The Yay - A Bay Area Theatre Podcast

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....

Norman and I welcome local writer and director Katja Rivera. Katja has worked with various theatre companies in the bay area, including Shotgun Players, Eastenders Repertory Theatre, and Playground. We talk about Katja's beginnings in the LA area, her directing style, and the future of theatre in the age of COVID-19. Katja can be reached directly via Twitter: @katja_rivera SHOUTOUTS: The Private L...

Norman and I bring on Torange Yeghiazarian, a playwright, actor and founding artistic director at Golden Thread Productions. Torange gives us her perspective of American life as an Iranian immigrant and talks about her founding Golden Thread in the ‘90s, funding struggles amid the backdrop of Bush’s Iraq War and the future of Golden Thread. You can reach out to Torange via Facebook. SHOUTOUTS: The...

With the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, it's easy to feel defeated for the future of American democracy - but our next guest is full of optimism and drive to create a better future - for theatre and for the bay area community. Norman and I welcome Margo Hall, the newly named Artistic Director of the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre. Margo is an established actor who has worked at the Marin Theatre, Z Spa...

A 17 year old killed two protesters in Kenosha, WI – what would have happened if Kyle Rittenhouse had a theatre class? If you’re cast as a minority, are you bringing diversity to the stage or are you a token? And is Academy theatre training doing artists a disservice? Norman and I talk about all of these things as we bring on AeJay Antonis Marquis, a great actor, director, dancer and choreographer...

Norman and I welcome Cheri Miller, actor and director who has worked with TheatreFirst, Gritty City Rep and Eastside Arts Alliance. Cheri shares with us her journey into theater after years of working in the corporate world. She talks about her directing style, her experiences at ACT (both positive and negative) and where she sees herself and TheatreFirst in the future. You can learn more about Ch...

The Yay is starting up a new series: The BAD Summit - where we talk to Bay Area Directors of various theater companies to understand how theater companies in the bay area operate, collaborate and survive in today's economic and cultural environment. Our guest, Rebecca Ennals, is the Artistic Director of San Francisco Shakespeare Company (SF Shakes); she talks about her upbringing, her starting wit...

The Emperor is here! Norman and I bring in Jim Fourniadis, the former owner of the Darkroom Theatre and the producer of the Emperor Norton Musical back in 2006.. Jim toured with Steve Miller in 1990 as a back line tech and met Prince when they rehearsed in Paisley Park. Jim has a punk band called Rats of Unusual Size. Jim is also the author of The King Lives: An Elvis-ceral Adventure. You can also...

Can you be too real on stage? Can you be too grounded in the work and too absorbed in the emotions. We speak of this and other theatre subjects and Norman and I welcome Bob Zick and Travis Bedard - two college kids from New Hampshire who drive cross country to the bay area to get involved in theatre. Two decades later, they reunite. Bob and Travis are two of my former colleagues, whom I worked wit...

Existentialism: what are we, and where do we fit in society? Mix it with love, and you get the plot of Love The Struggle, the musical co-written by our next guest, Stacy Kray. We talk about the tragic suicide of Daisy Coleman (whom Stacy personally met), the writings of Jean Paul Sartre, the influence of Simone Du Beauvoir on the future women's movement and the process in creating philosophy and a...

Whether it's SF Shakes, the Aurora or ACT, she's been everywhere on the Bay Area theatre stage. She's Elizabeth Carter, and it's a privilege for Norman and I to have her on the show. We talk about the merits of theatre education, the subject of race in casting and the actor finding value in themselves. You can connect with Elizabeth directly via Twitter: #boolizard Bindlestiff Studios has an onlin...

Norman and I bring on Jonathan Williams, artistic director of Tabard Theatre, which celebrates its 20th anniversary. Tabard Theatre’s play Looking Over The President’s Shoulder, just opened this week – a live performance streaming to audiences at home. It’s the story of Alonzo Fields, the long time chief butler of the White House – starring James Creer. You can learn more about Jonathan and Tabard...

Spirituality. Connectivity. Are you connecting with the audience? Is the role you're playing connecting with you? Norman and i talk about this and many other topics (like the Living Document of POC Experiences) with Lauren Grace, talented actress and artist now living in San Diego. Lauren, whom I formally worked with while doing Othello (the Guerilla Shakespeare Company), is now working with the R...

Is there a real controversy with Hamilton? Should kids go back to school in the fall? And how do you deal with one misguided actor in a large ensemble? On this latest episode of The Yay, Norman Gee and I welcome Aureen Almario, the artistic director of Bindlestiff Studios, the only Filipino American owned theatre company in the United States. Last year, Bindlestiff celebrated their 30th year in ex...