The Yay - A Bay Area Theatre Podcast

Our next guest on the Yay is composer/pianist Erika Oba – she has worked as a Musical Director for Berkeley Playhouse and Shotgun Players. Ms. Oba has been featured at the Oaktown Jazz Workshop and is a teacher at UC Berkeley’s Music Department. She also heads up The Erika Oba Trio, the Rice Kings and the Sl(e)ight Ensemble. We talk about Erika’s upbringing, her career in music and where she sees...

Lisa Burton Guevara is our next guest on The Yay. Lisa is a talented actress who was last seen in Berkeley Shakes’ Julius Caesar. She has also been in Half Moon Bay’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the Merry Wives of Winsor and SF Playhouse’s The Glass Menagerie. We talk about Lisa’s upbringing, her career in bay area theatre and where she sees herself in the future. Lisa can be reached directly via I...

I know it’s been a while but we’re back! Jake and I welcome Jomar Tagatac, a gifted actor who has graced the stages of ACT, Playground, Berkeley Rep and the New Conservatory Theatre Center. Jake and I catch up on what’s happened this past month, while Jomar shares with us his upbringing, his journey in theatre and where he sees himself in the future. Jomar can be reached directly via Instagram: @j...

Phil Wong is our next guest on The Yay – The rare triple threat of actor, singer and comedian, I last saw him in SF Playhouse’s Into The Woods. He’s worked with TheatreWorks, CalShakes, A Contemporary Theatre and the Berkeley Rep, among others. He was a guest artist in the Tony Award winning Freestyle Love Supreme. He’s also an amazing cook! Jake and I talk about Phil’s upbringing, his amazing mul...

We are blessed to have Tony Award-winning director Pam MacKinnon, the woman who has been artistic director at ACT since 2018. This will be her last season at ACT. Jake and I will talk about Pam’s amazing legacy, her views on what’s happening with bay area theatre today and where she sees herself in the future. You can learn more about Ms. MacKinnon via her Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/...

Jake and I next welcome Richard Silberg, a voice actor and teacher that specializes in teaching English through storytelling. He has worked in Cambodia, Uzbekistan and Timor-Leste. We’ll talk about his upbringing, his work overseas, the power of storytelling and his future. You can learn more about Richard via his website: https://www.richardsilberg.com Alexis Green (Episode 330) has a wonderful p...

Teri Whipple is our next guest on The Yay – she’s an actress and a life coach. Teri has worked with SF Playhouse, among many other bay area theatre companies. We talk about her upbringing, her work in bay area theatre and where she sees herself in the future. Teri can be contacted directly via Instagram: @teriwhipp and @coachingwithteri Alexis Green (Episode 330) has a wonderful product that will...

It’s 2026 – hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and wishing everyone have a great year. Our first guest for 2026 is Liam Kirk, a stage manager at the New Conservatory Theatre Company – he last stage managed We Are Continuous, back in November. We talk about his upbringing, the ins and outs of stage managing and where he sees himself in the future. Liam can be contacted directly via Instag...

Our last guest for the Yay is Jay Bordon – actor and lawyer. Jay was last seen on stage with Bindlestiff’s Queer as Fuck VI in October. We talk about their upbringing, what theatre means to them and where they see themselves in the future. Jay can be contacted directly via Instagram: @thejaybordon Alexis Green (Episode 330) has a wonderful product that will improve your mental and spiritual health...

Our next guest is Stan Stone, actor and writer – he’s performed with Oui Be Negroes, a black improv/sketch group, and he’s a founding member of Justifiable Dramacide and Out The Box. He currently works with film company Barewitness. Jake and I talk about Stan’s upbringing in Philadelphia, how he came to the bay in 1985, what he’s doing now and where he sees himself in the future. You can learn mor...

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday ;) We have two guests on The Yay: James Carpenter and Luisa Sermol. James and Luisa Sermol are with the Actor’s Reading Collective and they just finished their production of Mary Jane (closed Nov 30). We talk about ARC, James and Luisa’s upbring and their plans for the future. You can learn more about the Actor’s Reading Collective via their we...

Jake and I welcome actress and singer/songwriter Brittney Mignano, artistic director and creator of Goodfellow Theatre company. We talk about Brittney’s upbringing, her career in the bay area and where she sees herself in the future. You can listen to her music on the BuffaloToadMusic Instagram Channel. You can contact Brittney directly via Instagram: @missbrittybritt Kehinde Koyejo (Episodes 214...

Taylor Gonzalez, our next guest at The Yay, is the sound engineer at the SF Mime Troupe – he is the former sound engineer at the Berkeley Playhouse. Jake and I will talk about Taylor’s upbringing, his education and where he sees himself in the future. You can contact Taylor directly via Instagram: @tgonz510 Alexis Green (Episode 330) has a wonderful product that will improve your mental and spirit...

Anyone who has been a part of the bay area theatre community in the last 20 years knows Jeffrey Lo – veteran playwright and director, who has worked with San Jose Stage, TheatreWorks, SF Playhouse and so many more companies. We had him on back in June of 2020 during the COVID pandemic, and we bring him back on, where he talks about A Driving Beat, a show he’s directing at TheatreWorks. You can fin...

Chris Smith, our next guest, has a wonderful show – Mine for the Tribe – that’s been showcased at Playground SF as well as other venues. I had the pleasure of seeing it and I had to have Chris on the show. Jake and I talk about Chris’ upbringing, what compelled him to tell such a powerful story and where he sees himself in the future. You can follow Chris and his future projects on via Instagram:...

Our next guest, Adam Torrian, is a bay area actor who has worked with Jake in combat and weapons training. We talk about Adam’s upbring, his work in the bay area and where he sees himself in the future. Adam can be reached directly via Instagram: @adamtorrian Alexis Green (Episode 330) has a wonderful product that will improve your mental and spiritual health. It’s the Clarity Journal – it’s a jou...

It's been a while but we’re back and our next guest is Vivienne Truong, a local actress who studied at San Jose State, where she also studied Psychology as well as theatre. Jake and I talk about her upbring, her career in the bay area and where she sees herself in the future. Vivienne can be contacted directly via Instagram: @viviennasausage Alexis Green (Episode 330) has a wonderful product that...

Jake and I bring on Light/Set designer Colin Johnson as a guest on The Yay. I’ve worked with Colin when we both worked on Life x 3, back in 2014. Colin has since been working mostly with Theatre Rhino and last worked on John Fisher’s one act play The Doodler. We talk about Colin’s upbringing, his life in tech, and what’s next for him. The Yay is in partnership with Theatre Bay Area, as it brings b...

We have another unusual Yay podcast, on a Tuesday! Jake and I welcome Dean Linnard, who is playing Hamlet at the Oakland Theatre Project – it’s been getting massive reviews on the SF Chronicle (https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/oakland-theater-project-hamlet-review-20805880.php), the Marin Independent Journal (https://www.marinij.com/2025/08/27/ambitious-production-of-hamlet-coming...

We have a rare Sunday Yay – Jake and I welcome bay area actress, drama therapist and DJ Champagne Hughes. Champagne was in Les Blancs at the Oakland Theatre Project (along with Jeunee Simon – Episode 297, and Brittany Sims, Episode 328) earlier this year. Champagne has her MA in Psychology. Champagne talks about her upbringing in Hayward, her DJ’ing, her acting in the bay area and where she sees h...

Surprise, surprise – we have a 2nd Yay today! Jake and I bring on Lo Ordesta, the co-producer of Stories High XXV, which premiers on September 12 and will go on until the 20th. Lo, the partner of Joe Cascasan (Episode 196), is promoting Stories High XXV – we’ll talk about the legacy of Stories High, Lo’s upbring and her theatre journey. You can reach Lo directly via her Instagram: @lo_fo_sho The Y...

Jonathan Amores is our next guest on The Yay. Jonathan last worked with Jake on Cyrano last year. We talk about Jonathan’s upbringing, John’s bay area acting career, and where he sees himself in the future. Jonathan can be reached directly via Instagram: @jofum The Yay is in partnership with Theatre Bay Area, as it brings back the wildly popular Bay Area Theatre Week, a 10-day celebration, from Se...

Jake and I welcome Julliard graduate and bay area actress Gabriella (Gavi) Goldstein, who was last seen as Queen Elizabeth in Silicon Valley Shakes’ Richard III. Gavi has also been on television (So Nova, Canapes and Bury ‘Em Deep). We talk about her upbringing, her education, her views on acting on stage vs on the small screen, and where she sees herself in the future. You can learn more about Ga...

Maria Marquis is our next guest on The Yay – Maria is a local actress who has worked with the Palo Alto Players, Cutting Ball, the Custom Made Theatre Company and City Lights Theatre. Jake and I ask about Maria’s upbringing, how the theatre bug bit her and how bay area theatre life is treating her. Maria can be found on Instagram: @soundslikemarquis Alexis Green (Episode 330) has a wonderful produ...

Our next guest, Alexis Green, is a former actress who has performed at the Darkroom and has been a member of the former group KT Comedy (also known as Kamikazi Theory) – she has now transitioned into focusing on mental and spiritual health, and she’s created a business called Clarity Journal. Jake and I talk about Alexis’ life in theatre, her focus on mental health and where she sees herself in th...