The Yay - A Bay Area Theatre Podcast

Norman is away, so Jake Fong (from Episodes 228 and 235) will take over the co-host seat. Our guests are playwrights Jonathan Spector and Ipsheeta Furtado (co-creator of NFX Theater, a new theatre company that Mike Tuton – also co-creator of NFX (Episode 271) talked about when he was on our show. They both talk about their start in theatre, what’s next with NFX Theatre and what their future looks...

Our next guest is Ely Sonny Orquiza, who was last on in January 2020 (Episode 139) – since then, he’s become Magic Theatre’s Director of Education, created the Chikahan Company, created the Living Document, placing a spotlight to companies that has issues with diversity in casting and storytelling. To say that Ely has made an impact on Bay Area theatre is an understatement – he’s made a name for h...

Happy 2024 to everyone and thanks for listening once again! This will be year eight of The Yay and our first guest of this year is a gifted young actor, Gary Moore. Gary is a bay area actor and an illustrator that owns his own printing company, Chasing Greatness Prints. Gary worked with Norman and I on the Baldwin Project, where he read as James Baldwin, when we did our presentation at Playground...

This is our end of the year Yay and Norman and I are so grateful for all of the support from our listeners and those who have contributed to our podcast. For our end of the year episode, we have Gary Graves, who was last on in Episode 24 (on the podcast I said it was Ep 23 - my mistake) in July 2017 – he is the artistic director for Central Works and is, of course, our sponsor. We talk about the e...

Reg Wilkins is a veteran actor of the stage, commercials and film, who has been in the bay area for many years, and is a long time collaborator with Lower Bottom Playaz. I had the pleasure of stage managing him when played Old Joe in Radio Golf this summer. Norman and I have Reg as our next guest and Reg shares his upbringing, how he got into acting and where he sees himself in the future. Reg can...

Cris Cassell is our next guest on The Yay – she is a director that has worked with many companies in the bay area. I last worked with her for the Texas Chainsaw Musical, done for the Fringe Festival in 2009. Cris talks about what led her to theater, what’s she’s been doing now and what her future projects will be. Cris can be reached directly via Facebook and via LinkedIn. We also want to thank Ch...

Norman and I welcome a great bay area actor, Adam KuveNiemann, who was last seen in New Conservatory Theatre Center’s Before The Sword, a wonderful show that reminded me a great deal of the Dead Poet’s Society. Adam is now in ACT’s A Christmas Carol and we’re happy he took time to be with us. Adam talks about his upbringing, his connection to theatre, and where he sees himself in the future. We al...

Luchan Baker is our next guest. I had the pleasure of directing this disciplined actor when Lower Bottom Playaz in Radio Golf – Luchan is meticulous, always ready for work, and really breathed life in the character Sterling, the blue collar classmate of the upper class Harmond. Norman and I talk to Luchan, finding about his upbringing, his views on theatre and where he sees himself in the future....

Norman and I next host Cory Bytof, the musical composer of Texas Chainsaw Musical (co-written with Christopher Minori), which has seen many productions: The Blank Canvas Theatre in Cleveland; the Barnstormers Theatre in New Hampshire; and it was featured at the San Francisco Fringe Festival, way back in 2009 (which I stage managed). Cory talks about his upbringing in Wisconsin, his music tastes, w...

Our next guest is Michael Tuton, one of the four fantastic actors in The Engine of Our Disruptions, the play currently playing at Central Works. Mike does an amazing job as X-topher, the CEO and prime mover of the fictional company Bubbles. Mike is also a main fixture at Playground SF, where his plays have been prominently featured. Mike talks about his upbringing, his forays in advertising, how h...

Norman and I had the great pleasure of going to Central Works last night to see an exhilarating play, The Engine of our Disruption, a wicked comedy that focuses on the dangers and the callousness of software technology in our lives. And our guest, Patricia Milton, is the playwright. Ms. Milton is the resident playwright at Central Works, where her past three plays (The Victorian Ladies’ Detective...

The Musical Café has come to the Yay! If you remember, we had Jamie Greenblatt and Richard Jennings on for Episode 173 back in November of 2020. Richard Jennings is back, Greg Beattie (writer of The Very Last One and Only Highly Endangered Mountain Lion in Pennsylvania) and Ray Christensen (writer of Legend of the Werewolf), who are very excited about their featured musicals. The other two musical...

Norman Gee is back and Radhika Rao is back for the third time on the Yay (check out Episodes 21, 131) – as we welcome guest Tina D’Elia, who is just finishing up her one woman show Overlooked Latinas, which played at Theatre Rhinoceros and closed October 1st. Tina D’Elia is an actor, writer, a performance coach, voice over talent, a casting director and a co-screenwriter. Among other accomplishmen...

It's always wonderful to have the beautiful and talented Katherine Park on the Yay – if you missed her, she was on Episodes 246 and 250 – as our guest host and our guest is Dani Spinks and Joe Waterman. Dani is a master of gore makeup - check out her page www.aGOREabledesigns.com. Dani and Joe are the new co-owners of Eclectic Box SF, which will take the place of StageWerx at 446 Valencia Street i...

The Yay welcomes back Adrian Deane, who was on Episode 82, five years ago. Since then, she’s lived overseas and has just gotten off stage, performing the title role of Anna Christie, the Pulitzer Prize winning play by Eugene O’Neill. Anna Christie is a play written in 1921, but the play has so many issues that are relevant today: the judgement society has on women, women’s independence and a re-ex...

Norman and I host two very talented ladies: Jessica Mele, who has a one-woman show called Eat the Mama, at Z Space this weekend only – Sept 14-17, and her director, May Liang, who is also a resident artist at Crowded Fire. We talk about the show, what motivated Jessica to write it, the careers of both ladies and where they see themselves in the future. You can learn more about Eat The Mama via thi...

Our next guest is the incredibly talented Aaron Henne, the artistic director of Theatre Dybbuk, a Jewish based theatre company in Los Angeles, who will be performing at the Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto (performing the Merchant of Venice) today at 6:30pm; the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco (also performing the Merchant of Venice, and exploring the subject: The Villany You Teach) tomo...

The Yay is back, and Norman is back! A couple of weeks removed from his Much Ado About Nothing and my doing Radio Golf, we’re back in the saddle ;) And we have a great guest – Joseph Leonardi, a veteran actor whom I worked with when we were a part of Eastenders Repertory Theatre, where I last saw him on stage in Melissa James Gibson’s [sic]. Joe talks about what it was like doing theatre in the 90...

The Yay is back but Norman is busy with Much Ado About Nothing and we hope to see him in August. Our guest is Kulwa Apara, who has a one woman show going up at Theatre Brava called Brain Like Berkeley. She’s being directed by our guest host, the wonderful Kehinde Koyejo – you’ll remember her from Episode 214. We talk about Brain Like Berkely, what prompted Kulwa to write it – we’ll also catch up w...

Norman is busy rehearsing for Much Ado About Nothing, so we have Neil Harkins (who was on Episode 222) as our guest host. Our guest today is Marty Pistone, the director and board member of Sixth Street Playhouse. I worked with Marty when he was a consultant for Off Broadway West, and their production of Hedda Gabler, back in 2010. We talk about Marty’s upbringing in Chicago, his views on the state...

Norman is currently in southern California, attending the memorial of his step father – in his place is our consulting producer, Mallory Somera and our very special guest is San Francisco Chronicle theatre reporter Lily Janiak. It’s a thrill to have her on and Lily shares with us her role as a theatre critic, what has inspired her to be a writer and a glimpse of her background. Lily Janiak can be...

Norman is still in France, touring with Word for Word’s production of Home – my guest host today is Danny Hall, who was last on the Yay on Feb 1, 2020 (Episode 143). Our guest is Elijah Collins, an expert in visual – Dan, Elijah and I worked on Tasha, a one woman show that ran earlier this year. We’ll talk about incorporating video and visual arts to live theatre, Elijah’s upbringing and what thea...

Norman is on his way to France, touring with Word for Word’s production of Home – so my guest host is Eric Johnson (Episode 252) and our wonderful guest is Heather Atles, an incredible actress, whom I had the pleasure of stage managing when we did The Marriage of Bette & Boo, back in 2001. Heather has also been busy doing singing telegrams and was an instrumental part of the Tilted Frame Network,...

Norman and I are thrilled to have Dr. Ayodele Nzinga as our next guest for The Yay. Dr. Nzinga is an actress, director, playwright, poet, educator and community advocate. She is the director of the Lower Bottom Playaz, Inc., Oakland's oldest North American African Theater Company and founder of Lower Bottom Playaz Summer Theater Day Camp. She was the director of 3Girls Theatre’s Tasha. We talk abo...

Norman and I welcome Fred Pitts as our next guest as The Yay enters our 7th year! Fred has been a part of many bay area companies like the African American Shakespeare Company, Palo Alto Players, the Pear Theatre, Custom Made Theatre and now has his one man show, Aren’t You.. at the Marsh. Fred talks about his upbringing, his approach to theatre, his take on the state of bay area theatre today and...