Conference Schedule
TBACon2023 is happening on April 10, in-person in Berkeley, CA and online.
Keep checking this page! We'll be adding details about the in-person and virtual sessions as we get closer to the conference.
Learn more about the event →
9 AM: Welcome
9:45-10:45 AM: Breakout One
Moderated by Sheila Devitt with Meg Murray and Jordan Battle
In-person, on the Freight & Salvage Stage
Front of House personnel are the first point of contact your audience has with your company, leadership in case of an emergency, problem solvers and de-escalators in challenging situations, managers and trainers of your volunteer usher staff — all with grace and excellent customer service. Yet, despite its importance, Front of House is often overlooked. Panelists will address the best practices, latest strategies, and crucial new considerations in Front of House management. Bring Front of House to the forefront of your mind and gain insight into how to welcome audiences back with safety, comfort, and community building.
About the panelists
Sheila Devitt (bio coming soon!)
Meg Murray manages the Audience Services department for American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. She brings to her role skills honed through 20 years of management and technology consulting, 15 years of stage and production work and a decade of performance and producing in San Francisco. She's keenly focused on delivering inclusive, safe, and meaningful experiences as theater evolves.
Jordan Battle (she/her) is a California based actor, theatremaker and consultant. Jordan is an active participant in the Bay Area Theatre-focused Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion cohort, Making Good Trouble: Anti-Racist Trainers (Makinggoodtroubleart.com). She has provided training on microaggressions, de-escalation, and customer service for various theatres in the Bay Area. Her work is done in a highly collaborative environment with clear communication and input from the individuals and organizations that participate with the intent of building stronger relationships with the community. Jordan has previously worked and managed front of house teams at various venues in the SF Bay Area, including Berkeley Playhouse, California Shakespeare Theater, Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture, and Z Space. In her personal life, she is one of the co-founders of Black Vent Space, a virtual community space for Black-identifying folx to vocalize being Black.
With Ann Marie Lonsdale
In-person, in the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre Bakery
This open space session will be shaped by attendees. Bring your burning topics to the conference and we will choose one to unpack in this collaborative space, moderated by TBA’s Ann Marie Lonsdale.
About the facilitator
Ann Marie Lonsdale (she/her) is an arts worker with a background as a producer and administrator working with innovative and experimental live performance. She began her career as a performer, stage manager, and producer in theater and dance in Chicago and New York, with such companies as The Hypocrites, the Vittum Theater (now Adventure Stage Chicago), the side project, and Lower Manhattan Cultural Council's Sitelines festival. As an administrator, she has worked at Creative Capital, Center for Performance Research, and Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York, among others. She is also one of the co-creators of the Freelance Artist Resource Project, an iterative rapid response made up of a website, webcasts, and online tools for learning and community building created in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ann Marie has also worked in the performing arts community as an educator, facilitator, grant panelist, speaker, and is the founder of Partake Arts, a consulting practice focused on individual artists and artist-led projects. She has done training with artEquity, and is actively engaged in a national community of practice around anti-racism in the theatre and arts. Ann Marie is a proud graduate of the University of Chicago and holds a master’s degree in Arts Administration from Teachers College, Columbia University.
With B. Noel Thomas, Adrienne Price, Mylo Cardona, and Leigh Rondon-Davis
On Zoom
Imagine a world where trans people, non-binary people, and people of all genders can show up fully and equitably in our spaces. Where the stories told onstage reflect the experiences of the creative teams, administrators, and leadership behind the show. This panel of theatre artists and leaders will share both practical and creative ways to rethink our relationship to gender as we create work together. As trans and gender expansive representation grow in our community, it’s time to reimagine the gendered expectations on both sides of the curtain!
About the panelists
B Noel Thomas (she/her) is a multi-talented, award-winning performing artist and teacher, currently based in the Bay Area. Her versatile baritone-to-soprano voice has allowed her to be able to play roles that run the gamut of gender and vocal range. A selection of her credits includes ABC's American Idol Season 3, Theatre Forward 2021 Virtual Gala (Featuring Jason Robert Brown, Kate Baldwin, George Salazar, Anika Noni Rose & More), The Toxic Avenger (Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award winner, Theatre Bay Area Award nominee), and Sister Act (Deloris; Theatre Bay Area Award nominee). @BNoelThomas
Adrienne Price is a playwright, songwriter, and performer. She is the writer/co-composer of The Red Shades: A Trans Superhero Rock Opera (Z Space 2022) and co-writer/co-composer of Totally Normal: A Co-Dependent Queer Friendship Musical (in development). Her plays have been featured in the national festival Trans Plays of Remembrance as well as local festivals such as Music/Scene, Pint Sized Plays, Shotz, and Mutiny Radio's play festival. She is a member of the Dramatists Guild and was accepted into the Bay Area Asylum Arts Retreat in 2019. Price has also been an educator for 18 years, working as a high school English teacher, tutor, teaching artist, and more. She has performed as a stand-up comic, founded the show Pure Pop for Queer Lovers on Radio Valencia, and serves as singer-songwriter of the psycho-spiritual trans folk rock band Peach Thief.
Mylo Cardona (bio coming soon!)
Leigh Rondon-Davis (bio coming soon!)
Moderated by Jeuneé Simon with Dave Maier and Carla Pantoja
On Zoom
In embodied art forms, the health and wellbeing of performers and crew are central to success. What does it take to create a safe and supportive rehearsal room? When should you engage a fight director or intimacy director, and what should you expect working with one? Our panelists will share the transformative effect that fight and intimacy direction has on a rehearsal room — plus, the best practices for supporting artists as they engage in potentially intense and charged forms of storytelling.
About the panelists
Jeunée Simon (she/her) is an actor, director, and intimacy director in the Bay Area. She is dedicated to creating braver spaces where artists can be vulnerable and play. Recent intimacy direction credits include: Lear (California Shakespeare Theater), The Code (A.C.T.'s Young Conservatory), Coming Soon (Z Space), Boys Go to Jupiter (Word for Word), Circle Mirror Transformation (Custom Made Theatre Co.), Little Shop of Horrors (Berkeley Playhouse), and more. Simon is a proud recipient of the 2017 RHE Artistic Fellowship for acting and is a 2019 Directing Apprentice with PlayGround.
Dave Maier (he/him) is a prolific fight director who has choreographed violence for over 300 professional and collegiate productions. He is recognized as a Master Fight Director and Master Instructor with Dueling Arts International. His work has received five TBA awards and several other nominations. He is the resident fight director at San Francisco Opera and Oakland Theatre Project. He was in residence at Cal Shakes for sixteen seasons, and his work has been seen at many Bay Area theatres including Berkeley Rep, ACT, Opera San Jose, SF Playhouse, Berkeley Playhouse, Center Rep, Marin Theatre Co., Magic Theatre, Santa Cruz Shakespeare, African American Shakespeare Co., and Shotgun Players among others. As an educator, Dave has been a teaching artist working in Bay Area schools for over twenty years. He is currently teaching combat-related courses at UC Santa Cruz, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, St. Mary’s College of California, and Berkeley Rep School of Theatre. He has taught classes and workshops at Stanford University, UC Berkeley, Studio ACT, Cal Shakes Summer Intensive, and national workshops for Dueling Arts International. Dave is a founding member of Dueling Arts San Francisco.
Carla Pantoja (bio coming soon!)
Moderated by Jonathan Spector with Lisa Ramirez and Min Kahng
In-person, in Aurora's Dashow Wing
In the wake of COVID disruptions, where do playwrights find their footholds? Join this panel in discussing the reality of playwriting today and the possibilities for its future. How do you write for our new world? Where are the best opportunities in our changing landscape? What’s next for playwrights in American theatre?
About the panelists
Jonathan Spector’s plays include EUREKA DAY (recently at the Old Vic starring Helen Hunt and Mark McKinney, WhatsOnStage Award Nomination, Glickman Award, BATCC Award, TBA Award, Rella Lossy Award, New York Times Critics’ Pick), THIS MUCH I KNOW (Glickman Award, Edgerton Award), SIESTA KEY, GOOD. BETTER. BEST. BESTED, and BEST AVAILABLE. Jonathan was the longtime co-Artistic Director of Just Theater, a former Associate Artistic Director at Playwrights Foundation and is currently under commission from Manhattan Theater Club, La Jolla Playhouse, and Roundabout Theater Company.
Lisa Ramirez (she/her) is a mixed-race Latina writer/actor and activist whose writing lays claim to creating work influential enough to transcend the theatrical arena. Her solo performance EXIT CUCKOO (nanny in motherland)—which explored the role of women who work as “nannies” — offered Ramirez (herself a former nanny) the opportunity to work with Domestic Workers United in New York, converse with legislators in Albany, and experience the thrill of hearing Senator Diane Savino quote her piece on the Senate floor while fighting for New York’s 2010 passing of the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, the first legislation of its kind in the country. Lisa wrote and directed INVISIBLE WOMEN-RISE. The play was performed by 12 Domestic Workers in Spanish and English at the historic Riverside Church in New York. Other plays include ART OF MEMORY, presented at the 3-Legged Dog, New York; Pas de Deux (lost my shoe), Cherry Lane Theatre; DOWN HERE BELOW, an adaptation of Maxim Gorky’s THE LOWER DEPTHS, Oakland Theater Project; IN THE MOUNTAINS, The Workshop Theater, New York; MORE THAN GRAPES, TheatreFirst in Berkeley; sAiNt jOaN (burn/burn/burn), Oakland Theater Project; Book of Sand (a fairytale), Oakland Theater Project; and TO THE BONE, which received its world premiere at the Cherry Lane Theatre in New York, was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, and won the prestigious Helen Merrill Playwriting Award. During the pandemic, Lisa organized the digital reading of TO THE BONE with the original New York cast. The event was hosted by V (formally known as Eve Ensler), Maria Hinojosa, and Rosa Clemente and was simultaneously translated into Spanish. Over 20K was raised for the Rural and Migrant ministry in Sullivan County, New York to support poultry plant employees affected by the pandemic. Recently, Lisa was part of the 2021/22 Writers Workshop at the Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles, led by playwright Luis Alfaro, where she worked on her play ALL FALL DOWN. She is currently working on a new play, CHORUS OF HUERTAS, about the life of activist and icon Dolores Huerta, and two original pilots and a screenplay.
Min Kahng (he/him) is an award-winning playwright, composer, lyricist and creative coach whose works include The Adventures of Honey & Leon, The Four Immigrants: An American Musical Manga (Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award, Theatre Bay Area Award, Edgerton New Play Award, NAMT Production Grant), GOLD: The Midas Musical (Theatre Bay Area Award), Iris Lee’s Audio Odyssey (published by Playscripts), Inside Out & Back Again, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon: A Musical Adaptation, Bad Kitty On Stage!, The Song of the Nightingale, and Tales of Olympus. Kahng is an alumnus of MacDowell, Playwrights Foundation Resident Initiative, Berkeley Rep’s Ground Floor, Djerassi, Willapa Bay AiR, and the TheatreWorks New Works Festival. Kahng is a Jonathan Larson Grant Finalist, a Richard Rodgers Award Finalist, and a Dramatists Guild committee member. minkahng.com
11 AM-12 PM: Breakout Two
Moderated by Marc Vogl with Margot Melcon and Patrick Taylor
On Zoom
Arts funders in the Bay Area have heard requests to make grant applications simpler, more accessible, more streamlined; three foundations have responded by coming together to develop a common application for small arts grants. Working in collaboration, the Fleishhacker, Rainin, and Zellerbach foundations have drafted a shared set of application questions, budget templates and demographic survey that can be used to apply for any of their open cycle grants, which will be piloted later this year. This session, moderated by arts consultant Marc Vogl, will introduce the principles, merits, and challenges behind the common app, plus share plans for implementation and field questions and concerns from potential grantseekers.
About the Panelists
Marc Vogl (he/him) is the Principal of Vogl Consulting. Since 2013 Marc has guided strategic planning processes, facilitated staff and Board retreats, and coached leaders at over 100 arts and culture organizations in the Bay Area and around the country. In 1997 Marc co-founded the San Francisco comedy group Killing My Lobster and went on to become an arts program officer at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Executive Director of the Bay Area Video Coalition. Marc has served on the San Francisco Arts Task Force, Oakland's Arts Funding Advisory Council, Obama’s National Arts Policy Committee, the San Francisco Citizens Committee on Community Development, and The Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Board of Directors. Marc has lectured on nonprofit Board management at the University of San Francisco, and taught graduate courses in Managing Cultural Organizations, and Cultural Policy at Brown University. The combination of experiences in the arts sector, academia and in public policy drive Marc’s passion for working with nonprofits and philanthropists to address social problems and enrich communities creatively and systematically.
Margot Melcon (she/her) joined the Zellerbach Family Foundation seven years ago where she manages the arts and culture grantmaking portfolio-- including the Community Arts program-- and works to create an equitable, responsive, and accessible relationship in community with Bay Area artists. Prior to joining the foundation, she worked with nonprofit arts organizations for 20 years as a dramaturg, producer, and arts administrator. She is also a playwright, of the Christmas at Pemberley trilogy co-written with Lauren Gunderson. She lives in San Francisco with her family.
Patrick Taylor (bio coming soon!)
Moderated by Rebecca Novick with Mina Morita, Jess Koehn, and Nikki Meñez
On Zoom
Lead the way to nonprofit success! This panel steps out of the past and into the future of nonprofit work. What parts of historic leadership models have served us, and what can be reimagined? How can new models like shared leadership increase the health and sustainability of an org? Get answers from this panel of nonprofit leaders who have successfully implemented nontraditional leadership models.
About the panelists
Rebecca Novick (she/her) is a theater-maker, writer, and social practice artist. Her work delves into borders, loss, language, and liberation. She is deeply committed to the creation of a more inclusive theater. Her work focuses on community-engaged script development, mixed professional/community ensembles, performances outside conventional spaces and plays dealing with pressing social issues. A seasoned producer and arts leader, Rebecca was the founder of Crowded Fire Theater Company and served as its artistic director for ten years. She developed and led the Triangle Lab, a collaboration between California Shakespeare Theater and Intersection for the Arts that explored how art can be more deeply integrated into community life, and then went on to serve as Cal Shakes’ associate artistic director. Rebecca has also consulted for many foundations and arts non-profits.
Mina Morita (bio coming soon!)
Jesse Annette Koen (they/them): As the Operations & Finance Director for Cutting Ball, Jess leads human resources management, financial management, and general operations. Jess has been a theater artist in the Bay Area since interning in stage management at Cal Shakes in 2015, and received their Masters in Nonprofit Management from Northeastern University in 2022. Jess started as an education intern and teaching artist with The Coterie Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri, working primarily with grades K-5. They also worked as a guest director with Winnetonka High School where they taught an after-school movement masterclass and directed two blackbox productions, one of which performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2014. Since moving to the Bay Area, Jess has been a stage manager, production manager, associate producer, venue manager, casting associate, stage director, and stage electrician with companies such as Cal Shakes (2015-2018), A.C.T. (2017-2018), TheaterWorks (2018), Z Space/Word for Word (2017-2019), Aurora (2016), Shotgun (2018), Bay Area Children’s Theatre (2016-2017), and SF Film (2021). Jess also currently serves as the Managing Director for Eye Zen Presents, a small performing arts ensemble fiscally sponsored by Intersection for the Arts that focuses on unearthing and elevating the legacies of queer ancestors. Jess served on the Advisory Board for Poltergeist Theatre Project, fiscally sponsored by Playground SF, from 2020-2021. Prior to the pandemic, Jess was the Rentals Coordinator for the Children’s Creativity Museum (2018-2020).
Nikki Meñez (bio coming soon!)
Moderated by Meghan Crosby-Jolliffe with Tasi Alabastro and Angel Adedokun
In-person, on the Freight & Salvage Stage
Unlock the secrets of social media marketing! Our panelists will demystify social media marketing and brand building in the ever-changing digital landscape of today. Gain knowledge and insight on the best social media platforms for your brand and company, and learn how to grow your audience through social media branding.
About the panelists
Meghan Crosby-Jolliffe (they/them) is a mezzo-soprano, educator, and administrator who is passionate about fostering a vibrant and inclusive environment for all performing artists. They recently graduated from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music with a Master of Music in Voice and hold a BM in Voice from the New England Conservatory. As a performer, Meghan crosses over genres and has been seen in the Bay Area in Opera, Musical Theater, Early Music, and Choral settings. Most recently, Meghan performed Die Schöne Müllerin by Schubert and participated in the SFCM Musical Theater Ensemble’s virtual production of Sondheim on Sondheim. Meghan also serves on the board of a Boston area theater troupe, The Lilac Players, and loves producing, directing, and theatremaking with that community from across the country.
Tasi Alabastro (he/him) is an actor, multi-disciplinary artist, and self-proclaimed flaneur. He has been featured in the SF Chronicle Datebook highlighting his efforts with local arts organizations and virtual programming which includes co-hosting Our Digital Stories (.org) with Playwright and Director Jeffrey Lo. Professional credits include A Christmas Carol (A.C.T); Twelfth Night, musical adaptation (SF Playhouse); Every Brilliant Thing, VIETGONE, and Stupid F**king Bird (City Lights Theatre Company); Sisters Matsumoto (CenterRep); Peter and the Starcatcher (Hillbarn Theatre); Macbeth, and Three Days of Rain (Dragon Theatre). Alabastro is a recipient of the 2019 Leigh Weimers Emerging Artist Award and the 2018 SVCreates Emerging Artist Laureate. He is a senior company member of the Red Ladder Theatre Company, a nationally acclaimed, award-winning social justice theatre company. For extended bio, work, blog, and pretty cool art visit tasialabastro.com. Twitter/Instagram: @tasialabastro
Angel Adedokun (bio coming soon!)
with Erin Merritt and Jon Tracy
In-person, in Aurora's Dashow Wing
To self-produce or not to self-produce? When planning your first production, it’s hard to know how to proceed. These seasoned theatremakers will share what you need to know about starting a new company versus self-producing (and how to tell which one is right for you). Ask your burning questions, learn about logistics, and get inspired to take your project to the next level.
About the panelists
Erin Merritt (she/her) is an award-winning theater-maker who came to prominence as the founder of the Bay Area’s all-female Shakespeare company, Woman’s Will (1998 – 2011), which she started to create equitable opportunities for women in the field. In 12 seasons there, Ms. Merritt directed 13 productions, including two “Top Ten Shows of the Year”—Brecht/Weill’s Happy End (2005) and Shakespeare’s Pericles (2002), which featured a Deaf narrator and the world’s first ASL translation of the play; and led site specific productions of Importance of Being Earnest and Lord of the Flies. She has also garnered rave reviews for her translations and adaptations, including Philip Pullman’s Spring-Heeled Jack, which Mr. Pullman branded “really terrific.” In 2009, she began producing and directing new work. Highlights include BAPF (2013 & 2014); TBA Awards (2017 - 2019), baWTF (2019 - 2022); and writing/directing the “speaking” statues in Richmond’s Rosie the Riveter Museum’s permanent installation (live as of 2021). During the pandemic she created Neighborhood Stories, a live, distanced performance event which staged 7 – 8 site-specific mini-performances across each of three cities (Oakland, Mill Valley, and El Cerrito), tied together by drive-time narration offering additional context about the city’s history and landmarks; and directed Jen Coogan’s episodic The Women in Theater Project (on which the legendary producer Daryl Roth called her directing “keen”). Most recently she directed the World Premiere of Tea Party at The Rueff. erinmerritt.com
Jon Tracy (bio coming soon!)
Moderated by Juan Manzo with Anthony Jackson and LeShawn Holcomb
In-person, in the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre Bakery
Centering the protection and education of the next generation of theatremakers. How do we foster a learning environment that is safe, creative, and connective? Panelists will share their experiences in and out of the classroom. Paving the way forward with experiential, community building, and conscientious learning strategies that are supportive for students and educators alike.
About the panelists
Juan Manzo is an Arts Education professional & advocate with almost two decades of experience in the field. He has led arts education programs and professional development workshops in Arts Integration for teachers and young people in New York and California. Juan has worked as a Teaching Artist and Arts Education Consultant for multiple organizations including StageWrite, The Old Globe, San Francisco Opera, Young Audiences of the Bay Area, La Jolla Playhouse and Center Theater Group, among others. As a member of the Board of Directors for the Arts Education Alliance of the Bay Area, he has worked for a stronger and more equitable arts education community in the Bay Area. A strong believer in using the arts for creative engagement and problem solving, he is deeply committed to ensuring access to the arts to all students regardless of socioeconomic status or race. He is currently the Director of Education & Community Programs at American Conservatory Theater.
Anthony Jackson (he/him) is a director, deviser, educator, and arts administrator. He currently serves as the Director of the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre where he oversees a team of talented artists, educators, and administrators; serving adults and students in grades K-12 in all nine Bay Area counties and beyond. Anthony is a board member for the Arts Education Alliance of the Bay Area and serves as a member of the Berkeley Arts Education Steering Committee. Previously, Anthony was at Arena Stage in Washington, DC, where he held multiple roles including Training Programs Manager and Partnership Manager while also teaching in all of the Community Engagement department’s programming. Anthony has traveled to India and Croatia as a guest artist with the U.S. Department of State devising original plays with Arena Stage’s Voices of Now program. Anthony has served as a grant panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts and presented workshops at the American Alliance for Theatre and Education, Theatre Communications Group Conference, and the Southeastern Theatre Conference. In 2019, he was selected to be a member of the artEquity cohort. As an actor, he has toured the U.S. and has performed with the Shakespeare Theatre Company, Olney Theatre, Arena Stage, and other regional theatres.
LeShawn Holcomb (bio coming soon!)
1:30-2:45 PM: Afternoon Plenary
Arts Leadership Residency 2022-23 Cohort
This residency funds aspiring artistic directors and managing directors in residence at Bay Area theatres for a 12-16 week residency during which the residents with be mentored by the artistic and/or managing director and lead a significant project during the season.
Tanika Baptiste (she/they) in residence at Theatre Rhinoceros
Amal Bisharat (she/her) in residence at Golden Thread Productions
Mylo Cardona (they/them) in residence at Oakland Theater Project
Phaedra Tillery-Boughton (she/her) in residence at SFBATCO
RHE Artist Fellowship 2022
The RHE Foundation Artistic Fellowship makes a significant investment in an individual female or nonbinary artist of color that will allow her to take the next step in their career. Nominees are selected by a diverse panel of established Bay Area theatre professionals.
Angel Adedokun, 2022 Fellow
Will Glickman Award 2023
The prestigious Will Glickman Award celebrates excellence in playwriting by selecting the best new play to premiere in the region each year. Named in honor of Bay Area playwright and screenwriter Will Glickman, this award has been presented annually since 1984. The winner is chosen by a panel of leading Bay Area theatre critics.
This Much I Know
Play by Jonathan Spector
Produced at Aurora Theatre Company
Keynote with Sean Fenton
Live, in-person theatre has returned, but there is no “return to normal.” In this moment, the field is united by a unique breadth of challenges: the effects of pandemic shutdowns, racial reckonings, AB5 fallout, and economic unpredictability. How can we stand together in facing these compounding challenges? TBA’s executive director, Sean Fenton, brings his perspective as a researcher, actor, community member, and emerging leader in Bay Area theatre.
About the speaker
Sean Fenton (he/him), executive director of Theatre Bay Area, has been active in the professional Bay Area theatre community for more than two decades as an actor, musician, director, and administrator. He has performed at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, San Francisco Playhouse, 42nd Street Moon, Ferocious Lotus Theatre Company, and Community Asian Theatre of the Sierra, among others. Backstage, he has been a leader at Bay Area Children’s Theatre, Kaiser Permanente Educational Theatre, and WolfBrown’s Intrinsic Impact program. Sean is a member of Actors' Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA and holds a BA in Cultural and Social Anthropology from Stanford University.
4-5 PM: Breakout Three
Moderated by Dawn Monique Williams with Tierra Allen, Elizabeth Carter, Margo Hall, and Saleemah Jones
On Zoom
Misogynoir, the specific bias faced by Black women, is often overlooked when we discuss systemic oppression in theatrical spaces and beyond. How do we actively dismantle systems and combat the impact of oppression that Black women face in our Bay Area theatre community? How can we carry our resistance impact beyond the stage? Panelists will break down the experience, understanding, and tools that are necessary to step into active resistance and advocacy. It is time to do better: join us to gather, educate ourselves, and act.
About the panelists
Dawn Monique Williams has been Aurora's Associate Artistic Director since August 2019. An Oakland-native, she was Artistic Associate and a resident artist at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for six seasons. She's worked in theatre across the US including: HERE Arts Center, Profile Theatre (Portland), A.C.T., Chautauqua Theatre Company, African American Shakespeare Company. Williams holds an MA in Dramatic Literature and an MFA in Directing. She directed Bull In A China Shop at Aurora in Fall 2019.
Tierra Allen (bio coming soon!)
Elizabeth Carter (bio coming soon!)
Margo Hall is an actor, director, playwright, and educator, and has been a leading performer and director in the Bay Area for over 30 years. In 2018 she was awarded Jerry Friedman Lifetime Achievement Award by the San Francisco Theatre Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle. She was recently appointed the new Artistic Director of the Lorraine Hansberry Theater of San Francisco. Hall’s film credits include BLINDSPOTTING with Daveed Diggs and the Netflix film All Day and A Night. She is a founding member of Campo Santo, a multi-cultural theater company in San Francisco, where she has directed, performed, and collaborated on new plays with artists such as Naomi Iizuka, Jessica Hagedorn, Phillip Kan Gotanda, Ntozake Shange, and Octavio Solis. Writing credits include The People’s Temple, a verbatim text piece with Leigh Fondakowski of the Tetonic Theatre Project, and her autobiographical musical BeBop Baby, A Musical Memoir, with original music by Marcus Shelby. Margo is a lecturer at UC Berkeley and Chabot College in the Theater Department.
Saleemah Jones (she/her) started showcasing plays in 2008 in the Dallas/Ft Worth Texas Metroplex and founded Put Ur Play On Productions in 2015. Playwriting started as an idea with a friend but continues as the issues addressed continue to plague our community. A native of Oakland, California whose undergraduate studies were accomplished at Grambling State University, Saleemah attained her juris doctorate degree from Thurgood Marshall School of Law.
With Sean Fenton and Art Quiñones
In-person, on the Freight & Salvage stage
Want to get the most out of our new Talent Bank? TBA’s Sean Fenton and Art Quiñones will walk you through the features and uses of our new member profiles. Whether you are a company looking to cast your production, an actor looking to gain more visibility, a designer looking to share your talents, or a technician wanting to share your skills, we can help you get started. Optimize your user experience and ask your burning questions here!
About the presenters
Sean Fenton (he/him), executive director of Theatre Bay Area, has been active in the professional Bay Area theatre community for more than two decades as an actor, musician, director, and administrator. He has performed at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, San Francisco Playhouse, 42nd Street Moon, Ferocious Lotus Theatre Company, and Community Asian Theatre of the Sierra, among others. Backstage, he has been a leader at Bay Area Children’s Theatre, Kaiser Permanente Educational Theatre, and WolfBrown’s Intrinsic Impact program. Sean is a member of Actors' Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA and holds a BA in Cultural and Social Anthropology from Stanford University.
Art Quiñones (they/them), marketing and communications officer of TBA, is a multidisciplinary visual artist and designer. They hold a BFA in Graphic Design from Maine College of Art, where they developed a passion for equitable community building and disability justice. Their current practice focuses on integrating hand-drawn typography and illustration to express queer identity. Their work in design informs and calls audiences to action for social change with experimentation across digital and analog technologies, including 3D printing and printmaking.
Moderated by Jon Wai-Keung Lowe with Ray Oppenheimer and Splathouse Productions' Delaney & Sarah Coykendall
In-person, in Aurora's Dashow Wing
Welcome to the next stage of theatre! Panelists will share their thoughts and experiences in the emerging theatre modalities. Get insight into the practical and storytelling capabilities of these new theatrical techniques. Come away with tips, tricks, challenges, and behind-the-scenes information on how these exciting new techniques can create dazzling, unforgettable moments for your audiences.
About the panelists
Jon Wai-Keung Lowe is the organizer of Narrative XR, a group for folks interested in XR storytelling. He has taught workshops in immersive photography and AR, and hosted meetups featuring photogrammetry, VR sculpting, and motion capture. Theater credits include polarized reviews for his direction of Sarah Ruhl’s Passion Play with shadow puppetry, two Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle awards for set design, and Best of the SF Fringe for his own adaptation of Green Bamboo Hermitage. Jon is an alumnus of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab and Directors Lab West. He also insists on mentioning his ongoing lecture series “Decoding Chinese Opera” even when it seems kinda random.
Ray Oppenheimer is a San Francisco Bay Area based lighting designer, educator, and creator who has been bringing his boundless curiosity, chimerical aesthetic, and sisyphean perseverance to live design, performance, and education since 2005. Ray graduated with a Master of Fine Arts in Theatre Arts with an emphasis in lighting design from San Francisco State University in the Fall of 2017. He is currently the lighting design lecturer for UC Berkeley's Theatre Dance and Performance Studies department. He also is an active company member with Shotgun Players and a Theatre Bay Area CA$H award recipient. Ray believes that “We as a society are in desperate need of artists that help us approach and understand our world in an ethical, empathetic, and compassionate way. This is what I strive to do as a designer and artist. Through the exploration of binaural sound, 360 degree video, augmented reality, virtual reality, lighting, video streaming/manipulation, and emerging technologies. Working in cross discipline performances I strive to draw into focus our greater relationships with technology and each other.”
Splathouse Productions is a collective of film, theatre, music, and visual artists dedicated to preserving the spirit of the B-movie on screen and stage. Splathouse Productions was established in 2014 by Sarah Coykendall and Delaney.
Delaney (bio coming soon!)
Sarah Coykendall (she/her) is a performer, producer, director, designer, and the co-founder/artistic director/executive producer of Splathouse Productions. Sarah is also the Producing Stage Director of The Bracebridge Dinner at Yosemite and the frontwoman of the Bay Area-based horror punk band The Creepy Crawlies. She is a corn syrup blood connoisseur and a lover of all things “camp.”
With Dani Spinks
In-person, in the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre Bakery
Haunted by visions of terrifying on-stage spectacle but not sure where to begin? Meet the artist behind some of the Bay’s scariest theatrical special effects. Dani Spinks will show you how the sausage is made for her gruesome craft, featured at immersive haunt experience Terror Vault and beyond. She’ll discuss techniques, timing, and technology that go into her illusions.
About the presenter
Dani Spinks (she/her) is a Special Effects Makeup Artist, Prop Master, Puppeteer, Set Builder, Producer, and Director. She is also the owner and Artistic Director of Dreams on the Rocks Productions, a Bay Area theatre company she founded in 2014. She has been the makeup lead and production crew for the immersive haunt experience Terror Vault since its inception in 2018. Currently, Dani is pursuing a childhood dream of becoming an animator as she is finishing up her final year of 3D Character Animation school. In her downtime, oh wait, there is no downtime in theatre. In the little free time she does have, she is working on a horror comic book series under the name Living Comics. To see some of Dani’s work, please visit agoreabledesigns.com or dreamsontherocksproductions.com
Moderated by Michael Goldhaber of Wry Crips with Gabriele Christian from Jess Curtis/Gravity and Lauren Kivowitz of Inclusive Arts
On Zoom
We all want to make our performances safe and welcoming for our disabled theatre workers and audience members. But it’s hard to know where to start! Luckily, we already have theatremakers in our community leading the way, and in this panel they’ll share what worked, what challenges they’ve faced, and how you can improve accessibility in your own spaces.
About the panelists
Michael Goldhaber (bio coming soon!)
Gabriele Christian (they/them) is an American conceptual artist specializing in experimental choreography, high dramatics, social practice, and poetics. For more than ten years, their work has metabolized the vernaculars within the BlaQ (Black+Queer) diaspora—futurity, afrovivalism, camp—through body-based live stage or public performances and digital interventions on their IG: @gabriele.mov. At the heart of all of their work, they strive to excavate oral tradition and movement as conduits for equitable conversations around belonging, spirit, abundance, and care.
Lauren Kivowitz (she/her) is a performer, teaching artist, and consultant with a master's degree in Applied Theatre. As an actor, Lauren has performed across theatrical genres, from Shakespeare to experimental theatre, straight plays to operetta and musical theatre, and improv and sketch comedy. As a teaching artist, Lauren facilitates classes for folks of all ages and abilities, using combinations of improv, role-play, music, storytelling, and play-building. In 2020 she received the ArtCare Arts Learning Achievement Award for the A.C.T. residency she teaches at AccessSFUSD: The Arc. As an advocate, Lauren has focused her career on finding and creating ways to support folks with disabilities in having equal access to and inclusion in creative and performing arts. A strong believer in the transformative power of theatre, she is the founder of Inclusive Arts, an organization whose mission is to create opportunities to engage in critical dialogue and meaningful action surrounding issues of access, inclusion, and ableism in theatre and other creative arts.
5-6 PM: Final Plenary
with Christopher Morrison
Virtual and augmented reality are having a moment in the news, in the arts, and in home entertainment. Streaming and hybrid theatre have already transformed how people see a show. But what does all this mean for theatremakers like us? Writer-director-educator and VR expert Christopher Morrison is here to show us what’s next on the horizon: the technology, the possibilities, and the future of theatre.
About the speaker
Christopher Morrison (he/him) is a multi-talented writer-director-educator who has worked on over 150 theatrical productions, VR, videogames, films, and immersive entertainments on three continents. His VR branching narrative The Werewolf Experience is currently in festivals. His feature film The Bellwether was released in 2019. He has written and directed 360° films as well. He has been commissioned for screenplays and plays alike. He recently added “Narrative Designer” as he’s written and designed for multiple videogames ranging from the indie level to AAA. Cirque du Soleil called him “A huge asset to the creative process.” He frequently speaks on storytelling in WEB3.0, recently addressing the House of Lords in England. He is an Adjunct II Professor teaching Immersive Storytelling at the California College of the Arts.
6:15 PM: Post-conference Reception
A short reception with drinks, light fare, and a toast to the future of Theatre Bay Area. People are encouraged to mask while they’re not eating or drinking, but mask wearing will not be enforced as it is during the conference.