PlayGround presents Season 28

26th ANNUAL PLAYGROUND FESTIVAL OF NEW WORKS

May 9-29, 2022
Live at Potrero Stage + Simulcast
On-Demand thru June 30

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, Cass Brayton, Tom Bruett, Ms. Marilyn Berg Cooper, Kelly & Carlos Delgado, Michael Fried, Keith Goldstein & Donna N. Warrington, Ms. Anne Hallinan, Ms. Kathryn A Hecht, Gail Hillebrand & Hugh Barroll, York Kennedy, Lara Gilman & Jim Kleinmann, Anne H Maxwell, Nitin, Ms. Madeline Daly Puccioni, Kathy J Reynolds, Ray Riegert, Diane Sampson, Thomas Silverman, Mr. Cleavon Smith, Mary Lou Torre, Mr. Michael Walsh, Janine & Darryl Wilburn, Susannah Wise & Scott Lebus

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

Programs & Cast Lists

May 9, 2022 7pm PT

Festival Kick-off and Panel
Jim Kleinmann, Co-Founder & Artistic Director
Annie Stuart, Associate Artistic Director
Stephanie Prentice, Associate Producer
Katja Rivera, Associate Producer
Ruben Grijalva, PlayGround Alumnus and 2022 Will Glickman Award winner

May 13, 2022 8pm PT

Young Playwrights Project

The Mitten
By Emily Maremont
Directed by Lana Richards
Mouse/Girl………………………Lizzie Calogero
Frog……………………..Michael Barrett Austin
Owl/Grandmother………….Annette Oliveira
Bear………………………………….David Cramer

The Woman Who Refused to be Beaten
By Aleeza Zakai
Directed by Norman Gee
Merchant…………………..Eric Fraisher Hayes
Son…………………………………….Aaron Wilton
Woman……………………………….Rosie Hallett
Blind Woman/Gambler……Karen Offereins

Moon Eater
By Christopher John Dela Cruz
Directed by Molly Noble
Bakunawa Dakila……………..Jon Demegillo
Bathala Datu……………………Bacilio Mendez
Henchman/
Policeman……………..Daryl Anthony Harper

Bamboo
By Sky Krueger
Directed by Emilie Talbot
Vince……………………………….Justin P. Lopez
Cami…………………………………….May Ramos
Grandma……………………….Miyoko Sakatani
Kaguya…………………………..Karen Offereins

May 14 & 15, 2022 7pm PT

Best of PlayGround 26

A Cow Named Bo
By Eteya Trinidad
Directed by Ely Sonny Orquiza
Bo……………………………………..Gisela Feied
Tribbles…………………………..Brian Herndon

In Search of An Ending
By Akaina Ghosh
Directed by Tracy Ward
Adrienne……………………..Charisse Loriaux
Sarah………………………………..Liz Anderson

Arpilleras
By Justin P. Lopez
Directed by Katja Rivera
Cristian………………………..Bacilio Mendez II
Daniela……………………………..Leticia Duarte
Anabel…………………….Tessa Konig-Martinez

They Dun It
By Alanna McFall
Directed by Tessa Corrie
Lady Dormund………….Maryssa Wanlass
Lord Rabbitsby….Michael Barrett Austin
Lady Reed……………….Stephanie Prentice

Gently Down
By Monique Hafen Adams
Directed by Norman Gee
Man………………………………..Patrick Russell
Girl…………………………….Linda Maria Girón

Nutcracker Sweets
By Jennifer Le Blanc
Directed by Jim Kleinmann
Dad………………………………..Aaron Wilton
Junior………………………..Benjamin Ismail
Mom…………………………….Karen Offereins
Sarah…………………………Krystle Piamonte
Usher/Dancer……Maryssa Wanlass (5/14)
Sarah Emmons (5/15)

Lighting Designer: Brittany Mellerson
Props Artisan: Dianne Harrison
Stage Manager: Heather Kelly-Laws
Sound Designer: James Goode
Scenic Designer: Yohana Ansari-Thomas
Costume Designer: Tasa Gleason
Production Manager: Jacquelyn Bugler

Monday Night PlayGround Prompts
Nov-2021 (“Whodunnit”): In Search of An Ending, They Dun It
Dec-2021 (“Not So Silent Night/Plays Inspired by Holiday Songs”): Nutcracker Sweets
Jan-2022 (“Keep Moving Forward”): Arpilleras
Mar-2022 (“Child’s Play: Adapted Nursery Rhymes”): A Cow Named Bo, Gently Down

May 16, 2022 7pm PT

A Festival Staged Reading

Starlight
By Christian Wilburn
Directed by Claire Ganem
Sasha……………Nicole Apostol Bruno
Lucky/The Old Lunatic/
The Undisputed Prince
of the Galaxy/Editor…..Jeremy Kahn
Mom…………………………Roshni Datta
Dad…………………………..Gabriel Grilli
Megan/Librarian/
Starlight/Doctor………Danielle Levin

May 20, 2022 7pm PT

A Festival Staged Reading

The Bramford
By Lauren Gorski
Directed by Susi Damilano
Gloria………………………..Sofia Ahmad
Betty………………………Lizzie Calogero
Rosemary…………………..Gisela Feied
Mick/Satan………………Aaron Wilton
Harold/Guy………………Justin Lopez

May 21 & 22, 2022 7pm PT
CANCELLED

A Festival Premiere Presentation
in collaboration with Planet Earth Arts

The Deliverance
By Daysha Veronica
Directed by Kimberly Ridgeway
Curtis Howard…………………………Adrian Roberts
Lorraine/Griot………………………….Juanita Harris
Lenny………………………………………Terrance Smith
Greg………………………………………….Ron Chapman
Donna/AsaseYaa………Phaedra Tillery-Boughton
John Crawford……………….Daryl Anthony Harper
Don Richards……………………………..Dodds Delzell

Stage Manager: Monique Crawford
Sound Designer: Lana Palmer
Properties Artisan: Jamaica Glenn
Lighting Designer: Brittany Mellerson
Costume Designer: Ashley Corso
Scenic Designer: Yohana Ansari-Thomas
Production Manager: Jacquelyn Bugler

The Deliverance is a PlayGround-LA commission and was originally developed at the 25th annual PlayGround Festival of New Works.

May 23, 2022 7pm PT

A Festival Staged Reading

The Window Affair
By Anne Yumi Kobori
Directed by Tessa Corrie
Rosemary………………..Akaina Ghosh
Romeo………………………..Steve Flores
Lina…………………….Brittney Monroe
Denny………………..Bacilio Mendez II
Stage Directions…..Kaylee Miltersen

May 27, 2022 7pm PT

A Festival Staged Reading

Nanay
By Molly Olis Krost
Directed by Ely Sonny Orquiza
Eve Gwynnevere………………………Cristobal
Angela…………………..Nicole Apostol Bruno
Manananggal/Mother…..Earlena Somera

May 28 & 29, 2022 7pm PT

A Festival Premiere Presentation

Funny, Like An Abortion
By Rachel Bublitz
Directed by Giovanna Sardelli
Monroe……………………..……..Rosie Hallett
Jade………………………………..…….Isabel To

Stage Manager: Jenna Stein-Corman
Sound Designer: Lana Palmer
Properties Artisan: Jamaica Glenn
Lighting Designer: Brittany Mellerson
Costume Designer: Ashley Corso
Scenic Designer: Yohana Ansari-Thomas
Production Manager: Jacquelyn Bugler

These live streams are 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 the Best of PlayGround 26 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

MONIQUE HAFEN ADAMS (BoP26: Gently Down), she/ her, is overjoyed to be included in The Best of Playground 26. Her first year in PlayGround, she had two readings of her short plays, Ella at the Houston Philharmonic and Gently Down. This year, Adams also had her short play, The Canterbury Fails, presented in New York at the Atlantic Acting School. New to writing, Adams can usually be seen on stage. Acting credits include productions at ACT, Theatreworks, SF Playhouse, San Jose Stage Company, or Center REP, among others. She thanks her husband and her daughter for their constant inspiration.

RACHEL BUBLITZ (Funny, Like An Abortion), she/her, is known for telling stories about women, and creating exciting new work for young performers. She received the Glickman Award for the best premiere in the Bay Area for “Ripped”, produced at Z Space. Her work has also been produced at the North Coast Rep (The Night Witches), Barrington Stage Company (My Body), and Orlando Repertory Theatre (Ghost House). Her plays have been published with Playscripts, Dramatic Publishing, and Stage Partners. Rachel now resides in Salt Lake City, Utah. When she isn’t writing, she’s watching her two kids dominate at water polo. For more: RachelBublitz.com.

CHRISTOPHER JOHN DELA CRUZ (YPP: Moon Eater). Born and raised in the Philippines, then immigrated to the U.S. in 2019, Christopher John Dela Cruz is a student at Galileo Academy of Science and Technology. Interested in woodworking, video games, books, bikes, and technology. Acted in many school plays and dance performances. Novice carpenter, food delivery guy, and future Marine.

AKAINA GHOSH (BoP26: 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, and their second time in Best of PlayGround! Follow Akaina’s work at akainaghosh.com.

LAUREN GORSKI (The Bramford), she/her, has a Master’s in Professional Writing with emphasis in Stage and Screen from the University of Southern California. She writes fiction, poetry, screenplays, and stageplays. Her fiction and poetry have been featured in “apt”, “Badlands”, “Jersey Devil Press”, “Underground Voices”, and elsewhere. Her plays have been performed for the Hollywood Fringe, PlayGround (including the Best of Festival), PianoFight’s ShortLived series, and more. She is a past playwright-in-residence with PlayGround San Francisco. She is also the Comics & Film Editor of Exposition Review, a multi-genre digital literary journal.

ANNE YUMI KOBORI (The Window Affair), she/her, is a Japanese-American playwright, actor, producer, director, and teaching artist. As a director, she has worked with Utopia Theatre Project, EnActe Arts, Los Altos Youth Theatre, and SF Shakespeare Festival, where she spent 5 years as Education Program Manager. She has written multiple short plays: for production: THE ART OF SUFFRAGE (Best of PlayGround 25), NEW YEAR, COWARD’S FLAME, GIVE ME THE SKY (MondayNightPlayGround), SIMULATION (Pear Theatre), ROSES IN THE DESERT (Dragon Theatre) and THE DISAPPEARANCE OF BETTY LA ROSE (Neighborhood Stories). Her full-length plays SEEDS and EVERY DAY ALICE, and her adaptation of Chekhov’s THE SEAGULL have premiered with Utopia Theatre Project. Currently, Anne is a co-writer for Braided, a play exploring Native American liberation and Japanese American resilience, in development with Theatre of Yugen. Recent projects include Script Co-Conspirator for A.C.T.’s production of Neo Symposium, and the Pear Slices short play festival with Pear Theatre, where she is a Playwrights’ Guild member. BA Theatre Arts, summa cumlaude, Santa Clara University. www.anneyumikobori.com.

MOLLY OLIS KROST (Nanay), they/she, is a Filipina Jewish playwright splitting their time between the Bay Area and Seattle. Their plays explore the constant collisions of the human experience: collisions with others, with our society, and within ourselves. They incorporate ritual and faith, in a variety of forms, to manifest the emotions that often exist beyond words. They love to blur the line between reality and the fantastical and all the creative possibilities that can create for the artists they collaborate with. Their play NANAY was a semi-finalist for the National Playwrights Conference and the Bay Area Playwrights Festival. Their play WHAT WE FOUND was a finalist for the National Jewish Play Contest and the Bay Area Playwrights Festival.

SKY KRUEGER (YPP: Bamboo), she/her, is a sophomore at The Ruth Asawa School of the Arts and is very passionate about writing and other forms of storytelling. She would like to thank her friend Sophia Thein for reading her script, and her teacher Ellen Koivisto for providing excellent feedback and support.

JENNIFER LE BLANC (BoP26: Nutcracker Sweets), she/her, 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 SPARC..

JUSTIN P. LOPEZ (BoP26: Arpilleras, Bamboo, “Vince”), he/him, is an actor, singer, writer, and boba-milk-tea enthusiast, who seeks true connection and humanity in each script and song. Recent acting credits include the world premieres of Kiss My Aztec! (Berkeley Repertory Theatre) and Unbreakable by Andrew Lippa (SFGMC). As a writer, Justin’s work has been featured by several theatres in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City. His new play, The Re-Education of Fernando Morales, was a finalist for the 2021 Bay Area Playwrights Festival. Find out what else Justin is up to at www.justinplopez.com.

EMILY MAREMONT (YPP: The Mitten), she/her, is a member of the class of 2025 at San Francisco University High School. Her writing has been published by City College of San Francisco’s Forum Magazine and recognized by YoungArts and the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Emily is passionate about writing, folklore, and language revitalization.

ALANNA MCFALL (BoP26: They Dun It), she/her, is a novelist and playwright. Her novel, The Traveling Triple-C Incorporeal Circus, was published by Atthis Arts. She was a company Resident Playwright for two seasons and has been featured in Best of PlayGround 22 and 23. Alanna was the 2019 recipient of the June Anne Baker Prize.

ETEYA TRINIDAD (BoP26: A Cow Named Bo), she/her, is a playwright, stage manager, and theater artist. She is a resident playwright at PlayGround and a member of the 2021 LezWritesBTQ Cohort at 3 Girls Theatre. Her writing has been recognized in the 2021 Best of PlayGround Festival with the June Anne Baker Prize, and as a finalist for the 2019 Bay Area Playwrights Festival.thrilled to be a resident playwright at PlayGround and the 2021 recipient of the June Anne Baker Prize. Her work has also been seen at Berklee College of Music, SF Olympians Festival, Ross Valley Players, and Amios West, among others. www.eteyatrinidad.com

DAYSHA VERONICA (The Deliverance), she/her, has written short plays and full-lengths that have been workshopped/performed at UC San Diego, UCLA, New York Theatre Workshop (in collaboration with UCLA), PlayGround and more. She has received recognition from The Kennedy Center, Playwrights Foundation, Kentucky Women Writers Conference, Samuel French/Concord Theatricals and more. She is currently in IAMA Theatre’s 2022 Under 30 Playwright’s Lab and under commission for the second time by PlayGround-LA. She offers dramatic writing coaching and tools that can be found on her website, www.dayshaveronica.com. Social: @DayshaVeronica.

CHRISTIAN WILBURN (Starlight), is a San Francisco based writer whose work blends the deeply personal and the fantastical. Christian has been working with PlayGround frequently over the past three years; being featured in Monday Night PlayGround, Best of PlayGround, and the PlayGround Playwright Residency Program. Christian thanks PlayGround for commissioning this piece based on his short play, Sasha and the Angelier, which won the People’s Choice Award for Best of PlayGround 2021. Christian is a graduate of Santa Clara University and holds an MFA in Writing from the University of San Francisco.

ALEEZA ZAKAI (YPP: The Woman Who Refused to Be Beaten), she/her, is a high school junior who enjoys scriptwriting, filmmaking, and music composition. She’s directed several movies and documentaries, including “The Future is Quantum”, “Ordinary”, and “Truly 16”. Her most recent script, “The Cassettes of San Francisco”, recently placed Semi-Finalist in a national youth playwriting festival. In the future, she hopes to make her mark as a director and screenwriter in the film industry.

ACTORS

LIZ ANDERSON (BoP26: In Search of An Ending, “Sarah“), she/her, is a filmmaker, actor, and teaching artist. Her narrative work includes the award-winning shorts Rapunzel’s Etymology of Zero (a PlayGround collaboration), The Tolls, and the single-take short, Welcome Back Mr Buzzcock, for Blumhouse’s Crypt TV. Her work has been supported by Women In Film LA, and SFFilm via the FilmHouse Residency. Acting credits include: Trauma (NBC), Project: Lohan (West Coast Premiere); Manic Pixie Dream Girl (East and West Coast Premieres); the web series SanFranLand and Dyke Central; commercials for General Electric, US Cellular, PG&E, and Google. A graduate of the NYU Tisch theater program, Liz has studied with The Atlantic Theater Company, The Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, and is a member of the studio faculty at American Conservatory Theater.

MICHAEL BARRET AUSTIN (BoP26: They Dun It, “Lord Rabbitsby”; YPP: The Mitten, “Frog”), he/him, most recently appeared in A Christmas Carol at Center Rep. Other (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

NICOLE APOSTOL BRUNO (Starlight, “Sasha”; Nanay, “Angela”).

LIZZIE CALOGERO (YPP: The Mitten, “Mouse/Girl”), she/her, is a regular with the San Francisco Mime Troupe, performing in their radio plays over the pandemic. With roots in the UK, she has appeared in plays around the Bay Area, with: the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, Marin Theatre Company, Aurora Theatre, SF Playhouse, Center Rep, and Symmetry Theatre among others.

RON CHAPMAN (The Deliverance, “Greg”), he/him, is a writer and actor who believes in the power and necessity of storytelling. He recentaly appeared as Pericles in Pericles, Prince of Tyre with the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, and is honored to be working again with PlayGround.

DAVID CRAMER (YPP: The Mitten, “Bear”), he/him, has been happily performing with PlayGround for the past thirteen years (lucky 13!) getting to play everything from an explorer jesuit priest stoned on peyote, a 90 something WWII veteran finally marrying the man he loves, to a cannibalistic child killer writing letters at Christmastime to the mother of one of his victims…you know, the holiday show!… He salutes Playground (Jim and Annie particularly) for all the opportunities they give writers, directors and actors to stretch and grow in their craft. Thank you!

GWYNNEVERE CRISTOBAL (Nanay, “Eve”), she/they, is a queer Filipinx theatre artist and Bay Area native. They have trained with the Art of Acting Studio and Theatrical Intimacy Education & graduated with a B.A. in Psychology and Minor in Theatre Arts from Humboldt State. She has worked both on and offstage with companies such as Dell’Arte International, Bindlestiff Studio, Tri-Valley Repertory Theatre, & Pacifica Spindrift Players to name a few. In 2021, Gwynnevere was nationally recognized as an ASPIRE Arts Administration Fellow for the Kennedy Center American Theatre Festival and a Cal Arts Council Emerging Individual Artist. www.gwynneverecristobal.com @gl_crystalball

DODDS DELZELL (The Deliverance, “Don Richards”), he/him, is beyond excited to be back live with our PlayGround Family. Working with this group is good for the soul!

JON DEMEGILLO (YPP: Moon Eater, “Bakunawa Dakila”), he/him, is a Bay Area based actor and creator. He was seen last spring in Akaina Ghosh’s Blended Histories as part of Best of PlayGround 25. Having immigrated with his family to the Bay Area at the age 12 from Iloilo, Philippines, he wants to push the Asian/Asian American narrative forward by collaborating in an array of projects that highlight the multifaceted and intricately beautiful stories of his community and his culture. He graduated from University of North Carolina School of the Arts with a BFA in acting.

L. DUARTE (BoP26: Arpilleras, “Daniella”), they/them, is an actor, director, playwright and activist, whose recent projects include: August: Osage County with San Jose Stage Company, Julius Caesar with PacRep, The Review with Theatre Rhinoceros , Helen! with Theatre of Yugen, and 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. www.latinxmafia.com. They are also a company member of 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 Casting Networks: https://app.castingnetworks.com/talent/public-profile/d69eed18-24bd-11ec-8124-c9bb66a47a51

SARAH EMMONS (BoP26: Nutcracker Sweets, “Usher/Dancer” 5/15), she/her, originally from Paducah, KY, has been in the dance industry for the last 9 years working in Cincinnati, San Diego, and San Francisco. She has been a company dancer and soloist with Malashock Dance and Alyssandra Katherine Dance Project. Sarah has performed in works ranging from the rock opera One Hundred Days choreographed by Sonya Tayeh to Ólafur Arnald’s concert at Memorial Hall. Sarah is thrilled to be joining PlayGround SF for their 26th Festival!

GISELA FEIED (BoP26: A Cow Named Bo, “Bo”), she/they, graduated from PCPA in 2019 where she had the pleasure to be in the ensemble for The Crucible, play Tootles in Peter Pan, and Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Currently, she is working as a Teaching Artist bringing mental health awareness and tools for mental wellness virtually to high schools across Northern California. Her first Playground Festival was over zoom in La Planchada and she is very excited to now be live in another wonderful piece by Eteya Trinidad.

STEVEN FLORES (The Window Affair, “Romeo”), all, is a professional SAG/AFTRA and Equity Artist. He originated the role of Seketemaqua/Luke in Manahatta for its world premiere at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Yale Repertory Theater. He has performed as Menelaus in Helen and Master Puppeteer for Puppets & Poe at Theatre of Yugen. Other credits: Last of the Caucasians (The Barrow Group Theater Company, NY) Delusion: The Blood Rite (Haunted Play, Los Angeles), Jakubei in A Noh Christmas Carol (T. of Y. San Francisco) TV/Film: The Monster Project, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Upcoming: collaborator and actor on BRAIDED: A world premiere in San Francisco 2022. Studied at the Herbert Berghof Studio, NY. Currently coaches privately in their “Acting to Artistic Freedom” practice. Find on Instagram: @flowersfromouterspace.

AKAINA GHOSH (The Window Affair, “Rosemary”), 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, and their second time in Best of PlayGround! Follow Akaina’s work at akainaghosh.com.

LINDA MARIA GIRÓN (BoP26: Gently Down, “they”), they/elle, is a queer Guatemalan-american actor, playwright, music and visual artist. Their work is informed and inspired by ritual, queerness and anti-racist practice; with a primary focus on examining the neo-colonialism of Latin America and its diasporas. They received their BA in Theater & Performance Studies from UC Berkeley and have since worked under many artistic homes in the Bay Area, including: Shotgun Players, AlterTheater Ensemble, Crowded Fire Theater, CalShakes, FaultLine Theater, SFBATCO, CentralWorks, New Conservatory Theater Center, the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts and Golden Thread Productions. www.lindamgiron.com | @lindamariagiron

GABRIEL GRILLI (Starlight, “Dad”), he/him, is an actor, director, writer, and teacher who’s worked with PlayGround since 2007. He’s currently preparing to play Shakespeare in Something Rotten! at Woodminster. Recent theatrical work includes directing Maury Zeff’s Merchant of Stratford (Ross Valley Players reading), and performing in The Waitress & the Robber with Concrete Temple in NYC and South Korea. He teaches theatre at Bentley School in Lafayette. MFA Directing, Penn State. BFA Acting, Hofstra. www.gabrielgrilli.com

ROSIE HALLETT (Funny, Like An Abortion, “Monroe”; YPP: The Woman Who Refused to be Beaten, “Woman”), she/her, is thrilled to return to the stage for her first post(?)-pandemic performance! She is a proud Stanford grad and the current PlayGround Women Leaders Fellow in Acting. Credits include Top Girls and Men on Boats (ACT); Mother of the Maid, peerless, and Native Son (Marin Theatre Company); and numerous world premieres and tours of France with Word for Word, where she is a Core Company Member.

DARYL ANTHONY HARPER (The Deliverance, “John Crawford”; YPP: Moon Eater, “Henchman/Policeman”), he/him, 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. Some theatre highlights of his artistic journey include the lead in James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” directed by Margo Hall, which toured in four cities in France, a principal role in “Short Eyes”, written by Miguel Piñero and directed by Julian Acosta, at the Los Angeles Theatre Centre and The International Hispanic Theatre Festival at the Adrienne Arsht Center, Miami, Florida. Daryl is also a proud member of PlayGround-SF.

JUANITA HARRIS (The Deliverance, “Lorraine”), she/her, is a Vocalist/Musician/Actor who has been actively entertaining audiences around the Bay Area and Internationally. A native of Sunnyvale, she is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music and excels in myriad genres such as Jazz, R&B, Musical Theater, Gospel, Rock and Roll and Opera. She was voted “Best Jazz Singer” by KDFC’s “Best of the Bay” (2018-2020) and has been nominated twice for a TBA award. She travels internationally to Austria and Germany to perform for UNICEF in many of the fundraising concerts they host around Europe. She is a Vocal Coach, Vocal Director, Director and has appeared onstage numerous times in Musicals and Straight Plays throughout the Bay Area.

ERIC FRAISHER HAYES (The Woman Who Refused to be Beaten, “Merchant”), he/him, is an Artistic Director, Stage and Film Director, Producer, Educator and Equity Actor, with nearly 30 years of professional experience in the theatre. Eric’s January 2022 live production of Welded by Eugene O’Neill will travel to Ireland in October as well as be filmed over the summer. He is looking forward to taking his first crack at directing O’Neill’s A Moon for the Misbegotten this September for the 2022 Eugene O’Neill Festival at Tao House. https://ericfraisherhayes.com/

BRIAN HERNDON (BoP26: A Cow Named Bo, “Tribbles”), he/him, has been performing with PlayGround on Monday nights for over two decades. This Festival will be his fifth. Most recently he performed in PASS OVER at Marin Theatre Company and as Scrooge in SCROOGE IN LOVE at 6th Street Playhouse. Favorite roles include Mortimer in FAILURE: A LOVE STORY and Shylock in THE MERCHANT OF VENICE. He holds an MFA in Acting from the Alabama Shakespeare Festival and studied at the Dell’Arte International School for Physical Theatre.

BENJAMIN ISMAIL (BoP26: Nutcracker Sweets, “Junior”), he/they, is very happy to be returning to Playground. Favorite acting credits include Louis Ironson in ANGELS IN AMERICA (Berkeley Rep), TARTUFFE (BRT), METAMORPHOSES (BRT / Guthrie), DISGRACED (Capital Stage), THE INVISIBLE HAND (American Stage) and many more. He is also an accomplished director, producer and sound designer. Love to Jerid.

JEREMY KAHN (Starlight, “Lucky/The Old Lunatic/The Undisputed Prince of the Galaxy/Editor”) he/him, has performed with American Conservatory Theater, Theatreworks, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Long Wharf Theatre, Aurora Theatre Company, Marin Theatre Company, San Francisco Playhouse, San Diego Repertory Theatre, Center REPertory Company, Magic Theatre, Capital Stage, Jewel Theatre Company and Shotgun Players. Jeremy’s TV and film credits include Looking (HBO), Unleashed (Netflix), Love is Love is Love, The Etruscan Smile and Dirt. He holds a B.F.A from The Theatre School at DePaul University. www.ActorJeremyKahn.com

TESSA KONING-MARTINEZ (BoP26: Arpilleras, “Anabel”), she/her, is a Bay Area actor who has been seen on stages in productions with The Eureka, Magic, Z-Space, Teatro Campesino, New Mexico Repertory, Marin Theater, San Jose Repertory, S.C.O.T.U.S., 3-Girls, Thick Description and Word for Word companies among others, and has performed in the original productions of plays by Josefina Lopez, Cherrie Moraga, and Octavio Solis. Tessa is also a long-time Teaching Artist.

DANIELLE LEVIN (Starlight, “Megan/Librarian/Starlight/Doctor”), she/her. An actor, dialect coach, and theatre-maker, Danielle received her MFA from UC Davis in Dramatic Art in 2021. Danielle was seen most recently in Red Winged Blackbird with Sparkle Plenty Productions at the Live Oak Theatre. She has also performed with Marin Theatre Company (August: Osage County; My Name is Asher Lev; Said Saïd), Symmetry Theatre Company (Emilie, La Marquise du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight; The Language Archive), CentralWorks (Robert Louis Stevenson: Jekyll and Hyde), Shotgun Players (strangers, babies; Vera Wilde), and Crowded Fire (Anna Bella Eema); among many other Bay Area theatres.

JUSTIN P. LOPEZ (YPP: Bamboo, “Vince”; The Bramford, “Harold/Guy”), he/him, is an actor, singer, writer, and boba-milk-tea enthusiast, who seeks true connection and humanity in each script and song. Recent acting credits include the world premieres of Kiss My Aztec! (Berkeley Repertory Theatre) and Unbreakable by Andrew Lippa (SFGMC). As a writer, Justin’s work has been featured by several theatres in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City. His new play, The Re-Education of Fernando Morales, was a finalist for the 2021 Bay Area Playwrights Festival. Find out what else Justin is up to at www.justinplopez.com.

CHARISSE LORIAUX (BoP26: In Search Of An Ending, “Adrienne”), she /her, is grateful to be returning to play at PlayGround! Credits include San Francisco Playhouse, Aurora Theatre Company, Magic Theatre, Crowded Fire Theater, Shotgun Players, Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, Tabia African-American Theatre Ensemble, Berkeley Playhouse, and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Charisse modeled for the world renowned figurative artist Richard MacDonald on the Grand Coda, which was recently unveiled in Shenzhen, China. Charisse is a graduate of SJSU and is a company member at Kaiser Permanente Educational Theatre.

BACILIO MENDEZ II (BoP26: Arpilleras, “Cristián”; YPP: Moon Eater, “Bakunawaka Dakila”; The Window Affair, “Denny”), he/him, is not your lawyer.

KAYLEE MILTERSEN (The Window Affair, Stage Directions), she/her, is a singer, actor, and is thrilled to join PlayGround SF in telling the stories of and by underrepresented communities and artists. A recent MM graduate, she has performed numerous operas and musicals, appearing as Elle in La voix humaine, Luisa in The Fantasticks, Miss Silverpeale in The Impresario, and Ruth Baldwin in Later the Same Evening. Recently, she has been involved in workshops and readings of new works and looks forward to supporting more emerging projects within the Bay Area.

BRITTNEY MONROE (The Window Affair, “Lina”)

KAREN OFFEREINS (BoP26: Nutcracker Sweets, “Mom”; YPP: The Woman Who Refused to be Beaten, “Blind Woman/Gambler”, Bamboo, “Kaguya”), 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).

ANNETTE OLIVEIRA (YPP: The Mitten, “Owl/Grandmother”)’s, she/her, many theatre roles include women (and men) who are wise, fierce, sometimes losing marbles, often Latinx. She’s performed in two Shakespeare plays at Marin’s redwood-ringed Curtain Theatre. She was honored to play in Hector Zavala’s 40, Latino, Single and Gay web series. Annette has acted via Zoom for many theatres and playwrights groups. She records audiobooks for Learning Ally and you’ll soon find two books she recorded for Penguin-Random House on Audible.com.

KRYSTLE PIAMONTE (BoP26: Nutcracker Sweets, “Sarah”), she/her, is thrilled to reprise the role of Sarah in Nutcracker Sweets for Best of PlayGround 26! Theatre credits include productions and readings with Z Space, SF Playhouse, Ferocious Lotus, Magic Theatre, TheatreFirst, and Bindlestiff Studio. Screen credits include the award-winning short films “Bound 4 Heaven” and “Median”. She is a 2x TBA 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. www.krystlepiamonte.com | IG: @xLe

STEPHANIE PRENTICE (BoP26: They Dun It, “Lady Reed”), she/her, is a Bay Area native, and is frequently seen in Monday Night PlayGround, appeared in Best of PlayGround 19 and 20, and has performed in three full-length Festival of New Works plays. Stephanie has been a PlayGround company member since 2015, serves on the Board of Directors, and is an Associate Producer. She is also the Patron Services Director and Casting Associate for TheatreFIRST in Berkeley. Most importantly, she is the proud mother of two wonderful kids.

MAY RAMOS (YPP: Bamboo, “Cami”), they/them, is a Berkeley based actor and educator. They love being part of PlayGround, and are excited to return for a second round, supporting and working with amazing artists! You may have seen them in KML’s “Good Grief” or “Bratpack” at the Hotel Nikko. Next up will be San Francisco Strips/Broadway Bares with REAF (a strip show fundraiser for HIV/AIDS services), as well as Inferno Theatre’s Diasporas Festival, where they will be performing an original play with their partner.

ADRIAN ROBERTS (The Deliverance, “Curtis Howard”), he/him, was last seen as Prospero/Caliban in The Tempest at The Oakland Theater Project, most recent Bay Area credits include Bob in Becky Nurse at Berkeley Rep, Macbeth at African American Shakespeare, Steve Daniels in Lesson From Aloes at the Z Space below.

PATRICK RUSSELL (BoP26: Gently Down, “Man”), he/him, has been seen at San Francisco Playhouse (Noises Off, Red Velvet), Cal Shakes (As You Like It), TheatreWorks (Frost/Nixon), Magic Theater (Fool for Love), Aurora Theatre Company (Body Awareness), and Marin Shakespeare (Love’s Labor’s Lost, Measure for Measure), among others. Film credits include Being Us and The Etymology of Zero. Patrick is a lecturer for acting and movement at UC Berkeley, ACT, and SF State and is the co-founder of The Actors Space training program and performance group in SF. He is a graduate of ACT’s MFA program and a member of AEA and SAG-AFTRA.

MIYOKO SAKATANI (YPP: Bamboo, “Grandma”) she/her, is a Bay Area actor~singer. Her favorite past shows include, Uncle Vanya, Distracted, Vanya, Sonia, Masha and Spike. She was a lead understudy for The Great Wave for Berkeley Repertory and performed in their Ground Floor production of The Free Speech Movement. Other stages include Theatreworks, SF Playhouse, Cutting Ball Theatre and off Broadway’s AlphaNYC Theatre’s virtual stage. Films include the award winning East Side Sushi. Miyoko performed her own solo piece at the Marsh Theater about her family’s immigration and internment. She is founding director of Playland Productions and co-directed Silent City by Dan Wilson with hearing and deaf actors using ASL with closed captions.

EARLENA SOMERA (Nanay, “Manananggal/Mother”), she/they, is currently working with OPT’s Baldwin Centennial Project and Cecilia Gaerlan’s Bataan Legacy Project. She is thrilled and honored to have helped bring to stage original Asian/Filipino/Cambodian/Black/-American re-tellings, and has especially loved working with her daughter Mallory onstage/backstage/always. To all Nanays/Mamangs/Nanangs/crazy a** Mothers: Agyamanak! Salamat Po!

TERRANCE SMITH (The Deliverance, “Lenny Howard”), he/him, is thrilled to be back at Playground, where he previously performed in Genevieve Jessee’s “The Diaspora Project” back in 2018. He’s performed all over the Bay Area, most recently at San Jose Stage Company in their production of “August: Osage County,” and at the Eugene O’ Neil Festival in their production of “Welded.” Come July 11th, he will be taking part in the End of Isolation Tour where he’ll be performing in Sarah Shourd’s play on solitary confinement “The Box” in several states across the country.

PHAEDRA TILLERY-BOUGHTON (The Deliverance, “Donna/AsaseYaa”), she/her, is a Bay Area based actor, director, casting associate and arts advocate. Her past theater productions include Aint Misbehavin’ as Armelia McQueen, 1940s Radio Hour as Geneva, Newsies, The Color Purple, To Kill a Mockingbird (Hillbarn). Caroline or Change, Little Shop of Horrors (Ray Of Light Theatre), Newsies (Woodminster), Tarzan (PAP), Avenue Q (NCTC). She consistently challenges the concept of traditional theatre and finds new ways to push the boundaries of creativity and inclusion in the theatre community. She sends an extra special thanks to her wife Jasmine, daughter NuPhaeya and Bonus son Michael. Follow her @mrs.p.boughton on IG.

ISABEL TO (Funny, Like An Abortion, “Jade”), she/her, is an actor/singer living on unceded Tamyen Ohlone land. She is thrilled to be performing in this IRL staged production of Rachel Bublitz’ hilariously horrific and unfortunately relevant play. Upcoming: KML’s Let’s Do The Sex! June 2-11 (PianoFight SF), 16-25 (PianoFight Oakland). Love & gratitude to JLT.

MARYSSA WANLASS (BoP26: They Dun It, “Lady Dormund”, Nutcracker Sweets, “Usher/Dancer” 5/14), she/they, is an actor, director, and educator, with an emphasis on social justice and classical theatre. Bay Area stage appearances include SF Shakes (As You Like It, Hamlet, and Winter’s Tale), CalShakes (As You Like It), San Jose Stage (Persuasion), Livermore Shakespeare Festival (As You Like It, Hamlet, Merry Wives of Windsor), Center REPertory Company (Enchanted April, Witness for the Prosecution), Woman’s Will (Much Ado About Nothing, Good Person of Szechuan). They have directed locally for Utopia Theatre Project, PlayGround, Shotz, and regionally for Advice to the Players.

AARON WILTON (BoP26: Nutcracker Sweets, “Dad”; YPP: The Woman Who Refused to Be Beaten, “Son”; The Bramford, “Mick/Satan”), he/him, 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

TESSA CORRIE (BoP26: They Dun It; The Window Affair), she/her, is a Queer and Latinx theater director based in the Bay Area. Her work is grounded in creating space for marginalized and underrepresented communities and narratives. She is a company member, ambassador, and this year’s Women Leaders Directing Fellow at PlayGround SF. Her credits include work at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, Center REPertory Company, HillbarnTheatre, Pear Theatre, Shotgun Players, TheatreFirst, The Playwrights’ Center of San Francisco, More Más Marami Arts, Poltergeist Theatre Project, PianoFight, AmiosWest, and Our Digital Stories.

SUSI DAMILANO (The Bramford), she/her, loves everything that PlayGround does to support new plays and create community by bringing together actors, directors and playwrights in such a fun and consistent way. She is co-founder of San Francisco Playhouse which has produced several of PlayGround’s writers, most recently Ruben Grijalva’s Glickman award winning play, Shoot Me When….

CLAIRE GANEM (Starlight), she/her, is a Bay Area based director and teaching artist who has a passion for bringing new works to the stage. She is a current company member and ambassador at Playground. In addition to Playground, her work has been featured at Magic Theatre, Cutting Ball Theater, Pianofight, and Santa Cruz Shakespeare. Upcoming: ANTIGONE, PRESENTED BY THE GIRLS OF ST. CATHERINE’S by Madhuri Shekar at Town Hall Theatre (June 2022) and MIRROR FACE by Eteya Trinidad at 3Girls Theatre Company in June 2022. She is a proud graduate of UC Santa Cruz and Nazareth College of Rochester, NY.

NORMAN GEE (BoP26: Gently Down; YPP: The Woman Who Refused to be Beaten), he/him, is the newest participant of the Innovator Incubator program. Most recently he was seen onstage with WATER BY THE SPOONFUL at SF Playhouse and GREAT EXPECTATIONS at San Jose Stage. He performs next May 9th in IMOGEN SAYS NOTHING w/ SF Shakes, and will be directing COMPARED TO WHAT by local playwright Judith Offer at the Masquers Playhouse this August 2022. Norman is also an Associate Producer with PlayGround, and regularly directs in the Monday Night PlayGround.

JIM KLEINMANN (BoP26: Nutcracker Sweets; 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.

MOLLY NOBLE (YPP: Moon Eater), she/her, is always thrilled to return to work with her PlayGround family. A Bay Area born actor, director and teacher, she has worked in New York, Boston, Chicago, London and almost literally in her own backyard under the redwoods with Porchlight Theatre Company. She teaches and directs at College of Marin. You can learn more about her at www.mollynoble.com.

ELY SONNY ORQUIZA (BoP26: A Cow Named Bo; Nanay), he/him, is a locally grown artistic director, stage director, and teaching artist. His works aim to champion and highlight stories of the Asian diaspora, Asian American identity and belonging, queerness and their intersectionality with other historically marginalized people in the United States. For more on his works: elysonnyorquiza.org, @TheOrquiza (Instagram).

LANA RICHARDS (YPP: The Mitten), she/her, is a director focused on new work development, site specific work, and adaptation. She likes big plays about small things, the tender awkwardness of growing up, and stories that connect people to place. She has been in residence at The Dragon’s Egg, Access Theater, and The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center and is an alumna of Connecticut College where she studied theater and environmental studies. Training: SITI Company, The Michael Chekhov Association, Bread and Puppet, Complicite, and the National Theater Institute for Advanced Directing. Recent credits: My Girl (co-developer) at Dixon Place, Arabella at Planet Connections Theater Festivity, Ithaca at The Electric Lodge, and Eurydice (Sarah Ruhl) at Connecticut College.

KIMBERLY RIDGEWAY (The Deliverance), she/her, is a Director, Playwright, Actor and Producer. Kimberly wrote, produced and directed the plays No More Secrets, Prospect Place, The Drowning Pool, and The Gigolo Chronicles. She’s directed for SF PlayGround, Altarena Playhouse, Dragon Productions Theatre Company, Ubuntu Theatre Project, Contra Costa Civic Theatre, National Black Theatre, SF Playhouse, Theatre Rhinoceros, Playwrights Center of San Francisco, and TheatreFirst. Kimberly is the Director of Dragon Eggs, a virtual, monthly short play incubator series for Dragon Productions Theatre Company.

KATJA RIVERA (BoP26: Arpilleras; Associate Producer), she/her, studied theater at LACC Theatre Academy and Drama Studio London at Berkeley. Bay Area acting credits include: Shotgun Players, Magic Theatre, Theatre Rhinoceros, Center Rep. Directing credits include Shotgun Players, Douglas Morrison, CustomMade Theatre, RPE (Danville), SF PlayGround and TheatreFIRST. She is a proud member of AEA, Shotgun Players, SF PlayGround and Latinx Mafia.

GIOVANNA SARDELLI (Funny, Like An Abortion), she/her, is an Artistic Associate and Director of New Works for TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. She has directed and developed plays around the country, including many off-Broadway productions over the past decade. Sardelli’s directing credits include many collaborations with Rajiv Joseph including the recent production of the Obie Award-winning play Describe The Night at Atlantic Theatre, and her production of Rajiv Joseph’s Guards at the Taj for the Geffen Theatre won the 2016 Ovation Award for Best Production of a Play. Sardelli holds an MFA in Acting from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

EMILIE TALBOT (YPP: Bamboo), she/they, is a Bay Area based actor, director, teacher, and voice artist. A longtime PlayGround company member, she has acted in and directed numerous Monday Night Playgrounds, directed HEDGE for the 2017 New Works Festival, and is currently serves on the PlayGround Board. She has appeared on stages across the country, in a number of short films and television shows, and in a whole slew of commercials, industrials, radio dramas, and video games. She is a member of the faculty at the Schools of Entertainment at Academy of Art University. www.emilietalbot.com.

TRACY WARD (BoP26: In Search of An Ending), she/her, is a Freelance Director based in the Bay Area. Recent: Fun Home at 42nd Street Moon, and Disbelief and Succession: The Medieval Edition at Playground, World Premiere of The Lady Scribblers at CMT. Regional Premieres include: The Cake at NCTC, Actually at Aurora Theatre Company; When We Were Young and Unafraid at CMT SF; Bright Shining Sea at Playground; The Thrush and the Woodpecker at CMT, The Dragon Play, and What Every Girl Should Know at Impact Theatre. She is a proud company member of PlayGround. www.tracyward.org, and an Associate Member of The Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers Union.

PRODUCTION & STAFF

YOHANA ANSARI-THOMAS (Festival Scenic Designer), he/him, works across architecture, performance, and technology. In the Bay Area, he has previously worked with Shotgun Players, TheatreFirst, Oakland Theater Project, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, and the American Conservatory Theater, among others. He holds a Bachelor of Art from the University of California, Berkeley, and is currently a Master of Architecture candidate at Princeton University.

TASA GLEASON (BoP26: Costume Designer), she/her, has been designing and creating costumes for dance and theatre for many years. Her work has been seen in Seattle, the greater Bay Area, New York and has toured internationally. Having a background in performance and choreography offers Taśa an understanding of what is unique about costuming for dance and theater, it also means that she shares a vocabulary in regards to movement that is indispensable to her when collaborating with directors, choreographers and performers. Taśa has a background in draping and construction and holds an M.F.A. in Dramatic Arts, Costume Design from UC Davis, and a BFA in Dance Performance from Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle WA.

JAMES GOODE (BoP26: Sound Designer), 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

RUBEN GRIJALVA (Festival Kick-Off and Panel Moderator), he/him, is a San Francisco-based playwright exploring the boundaries of human agency in a world evolving faster than our minds. His short plays include Anna Considers A Cocktail (PlayGround Emerging Playwright Award), Full Steam Ahead, and All The Worlds Are Stages (PianoFight Short Lived VII Winner). His full-length plays include Anna Considers Mars, Value Over Replacement (O’Neill National Playwrights Conference Finalist, Edgerton Foundation New Play Award Winner), and Shoot Me When… (O’Neill Semi-Finalist, Will Glickman Award Winner). He is a three time winner of the PlayGround Emerging Playwright Award. He lives in San Francisco’s Sunset District with a Labrador named Retha, a human named Keli, and a tiny human named Genevieve, whose arrival served as the very hard deadline for the first draft of Shoot Me When….

DIANNE HARRISON (BoP26: 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), and 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.

HEATHER KELLY-LAWS (BoP26: Stage Manager), she/her, is a stage manager, metal artist, and San Francisco native who has been working in Bay Area theatre since 2012. A company member at Shotgun Players since 2017, favorite credits there include Kiss, Vinegar Tom, and this year’s Passing Strange. Faves elsewhere include Phedre at Cutting Ball Theatre and The Precious Damsels with Troupe Theatre. When she’s not in the booth, she’s making socialist, space, and/or astrology-themed jewelry as Only Every, her socialist metal goods concern.

BRITTANY MELLERSON (Festival Lighting Designer) 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 source and produce 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; PlayGround’s Best of PlayGround Festival.

ASHLEY RENEE (The Deliverance & Funny, Like An Abortion, Costume Designer), she/her, is a bay area born costume designer and slow fiber artist. She is most inspired when creating stories through cloth. Over the past few years, she has been a costume designer, assistant designer, wardrobe supervisor and dresser. She’s always excited to be surrounded by artists sharing stories with audiences. Most recent credits include Costume Designer Circle Mirror Transformation Custom Made Theatre, Assistant Costume Designer and Wardrobe Supervisor of Passing Strange at Shotgun Players and Assistant Costume Designer of Passs Over at Marin Theatre Co. You can view her other work at ashleyreneec.com.

JENNA STEIN-CORMAN (Funny, Like An Abortion, Stage Manager), she/her, is a Bay Area native, and teaching artist, who is excited to stage manage her first production with PlayGround. She holds a BA from Sarah Lawrence College, where she studied history and social justice, alongside theatre. Jenna currently works as a director and stage manger for youth performers at The Berkeley Playhouse.

ANNIE STUART (Associate Artistic Director), she/her, 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.

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 March 1, 2021 & March 21, 2022.

GOVERNMENT, CORPORATE, & FOUNDATION DONORS

Alameda County Arts Commission • Amazon • American Rescue Plan Act & CARES Act • 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 • First Republic Bank • 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 • Nvidia • 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+)

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

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS ($2500–$4,999)

John H. Gilman, Regina S. Guggenheim, Linda Kremer, Anonymous

PRODUCERS CIRCLE ($1000-$2499)

Dr. Elaine Baskin & Kenneth R. Krechmer, Mr. William Bivins, Emilie T. & Gordon C. Brooks, Sidney Glass & Eleanor Clement Glass, Thalia Dorwick, Keith Goldstein & Donna N. Warrington, Tish and Steve Harwood, Mrs. Frannie Pope Hohman, Lara Gilman & Jim Kleinmann, Karen Mauney-Brodek, Nitin, Diane Sampson, Sharon Simpson, Marian Scheuer Sofaer & Abraham D. Sofaer, David Cost and Kate Stechschulte, Anonymous (5)

PLAYWRIGHTS CIRCLE ($500-$999)

Mr. Thomas Patrick Broyhill, Karen Chakmakian, Paulette Donsavage & Deeje Cooley, Mr. Richard Dixon, Michael Fried, Barbara Goodyear & Stephen Rosenfield, Ruben and Keli Grijalva, Ms. Kathryn A Hecht, Jofish Kaye & Erin Marie Panttaja, Diane Leonard, Gwen Loeb & Doyle Ott, Ray Riegert, Michele and John Ruskin, Nancy Spencer & Hardy Callcott, Oren & Justin Stevens, Mr. Malachy Walsh, Susannah Wise & Scott Lebus, Maury Zeff

PATRON ($250-$499)

Sharon Baldwin, Wendy Bear, Cass Brayton, Ruth & Robert Brayton, In memory of Susan Bruett, Karen Catlin, Lily L Chow, Laurie Cohen, 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, Vicki Hamilton, Daryl Anthony Harper, Becky Harris, Gail Hillebrand & Hugh Barroll, Margaret and Cory Johnson – UCSF Essential Worker’s Program, Roxy Jones, Ray and Carla Kaliski, Jonathan Luskin and Leslie Katz, Michael Lutz, Brittany S Mellerson, Three Kurtics and a Morse, Bud & Donna Ogle, Chris Potter & Lisa Mammel, Annie Stuart & June Palladino, Lisa R. Taylor, Liam Vincent, Ms. Rosalinde Westil, Christian Wilburn, Janine Wilburn, Joanne Chow Winship, Anonymous (3)

ASSOCIATE MEMBER ($125-$249)

Mary E. Baird, Julie Birdsong, Gwendolyn Marie Boozé, Nancy Rivera Brooks, Jessica Forbess, Gina Harris, Joanne Kobori, Gregg Le Blanc, Ms. Lisa A. Mammel, Cecily T. Martin, Trynne Miller & David Prince, Doug Peckler & Evelyn Jean Pine, Ms. Madeline Daly Puccioni, Kathy J Reynolds, Kary Schulman, Rebecca Schweitzer, Jeunée Simon, Kurt Taylor & BJ Olsen, Lisa Gaye Thompson, Jeffrey Trescott, Mr. Darryl Wilburn, Janine & Darryl Wilburn, Kelli Wong, Anonymous (3)

Become a PlayGround contributor!

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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
Norman Gee, Associate Producer
Jed Parsario, Associate Producer
Stephanie Prentice, Associate Producer
Katja Rivera, Associate Producer
Lana Richard, Associate Director of Development
Jacque Bugler, Production Manager
Brittany Mellerson, Resident Designer
Sarah Gasser, Resident Stage Manager & Assistant to the Artistic Director
Daniel Benitez, 2021-22 Producing Fellow
Emlyn Doolittle, 2022 Producing Fellow
Bacilio Mendez II, 2022 Producing Fellow
Caroline Portante, 2021-22 Producing 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
Philippa Kelly
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