center REP, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, San Francisco and Los Angeles Shakespeare Festivals, Brava!, Theatre Rhinoceros, and Z Space, among others. She has taught at San Jose State University, College of Marin, and Marin Theatre Company. For the PlayGround 2021-22 season, Annie will cast more than 300 roles.

LIAM VINCENT (Director of Growth) has been a professional San Francisco-based actor for the past 25 years and a proud PlayGround company member since 1999.  Locally, he has worked  at American Conservatory Theater, Cal Shakes, Marin Theatre Company, Magic Theatre, SF Playhouse, Aurora Theatre Company, TheatreWorks, and San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, among many others.  Regional credits include productions at Huntington Theatre Company, Alliance Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, Santa Cruz Shakespeare, Pasadena Playhouse, and Portland Center Stage. A regular presence of Bay Area theatre fundraisers and curtain speeches over the years, Liam has served as master of ceremonies and host for Cal Shakes galas and helped plan events for American Conservatory Theater and San Francisco Shakes, among others. Since 2018, he has worked with the public transportation advocacy nonprofit, Seamless Bay Area, to help fuel the organization’s growth and visibility. Most recently, he served as the first creative hire for DriveTime, co-hosting and writing for the interactive trivia app DriveTime (now Drive.fm), and helping grow the company by 500% during his tenure. He was instrumental in helping the company achieve its Series A fundraising goal of $11 million in September 2019. DriveTime won a Webby Award in 2020 for Best Voice App.

DIANNE HARRISON (Stage Manager) has enjoyed stage managing around Sonoma and Marin Counties over the last ten years. Some of her past shows include Sonoma Arts Live’s SAME TIME, NEXT YEAR; Santa Rosa Junior College’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST and ALMOST MAINE, when she earned a Certificate of Merit from the Kennedy Center’s American College Theater Festival in 2015; JoLee Productions’ BLUFF, which she also co-directed; and Ross Valley Players’ (RVP) SILENT SKY, which was listed in the Pacific Sun’s Top Torn Tickets for 2020. Dianne recently joined RVP’s return to live theatre with their 92nd season’s opening of RIPCORD.

JAMES GOODE (Sound Designer), he/him, has worked with a number of Bay Area theater companies, including 6NewPlays, Altarena Playhouse, Anton’s Well Theater Company, Center REP, Hillbarn Theatre, Oakland Theater Project, Palo Alto Players, PlayGround, Playwrights Foundation, Stage 1, Theater of Others, and Theatre Rhinoceros. He’s also worked with animators, choreographers, filmmakers, visual artists, voice actors and others on a wide variety of projects, including films, gallery and museum installations, music videos, podcasts, TV shows, and educational toys and games. https://jamesgoodesound.com

LAUREL SCHWEIDEL (Box Office)

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 CONTRIBUTORS

PlayGround is deeply grateful for the generous contributions of the many individuals, foundations, gifts of $125 or more committed between November 1, 2020 & November 15, 2021.

GOVERNMENT, CORPORATE, & FOUNDATION DONORS

Alameda County Arts Commission • Amazon • Art Space Development Corporation • Berkeley Civic Arts • The Bernard Osher Foundation • Bill Graham Supporting Foundation of the Jewish Community Federation & Endowment Fund • California Arts Council • Creative Capacity Fund • The Fleishhacker Foundation • Goldman Sachs • Google • Grants For The Arts • Koret Foundation • Lenore & Howard Klein Foundation • The Leo J. & Celia Carlin Fund • Negley Flinn Charitable Foundation • NIAC • Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation • Planet Earth Arts • San Francisco Arts Commission • The Shenson Foundation • The Shubert Foundation • Stanford University • The Tournesol Project • Voluntary Arts Contribution Fund • The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation • Zellerbach Family Foundation

INDIVIDUAL SUPPORTERS

SEASON SPONSORS ($5000+)

Donna Ano, Mr. William Bivins, Emilie T. & Gordon C. Brooks, Jerome Joseph Gentes & Michael Bourque, Lara Gilman & Jim Kleinmann, Craig and Kathy Moody, David Steele

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS ($2500–$4,999)

John H. Gilman, Regina S. Guggenheim, Linda Kremer, Diane Sampson, Anonymous (2)

PRODUCERS CIRCLE ($1000-$2499)

Erik Blachford, Karen Chakmakian, Thalia Dorwick, Keith Goldstein & Donna N. Warrington, Tish and Steve Harwood, Mrs. Frannie Pope Hohman, Tracy Brown and Greg Holland, Brady Lea & David Gallagher, Dr. Gary W. London, Karen Mauney-Brodek, Nitin, Ms. Carol Louisa Owens, Arthur Rock & Toni Rembe Rock, Sharon Simpson, Marian Scheuer Sofaer & Abraham D. Sofaer, David Cost and Kate Stechschulte, Anonymous (4)

PLAYWRIGHTS CIRCLE ($500-$999)

Dr. Elaine Baskin & Kenneth R. Krechmer, Sidney Glass & Eleanor Clement Glass, Paulette Donsavage & Deeje Cooley, Mr. Richard Dixon, Michael Fried, Barbara Goodyear & Stephen Rosenfield, Ruben & Keli Grijalva, Ms. Kathryn A Hecht, Gail Hillebrand & Hugh Barroll, Jofish Kaye & Erin Marie Panttaja, Diane Leonard, Gwen Loeb & Doyle Ott, Rebecca Martinez, Anne Maxwell, Colette Meunier & Mark van Norman, Nitin, Cindy & Chris Redburn, Cindy & Chris Redburn, Ray Riegert, Michele & John Ruskin, Nancy Spencer & Hardy Callcott, Oren & Justin Stevens, Mr. Malachy Walsh, Maury Zeff, Anonymous

PATRON ($250-$499)

Sharon Baldwin, Wendy Bear, Cass Brayton, Ruth & Robert Brayton, In memory of Susan Bruett, Karen Catlin, Laurie Cohen, William Cornwell, David Cramer, Ms. Doris Davenport, Mr. Richard Davis – Lowell, Maggie Dewan-Smith, Ms. Lynda Divito, Mr. Mark Andrews, Krystyna Finlayson , Ms. Jessica Forbess, Sarah Gasser, Justin and Oren Stevens, Keith Goldstein, Eileen Grady, Joan & Donald Green, Daryl Anthony Harper, Becky Harris, Margaret & Cory Johnson – UCSF Essential Worker’s Program, Ray and Carla Kaliski, Joanne Kobori, Christopher Lee Kuckenbaker, Jonathan Luskin & Leslie Katz, Michael Lutz, Brittany S Mellerson, Bud & Donna Ogle, Chris Potter & Lisa Mammel, Madeline Daly Puccioni, Matthew Purdon, Christopher Reber, Chris Reber, Kathy J Reynolds, Pauline Roothman, Rolf Saxon, Daniel & Chelsea Sinto, Mr. Cleavon Smith, Ann Stephens & Robert Stephens, Annie Stuart & June Palladino, Jon & Susan Sweedler, Liam Vincent, Ms. Rosalinde Westil, Christian Wilburn, Janine & Darryl Wilburn, Joanne Chow Winship, Anonymous

ASSOCIATE MEMBER ($125-$249)

Ann E. & David S., Mary E. Baird, Julie  Birdsong, Gwen & Karen, Katie Dlesk, Eric Dobson, Krystyna Finlayson, Jessica Forbess, Stephanie & David Haines, Kari Kiernan, Curt Larson, Cecily T. Martin, Trynne Miller & David Prince, Nvidia, Ms. Madeline Daly Puccioni, Carol Pugh, Tipu Purkayastha & Poorva Malhotra, Rebecca Schweitzer, Kurt Taylor & BJ Olsen, Linda Vallee, Ms. Pamela Wetzell, Anonymous (2)

Become a PlayGround contributor!

DONATE

PLAYGROUND COMPANY

PLAYGROUND WRITERS COMPANY

Linda Amayo-Hassan+, Cass Brayton+, Tom Bruett+, Rachel Bublitz+, Madeleine Butler, Vanessa Cassandras, Reg Clay, Victoria Evans Erville, Jessica Fechtor, Ipsheeta Furtado, Akaina Ghosh, Linda Maria Giron, Garret Jon Groenveld+, Monique Hafen Adams, Sam Hurwitt, Tejahra Jacobs, Lisa Kang, Anne Yumi Kobori, Molly Krost+, Jennifer Le Blanc, Jonathan Luskin+, Christopher Magee, Alanna McFall, Bacilio Mendez II, Isaac Ontiveros+, Conrad Panganiban, Erin Marie Panttaja, Evelyn Jean Pine+, Madeline Puccioni, Neiry Rojo, Kevin Rolston, Annette Roman, Rebecca Schweitzer , Susan Sher, Marissa Skudlarek, Alexis Standridge, Chris Steele, Shruti Tewari, Lisa Gaye Thompson, Eteya Trinidad+, Daysha Veronica+, Madison Wetzell, Christian Wilburn+, Maury Zeff
+ Resident Playwright

PLAYGROUND COMPANY

Molly Aaronson-Gelb, Angel Adedokun, Patrick Alparone, Liz Anderson, Rinabeth Apostol, Michael Asberry, Michael Barrett Austin, Mary Baird, Aldo Billingslea, Giselle Boustani-Fontenele, Millie Brooks, Julia Brothers, Nicole Apostol Bruno, Lizzie Calogero, Ron Campbell, Joy Carlin, Nancy Carlin, Desdemona Chiang, Tessa Corrie, David Cramer, Will Dao, Anne Darragh, Dodds Delzell, Livia Gomes Demarchi, Carolyn Doyle, Nora el Samahy, Rebecca Ennals, Britney Frazier, Michael French, Claire Ganem, Sarah Gasser, Norman Gee, Douglas B. Giorgis, Amy Glazer, Cindy Goldfield, BW Gonzalez, Christian Haines, Margo Hall, Rosie Hallett, Katherine Hamilton, Daryl Anthony Harper, Eric Fraisher Hayes, Brian Herndon, Monica Ho, Laura Humphrey, J Jha, Colin Johnson, Lyndsy Kail, 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, Jasmine Murray, Noble, Joseph Patrick O’Malley, Karen Offereins, Annette Oliveira, Soren Oliver, Ely Sonny Orquiza, Melissa Ortiz, Doyle Ott, June Palladino, Carla Pantoja, Louis Parnell, Jed Parsario, Michael Phillis, Rebecca Pingree, Stephanie Prentice, Ezra Reaves, Virginia Reed, Cathleen Riddley, Katja Rivera, Adrian Roberts, Neiry Rojo, Stacy Ross, Adam Roy, Katie Rubin, Lindsey Marie Schmeltzer, Louel Senores, Robert Sicular, Jeunee Simon, M. Graham Smith, Ken Sonkin, Lauren Spencer, Teddy Spencer, 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, Aaron Wilton, Elena Wright

PLAYGROUND AMBASSADORS

Jomar Tagatac (Co-Chair) , Aaron Wilton (Co-Chair) , Aldo Billingslea, Tessa Corrie, Livia Demarchi, Britney Frazier, Claire Ganem, Cindy Goldfield, Jeffrey Lo, Gwen Loeb, Brady Morales-Woolery, Ely Sonny Orquiza, Stephanie Prentice, Katja Rivera

PLAYGROUND STAFF

Jim Kleinmann, Co-Founder & Artistic Director
Annie Stuart, Associate Artistic Director
Liam Vincent, Director of Growth
Norman Gee, Associate Producer
Jed Parsario, Associate Producer
Stephanie Prentice, Associate Producer
Katja Rivera, Associate Producer
Jacque Bugler, Production Manager
Brittany Mellerson, Resident Designer
Sarah Gasser, Resident Stage Manager & Assistant to the Artistic Director
Lindsey Abbott, 2021-22 Producing Fellow/Women Leaders Fellow
Daniel Benitez, 2021-22 Producing Fellow
Caroline Portante, 2021-22 Producing Fellow
Wallace Yan, 2021-22 Producing Fellow
Edna Mira Raia, Post Fellow
Lana Richards, Post Fellow
Chris Steele, Post Fellow

PLAYGROUND BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Regina Guggenheim, Chair
James A. Kleinmann, President
Jerome Joseph Gentes, VP-Communications
Emilie Talbot, VP-Development
Nitin, Treasurer
Katie May, Secretary
William Bivins
Diana Burbano
Eleanor Clement Glass
Lisa Mammel
Rebecca Martinez
Rondrell McCormick
Stephanie Prentice
Katja Rivera
David Steele

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