The Yay - A Bay Area Theatre Podcast

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...

Trauma – whether it’s the aftermath of the Insurrection of January 6th, dealing with COVID-19 or a harsh childhood, you have to move on, and the show goes on. Our next guest, Melissa Ortiz, talks all about how theatre has helped her push away the traumas of her past and help her build a very productive acting career, which has carried her from Florida, New York City, Louisville and now the bay are...

Norman and I welcome Aaron Jones, talented bay area black actor, active in both the theater and film. You can find Aaron on Nexflix – “A California Christmas”. Aaron played Inspector Webb in my one act piece Judicial Process, part of the Brecht Project. Aaron talks about his upbringing, working in the bay and what his future will look like. This is Aaron’s Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/...

Happy 2021! We made it out of 2020 – thank God! Our next guest is Jim Kleinmann, the artistic director for San Francisco Playground – PlayGround is a leading playwright incubator and theatre community hub, with a deep commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. PlayGround’s mission is to support the development of significant new local voices for the theatre, helping to launch these writers on...

For our last Yay episode of 2020, Norman Gee​ and I welcome Professor Stephanie Johnson, veteran lighting designer with an emphasis on African American productions. She is also a professor at California State University. Professor Johnson is also an artist at Light Essence Design. Professor Johnson may be the very first Yay guest to have a Wikipedia page and it’s right here: https://en.wikipedia.o...

Happy post Thanksgiving, everyone! Norman and I welcome Sharon Shao, an actress and teacher at the Berkeley Playhouse. Sharon was an actress for the Brecht Project and is now currently acting for SF Playground on a piece she created with Ryan Takemiya called Fever. She was last in Cutting Ball Theatre’s Utopia. We talk about Sharon’s upbringing, her current life in theatre and her future. Sharon’s...

Norman is back and we welcome talented actress April Deuschle to the Yay! April was last in my play Judicial Process and Scott Munson’s play I’m With Her, part of the Bertold Brecht adaptation Private Lives of the Not So Master Race. April studied at the Academy of Art Institute and studied at Odder Hojskole. We talk about April’s upbringing, how she’s handling life amidst the pandemic and post el...

With Norman taking a much needed hiatus with his wife this weekend, I welcome Alison Luterman, playwright, poet and writing teacher at The Writing Salon. I acted and sang for Alison’s play The Chain that was performed as part of the 2017 Musical Café showcase. We talk about Alison’s upbringing in Boston, the early days of theatre in San Francisco, her writing class at the Writing Salon and her fut...

Jamie Greenblatt is the Executive Director of Play Cafe. Richard Jennings is one of the founders and producers of Musical Cafe, a program of Play Cafe. The mission of Play Cafe is to support the creation and development of new works by San Francisco Bay Area playwrights and composers. Norman and I interview the both of them as they discuss how they got into theatre, how they got involved in Play C...

All this month, we've brought on directors from the Tabard Theatre, Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, TheatreFirst and Central Works - now we wrap up the summit, bringing on ShawnJ West (previously on Episode 146), Kalya Kaufman (previously on our last episode) and we welcome up and coming director Natalie Rich - we all discuss how companies are using Zoom to produce work and the shortfalls of Zoom, the...

Norman Gee​ and I next welcome Kayla Kaufman, who has been the facilitator at the Play Café, where local budding playwrights get to hear their plays heard with professional actors, a dramaturg and a facilitator. Kayla talks about her time at Loyola Marymount, working at ACT and her views on theatre. SHOUTOUTS: The Private Life of the Not So Master Race (The Brecht Project) Streaming Live - Oct 27,...

We’ve talked about our sponsor, Central Works, in almost every podcast since we’ve gone on Youtube. Now Norman and I welcome the co-artistic director of Central Works, Jan Zvaifler. She is an actress, director and administrator of Central Works. She talks about her origins, the workings of Central Works and the company’s future and her future. SHOUTOUTS: Bystanders - an audio play (Central Works)...

Norman and I welcome Jon Tracy, the artistic facilitator of Theatref1rst. Jon talks about the philosophy of being a facilitator instead of an artistic director and the dangers of not acknowledging your privilege that comes with controlling the narrative in theater. He talks about his early days, filming home movies, the early days of Theatref1rst and where he sees the company going in the future....