The Yay - A Bay Area Theatre Podcast

Madeline Puccioni has been a stalwart at the Playwright’s Center of San Francisco for years and you may also know her and her work at SF Playground. She’s a playwright and her new play, Piercings, has been published by Next Stage Press! Norman and I talk to Madeline to learn about her upbringing and to get her take on how things are going in the bay area theatre community and where she’s heading i...

A warning: this episodes talk about suicide and postpartum depression. Please do not listen if you are easily triggered by these subjects. We handle the subject with as much care and sensitivity as we feel is proper and necessary. If you're having issues of depression or suicide, you can find many resources here: https://www.mentalhelp.net/depression/hotline/ Sonia Sawkar is a budding bay area pla...

Happy pre-Independence Day! Brennah Kemmerly is a rising talent in the bay area – an excellent actress and singer I had the pleasure to work with on my mini musical Nia (Musical Café). Brennah is in a new musical, Circus: Knives, Blood and Water(Cabrillo Stage). Brennah tells Norman and I about Circus, how she got into theatre and where she sees herself in the future. Circus opens July 9 for five...

Norman and I welcome Sean Owens, the head writer of Pride Inside, the sketch comedy show streaming from June 25 until the 27th. Sean talks about working with Killing My Lobster, the company that is in it’s 24th year of providing original sketch comedy, his studies at SF State and learning from the great Bill Peters (and his teaching about “the moment between the lines”), Sean’s upbringing and wher...

Norman and I welcome Alan Quismorio, former chair of GAPA – the Gay Asian Pacific Alliance social welfare organization, a former longtime artistic director at Bindlestiff Studios – he’s an actor and a director – he directed me for 2011’s Stories High. Norman, Alan and I talk about Alan’s upbringing in the Philippines, how he came to the bay, his thoughts on theatre and where he sees himself in the...

Two Hundred Episodes! Wow! Norman and I never thought this humble little podcast would last for four years and over a hundred and fifty diverse guests that span the complete spectrum of the bay area theatre world. But here we are, and our consulting producer Mallory Somera hosts this special podcast episode. We talk about the origins of the Yay, what the podcast means to us, some clips of past epi...

Denmo Ibrahim, our next guest, is a prolific playwright, who is connected with the Berkeley Rep, the ACT, Crowded Fire and the Marin Theatre Company who just produced her latest play Brilliant Mind. Her play, Judith – an adaptation of the Jewish Wife – was part of the Brecht Project late last year. We talk about her current projects, her upbringing, her training and where she sees herself in the f...

Our next guest is Christian Wilburn. Chris has a play that was selected as part of Best of Playground. Chris talks about his background, his views on theatre and the state of theatre in the age of the pandemic, and where he sees himself in the future. Chris can be contacted directly via Facebook and Instagram: @christianwontburg SHOWS: The Next Big Thing (Moxie Arts NY) www.moxiearts.org Radhika R...

The techniques of Michael Chekov. Dialect politics in theatre. Oa-Kanda! All of these things and more are part of the discussions of this episode of The Yay with our guest Carolina Morones. Carolina is a Latina singer, dancer and actress – I shared the stage with her when we did Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. She joins Norman and I and shares her experience doing bay area theatre, her...

Joe Cascasan​ has been a regular at Bindlestiff since its opening at the 5th and Market Street space since 2011. Comedian, writer, actor, director, creator of Late Night with Joe Cascasan – he does it all. Norman Gee​ and I talk with Joe on how Bindlestiff has influenced him, how he got involved in acting and where he sees himself in the future. You can follow Joe via Instagram: @joedotcas SHOWS:...

Our next guest, Molly Olis Krost, is a finalist for the 10th Annual National Jewish Playwriting Contest for her play What We Found. Ms. Krost has also worked for Awesome Theatre and SF Playground. A snippet of the play can be seen in this Vimeo link: https://vimeo.com/535298207 Norman Gee​ and I talk to Ms. Krost on her playwriting style, her upbringing and her views on bay area theatre and where...

Norman Gee​ and I welcome Elizabeth Curtis​ as our next guest. I had the pleasure of working with Elizabeth when we did Civil War Christmas at Town Hall Theatre – we also worked together with Musical Café. Liz is a singer and actress having worked at Broadway by the Bay, Ray of Light Theatre (where she played Lizzie Borden in the musical Lizzie), Boxcar Theatre, The Tri-Valley Repertory Theatre an...

Actor. Playwright. Painter. Physical Artist. You name it, he does it all. Paolo Salazar is our next guest and Norman and I talk to him about bay area theatre, his other artistic endeavors and where he’s going in the future. Paolo’s personal website can be found here: https://www.paolosalazar.com You can also contact and follow Paolo via Instagram (@theslantedeyez) and Twitter (@theslantedeyez) SHO...

If you’re familiar with Playground or the Utopia Theatre Project, you’ve seen the works of Anne Yumi Kobori​, local playwright and actress. Some of her plays are Coward’s Flame, The Scourge of Verona and Every Day Alice (Utopia Theatre Project – directed by Maryssa Wanlass​ - Episode 93); she’s also been in As You Like It (SF Shakes – directed by Rebecca J. Ennals​ - Episode 163), Allegiance (dire...

Theatre has three dimensions: the actor, the story and the audience. It’s the interaction and the connectivity between the three that makes the magic of theatre. That’s the wonderful concept of theatre given to us by our guest, Erin Merritt, the creator of Neighborhood Stories, an array of short, live performances that unfold all across a given city or neighborhood—created by artists who live in t...

Demaris Divito is a veteran actress whom I had the pleasure of acting with for Dragon Eggs and she was my Mari in Judicial Process. She talks about her acting experience in New York, her coming to the bay and where she sees herself in the future. SHOWS: Shotz Plus (ShotzSF) March 24 – 7pm Norman Gee will be in the show https://www.amioswest.org SF Playhouse – Heiroglyph Khary Moye (Episode 45) is...

Li-Leng Au is a veteran actress who I had the pleasure of working with when we did the reading of Kimberly Ridgeway’s Soulmates for the Dragon Egg’s Reading series. Li-Leng talks about growing up in London, her experiences with LISPA and learning from the teachings of Jacques Lecoq and working in the Bay Area – working on stages like the CCCT and being Marie Antoinette at the ACT. SHOWS: Chronic (...

Greg Scharpen is an audio wizard! I kid you not, he is far more than Central Works’ resident audio designer/operator/light board operator – his sound designs are as much a character in Central Works’ plays as the characters themselves. He is also a gifted musician, who has put out several albums with his group Thomas Carkacki. We talk about his growing up in Cupertino, his first stint at sound des...

We had them both on for Episode 14 – it’s those earlier interviews that helped The Yay grow to where it is now, thanks to Christine U’Ren and Gene Mocsy, two of my oldest friends, ex-Eastender’ers and a loving couple for many years. Writing everything from Victorian dramas to zombies attacking the earth, Christine and Gene have created worlds through their writing, entertaining audiences, engaging...

Two men walk into a theatre space. It’s 2011 and Bindlestiff is opening its new space for the first time - they will eventually fall in love and be inseparable ever since. The love story between Melvigyn Badiola (formerly on Episode 89) and Jed Parsario (formerly Episode 63) is a lovely one and we’re happy to share their story on The Yay. We talk about their first meeting, how they balance their r...

Karin and Jon Richey are near and dear to my heart – their company, Plethos Productions, produced my play Four Men in Paris and has entertaining audiences in Castro Valley with powerful, provoking and inclusive theatre, while giving new artists a home. Karin was on Episode 50 and now she brings her husband on and they talk about how they met via the Three Crosses Church, how they built Plethos, ho...

On our first Theatre Love edition of The Yay, Norman Gee bring on Chuck Lacson and Julie Kuwabara, a married couple who has been a fixture of Bindlestiff for years. They met at Bindlestiff and 11 years later, they are still going on strong. We talk about their upbringing in the bay area, we talk of issues like handling intimate roles, and where they see themselves in the future. Julie can be follo...

Norman and I welcome Michael J. Asberry, veteran actor who has worked with SF Playground, Profile Theatre, SF Mime Troupe, ACT, Lorraine Hansberry and the Tampa Repertory Theatre. Michal was in my one act play, Woodhull and the Jailer. We’ll talk about how he got into theatre, his work in the bay and what the future looks like. You can reach Michael directly via Facebook or via Instagram: @michael...

On this episode of The Yay, Norman and I welcome Patrick Kelly Jones, an actor and an illustrator, whom I had the pleasure of working with, when he portrayed the Jailer in my one act play Woodhull and the Jailer for SF Playground. Patrick wrote a book called the Front Desk Guy – email him at jonespatrick10@gmail.com if you’re interested in a copy. He’s also the author of the ‘zine Dave’s Awesome T...

If you see a woman with an axe and a mike - you better run! Run to the Ray of Light website and check out the 2015 production of Lizzie: The Virtual Musical Experience, hosted by Tony award winner James Iglehart. Jessica Coker Mohr is one of the stars in Lizzie - she's also the General Manager of Ray of Light and a damn good singer! I worked with Jessica when I stage managed Batboy: The Musical ba...