The Yay - A Bay Area Theatre Podcast

Natasha Adorlee is our next guest on The Yay – she is an actress and choreographer who recently won the Grand Prize at the Palm Desert Choreography Festival. Jake and I ask Natasha about her background, working with actors in choreography and where she sees herself in the future. Natasha can be contacted directly via Instagram and Threads: @natashaadorlee Jameelah Rose has her own business selling...

I had the pleasure of watching an amazing production of The Engine of Our Disruption, done a year ago at Central Works. Pat Milton, the playwright (Episode 270) is our guest host and the star of that production is our next guest, Chelsea Bearce. Chelsea and Pat has collaborated several other times and Chelsea just did a stint at the Flash Comedy Show last night in Hayward. Chelsea talks about acti...

Sinjin Jones, the former artistic director of the Pear Theatre, is our next guest on The Yay. I had the pleasure of working with Sinjin while I acted in Pear Slices two years ago. Sinjin shares with Jake and I his background, how the Pear is doing, why he stepped down as the artistic director and what his plans for the future are. Sinjin can be reached directly via Instagram: @sinjinjones You can...

Our next guest is David Maier, fight coordinator who has last worked with the Marin Theatre and their show Yaga. Jake and I interview David as he talks about the world of combat on stage, his upbringing and where he sees himself in the future. You can reach out to Dave directly via Instagram: @duelingartsdave Jameelah Rose has her own business selling healthy drinks - MelanA☥D is a black owned bus...

We’re back – and we have a special announcement. Jake Fong is the new permanent co-host of the Yay! Jake has been a guest and a guest host for many episodes and, as Norman redirects his focus on family and future projects, Jake has the permanent 2nd chair. And our guest for episode 300 is Miranda Liu, an actress who is now in the Loose Knit, a show that just had its opening last week at the Masque...

Ciera Eis is our next guest on The Yay – she’s the director of Pickpocket, a new musical written by Sandy Kasten and Billy Wolfe, produced by Musical Café. The staged reading will be on November 3rd and 4th at 7pm. Jake and I will talk about Ciera’s venture into theatre, her work with Musical Café and where she sees herself in the future. You can reach out to Ciera directly via Instagram: @eis_to_...

Jeannie Barroga has been on The Yay more times than any other guest - Episodes 18, 32, 221, 243 (with Raisa Donato) and 279 (with Ely Sonny Orquiza). There's a reason why: we love her so much. Talented writer whom Stanford has honored by having a section of their library dedicated to her, for her work on uplifting Filipino theatre - both in the bay area and throughout the United States. She and he...

I’ve been dying to get this incredible actress in our chair for a while now and she’s finally here! Equity actress Jeunee Simon is our next guest – she finished up playing Richard II at the Magic Theatre. Jeunee talks about her experiences in the bay area theatre scene, her education and background and where she sees herself in the future. You can learn more about Jeunee via her website: https://w...

We had Cary Ann Rosko (Episode 77) back in August of 2018 – six years later, we bring her back on! Cary is rehearsing for The Thanksgiving Play, which will open at the Altarena on October 25 through Nov 24th, directed by the venerable Kimberly Ridgeway. You can learn more from Cary Ann Rosko via her website: https://www.caryannrosko.com Bridgette Dutta Portman (Episodes 75 & 136)’s play, Coffee La...

Bridgette Dutta Portman (Episodes 75 & 236), now a faculty member of UC Berkeley and a member of the Pear’s Board join The Yay once again as a guest host, and we welcome Brian Freeman, a veteran actor who has decades of experience as an actor in the bay area. Brian and I was part of the development of the Baldwin Project and he goes back to the days of Thick Description, a theatre group that resid...

It's been a while but the Yay is back and Norman and I are happy to welcome Bruce Kaplan on as our next guest. Bruce is a veteran actor who shared the stage with me back in 2013 when we did 110 In The Shade. Bruce is currently in The Imaginary Invalid, which opens tonight at the John Hinkel Park Ampitheatre tonight. Bruce and I talk about his upbringing, our reflections on working at the DMT, the...

Episode 293a Live at Camp Monologa (Better Quality) by The Yay - A Bay Area Theatre Podcast

Norman and I just finished recording our first live podcast - at the beautiful Camp Monologa in Castro Valley! We hosted a panel of directors, to talk about "How to Nail Your Next Acting Gig", with guests Wynne Chan, John Maio, Kimberly Ridgeway and Salim Rizawi. Wynne Chan has worked all over the bay area, most recently with The Pear Theatre, directing The Chinese Lady this past spring; John Maio...

Actor. Playwright. Activist. Griot. He is all of these things and Norman and I are happy to have him on as our next guest. He is Biko Eisen-Martin, the bay area playwright of Pac & Biggie Are Dead, currently playing at the BAM House by the Lower Bottom Playaz until June 30. We talk about Biko's writings, the need to create theatre that pushes knowledge and challenges the audience, the enlightenmen...

Norman and I are back and we have a treasured guest, Richard Talavera – talented playwright and veteran actor in the bay area. We had Richard on back in December of 2017 and a lot has changed in the last seven years since. We catch up with him to see what he’s doing, the state of political theatre in the bay area and Richard’s foray into teaching improvisation and the sociology of improv. Richard...

We’ve been delayed with projects, but we’re back and we have two fantastic guests: Spence Stevens and Gyselle Garcia, two great actors who will be in the Lower Bottom Playaz’ new show Pac & Biggie Are Dead – the show opens June 6th. Spence is a bay area beat maker – you can buy his beats here: linktr.ee/bosslifebigspence. Gyselle is a talented actress originally from Maryland. Both of them share t...

It's been a while but Norman and I are back and we have Jake Fong – Jake has been on Episodes 228, 235 and 287 – I always love having Jake on as a guest host. Jake is currently understudying for the Glass Menagerie, now playing at SF Playhouse. Now he comes with his lovely wife and actress Jessica Fong, who just finished doing Sol, the Musical. Jessica shares her origin story, what theatre means t...

Norman is back and we have a dear friend of mine, Linda Huang, on the Yay! Linda is a light board operator and all around tech person – she and I worked many shows for Off-Broadway West – Master Harold & The Boys, Life x 3 and The Birthday Party. She has always been someone I could rely on as a stage manager. Linda tells us what she’s doing these days, what she enjoyed working tech and how she got...

Norman is away this weekend, so Jake Fong has jumped back in the co-host’s chair. We have two special guests – married couple Michaela Hlinkova and Rama Mahesh Hall – both of whom are professional dancers in the bay area. Rama is a member of the Embodiment Project, a company that seeks to bring depth, narrative, beauty and fierce dedication to movement building work. Michaela is a member of See Th...

Norman and I are back to open up year 8 of The Yay and we bring back Torange Yeghiazarian, Fulbright Specialist, playwright and founder of Golden Thread. We had Torange on last in Sept of 2020 (Episode 167) and we welcome her back, as she promotes her latest play, The Tutor, now playing at the New Conservatory Theatre. We talk about the play, where Golden Thread is these days and her views on what...

Zoe Chien is our next guest on The Yay. I had the pleasure of working with Zoe, working on Cat Brooks’ Tasha, the one woman show about the tragic death of Natasha McKenna – it played at Z Below in 2023. Zoe is the Associate Director of 3 Girls Theatre, a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and is a Playground Producing Fellow. Today, we talk about Zoe’s upbringing, her delving into both act...

Norman and I welcome back to The Yay an old friend, Scott Munson. Scott was on Episodes 13 and 53. The son of a Hollywood B movie actor, Scott received his education at UCLA. the W.B. Yeats School in Sligo, Ireland, and Harvard University. Scott and I were long time members of Eastenders Repertory Company and our last project was the Brecht Project, taking Brecht’s work and adapting it to the even...

Playwright, actress, politician, activist – Cat Brooks has made a huge impact in the Oakland community and we’re pleased to have her as our next guest. I had the pleasure of stage managing her one woman show Tasha that played last year at Z Below, and now Bottled Spirits, a film written by her, directed by Elizabeth Carter and starring Margo Hall, will be showing at the New Parkway Theatre (474 24...

It's a full house for today’s Yay! Jake Arky, his wife, Sam DiSalvo and Justin Hudnall are part of the So Say We All: Vamp Nonfiction Showcase, which was featured at the SF Sketchfest Thursday night. We’ll learn about So Say We All, what brought the group together, and their future plans. You can learn more about the group So Say We All at their website: https://www.sosayweallonline.com We also wa...

It's always good to have Norman Gee back in his old seat – and our next guest is Brennan Pickman-Thoon, an actor, who is a fellow alumni of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Brennan has worked with ACT, the Berkeley Rep, Marin Theatre, Cal Shakes and Word for Word (where Norman knows him from). We’ll talk about Brennan’s journey into theatre, what’s he’s up to now and where he’ll be going in the fut...