PlayGround Zoom Fest 2021 Playbill
Welcome to the second annual PlayGround Zoom Fest – a Festival of New Works – a leading showcase of new plays and playwrights. This year’s festival is once again online due to the continued COVID-conscious gathering restrictions affecting our theatre community. We have 9 distinct events this year in a 3 week period from May 10th – May 30th, showcasing some of the best writers and works developed during the pandemic. All festival events will be live-streamed via Zoom and are free of charge, (donations gratefully accepted).
A different type of festival requires a different type of playbill. And so, we present here the PlayGround Zoom Fest digital playbill — featuring programs, cast lists, biographies, staff and board lists, recognition of our supporters, and more — for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!
PROGRAMS & CAST LISTS
FESTIVAL STAGED READINGS
May 10, 2021 7pm PT
ADULTING
by Misao McGregor
Directed by Jully Lee
Emi.…………………..………………………..Jenny Nguyen Nelson
Piper…………………………………………Rebbekah Vega-Romero
Mel………………………..………………………………….Alicia Mason
Rosemary…………………………………………………….Lisa Morse
Adrian…………………………………………………..Douglas Giorgis
Walsh………………………………………………..Mark Rafael Truitt
Fatima……………………………………………………….Radhika Rao
May 14, 2021 7pm PT
THE DELIVERANCE
by Daysha Veronica
Directed by Tyler Thomas
Curtis Howard…………………..………………….Michael J. Asberry
Greg………………………………………………………………….Dane Troy
Lenny…………………………………………………………..Dorian Lockett
Lorraine/Griot………………………………..Kathryn Smith-McGlynn
Donna/AsaseYaa………………………………Leontyne Mbele-Mbong
John Crawford……………………………………Daryl Anthony Harper
Don Richards…………………………………………………..David Cramer
May 17, 2021 7pm PT
FUNNY, LIKE AN ABORTION
by Rachel Bublitz
Directed by Giovanna Sardelli
Monroe……………………………………………Elissa Beth Stebbins
Jade………………………………………………….….Rebecca Pingree
Stage Directions………………………………………….Stacey Winn
May 21, 2021 7pm PT
7 SECRETS OF TEACHING ONLINE
by Evelyn Jean Pine
Directed by Tracy Ward
Darren Dormer……………………………………….Louel Senores
Mitzi..………………………………………….…………..Emilie Talbot
Robbie………………………………………………..Christian Haines
Janine………………………………………………….Karen Offereins
Leon………………………………………………………..Liam Vincent
Zelda……………………………………………………Bonnie Akimoto
Stage Manager – Sarah Gasser
Visual Design – Colin Johnson
ZOOM PREMIERE PRESENTATIONS
May 15th & 16th, 2021 7pm PT
PERFECT
by Jonathan Luskin
Directed by M. Graham Smith
Charlie/ ALISA………………………………………………………Julia McNeal
Gary…………………………………………………………………Danny J. Gomez
Chase……………………………………………..……………….Jordan Covington
Morgan/ Madeleine………………………………………..Stephanie Prentice
Mark/ Sonny…………………………………………………………..Aaron Wilton
Jeanine/ Danny……………………………………………………….Elena Wright
Stage Manager – Natalie Rich
Visual Design – Randy Wong-Westbrooke
Sound Design – Ian Walker
Costume Design – Brooke Jennings
Lighting Design – Brittany Mellerson
Properties Artisan – Andy Falkner
Animation Design – Adam Chin
Video Production – XSIGHT Productions
May 22nd & 23rd, 2021 7pm PT
SAPIENCE
by Diana Burbano
Directed by Katja Rivera
Elsa..…………………..……………………………………..Jen Anaya
Wookie………………..………………………….……..Julia Belanova
AJ……………………………………………….……..Franco Martinez
Miri……………………………………..……Livia Gomes Demarchi
Jason……………..…………………………………..Christian Haines
Stage Manager – Jasmine Murray
Visual Design – Hector Zavala
Sound Design – Chris Sauceda
Costume Design – Marisely Cortés
Lighting Design – Brittany Mellerson
Properties Artisan – Elyse Schrock
Choreographer – Jen Anaya
Special Thanks
Ben Cleaveland, Co-Program Director at Tamalpais High School’s Drama Department and the Conservatory Theatre Ensemble
BEST OF PLAYGROUND 25
May 29th & 30th, 2021 7pm PT
PIVOT
by Bacilio Mendez II
Directed by Claire Ganem
Sancho………………………………………………………………Jed Parsario
Donny……………………………………………………………Louel Senores
ZAGRIATE
by Chris Steele
Directed by Sean Owens
Guy…………………………………………………………..Benjamin Ismail
Dino…………………………………………………………….….Ezra Reaves
Mel……………………………………………………….………..Amy Lizardo
LA PLANCHADA
by Eteya Trinidad
Directed by Tessa Corrie
Ramón…………………………………………………………..Hugo Carbajal
Lola………………………………………………………………….Gisela Feied
La Planchada……………………………………………………Carla Pantoja
BLENDED HISTORIES
by Akaina Ghosh
Directed by Jim Kleinmann
Kat…………………………………………………………………….Isabel Anne To
Aaron…………………………………………………………………Jon Demegillo
Barista/ Bartender/ Librarian………………………………Liam Vincent
Mom…………………………………………………………………………Monica Ho
Dad………………………………………………………………..Bacilio Mendez II
SASHA AND THE ANGELIER
by Christian Wilburn
Directed by Norman Gee
Angelier……………………………………………………………Jomar Tagatac
Sasha………………………………………………………………..Jeunee Simon
THE ART OF SUFFRAGE
by Anne Yumi Kobori
Directed by Jeffrey Lo
Hamada-Sensei…………………………………………………Emily Kuroda
Mika…………………………………………………………………..Nicole Javier
Frankie……………………………………………………..Matthew Hanjoong
CURRY AND CRUMPETS
by Leela Velautham
Directed by Katherine Hamilton
King Arthur………………………………………….Michael Barrett Austin
Simi……………………………………………………….Avanthika Srinivasan
Ashwathama…………………………………………………………..Dean Koya
Stage Manager – Rachel Grace Reyes Mogan
Visual Designer – Teddy Hulsker
Sound Designer – Elton Bradman
Costume Designer – Abra Berman
Lighting Designer – Brittany Mellerson
Properties Artisan – Wallace Yan
Production Management – Brittany Mellerson & Jacque Bugler
ZOOM FEST TOWN HALL
May 24, 2021 7pm PT
Speakers
Norman Gee………………………………………………..Director
Akaina Ghosh………………………………………….Playwright
Danny Gomez………………………………………………….Actor
Emily Kuroda…………………………………………………..Actor
Jonathan Luskin……………………………………..Playwright
Brittany Mellerson……………………………………..Designer
Ezra Reaves……………………………………………………..Actor
Katja Rivera…………………………………………………Director
Giovanna Sardelli………………………………………..Director
Chris Sauceda……………………………………………..Director
Daysha Veronica……………………………………..Playwright
Annie Stuart………………………….Assoc. Artistic Director
Stage Manager – Sarah Gasser
YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS PROJECT
May 28, 2021 7pm PT
BETWEEN PIGS AND SHEEP
by Finn Liu
Directed by Lana Richards
Willis……………………………………Jordan Covington
Mary……………………………………..Rosie Kingfisher
Mother Sheep………………………………….Mary Baird
Teacher Grey………………..Leontyne Mbele-Mbong
Pigman Punk……………………………………Adam Roy
Officer Porksmith……………Daryl Anthony Harper
BREAD AND CIRCUSES
by Anna Vanderford
Directed by Markus Potter
Dorothie/Bessie Ruthman……….Elissa Beth Stebbins
Tobias Müller…………………………………..Aaron Wilton
Officer Frank………………………………..Douglas Giorgis
LATE
by Sky Krueger
Directed by Ely Sonny Orquiza
Teenage Girl…………………………………….Stacey Winn
Woman…………………………………..Stephanie Prentice
Doctor………………………………………….Teresita Brown
Nurse/Personnel……………………………….Charlie Gray
HOW AN ICE CREAM TRUCK CAN DAMN YOU TO HELL
by Jane Palladino
Directed by Frieda de Lackner
Alec Smith………………………………Douglas Giorgis
Brazen……………………………………………Dane Troy
Francesca Smith………………………….Adrian Deane
Lauren Moore…………………………………Ash Malloy
Stage Manager – Natalie Rich
Visual Design – Colin Johnson
BIOGRAPHIES
PLAYWRIGHTS
RACHEL BUBLITZ (Funny, Like an Abortion), is a playwright and mom. She received the 2020 Will Glickman Award for Z Space’s world premiere production of her play Ripped. Other plays include Burst (developed with PlayGround, Utah Shakespeare Festival, MACH 33 Festival from Caltech and Pasadena Playhouse, and more), The Night Witches (commissioned and produced by Egyptian YouTheatre, published with Dramatic Publishing), and Let’s Fix Andy (developed at the Wyoming Theater Festival, finalist for the 2018 Bay Area Playwrights Festival). She was awarded the June Anne Baker Prize from PlayGround in 2015. When she isn’t writing, she’s chasing after her two viking-like kids. RachelBublitz.com.
DIANA BURBANO (Sapience), she, a Colombian immigrant, is a playwright, an Equity actor, and a teaching artist at South Coast Repertory and Breath of Fire Latina Theatre Ensemble. Diana’s play Ghosts of Bogota recently won the Nu Voices festival at Actors Theatre of Charlotte. Ghosts was commissioned and debuted at Alter Theater in the Bay Area in Feb 2020. She was in Center Theatre Group’s 2018-19 Writers Workshop cohort.
ANNE YUMI KOBORI (The Art of Suffrage), she, is a Japanese-American theatre artist. She recently wrote Simulation for the Fresh Baked Pears Festival with Pear Theatre, and played Jenn in Good Mourning by Jessica Wu for Moxie Arts NY. Her pieces The Art of Suffrage, Coward’s Flame, and Give Me the Sky were featured in MondayNightPlayGround. Her full-length plays Seeds and Every Day Alice, and The Seagull adaptation, have premiered with Utopia Theatre Project. “The Scourge of Verona,” her comedic short, won Audience Favorite in Silicon Valley Shakespeare’s 48Hr Playfest. Currently, Anne is a co-writer for Braided with Theatre of Yugen. www.anneyumikobori.com
AKAINA GHOSH (Blended Histories), they, are a non-binary Bay Area theater artist. They’ve debuted original works at PianoFight, Z-Below, TheatreFIRST, and The (late) 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 fourth season in PlayGround’s Writer’s Pool, and their first time in Best of PlayGround! Follow Akaina’s work at akainaghosh.com.
SKY KRUEGER (Late)
YINHAO (FINN) LIU (Between Pigs and Sheep), he, goes by Finn. He is currently a senior at Galileo Academy of Science and Technology and an incoming freshman at UCLA. His hobbies include running, meditating (sometimes), learning about history, and writing. His proudest achievement is completing a half-marathon by his first year of cross country. Finn considers words beautiful and likes to think that the art of writing them can be as self expressive as painting images.
MISAO MCGREGOR (Adulting), they, are a singer/songwriter and playwright currently based in Louisiana. They earned their BA in Theater and Music from Connecticut College and have been a member of PlayGround-LA since 2019. Her work has been produced in Connecticut, Seattle, and Los Angeles, where Misao received the Anne S. Richardson Award in LGBTQ Studies for her play Dandelions Conquer, and had their most recent piece hellokitty55 recognized in PlayGround-LA’s “Best of PlayGround” during the 2019-2020 Season. Misao is also the founder of Sacrosanct, a community that amplifies the voices and art of queer, trans, & non-binary BIPOC.
BACILIO MENDEZ II (Pivot) he/him, is a proud member of Actors’ Equity and SAG-AFTRA. A 2019-20 Monday Night PlayGround initiate, as an actor, Bacilio is excited to now be a member of the Writers Pool. Cross your fingers for Bacilio; he’s waiting on CA Bar Exam results.
JANE PALLADINO (How an Ice Cream Truck can Damn You to Hell) she/her, is a 16 year old sophomore at Aragon High School. Funny, energetic and a hard worker, she has been in the world of arts (musical theatre, acting, singing, dancing and improv) since the fifth grade and is very passionate about it. She is also a member of the Aragon Improv Team. After her experiences in various musicals and plays, she was inspired to write. Jane would love to thank her family, friends, and teachers for supporting her! She is thrilled to share her play with the world!
EVELYN JEAN PINE (7 Secrets of Teaching Online), she, is jazzed about The Invisible Project, co-written with Katja Rivera, launching the Latinx Mafia’s Staged Reading series this March! Molecule LitMag just published her quick-fire climate change play, North Pole Bedtime. Fourth Wave on Medium publishes her poems. Her one-woman show, Freeloader in the House of Love, won the Boulder Fringe “Most Compelling Story” prize. www.evelynjeanpine.com
CHRIS STEELE (Zagriate), they, are a queer trans-nonbinary performance artist, writer, activist, and horror enthusiast. Their work centers on highlighting queer narratives throughout history and combating bigotry and white supremacy. They’re a co-founder of Poltergeist Theatre Project: a queer theater collective, and their award-winning drag personas Polly Amber Ross/Peter Pansexual can be found on instagram @pollyandpeter.
ETEYA TRINIDAD (La Planchada), she, is a playwright, stage manager, and theater artist. Her full-length play, La Sirena, was recognized as a finalist for the 2019 Bay Area Playwrights Festival and received a staged reading at Ross Valley Players. She wrote and directed her first play, La Mestiza’s Colors, with the College Players at the University of San Francisco. Since then, her work has been seen at San Francisco Olympians Festival, Amios West, 3Girls Theatre, and Theatre is the Cure, among others. She is honored to be featured in Best of PlayGround in her first year of the Writers Pool.
LEELA VELAUTHAM (Curry and Crumpets), she, originally from the UK, is a graduate student at UC Berkeley, studying towards a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology. She was featured in the Best of PlayGround 24 and won the 2011 University of Oxford’s New Writing Festival for her play ‘Schroedinger’s Hat’.
ANNA VANDERFORD (Bread and Circuses)
DAYSHA VERONICA (The Deliverance), she, is a playwright, author, digital media producer, MFA candidate at UCLA and a Television Academy Foundation Internship alum. Her plays have been workshopped/performed at UC San Diego, UCLA, Meet Cute LA, Celebration Theatre, New York Theatre Workshop and PlayGround-LA. She has also received recognition/awards for her work from The Kennedy Center, Playwrights Foundation, Kentucky Women Writers Conference, UCLA, UC San Diego, University of Central Florida, and PlayGround-LA. Her digital work has appeared on Hulu, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, BuzzFeed, Refinery29, and The Huffington Post. Social: @DayshaVeronica.
CHRISTIAN WILBURN (Sasha and the Angelier) is a San Francisco playwright, author and actor. He graduated Magna Cum Laude in Theatre Arts from Santa Clara University, and is currently pursuing an MFA from the University of San Francisco. Christian is excited to conclude his first year as a member of PlayGround’s writers pool with inclusion of his ten-minute play, I’m Back, in Best of PlayGround 24.
ACTORS
BONNIE AKIMOTO (7 Secrets of Teaching Online, “Zelda”)
JEN ANAYA (Sapience, “Elsa”), they, are a multipassionate artist, ritual space maker, doula and energy healer born and raised in the desert of Yavapaiv Apache, Cocopah and O’odham land. A proud jack of all trades, they have performed in rock bands, web series, art installations, plays, operas, films, solo shows, healing rituals and musicals everywhere from La Mama (Fandango For Butterflies (And Coyotes)) to The Kitchen, Harvard Art Lab to Radio City Music Hall, the mountains of Greece to Harpa in Iceland. Jen is a founding member of Constellation Chor, current FORGE Fellow and an enormous fan of Elsa, Diana and this gorgeous piece.
MICHAEL J. ASBERRY (The Deliverance, “Curtis Howard”), he, is thrilled to participate in this year’s ZoomFest! He most recently appeared in The Matchmaker at A.C.T. Other theatre credits include Aurora Theatre; Profile Theater; Best of PlayGround Festival; Center REPertory Company; Sacramento Theatre Company; Shotgun Players; Z Space; San Francisco Shakespeare Festival; Alter Theater; Artists Repertory Theatre; Lorraine Hansberry Theatre; TheatreWorks; African-American Shakespeare Co. and the 6th Street Playhouse; Film appearances include “San Andreas,” “Mr. Incredible and Pals,” “Chasing Rodriguez,” and “Portable Storage.” Television credits include Chance (Hulu), Trauma (NBC), and Nash Bridges (CBS). Asberry has recorded voiceover spots for Pixar Animation; Pine Sol, Sweetos, General Motors, and Electronic Arts.
MICHAEL BARRETT AUSTIN (Curry and Crumpets, “King Arthur”), him/his, is eternally grateful to PlayGround for providing most of the few acting opportunities he’s had during the past year-and-a-half with their online programming. Recent pre-pandemic 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
MARY BAIRD (Between Pigs and Sheep, “Mother Sheep”), no stranger to PlayGround, is thrilled to be supporting the next generation of playwrights.
JULIA BELANOVA (Sapience, “Wookie”), she, is an actor based in Los Angeles. In the Bay Area, she has performed with TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, San Francisco Playhouse, Marin Shakespeare Company, Jewel Theatre Company, and Custom Made Theatre Company. She has also performed in the national tour of A Christmas Carol. She attended Harvard University, where she created a musical about Shirley Temple Black as her senior thesis. As an artist and activist, Julia is proud to serve as Program Coordinator of the Anita Hill-led Hollywood Commission. Thank you to Katja, Diana, and the PlayGround SF team. Find her online: @jebelanova or juliabelanova.com
HUGO CARBAJAL (La Planchada, “Ramón”), he, has been a theatre artist for over 20 years. An actor, director, and teacher. Served as a performer educator with Educational Theatre at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland for 8 years. He has also worked with companies such as Cal Shakes, Hartford Stage, Huntington Theatre, The Alley, SF Mime Troupe, Shotgun Players, Cuttingball Theatre, TeatroVision, and Bay Area Children’s Theatre, among others. Currently a professor of drama at Los Medanos College and CSU Chanel Islands. Currently pursuing a career on TV and Film in Los Angeles. Look for him on shows like SWAT, Good Girls, Brooklyn Nine Nine, Bosch, and more.
JORDAN COVINGTON (Perfect, “Chase”), he, is a proud company member of PlayGround Los Angeles. He has spent the last two years with PlayGround San Francisco performing in various Monday Night PlayGround events. He then recently moved to Los Angeles to further pursue his career in acting. He has performed in musicals including A Chorus Line and West Side Story, plays, and now on film. He loves to perform and hopes you all enjoy the magic of this wonderful play.
DAVID CRAMER (The Deliverance, “Don Richards”), he, has a BFA in Theatre Arts, studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, Harvey Lembeck’s comedy improv workshop in L.A. and HB studios in NYC. Local stage work includes productions with The Magic, Marin Theatre, SF Playhouse and Word For Word. Film and television roles include “M*A*SH,” “The Waltons,” “Nash Bridges,” “A Piano for Mrs. Cimino” (with Bette Davis) and “Falcon Crest,” among others. He is a proud member of PlayGround-SF.
ADRIAN DEANE (Young Playwrights Project) is a Berkeley born-and-raised actor. Please see www.AdrianDeane.com for an overload of (her) art history and samples of film, dance, theater, and other work, including pre-pandemic productions and upcoming projects with The Eugene O’Neill Foundation and The Marsh.
JON DEMEGILLO (Blended Histories, “Aaron”), he, is a local Bay Area actor who recently just graduated from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (BFA Class of 2020). Past roles include Bobbie in Yen (UNCSA), John Brown in Misalliance (College of Marin) and Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Theater Lunatico).
GISELA FEIED (La Planchada, “Lola”)
DOUGLAS GIORGIS (Adulting, “Adrian”), he, is a long time PlayGround Company member and is thrilled for any opportunity to work with this wonderful company. He has worked across the country from Off-Broadway to Regional and local theatres, as well as numerous film and television spots.
LIVIA GOMES DEMARCHI(Sapience, “Miri”), she, Livia is thrilled to be in this beautiful play with such an amazing group of artists. Recent credits: Lola in Ghosts of Bogotá at AlterTheater (another Diana Burbano masterpiece), Tania in Native Gardens at Center Rep, Titania/Hyppolita in a Midsummer Night’s Dream with SF Shakes and Olivia/Maria in Twelfth Night with Arabian Shakes (TBA Winner for Best Ensemble). Other companies: SF Playhouse, Magic Theater, Marin Shakespeare, Playwrights Foundation, BRAVA, Shotgun Players, among others. She holds a B.A. in Theater from UC Berkeley. She hopes that the play inspires the audience to honor and cherish all our many ways of communication. To my familia!
DANNY J. GOMEZ (Perfect, “Gary”), he, is a professional actor/model based in Los Angeles, California. Since 2018, he has acted in award-winning films and multiple television shows, including NBC’s hit series “New Amsterdam.” His work on national advertisements for Target, Facebook, and Zappos have all been successes as well. In 2019, Danny was the “Person With Determination” male winner of ModelHunt’s international model search– a worldwide competition with more than 700+ total applicants. However, these achievements have not come without adversity. In 2005, Danny lost his Louisiana home to Hurricane Katrina. And in 2016, he almost died in a mountain biking accident– an event that left him paralyzed from the waist down instead. But what has reset and shifted his life has also introduced him to his life’s passion and commitment to advocacy. After relearning basic life skills at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center, he became an ambassador for the non-profit Triumph Foundation, connecting the local community to fun activities like wheelchair sports. And every year, he is an active participant in the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge, raising awareness for better representation for disabled actors in Hollywood.
CHARLIE GRAY (Late, “Nurse/Personnel”) is an actor, singer, cabaret and drag performer in Oakland, CA. They recently starred in a short fantasy film about trans pioneer Lou Sullivan, “Lou: A San Francisco Fantasy,” directed by Mya Byrne, featured in film festivals across the US and in the UK. He can be seen this summer (2021) in Killing My Lobster’s digital Pride show, “Pride Inside,” and in Kat Robichaud’s new music video love letter to the SF cabaret community, “Charade.”
CHRISTIAN HAINES (Sapience, “Jason”/7 Secrets of Teaching Online, “Robbie”), he, is honored to be a part of this play. Acting Credits: Straight White Men, Anna Considers Mars, The Moonrisers, Operation Ajax, The Seagull, Jihad Jones, Value Over Replacement (TBA Award for Featured Actor), Romeo & Juliet, Death of a Salesman, Aloysius in New York, Bartleby the Scrivener, Cloud 9, Macbeth, King John, 5th of July, This is Our Youth, Woyzeck, Richard III, Trip to Bountiful, First Time Out of Bounds (Best Short Play NYIT Awards) and dozens more. He is the founding AD of AmiosNYC, AmiosWest and is a PlayGround company member. He loves his wife and family.
MATTHEW HANJOONG (The Art of Suffrage, “Frankie”), he, is thrilled to be back performing with PlayGround! He was last seen performing digitally in Capital Stage’s The Great Leap and PlayGround’s Monday Night PlayGround Event, and last seen onstage at the Wakamatsu Festival in Placerville for Gold Hill Samurai. Hanjoong is a graduate from Sacramento State University, a former apprentice from Capital Stage, and has worked with Tim Robbins and The Actor’s Gang in LA.
DARYL ANTHONY HARPER (The Deliverance, “John Crawford”), he, is elated to be “playing” with PlayGround-SF once again! Native of Berkeley California, Daryl “stumbled” into his passion for the arts while taking a basic acting fundamentals course and while earning a degree in Radio, Television and Film production at Chapman University. (1986) After careers in Banking, High Tech, and Luxury Retail Management, Daryl returned to the performing arts world in 2004, signing with the Stars Agency in San Francisco. As of 2019 , Daryl is back to performing full time, carving out a niche in the Voice Over world with numerous commercial, industrial and film opportunities highlighted by several current commercials for Honda.
MONICA HO (Blended Histories, “Mom”), she, currently lives in Oakland, CA. She is a recent graduate of the American Conservatory Theatre MFA program, class of 2020. Regional credits include Top Girls (American Conservatory Theater); The Good Person of Szechuan (California Shakespeare Theater); Noises Off (SF Playhouse); The Taming (Marin Shakespeare Company); Crane (Ferocious Lotus Theater Company); Shiner (FaultLine Theater). Monica is the winner of the 2016 San Francisco Bay Area Critics Circle Award for Best Actress for her work in In Love and Warcraft (Custom Made Theater). In October 2020 she just finished producing, directing, and performing a one-woman play about legendary silver-screen actress Anna May Wong [China Doll, by Elizabeth Wong].
BENJAMIN T. ISMAIL (Zagriate, “Guy”), he, is so thrilled to work with PlayGround again! He is most well known in the Bay Area for his portrayal of Louis in Berkeley Rep’s 2018 revival of Angels in America. He was also seen in BRT and Guthrie’s co-production of METAMORPHOSES and TARTUFFE. He has been seen across the country in shows like The Invisible Hand, Compleat Female Stage Beauty, The Santaland Diaries, Tribes, Disgraced, Silent Sky, The Pillowman and Little Shop of Horrors. In addition to his acting career, Benjamin is also an accomplished regional director and producer working previously as Producing Artistic Director of Big Idea Theatre in Sacramento.
NICOLE JAVIER (The Art of Suffrage, “Mika”), she, is an actor and teaching artist. She holds an MFA in Acting at University of California San Diego, and a BFA in Theatre Performance from Chapman University. Right before the pandemic, she was in Where the Mountain Meets the Moon at South Coast Repertory, and is so thankful for online opportunities to find community and share stories. Regional theatre include: La Jolla Playhouse, San Diego Repertory, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, Shakespeare Orange County, Aurora Theatre Company, Crowded Fire Theatre, San Jose Repertory. Nicole currently resides in Los Angeles with her partner and her pup, Zorro.
ROSIE KINGFISHER (Between Pigs and Sheep, “Mary”) earned her Acting B.A at Sonoma State University in 2017, pursuing further training with Shakespeare and Company’s Actor Training program in Lenox, MA and with SF Circus Center’s Clown Conservatory, a professional circus training program. She has been honored to Act with San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, Bay Area Children’s Theatre, Ross Valley Players and Playground SF. Recently she has performed virtually in productions with Same Boat Theatre Co. The Actors Ensemble of Berkeley, Lake County Theatre Co. Pear Theatre, Dragon Productions Theatre and is excited to explore the world of Zoom Theatre through new works with PlayGround.
DEAN KOYA (Curry and Crumpets, “Ashwathama”), he, was born and raised in Fiji and received his BA in Psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. He has been a proud and grateful member of the Bay Area acting community since 2015. His credits include Arcadia at Shotgun Players, Non Player Character at SF Playhouse, The Farm at TheatreFIRST, All My Sons at Role Players Ensemble, Scenes from *71 Years at Golden Thread Productions and Universal Robots at Quantum Dragon Theatre. He is currently enrolled in Acting Masterclass at Seydways Acting Studios.
EMILY KURODA (The Art of Suffrage, “Hamada-Sensei”), she, worked at Theatreworks (Language Archives, Calligraphy), New York Theatre Workshop (Endlings), Pan Asian(Brothers Paranormal), American Repertory Theater(Endlings), Page 73(Today is My Birthday), Actors Theater of Louisville(we, the invisibles), Huntington Theater(Tiger Style, Woman Warrior), Artists at Play (Two Mile Hollow), South Coast Rep (Fast Company, Ballad of Yachiyo and Our Town), Alliance (Tiger Style), East West Players, Kirk Douglas, Mark Taper Forum, Public Theater, La Jolla Playhouse, Seattle Rep, Singapore Repertory, Berkeley Repertory, The Doolittle, LATC, Zephyr, LA Women’s Shakespeare Company, and the Los Angeles Shakespeare Festival. Recent TV: “All Rise,” “The Good Doctor,” “The Resident,” “Drop Dead Diva,” “Gilmore Girls.” Recent Films: “Take the 10,” “Party Boat,” “Red and Sensei.” Awards: – Dramalogue Ikebana, The Maids, Minamata, The Golden Gate, and Visitors from Nagasaki – LA Commendation (About Love) – Garland Straight As a Line. Entertainment Today (Winter People).
AMY LIZARDO (Zagriate, “Mel”), she, is a former Bay Area actor and singer. Amy is currently in Ashland, Oregon waiting for live theatre to open its doors again, she was a member of OSF’s 2019 and 2020 season. While in the bay Amy worked with many theatre companies including ACT, Berkeley Rep, Cal Shakes, Theatreworks, SF Shakes and many more!
DORIAN LOCKETT (The Deliverance, “Lenny”) is from Oakland, CA and has been acting for twenty years. You might’ve seen him on Netflix in “13 Reasons Why,” heard his voice in “Soul” as Dorian as well as Lando Calrissian in “Star Wars Choose your Destiny.” His absolute first love is the stage…and anime, I think they are a tie. His last live performance was as Captain Beatty in Fahrenheit 451. You’ll be able to hear him in two upcoming anime series. Enjoy the show.
FRANCO L. MARTINEZ (Sapience, “AJ”), they, are thrilled to be a part of the PlayGround Zoom Fest. As someone on the spectrum, they appreciate the opportunity to portray autism on the virtual stage. Franco graduated from the Academy of Art with a BFA in Acting. Since then, they have performed at the New Conservatory Theater, the Shelton Theater, and are currently the Development Assistant for the Bayview Opera House.
ALICIA MASON (Adulting, “Mel”), she, is a Bay Area actor, daughter, partner and diligent cat 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.
LEONTYNE MBELE-MBONG (The Deliverance, “Donna”/”AsaseYaa”), she, is delighted to return to PlayGround. 2020 shows: Half-Life of Marie Curie with TheatreSquared in Arkansas and King Lear live streamed with SF Shakes. Other favorites: Bull in a China Shop, Temple, and Breakfast with Mugabe with the Aurora; title role in Medea (TBA Award), Cleopatra in Antony & Cleopatra (TBA Award Finalist), and Lady M in Macbeth with African-American Shakespeare Company; Watch on the Rhine with Guthrie/Berkeley Rep, Top Girls with Shotgun Players, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Fences; Andromache, Candide, Richard III (3 times), Twelfth Night, and Intimate Apparel (Mayme; ARTY Award, best supporting actress). www.leontynembele-mbong.com
KATHRYN SMITH-MCGLYNN (The Deliverance, “Lorraine”/”Griot“), she, is a veteran actress and voice-over artist of theatre, television, film and video. She is the former Founding Artistic Director & Executive Producer of Frontera Repertory Theatre Company in El Paso, TX where she also served as a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and was the 2012 Sam Donaldson Communications Center Fellow. Kathryn is Co-Author of African Americans in El Paso: Images of America (Arcadia Publishing). As a Non Profit Consultant, Kathryn has raised critical funding and provided strategic fund-raising counsel for non profit organizations including the Museum of Modern Art, Signature Theatre Company, The Drawing Center, The Joyce Dance Company, The Center Against Domestic Violence and New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation. Kathryn served as the Memorial, Civic, and Cultural Program Fellow for the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) following the tragic events of 9/11, in which she assisted in the implementation of arts and culture projects for the New York City World Trade Center site and the revitalization of Lower Manhattan. Kathryn holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and Drama from the University of Michigan; a Master of Fine Arts in Acting from Carnegie Mellon University/Moscow Art Theatre School; (Summa Cum Laude) and a Master of Public Administration in Policy Analysis from Baruch College (Summa Cum Laude – Pi Alpha Alpha).
JULIA MCNEAL (Perfect, “Charlie”/”ALISA”), her Bay Area credits include: Magic Theatre: Escaped Alone, Visible from Four States, The Eva Trilogy, Fred’s Diner, and A Lie of the Mind. A.C.T.: Top Girls; Shotgun Players: The Events; Aurora Theatre: Gidion’s Knot (extension), and several Best of PlayGround festivals. Film and TV credits include: “The Unbelievable Truth,” “Flesh and Bone,” “Law and Order and Law & Order: SVU.” Creator of the Five Ways In to Character technique for solo performers and writers; Julia is a proud member of the Actors Reading Collective and of the PlayGround Company. (AEA/SAG-AFTRA) juliamcnealarts.com
BACILIO MENDEZ II (Blended Histories, “Dad”) he/him, is a proud member of Actors’ Equity and SAG-AFTRA. A 2019-20 Monday Night PlayGround initiate, as an actor, Bacilio is excited to now be a member of the Writers Pool. Cross your fingers for Bacilio; he’s waiting on CA Bar Exam results.
LISA MORSE (Adulting, “Rosemary”)
JENNY NGUYEN NELSON (Adulting, “Emi”) she/her, is thrilled to be back reading with PlayGround SF. She is a second year MFA student at Brown/Trinity Rep. In the Bay Area, she has been seen performing with Cal Shakes, Killing My Lobster, and Berkeley Rep’s Ground Floor. She thanks her husband for his endless support of her dreams. Enjoy the show!
KAREN OFFEREINS (7 Secrets of Teaching Online, “Janine”), she, 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).
CARLA PANTOJA (La Planchada, “La Planchada”), she – born and raised in the South Bay – is an actor, fight director, teaching artist, and mom of two. In 2020 she was in the acting company at Oregon Shakespeare Festival. She is a resident artist with San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, SF PlayGround company member, and Secretary on Dueling Arts International’s governing body.
JED PARSARIO (Pivot, “Sancho”), he, is a PlayGround company member, and has participated in numerous Monday Night PlayGround, Staged and developmental readings, and several Best Of. He is a teaching artist and company member of Red Ladder Theater Company. www.JedParsario.com
REBECCA PINGREE (Funny, Like an Abortion, “Jade”)
STEPHANIE PRENTICE (Perfect, “Morgan/Madeleine”), she, is a Bay Area native, and proud AEA member. She appeared in Best of PlayGround 19 and 20, and has performed in three full-length Festival of New Works plays. She is a graduate of the Santa Clara University Theatre and Dance program, and taught as a member of the SCU voice faculty from 2005 – 2017. Stephanie has been a PlayGround company member since 2015, serves on the PG Board of Directors, and is the current co-chair of the PG Ambassadors. She is also casting director for TheatreFIRST in Berkeley, and most importantly, the mother of two wonderful kids.
RADHIKA RAO (Adulting, “Fatima”), she, is an improviser, actor and theater teaching artist. Last year she was fortunate to collaborate with PlayGround for the play American Dinner. Her zoom credits include Leela Improv’s “Saturday Series,” Queer Cat Productions’ “Camp”, “Theatreworks’ “Bench Project” (“Zoom Dinner”) and Cutting Ball Theater’s “Natural Horse.” You can also see her on the web series, “Hiraeth” and upcoming series, “Strings Attached.”
EZRA REAVES (Zagriate, “Dino”), they, are a non-binary actor, performer, comedian, singer and experimental theater artist. They’ve toured nationally and internationally with The Neo-Futurists, performed over 150 shows as the lead character in the immersive show The Speakeasy and have performed locally at Magic, Shotgun, NCTC, ACT, and SF Playhouse. As a comedian, Ezra has opened for Janeane Garofalo, Bob Odenkirk, John Hodgman, Paul F. Tompkins and even shared the stage with Michael Ian Black at SF Sketchfest. Next up, Ezra will be writing and directing The Program with the SF Neo-Futurists! www.ezrareaves.com
LOUEL SENORES (Pivot, “Donny”/7 Secrets of Teaching Online, “Darren Dormer”) he/him, acknowledges how privileged he is that he still gets to do theater in the time of Covid. His next zoom show is “You Betta Ask Somebody” with Put Ur Play On Productions on Dec 4-5 & 11-12. And if you haven’t listened to NCTC’s “The Law of Attraction” yet, you have 2 more days after tonight! He also gets to write and act for Berkeley Interactive Theater as they put on Zoom DEI workshops for UC faculty, staff, and students. For his day job, he manages As You Wish Frozen Yogurt in Albany. You can find him at LouelSenores.com.
ELISSA BETH STEBBINS (Funny, Like an Abortion, “Monroe”)
AVANTHIKA SRINIVASAN (Curry and Crumpets, “Simi”), she, is a graduate of A.C.T.’s MFA Program. Recent acting credits include India 3 and Daanya in Testmach (A.C.T.’s Strand Theater), Sakina in The Fit (San Francisco Playhouse) and Tasha in Both Your Houses, Natasha in Three Sisters, Laurencia in Fuente Ovejuna, and Feste in Twelfth Night (A.C.T. MFA). Srinivasan also played Perdita in The Winter’s Tale at Livermore Shakespeare Festival (2018) and the role of Indian goddess Namagiri in Partition at Indra’s Net Theater in Berkeley. She holds a BA in French and theater from Princeton University. avanthikasrinivasan.com
EMILIE TALBOT (7 Secrets of Teaching Online, “Mitzi”), she, 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 and directed HEDGE for the 2017 New Works Festival. She has appeared on stages across the country, in a number of independent films, and a whole slew of commercials, radio dramas, and video games. http://www.emilietalbot.com
JOMAR TAGATAC (Sasha and the Angelier, “Angelier”), he, appeared at San Francisco Playhouse as Mark in Art, and DJ Loki in Today is My Birthday (Theater Mu). At A.C.T. he was seen as Mr. Botard in Rhinoceros and Bob Cratchit in A Christmas Carol. Other credits include Playwright and others in Vietgone, Fortinbras in Hamlet, George in The Language Archive (Theatreworks), Actor 1 in King of the Yees (San Francisco Playhouse); Quang in Vietgone (Capital Stage Company); The War of the Roses, Macbeth, Everybody, As You Like It (CalShakes) The Happy Ones, and Dogeaters (Magic Theatre). Jomar is a recipient of a Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award for Principle Actor in a Play, and TBA Award for Outstanding Performance in a Featured Role. He earned an MFA from A.C.T.
ISABEL ANNE TO (Blended Histories, “Kat”), she, is an actor, singer, aspiring voice actor, and avid cross-stitcher living on Tamyen Ohlone land also known as San Jose, California. She is thrilled to be reprising her role in this play after performing in its original February MNP debut. Isabel had the honor of being a part of PlayGround’s inaugural Zoom Fest of 2020, performing in staged readings of Victoria Chong Der’s Translations as well as Geetha Reddy’s Safe House. Other past credits include The Song of the Nightingale at Town Hall Theatre Co. and Avenue Q at New Conservatory Theatre Center. www.isabelanneto.com
DANE TROY (The Deliverance, “Greg”)
MARK RAFAEL TRUITT (Adulting, “Walsh”), he, (aka. Truitt) has been a professional actor for the past 35 years. His Bay Area appearances include Ted Kaczinski Killed People with Bombs, Schrödinger’s Girlfriend, and Joe Goode’s Body Familiar for the Magic Theatre, The Best of PlayGround’s 9 & 11, Jihad Jones and the Kalashnikov Babes, ReOrient Festival, and the Bay Area Playwrights’ Festival. He has also appeared regionally at Yale Repertory, American Stage, Wisdom Bridge, and Northlight Theatre, among others. Film and Television credits include “Titanic,” “Trauma,” “Star Trek Voyager,” “The Practice,” “Babylon 5,” and “Wings.” He has taught at the University of San Francisco for the past 18 years and is also on faculty at the American Conservatory Theatre, the Academy of Art University, and the University of California, Berkeley. His book, “Telling Stories, A Grand Unifying Theory of Acting Techniques”, published by Smith and Kraus.
REBBEKAH VEGA-ROMERO (Adulting, “Piper”), she, is a native New Yorker, a triracial Latina bruja, and an irrepressible multihyphenate creator. Rebbekah has a wide-ranging career as an actress, recently wowing Seattle with her “luminous” portrayal of Maria in West Side Story at the 5th Avenue Theatre. She wrote, produced, and stars in the upcoming short film, “The Question,” about the absurdities of #DatingWhileMixed. A YoungArts award-winning writer, Rebbekah holds a B.A. from Boston University, and her poetry has been published in Sixfold. Rebbekah hopes her work will inspire other mixed-race girls to realize that “there’s a place for us.” Visit her virtually at www.RebbekahVegaRomero.com.
LIAM VINCENT (Blended Histories, “Bartista/Bartender/Librarian”), he, has been a profesional actor in the bay area for the past tewnty five years. This is his 4th Best of PlayGround Festival, having made his debut in 2003 in the role of Wanda Lust in I Would Like to Buy a Vowel by the magnificant Cass Brayton. He just finished Arms and the Man at American conservatory theater, directed by Colman Domingo.
AARON WILTON (Perfect, “Mark/Sonny”), he, is an award-winning actor, voice-over artist and motion-capture artist, known for small roles in film (Jexi, The Boat Builder), television (“Criminal Minds,” “Sunset Glory”) and video games (Watch Dogs 2, Godfather 2, Mafia:Definitive Edition, Battlefield: Hardline), as well as commercials with Taco Bell, Xfinity, Wells Fargo, Blue Shield, Charles Schwab, Chase, Cisco, Adobe, EA Games, Pixar and US Cellular. 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).
STACEY WINN (Funny, Like an Abortion, Stage Directions; Late, “Teenage Girl”), she, is elated to be Zooming with PlayGround! In addition to appearances with Killing my Lobster and the SF Olympians Festival, some of her favorite roles include Poopay in Communicating Doors, Lucy in You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, Fred in Once Upon a Mattress, Roxie in Chicago (The Play), Mariane in Tartuffe, and Alice in You Can’t Take it With You. She’d like to thank her family and husband for always believing in her, even when she lost her way.
ELENA WRIGHT (Perfect, “Jeanine/Danny”), she, is a bay area actor, fight choreographer, teacher, and director. She has performed with Theatreworks, SF Playhouse, Marin Theatre Company, Marin Shakespeare, Capital Stage, Symmetry Theatre, California Shakespeare Theatre, Shotgun Players, Pacific Repertory Theatre, B Street Theatre, Seattle Shakespeare, Foothill Theatre, and Commonwealth Shakespeare among others. She is a company member of PlayGround, Symmetry Theatre, and Actors Equity. She holds an MFA in acting from the University of Washington and a BS in theatre from Northeastern University.
TESSA CORRIE (La Planchada), she, 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 at PlayGround SF. Her credits include work at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, Center REPertory Company, Hillbarn Theatre, Pear Theatre, TheatreFirst, Shotgun Players, PianoFight, and AmiosWest.
FRIEDA DE LACKNER (How an Ice Cream Truck Can Damn You to Hell), she/her, is a Los Angeles based theatre and film director, who has been part of Playground LA for all 9 seasons. She can’t wait to get back into the theatre and see the faces of people in person!
CLAIRE GANEM (Pivot), she, is a Bay Area based director and educator. She is thrilled to be joining PlayGround this season as a company member after completing the directing apprentice program last spring. In addition to PlayGround, Claire’s work has been featured at PianoFight, Cutting Ball Theatre, and Magic Theatre. She is a proud graduate of UC Santa Cruz and Nazareth College of Rochester, NY.
NORMAN GEE (Sasha and the Angelier), he, draws on experiences as a Bay Area actor and director working with new works companies like Thick Description, Each One Reach One, Stagebridge, Central Works and Playground; producing with African-American Shakespeare Company, and his own Oakland Public Theater. He currently oversees an acting/writing program with the Eugene O’Neill National Foundation, and serves on PlayCafe’s Advisory Board. Norman also co-hosts The YAY podcast, a weekly look at “Life in the theater & the theater of life”. Interviewing artists from the local theater scene, you can find The YAY at https://soundcloud.com/user-346794914, or through the Facebook page.
KATHERINE HAMILTON (Curry and Crumpets), she, is thrilled to join PlayGround SF for Best of PlayGround 25! She has directed the shows Refusal of the Call, Ant Farm, and The Legend of the Rhino for the Monday Night series. Katherine has assistant directed at Indiana Repertory Theatre and TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, and is the FutureWorks Fellow at TheatreWorks SV. She is a proud UCSB grad.
JULLY LEE (Adulting), she, is the artistic director of COLD TOFU, the nation’s first and longest running Asian American improv company, as well as a resident director with Playground-LA. She has also directed with Playground-SF, Company of Angels, Exposition Review, hereandnow, East West Players, Los Angeles Female Playwrights Initiative (LAFPI), The Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights, Playwrights’ Arena, Artists At Play, The Road Theatre, EST-LA, and Center Theatre Group in their Library Readings Series. Jully was recently nominated for the 2020 Ovation Award for “Best Featured Actress” in HANNAH AND THE DREAD GAZEBO at The Fountain Theatre and East West Players. jullylee.com
JEFFREY LO (The Art of Suffrage), he, is a Filipino-American playwright and director based in the Bay Area. He is the recipient of the Leigh Weimers Emerging Artist Award, the Emerging Artist Laureate by Arts Council Silicon Valley and Theatre Bay Area Director’s TITAN Award. Selected directing credits include The Language Archive and The Santaland Diaries at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, Vietgone at Capital Stage, A Doll’s House, Part 2 and Eurydice at Palo Alto Players, Peter and the Starcatcher and Noises Off at Hillbarn Theatre, The Grapes of Wrath, The Crucible and Yellow Face at Los Altos Stage Company and Uncle Vanya at the Pear Theatre. www.JeffreyWritesAPlay.com
JIM KLEINMANN (Blended Histories), 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 (Late), he, is a Queer Filipino multidisciplinary theater-maker based in San Francisco Bay Area. He is a co-Founder and co-Artistic Director of The Chikahan Company. Through theater and the performing arts, Orquiza explores the role of the Asian diaspora, Asian American experience, ancestral ghosts, and the politics of Queer/ness for the American stage.
SEAN OWENS (Zagriate), they, have been a playwright and performer in the Bay Area for 30 years. They have created solo shows, full musicals, genderfluid comedies, and countless short plays— including many for the early years of PlayGround. They currently write, teach and direct for Killing My Lobster, and are slated to direct Gaslit for Poltergeist theatre the minute the world reopens.
MARKUS POTTER (Bread and Circuses), he, Off-Broadway: Stalking the Bogeyman at New World Stages (Outer Critics Circle Award nomination, NYTimes Critics’ Pick), Church & State at New World Stages (Off-Broadway Alliance Nominated for best new play), Why You Beasting? (Time Out NY Critics’ Pick), and the Associate Director for the Donmar Warehouse transfer of Blindness, currently running at the Daryl Roth Theatre in New York. Markus is the Founding Artistic Director of NewYorkRep, and was the Interim Artistic Director of Theatre Aspen. He currently serves as Assistant Professor of Theatre at the University of Kansas and the Artistic Director of the Kansas Repertory Theatre. SDC member. MFA: Columbia University. MarkusPotter.com
LANA RICHARDS (Between Pigs and Sheep), she, 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 is a co-founder of The Wickies, and 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: Grapefruit (an adaptation of the art book by Yoko Ono) at Parallel 45, 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. lanarichards.com thewickies.org
GIOVANNA SARDELLI (Funny, Like an Abortion), she, Besides Sardelli’s well-received productions with TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, where she is Artistic Associate and Director of New Works, 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.
M. GRAHAM SMITH (Perfect), he, is a San Francisco-based Director, Educator and Producer. He is an O’Neill/NNPN National Directing Fellow, an Oregon Shakespeare Festival FAIR Fellow and a proud Resident Artist at SF’s Crowded Fire. He’s directed the World Premiere of Obie winner Christopher Chen’s HOME INVASION in SF, DEAL WITH THE DRAGON at ACT’s Costume Shop & Edinburgh Fringe & NCTC, Mia Chung’s YOU FOR ME FOR YOU at Crowded Fire, and James Ijames’ WHITE at Shotgun. He teaches at A.C.T.’s actor-training programs. You can visit him online at www.MGrahamSmith.com
KATJA RIVERA (Sapience), she, 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, Custom Made, RPE (Danville), SF PlayGround and TheatreFIRST. She is a proud member of AEA, Shotgun Players, SF PlayGround and Latinx Mafia.
TYLER THOMAS (The Deliverance)
TRACY WARD (7 Secrets of Teaching Online), is a Freelance Director based in the Bay Area, focusing on New Works. Recent: World Premiere of Disbelief by Garret Groenveld 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 by Sarah Treem at CustomMade Theatre in SF; Bright Shining Sea by Julianne Jigour at PlayGround; The Thrush and the Woodpecker, 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.
ABRA BERMAN (Best of PlayGround, Costume Designer), she, has been designing costumes for over thirty years. Collaborations include Magic Theatre, San Francisco Playhouse, Pacific Repertory Theatre, West Bay Opera, Marin Shakespeare Company, Company C Contemporary Ballet, Alonzo King Lines Ballet, Lamplighters Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, The De Young Museum, The Museum of Performance and Design, and The Asian Art Museum among others. Many of her projects have been nominated and won awards for Best Costume Design from SFBATCCA, Theatre Bay Area, Play Shakespeare, and Broadway World. Abra has an MFA from UCLA in theatrical costume design.
ELTON BRADMAN (Best of PlayGround, Sound Designer)
ANDY FALKNER (Perfect, Props Artisan), she, have been a Properties Artisan in the Bay Area for the past 11 years. Perfect will be her first return to free lance design since the start of the Pandemic and her second time working for PlayGround SF! Her most recent work was in the properties department for the 2019 Summer and Fall seasons at the San Francisco Opera. She is elated to be able to collaborate again on an original piece that navigates our new way of life as we adapt to the changing world around us and continue to showcase art in new and unique ways.
MARISELY CORTÉS (Sapience, Costume Designer) is a freelance costume designer. She graduated from Academy of Art University in 2020 with an MFA in Costume Design. Theatre credits include productions for the Custom Made Theatre and 42nd Street Moon Theater in San Francisco, UC Santa Cruz, and Academy of Art University. As a costume designer, she has collaborated with other students across different majors such as motion picture, television and acting by taking part in short films. Past year she had her first experience designing the opera The Pirates of Penzance for UC Santa Cruz.
TEDDY HULSKER (Best of PlayGround, Visual Designer)
BROOKE JENNINGS (Perfect, Costume Designer), she, is an award-winning Costume Designer and Textile Artist working and teaching throughout the Bay Area. Her recent credits include Henry V*, Vinegar Tom, Arcadia (Shotgun Players), The Full Monty*, Gypsy (Bay Area Musicals), She Persisted, A Year with Frog and Toad, (Bay Area Children’s Theatre), You Mean To Do Me Harm, Barbecue (San Francisco Playhouse), Phèdre (Cutting Ball Theater), Caveman Play, #bros (FaultLine Theater), A Lie of the Mind, Bad Jews (Magic Theatre, asst. designer). Brooke is the 2015 Recipient for Best Costume Design by Theatre Bay Area for her work on We Players’ “Ondine at Sutro,” directed by Ava Roy and Carly Cioffi. She gives many thanks to her husband, Cole, for his unwavering support and love. *These productions were halted during performances or technical rehearsals due to Covid-19 restrictions.
COLIN JOHNSON (Visual Designer) is a multi-hyphenate production artist who has sullied the grounds of the Bay Area arts since 2008. His work has been produced or featured at PlayGround, Pianofight, The Circus Center Cabaret, San Diego Comic-Con, Image Comics, Potrero Stage, Pint-Sized Plays, The Olympians Festival, Shotz, Shotgun Players, The Curran, and various theatre, radio and film venues throughout the country. He is the Artistic Director of Awesome Theatre, Chief Creative Officer at Troubleshoot Productions and an Instructor / Director / Designer at Circus Center. He makes movies until he gets too frustrated and makes theatre until he has panic attacks.
BRITTANY MELLERSON (Best of PlayGround, Lighting Designer)
PRODUCTION TEAM
JEN ANAYA (Sapience, Choreographer), they, are a multipassionate artist, ritual space maker, doula and energy healer born and raised in the desert of Yavapaiv Apache, Cocopah and O’odham land. A proud jack of all trades, they have performed in rock bands, web series, art installations, plays, operas, films, solo shows, healing rituals and musicals everywhere from La Mama (Fandango For Butterflies (And Coyotes)) to The Kitchen, Harvard Art Lab to Radio City Music Hall, the mountains of Greece to Harpa in Iceland. Jen is a founding member of Constellation Chor, current FORGE Fellow and an enormous fan of Elsa, Diana and this gorgeous piece.
ADAM CHIN (Perfect, Animation Designer), he, spent a career as a computer graphics artist for broadcast TV, commercials, and film. He was one of the original employees of Pacific Data Images, a pioneering computer graphics studio which later become part of Dreamworks Animation. He did computer graphics lighting on the “Shrek,” “Madagascar,” “How to Train Your Dragon,” and “Kung Fu Panda” series of animated feature films. He currently practices fine art photography by combining Artificial Intelligence and photography.
SARAH GASSER (Resident Stage Manager & Sound Designer) joined PlayGround in 2017 and has staged managed for the Monday Night PlayGround series and PlayGround Festival. She stagemanages for companies around the Bay Area, including Brava and Bay Area Children’s Theatre. In her administrative capacities, she assists with PlayGround’s marketing, social media, communications, and website, as well as serving as assistant to the Artistic Director.
RACHEL GRACE REYES MOGAN (Best of PlayGround, Stage Manager), she, is a Bay Area local Stage Manager. She is a Resident Artist with Crowded Fire Theatre and has collaborated with various theatre companies around the Bay. Companies that she has Stage Managed and Assistant Stage Managed include Cutting Ball Theater (Ondine, A Dreamplay, Hedda Gabler), Campo Santo Theater (Ethos De Masquerade, Candlestick), and Custom Made Theatre Co (Hooded, Or Being Black For Dummies).
PLAYGROUND, California’s leading playwright incubator, provides unique development opportunities for the Bay Area’s (and now Los Angeles’) 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 200 early career playwrights, developing and staging more than 850 of their original short plays through the Monday Night PlayGround staged reading series and the PlayGround Festival. PlayGround has also commissioned 85 new full-length plays by 55 of these writers through its Commissioning Initiative and, through the innovative New Play Production Fund, has directly facilitated the premiere of 30 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 February 1, 2020 & March 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, William Bivins, Emilie T. & Gordon C. Brooks, Daniel E. Cohn & Lynn Brinton, Jerome Joseph Gentes & Michael David Bourque, Lara Gilman & Jim Kleinmann, Regina S. Guggenheim, David Steele
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS ($2500–$4,999)
John H. Gilman & Linda Kremer, Tom Goetzl, Keith Goldstein & Donna N. Warrington, Kathy Roberts & Aaron Loeb, Diane Sampson, Marian Scheuer Sofaer & Abraham D. Sofaer, Anonymous
PRODUCERS CIRCLE ($1000-$2499)
Kellie Abreu, Erik Blachford, Jessica Forbess, Sandra Hess, Tracy Brown and Greg Holland, Brady Lea & David Gallagher, Rebecca Sloss Martinez, Nitin, Alan Olejniczak & David Bourne , Ms. Carol Louisa Owens, Arthur & Toni Rembe Rock, Anonymous (3)
PLAYWRIGHTS CIRCLE ($500-$999)
Dr. Elaine Baskin, Karen Chakmakian, Paulette Donsavage & Deeje Cooley, Richard Davis – Lowell and Bill Lowell , Ms. Kathryn A Hecht, Janine & Darryl Wilburn, Maury Zeff, Anonymous (2)
PATRON ($250-$499)
Rob Bailis, Sharon Baldwin, Dr. Elaine Baskin & Kenneth R. Krechmer, Tom Bruett, William Cornwell, Victoria Chong Der, Krystyna Finlayson, Michael Fried, Sarah Gasser, Keith Goldstein, Eileen Grady, David, Stephanie, Aiden, and Devan Haines , Ray & Carla Kaliski, Curt Larson, Gwen Loeb & Doyle Ott, Jonathan Luskin & Leslie Katz, Michael Lutz, Cecily T. Martin, David M. Martin, Toni Martin & Michael Darby, Brittany S Mellerson, Lisa Morse and Bruno Kurtic, Michele & Rob Pilgrim, Kathy J Reynolds, Pauline Roothman, Michele and John Ruskin, Rolf Saxon, Mr. Cleavon Smith, Annie Stuart & June Palladino, Jon & Susan Sweedler, Lisa R. Taylor, Janine & Darryl Wilburn, Christian Wilburn, Janine Wilburn, Anonymous (3)
ASSOCIATE MEMBER ($125-$249)
Angel Adedokun, Ann E. & David S., Mr. William Bombria, Christopher Lee Kuckenbaker, Amy Kelly Lauer, Katie May, Kirby Sack and Pamela Merchant, Trynne Miller & David Prince, Sondra Murphy, Ms. Madeline Daly Puccioni, Carol Pugh, Tipu Purkayastha & Poorva Malhotra, Geetha Reddy, Kirk Shimano, Ms. Pamela Wetzell, Jeff Wincek, Barbara Sahm & Steven Winkel, Elizabeth Wright, Anonymous (2)