The Yay - A Bay Area Theatre Podcast

Thomas Robert Simpson is our next guest on the Yay. Mr. Simpson is the artistic director of AfroSolo Theatre Company and a recipient of the Howard Thurman Award, which will be presented to him on Oct 18th at the Church of the Fellowship of All Peoples. We also bring back the cat, Pete Fitzsimmons, a longtime member of AfroSolo. We talk about Mr. Simpson’s upbringing, his work with AfroSolo, his le...

Jake is out for this Yay, but I have three wonderful guests: Dev Cuny, Joyful Raven and Robyn DeGuzman. Robyn has a one woman show, Enough Free – and Dev has their show, Assigned at Birth: My Funeral Part 1, both directed by Joyful Raven and both are at the Marsh. Joyful also has her show, Tactical Frivolity, from Nov 6 to Dec 5. My guests talk about their upbringing, their shows and their future....

Dedrick Weathersby is our next guest on The Yay. Dedrick is an actor, writer and producer – he’s the executive director and founder of Super Bad Theater Company and has written Tutti Frutti: The Musical, which will be performing on November 7th at the Guild Theatre in Sacramento. Jake and I talk about Dedrick’s upbringing, his work in the bay area and where he sees himself in the future. You can l...

We always love to hear love stories, especially from artists who met while doing what they do best. Today’s guests are Amanda Le Nguyen and Daniel Cardenas, who are recently engaged! Dani is a regional actor and Amanda will be the director of Pear Slices next year and recently acted in We Will Rock You at San Jose Stage. We’ll hear about their upbringing, their work in the bay area, their love sto...

Z Space Co-Artistic Directors Joanne Winter and Vanessa Flores Chacko are our next guests for The Yay! Some of the best bay area performances and events (like the TBA Conference last year) have come from Z Space and we’re excited to have these lovely ladies here ;) Joanne and Vanessa talk about their upbringing, how they came to work for Z Space and where their future lies. You can follow Z Space...

John Hutchinson has been on the Yay more times than anyone else (perhaps aside from Jeannie Barroga) – he shared his life story on Episode 57, we celebrated the life of the late Jeff Thompson on Episode 103 and we brought him back on (with Norman Gee) on Episode 211. John Hutchinson, a beloved friend and former member of Eastenders Repertory Company, turns 90 on the 23rd, and Jake and I are at his...

We have two guest today – Dylan Russell and Anthony “Chef” Jefferson. Dylan was the Associate Director at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Anthony is a poet, actor and writer who has worked with the Formerly Incarcerated People’s Performance Project. AJ just finished his one man show, The Bumpy Road Less Traveled, at the Marsh – Dylan directed AJ. Jake and I talk about their background, their work...

Jake and I next welcome Dr. Austin Dean Ashford – Latin Grammy nominated artist and playwright who’s one man show, Rap Monologues, is part of TheatreWorks’ New Works Festival – he next performs on Saturday (Aug 15th) at 8pm. Dr. Ashford has performed at the Kennedy Center and his show, Austin Dean Ashford Live, is on Amazon Prime Video. Jake and I talk about his background, his work in the bay are...

Veteran musical director Diana Lee joins us this Yay. Diana Lee has been featured at the Hotel Nikko, Brava Theatre, the Hillbarn Theatre and many more. Jake and I talk about her upbringing, her career and where she sees herself in the future. You can reach Diana Lee directly via Instagram: @dianamusiclee If you had ever went to a Douglas Morrison Production, you would have seen amazingly built se...

It’s a double Yay, since we did one yesterday. Our guests today are Max Tachis & Roneet Aliza Rahamim, a married couple who are also two talented actors, who have worked with City Lights Theatre, Golden Thread and Los Altos Stage Company, among others. Jake and I talk about their upbring, how they met, what’s it like working together on stage and their future. You can reach Max directly via his In...

Carlos Aguirre is our next guest on The Yay. He is the four and latest member of the rap group Felonious that we’ve interviewed on The Yay. We talk about his upbringing, his involvement in Felonious, his theatre background and where he sees himself in the future. You can reach Carlos directly via Instagram: @emceeinfinite You can listen to his music here: emceeinfinite.bandcamp.com/album/lykyk Jam...

The Yay is back and we have Phoenix Song and Monique Miyake, a couple who are performing their piece, A Thousand Mothers Collecting the Bones: A Theatre and Music Performance of Grief and Praise. This performance is a celebration of the life of their 17 year old son who lost his life to suicide. Jake and I talk with the two about their artistic upbringing, their relationship, and how they came to...

Sarah Jiang is our next guest on The Yay. I had the pleasure of seeing her perform as Augustias in The House of Bernarda Alba. Jake and I talk to this wonderful actress about her upbringing, her work in the bay and where she sees herself in the future. You can contact Sarah directly via Instagram: @thatsarahjiang If you had ever went to a Douglas Morrison Production, you would have seen amazingly...

Our next guest is Lisa Marie Rollins, a freelance director, writer and new play developer. She has been a writing fellow with Hedgebrok, Djerassi, SF Writers Grotto, CALLALOO London, VONA, Just Theatre Play Lab and Joshua Tree Highlands Artist Residency. Her last featured work was Kara, directed by Elizabeth Carter, back in 2023. Jake and I talk about Lisa’s upbringing, her playwrighting work and...

Ray Archie is our next guest on this Wednesday Yay – Ray is the Chief Executive Officer of Music Is My First Language (MiMFL) – it’s an international lifestyle brand and musical collaborative dedicated to inspire positive social change through sustainable music education. Ray is also the Principal Sound Alchemist of Brooklyn Sound Lab. Jake and I talk to Ray about his upbringing, more about MiMFL...

We bring in another member of Felonious to the Yay podcast – Tommy Soulati Shepherd is an actor, rapper and teacher at Oakland School for the Arts. Jake and I talk about Tommy’s upbringing, his work with Felonious, and where he sees himself in the future. You can contact Tommy directly via Instagram: @emceesoulati On the Yay, we often talk about mental and spiritual health, especially for us actor...

Tara Blau Smollen is our next guest on this special Wednesday Yay. Ms. Smollen is an actress, director and playwright - her new play The Gull will be featured by Shotgun Players on June 22, 23 and 24 – this is a special, modernized retelling of Anton Chekov’s classic play. We talk about Tara’s upbringing, her playwrighting career and where she sees herself in the future. You can learn more about T...

We continue with our interviews with the rappers from the Tenacious Group. Our next guest is Keith Pinto, who is currently in CenterRep’s Jagged Little Pill, running now until June 28. Jake and I talk about Keith’s background, his work in bay area theatre and where he sees himself in the future. You can reach Keith directly via his Instagram: @kpfcrew On the Yay, we often talk about mental and spi...

We haven’t had him on since 2017 (Episode 16), but he’s back – veteran playwright Conrad Panganiban comes back on the Yay! Conrad comes back on to talk about his book Welga: A Filipino American Playwright’s Journey – a Collection of Filipino American Plays. We also talk about Conrad’s upbringing, his journey as a playwright in the bay area, and what’s up in his future. You can find out more about...

This is a special Friday Yay, and Jake and I welcome back Pete the Cat! Pete Fitzsimmons, veteran actor who has been in two of my plays (Four Men in Paris, Judicial Process) was last on the Yay in 2018 (Episode 65) and he brings Arleigh Prelow on as a special guest. Ms. Prelow is the writer and director of a new documentary, The Psalm of Howard Thurman. We talk about the documentary, what’s been g...

Ada May is our next guest on The Yay – she’s been the stage manager for SF Playhouse for many years, who also works at Look Talent, a talent agency in SF. Jake and I talk to Ada about her upbringing, how they met, her work in stage managing and where she sees herself in the future. You can reach Ada directly via Instagram: @y.i.ada On the Yay, we often talk about mental and spiritual health, espec...

It’s been over a week but we’re back and our next guest is Dan Wolf, actor and artistic director of Sound In The Silence, a company that teaches history through art. Jake and I talk about Dan’s upbringing, his work in the bay area and where he sees himself in the future. You can contact Dan directly via Instagram: @dannydmic You can learn more about Dan via his webpage: https://www.dan-wolf.com On...

Kenny Scott is our next guest on The Yay – Kenny is a veteran actor, who has acted in various theatre companies in the bay area. Jake and I talk about Kenny’s upbringing, his training at Morgan State University and Laney College, his career in the bay area and where he sees himself in the future. You can reach Kenny directly via Instagram: @kenny_scxtt Kehinde Koyejo (Episodes 214 and 262) has bee...

Jake and I welcome Amy Sass as our next guest. Amy is a playwright, director and visual artist – a gifted painter and puppet maker. She was the artistic director of Ragged Wing Ensemble, from 2004 to 2021. We talk about Amy’s upbringing, her work with Ragged Wing, and her future. You can learn more about Ms. Sass via her website: https://www.amysass.com/about Amy talks about her project that uses...

Veteran actor Kevin Clarke is our next guest on The Yay – he’s an actor and director who has worked with Shotgun Players for many years. He’s directing The Goat or Who Is Sylvia at Shotgun. He’s worked with: Aurora Theatre, Central Works, Crowded Fire, Boxcar Theatre and many others. Kevin also has an extensive dance background. Jake and I talk to Kevin about his diverse background, his career and...