The Yay - A Bay Area Theatre Podcast

NOTE: On this podcast, we talk a great deal (from the 15 to the 30 minute mark) on the very serious subject of suicides. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741. Anyone who has spent any amount of time in the bay area theatre scene knows our next guest, Dorian Lockett – he has graced so...

Jerome Joseph Gentes is a very special guest. He was the first person to be interviewed on The Yay (Episode 8) way back in May of 2017, when The Yay really needed content and way to share what’s going on in the Bay Area. Five years later, we’re still here, and Jerome was a big part of it. Back then, he was the executive director of Play Café / Musical Café. Now, he is in Palm Springs with his husb...

Jake Fong is our next guest on the Yay – he’s a vibrant young actor who played James Baldwin in The Baldwin Centennial Project. Jake talks about his work in bay area theatre, his training and upbringing and where he sees himself in the future. You can follow Jacob on Facebook and Instagram (@jking510) SHOWS: Sonia Sawkar’s (Episode 204)film Cray wil have its first premier in Los Angeles at XRM Med...

If you remember our conversation back in December of 2018, we had Kieran Beccia on (Episode 88), where they talked about directing Sarafael, a gripping story of a date rape and the complicity of the audience and journalists who report on them. Our guest is the author of the piece, Julius Rea, the artistic director and founder of The Forum Collective and a brilliant playwright. Julius talks about h...

Evan Held, our next guest, is an incredibly talented actor who has been a part of the Baldwin Project, playing David in one scene that explores Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room. Evan talks about his work in bay area theatre, his training and upbringing and where he sees himself in the future. SHOWS: Strings Attached (Cinema 3.0) Streaming now on Vimeo and Amazon Radhika Rao (Episode 21 and 131) is in the...

We had Eiko Yamamoto (Episode 120) on back in July of 2019. She was doing Hello Dolly and Eureka Day. Since then, she’s done Working, The Book of Will, Twelfth Night and has worked with a variety of companies, including SF Playhouse, Silicon Valley Shakes, African American Shakes, The Pear Theatre, PianoFight and many, many more. Eiko will be in Steel Magnolias at the Sierra Repertory Theatre. We’...

Peter Abraham is a veteran actor, someone I had the pleasure of working with when we were in Hedda Gabler, way back in 2010. Peter talks about his involvement with the now defunct Off-Broadway West, his theatre background and what he’s doing today. SHOWS: The Baldwin Project (Oakland Public Theatre) February 26 – Bayfront Theatre, Fort Mason in San Francisco – 6pm Reg Clay, Shay Angelo Acevedo (Ep...

Kim Donovan is no stranger to the Yay and no stranger to Bay Area Theatre – she has graced so many stages, has been in Dirty Butterfly, Stage Kiss, All The Way and of course Four Men In Paris. She is now in rehearsals for DOT, the play produced by the New Conservatory Theatre. Kim is now branching out in new venues, creating KSD Casting and is a casting director and a voice over coach. She’s still...

Neil Harkins is our next guest on The Yay. Neil is a budding playwright that will be contributing to the Baldwin Project and, like me, attended the Berkeley Rep playwrighting class, taught by Gary Graves. Neil also been working with the Playwright’s Center for San Francisco and their BIPOC Play Showcase. To find out more about the BIPOC Showcase and to submit your play, click here: http://www.play...

Acclaimed playwright Jeannie Barroga returns to us for the third time! Stanford University has honored her by having her collection of plays in their library; she received a National Endowment for the Arts award for “Walls” and her book, Turn Right At The Water Buffalo is on Regent Press’s Best Seller’s List. Jeannie joins Norman and I on Zoom where she’ll talk about the book, the current state of...

Rebel Maria (Golda Sargento) has been a long friend of mine since 2011, when we both acted in Bindlestiff’s Stories High XII. Rebel is an actress, a rock singer and a mother of two kids who are just as talented as their mom. Rebel will be a featured actress in the staged reading My H8 Letter To The Gr8 American Theatre, at Shotgun Players from Feb 17-20th. We’ll talk about how art drives her and h...

Our next guest, Mikah Kavita, is an actress who worked with Kim Donovan in Dirty Butterfly, an Anton’s Well production. She is also affiliated with the B8 Theatre Company. We talk about how’s she’s coping with COVID-19, her upbringing, how she got into theatre and where she sees herself in the future. You can follow Mikah on Twitter and Instagram: @mikahkavita You can also follow Mikah directly vi...

The Yay is back for 2022! We bring back Robert Estes, the founder of Anton’s Well, a local bay area company that is known for delivering rich, creative and challenging theatre pieces like Dirty Butterfly, The Human Ear and 4.48 Psychosis, featuring some of our favorite actors like Kim Donovan (Episode 80) and Crystal Brown (Episode 62). We talk about how COVID-19 and the Omicron variant has disrup...

For our (possibly) last Yay episode of 2021, we have a special treat. We welcome Julian Lopez-Morillas – not just a veteran actor that has graced the stages of the ACT, Berkeley Rep, the San Diego Rep, Theatreworks, the Magic Theatre and the Traveling Jewish Theatre among others, – he is also a living repository of Shakespearian history, having taught at Solano College, San Diego State, Foothill C...

Curtis Manning (aka CJ Strickland) is a budding actor who won last year’s Plethos Fammy Awards for best actor for his portrayal of James Baldwin in my play Four Men in Paris, back in 2018. Curtis was recently cast to perform in A Chorus Line at the Pinole Community Theatre. We talk about how Curtis got into acting, his experience at Chabot College, his role as James Baldwin (and the parallels betw...

Our next guest is Lana Palmer, a playwright and filmmaker. Her works has been featured at Bread & Butter Theatre, Dragon Theatre and the Potrero Stage, where her first full length play, Funeral Game, was featured. I had the pleasure of being a part of the Playwright’s Center of San Francisco’s showcase, where Lana’s one act play, The Cosmic Void, was featured. Lana is also a gifted composer, with...

Kehinde Koyejo is an actress, a mother, artist and healer – she runs Kalm Korner, an aroma-therapy gift line, designed specifically for women of African descent. Kehinde is a collective member of The Goddess Commune (https://www.thegoddesscommune.org)– the Commune works to restore balance to the emotional, spiritual and physical aspects in the lives of Black Women and Women of color. Kehinde and I...

With the tragedy of the shooting of Halyna Hutchins at the "Rust" set, the need to talk about safety on the set and on the stage is all the more important. What better person to address the issue than our next guest. Sydney Schwindt is the founder/artist at True Edge Art – she’s an actress and a fight coordinator who also teaches at the ACT, and she is our next guest. Sydney talks about the need f...

Raymond Rea is our next guest – he and I were involved in the production of Water Buffalo, the last production of BayStage and he created Density over Duration, where he produced The Marriage of Bette & Boo – he’s also written the autobiographical play The Sweet New, performed at Exit Stage Left. Ray is now the professor of film at Minnesota State University. Ray has a new film out – Put The Brigh...

The Hutch is back! John Hutchinson, who was on Episode 57 and 103, is a returning guest and is meeting Norman Gee for the first time. Hutch was a longtime member of Eastenders Repertory Company, a member of the men’s singing group Stagebridge and just celebrated his 85th birthday. In this show, we get mostly into current events, especially the Chappelle show and the focus on being culturally appro...

Patricia Silver is an actress who was last in a Word for Word show: The Blues I’m Playing, by Langston Hughes. It was featured on KALW’s Open Air Program - check out their webpage here: https://www.kalw.org/show/open-air Patty talks about her life in Boston, her short stint in Dallas in the late 50's, her work with the SF Mime Troupe and what she's doing these days. You can reach Patty directly vi...

Michael Vega is currently in Hollywood and has been in movies as Cash Money, Mary and Strapped, but he has his rich theatre history here in the bay area and I’ve had the pleasure of working with him when Eastenders partnered with Theatre Rhino in 2008 for 100 Years of Queer Theatre. Michael talks about how he experienced September 11th, 2001 while in New York, his time in the bay, what he’s doing...

Tammy Berlin is a member of Central Works, our sponsor – she is an actress and a costume designer and she is our guest for this Wednesday afternoon. We talk about how Central Works is handling yet another season under COVID, Tammy’s background and where she sees herself in the future. You can find Tammy on Instagram: @berlindesigns DON'T FORGET TO ORDER YAY JERSEYS!! $20.00 Send me (Twitter or IG:...

Lauren Garcia is a young and vibrant actress, writer and director who is a member of the Chikahan Company, the new Filipino Theater Company – Alan Quismorio (Episode 201) and Eli Sonny Orquiza (Episode 139) are also members. I had the pleasure of working with Laura on the Bindlestiff stage and at ACT. Laura talks about her upbringing, how she got involved in theatre, and where she sees herself in...

William Bivins is our next guest on the Yay. Bill is the creator of Apocrypha Media and its podcast, Pulp Scripture – a unique way to listen to verses of the bible with an audio drama twist. Norman and I talk to Bill to find out his motivation on creating Pulp Scripture, his upbringing and where he sees himself in the future. Apocrypha Media’s website is here: https://www.apocryphamedia.com/listen...