PlayGround Welcomes the 2021-22 Producing Fellows!
PlayGround has officially selected four new Producing Fellows — Lindsey Abbott, Daniel Benitez, Caroline Portante, and Wallace Yan — to join the PlayGround Producing Team for the 2021-22 Season! The paid Producing Fellowship is designed to foster the next generation of leadership for the American Theatre, with a priority towards individuals from historically marginalized communities. Meeting weekly to work closely with the PlayGround Executive Team and artistic community, the Fellows will learn the onsite skills necessary to run a theater organization. PlayGround Fellows will also shape the future of PlayGround as an organization as they collaborate to produce PlayGround’s season of new works!
Lindsey Abbott (she/her) is a proud California-raised theatre maker. Lindsey works both onstage and offstage, taking opportunities wherever she can to grow and help the community. In May of 2021, she graduated from Sonoma State University Magna Cum Laude with her BA in Theatre Arts & Dance with a concentration in acting and completed a minor in sociology. She will continue her education working toward her MFA in theatre arts management at CUNY Brooklyn College. She aspires to assist the next generation of theatre-makers to create new theatre and collaborate with new voices that deserve to have their stories heard.
Daniel Benitez (he/they) is a multi-hyphenate artist who predominantly works as a performance artist but is slowly entering the world of makeup artistry and design. A jack of all trades, Daniel is always looking for new things to learn and new ways to contribute to the arts and to society. They prioritize learning and growth over perfection, but always makes sure to pour his heart into everything they do. Daniel is a recent graduate of Princeton, where he was a recipient of the 2021 Spirit of Princeton Award honoring their queer community activism and artistry: he’s a member of diSiac Dance Company and Más Flow Dance Company, has performed in countless theater department shows, worked as an engagement specialist with UMatter, and participated in the Campus Life Leadership Council.
Caroline Portante (she/her) is a Bay Area-based actor, theatre-maker, and performance artist focused on creating radical queer art. Raised in Oakland, California, Caroline graduated from McGill University in 2019, and is currently studying at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York City for their Summer Conservatory. She is on the artistic leadership board of Poltergeist Theatre Project, and produced and directed their premiere of the radio play Written in the Stars through PlayGround earlier this year. She is incredibly excited to be continuing her relationship with PlayGround by joining the team as a Producing Fellow.
Wallace Ming Yan (They/Them) is a San Francisco Bay Area-based and born theatre artist with a passion for many subjects. They aspire to build spaces for marginalized voices to be heard and respected in the theatre and in their communities. Wallace also has a knack for writing, cooking, painting, sculpture, woodworking, and more recently practicing the banjo. They hold a B.A. in Drama and a minor in Queer Studies from UC Irvine. They are excited for what the future holds!
We sat down virtually with our incoming Fellows to ask them a little about themselves:
PlayGround: How did you hear about PlayGround?
Lindsey Abbott: I moved up to NorCal when I started college, so I was very new to the area and only knew the people in the theatre department and my professors. Luckily, one of my professors—Doyle Ott—knew PlayGround and recommended I apply for the fellowship.
Daniel Benitez: I found out about PlayGround through my dear friend, Chris Steele, when they invited me to see their incredible adaptation of Dracula titled: “I Am Dracula: a Docudrama Experiment.” The show was like nothing I’d ever seen before and I immediately joined PlayGround’s email list because I couldn’t wait to see what else they had in store!
Caroline Portante: I heard about PlayGround through my work on the Artistic Leadership Board of Poltergeist Theatre Project, which is one of the several theatre companies that PlayGround supports through its Innovator Incubator Program.
Wallace Yan: A dear friend in my community shared their experience in the Producing Fellowship with me as I am finding a new focus in theatre management.
PG: Briefly, what is a favorite memory from your experience with theatre?
LA: Ah, so many memories! I’ll go with a recent one: I directed a senior project that was fully online, pre-recorded, and edited, and the final product was streamed. So we recorded one full take every night for four nights; I remember knowing toward the end of the second-to-last night that was the recording we were going to use. I was beaming with joy and fulfillment and was so incredibly proud of the work that the actors were doing, I just allowed myself to fully watch the work—THAT was great.
DB: During the spring of my senior year of high school, after quitting sports and deciding to pursue performing arts, I starred in a play called “The Awesome 80s Prom.” I played the role of “Dickie” who was based on the musician Boy George and wore an extravagant floral suit and intricate eye makeup. In retrospect, I realize the role was a bit reductive and problematic (much of the show was, actually), but at the time it was really pivotal in my eventual emergence as a performing artist and as a queer person. It was the first time I felt celebrated for leaning into my queerness. The show was half improvised and required bucket loads of stamina and for the audience to vote for Prom King and Queen, the results of which would change the ending of the play. One of the big gags of the show was that my character was nominated for Prom Queen instead of Prom King, and, on opening night, I won. Even though it wasn’t real and it really only went on to affect a few lines, it was secretly a very special experience. I felt accepted and celebrated and loved. It was simultaneously one of the scariest things I’ve ever done and also one of the most rewarding. Since then, I’ve only ever performed in queer roles. I believe portraying queer roles with very nuanced perspectives helps me lean into the discomfort of existing within a heteronormative society—in which these experiences are often rendered invisible—and it increases representation, thus highlighting the political and the personal within performance.
CP: This isn’t a specific moment, but most of my favorite memories are of standing in the wings on opening night. There’s such an electric energy to standing in a cramped, dark theatre wing, holding hands with your cast, and listening to the buzz of the audience, who are just as excited to see the art you’ve made as you are to share it with them. That’s one of the moments when you can really feel the magic and the generative power of theatre.
WY: Being able to play Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch as a trans actor and bringing that representation truly needed for that story!
PG: What excites you about the Producing Fellowship?
LA: The opportunity to grow and learn about the process in a new way. This is my first official fellowship, so I have a ton of valuable experience ahead of me and it’s very exciting!
DB: What excites me most about the Producing Fellowship is getting the chance to explore and experience so many different behind-the-scenes facets of artmaking. I think to be a well-rounded artist, it’s important to have an understanding of the processes that exist all around you. The producing fellowship is the perfect opportunity for me to get some hands-on experience working within production realms I’ve never been directly involved with and learn from some incredible theater professionals along the way!
CP: As an artist often working with emerging theatre companies, I’ve worn many hats: actor, director, stage manager, and producer, but I’ve almost always had to take on these roles with little to no official training and learn on the fly. I’m incredibly excited about the opportunity to receive hands-on producing training and experience from a leading Bay Area theatre company, that I can bring to my future work as a theatre-maker.
WY: The amazing skills, experiences, and people I’ll get to work with through this Fellowship.
PG: As a future leader of the theater scene at large, what impact do you want to have on theatre arts?
LA: I really want to give back to the community around me in an impactful way. Some of my best experiences have been from smaller, community-centered theatres (one of the people I consider my mentors is from a community theatre in San Diego), so I understand the true value of these experiences. Local theatres are a large part of what keeps theatre so inviting and alive.
DB: I want to work to increase visibility and accessibility within the arts. Growing up as an inner-city kid from a low-income, immigrant background, I didn’t have many opportunities to experience the arts, especially performance art. I knew from a young age that I loved performing, but I didn’t have the tools or the resources or the exposure necessary to nurture those artistic tendencies early on. My identities and my passion for community service are inseparable from my artistry. I believe that being an artist is such a privilege and it’s important to use that privilege and those gifts we have to improve the communities we inhabit as well as the ones we represent.
CP: I want to make structural changes in the theatre industry in how shows are cast, how theatre companies are run, and which stories are told. This industry so often centers the voices of white, straight, cis, able-bodied, men, which are stories we’ve all heard before. Additionally, theatre companies and productions are often organized in ways that either intentionally or inadvertently exclude and disenfranchise everyone else. I want to use my platform as a producer in the future to elevate the voices and stories we haven’t heard before, specifically those of trans, BIPOC, and queer femme artists, not only because they have every right for their art to be heard and celebrated, but also because they are creating radical, groundbreaking art that will forever change the theatre industry.
WY: As someone with a background in activism, bottoms-up politics, and queer/feminist theory; I hope to build spaces and create work that changes the practices of theatre that has harmed those most vulnerable in our community. I want to make work that inspires joy, love, and creating a better world.
PG: Outside of theater, what brings you joy?
LA: Learning. I have a stack of books (mostly about theatre but besides the point) that I’m waiting anxiously to read. Another is finding local and/or small artists and stores to support.
DB: Outside of theater and performance, I really enjoy makeup and visual arts. I often deal with a lot of anxiety and in moments of peak stress or panic, I turn to makeup and drawing/painting to find relief. It actually all started with theater which exposed me to makeup and assisting on set-building as a performer which exposed me to painting. Drag has since become an outlet where my passions for theater, dance, and visual arts all merge.
CP: Outside of theatre, some things that bring me joy are travelling, yoga and mindfulness, supporting my queer community, drag performance, and filling my home with houseplants. Also quesadillas.
WY: My partner Drew, the Queer community, cooking, traveling, and making things with my hands.
PG: Is there anything else you want to share with the PG community?
LA: I’m so incredibly excited to learn about the community in a new way! This is going to be a great year.
DB: I just recently moved to San Francisco and I’d love to make some new friends! Please feel free to reach out!
CP: I am very happy to be here and look forward to producing some incredible art!
WY: I am excited to meet and learn from all of you!
The 2021-22 Producing Fellowship class begin their year together on August 6. We’re so excited to welcome this amazing group of young leaders to PlayGround and look forward to sharing with and learning from them over the next year. We also want to acknowledge the ground-breaking work of our inaugural Producing Fellowship class and thank them for the many ways in which they have helped PlayGround grow. Thanks, Donny, Chris, Edna, and Lana! To learn more about the Producing Fellowship program and other job opportunities at PlayGround, visit https://playground-sf.org/jobopportunities.