Monday, October 26, 2026
9:30 AM - 6:15 PM
Z Space, Theatre of Yugen NOH Space,
& Joe Goode Annex in San Francisco
Conference Schedule
Overview
Check-in: 9:30 – 10:00 AM
Check in at the Z Space lobby to receive your conference materials and enjoy a small breakfast with other attendees!
Morning Plenary: 10:00 – 11:15 AM
On the Z Space Steindler Stage
Opening Performance
Welcome by Theatre Bay Area and Z Space
Land Acknowledgement
Performance
State of the State: Arts and Culture in California
Breakout A: 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Breakouts on Z Space Steindler Stage, Z Below Stage, Theatre of Yugen NOH Space, and Joe Goode Annex
Unlocking the Promise of Prop 28: Strategies for Sustainable Arts Education Programs
What Lasts: A Movement Inquiry for Theatremakers
Multilingual Theatre: Producing in Our Own Words
Before You Decide: A Working Session on AI and Theatre
Lunch: 12:30 – 2:00 PM
Lunch may be purchased as an add on to your conference ticket and picked up in the Z Space lobby!
Lunch Group: Dress Rehearsal: Donor Dialogues
Lunch Group: AI in the Field
Afternoon Plenary: 2:00 – 3:00 PM
On the Z Space Steindler Stage
Afternoon Performance
Presentation of Arts Leadership Residents and RHE Charitable Foundation Artistic Fellowship
Keynote Address with Roberto Bedoya
Breakout B: 3:15 – 4:15 PM
Breakouts on Z Space Steindler Stage, Z Below Stage, Theatre of Yugen NOH Space, and Joe Goode Annex
Art in the Face of Demonization
The Art of Clown: Legacy Trailblazers Teaching Us About Today
Narrative Justice Storytelling: A Framework for Transformative Theatre
The Group Chat Problem: Building a Safer, Smarter Theatre Community
Breakout C: 4:30 – 5:30 PM
AB5 and Beyond: Employing CA Theatre Workers Today
New Journalism Theatre: Rooting New Work in Reported Truth
Get Practical: Hand-to-Hand Stage Combat Workshop
Closing: 5:45 – 6:15 PM
Closing Reflection
Add-on Sessions
Only available with conference ticket. Be sure to sign up when you register.
11:30 AM - 1:30 PM
30-minute individual coaching with victor cervantes jr (Limit 4 sessions)
First come first served! 30-minute individual sessions with victor cervantes jr.
SOLD OUT
victor cervantes jr
victor cervantes jr (they/elle/iel) is a theatremaker, educator, and community organizer from Phoenix, AZ. they have served on the selection panels for American Playwriting Foundation’s Relentless Award; American Musical Theatre Project; HERE Arts HARP Residency Award; NAMT: Impact & Exploration Fund Grant Award; Eugene O’Neill’s Musical Theater and Playwrights Conference; Playwrights Realm’s Development Programs; Princess Grace Awards; Terrence McNally Fellowship at Rattlestick; and the Theater Producers of Color Cohort. they served as the Associate Producer of New Work and Innovation & Strategy at Oregon Shakespeare Festival; Associate Producer at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater; and Co-Artistic Director of Middle Voice at Rattlestick. they have enjoyed teaching for ASU, Columbia University, Hunter College, NTI at The O’Neill Theater Center, NYU’s Tisch School for the Arts, and schools serving the ASD community. First-Generation College Graduate: BFA NYU/Tisch School for the Arts — Lee Strasberg Centennial Scholar and Martin Luther King Jr. Scholar; and Laurents/Hatcher Centennial Award recipient.
3:30 - 5:30 PM
30-minute small group coaching sessions with Anthony A. Jackson (Limit 3 per session)
First come first served! 30-minute small group sessions with Anthony A. Jackson.
(Limit 3 people per session)
Anthony A. Jackson
Anthony A. Jackson is a director, educator, and arts administrator. As Director of the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre, he leads a team serving students and adults across nine Bay Area counties. Previously at Arena Stage, he managed training programs and partnerships, and traveled to India and Croatia as a U.S. State Department guest artist, devising original plays with youth and community organizations. As an actor, Anthony has toured nationally and performed with the Shakespeare Theatre Company, Olney Theatre, Arena Stage, and other regional theatres.
30-minute individual coaching sessions with Daria Hepps (Limit 4 sessions)
First come first served! 30-minute individual sessions with Daria Hepps.
(Limit 4 sessions)
Daria Hepps
Daria Hepps is a dynamic fundraising professional with over 25 years of experience, exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, and a proven track record of building strategic, meaningful, and lasting relationships with individual and institutional supporters. She is a trusted thought-partner for nonprofit leaders looking to grow their organization's fundraising capacity. Daria served as Associate Director of Development for 14 years (2009–2022) at the acclaimed Berkeley Repertory Theatre, where she led institutional and planned giving and oversaw a major gifts portfolio. Earlier in her career, she served as Development Director for both Smuin Ballet and Aurora Theatre Company, and she now serves as President of Aurora's Board of Trustees. Today, as principal of Daria Hepps Consulting, Daria works with individuals and organizations across the arts and beyond, helping them build the fundraising capacity to create a more empathetic, humane, and just world.
Session Descriptions
Morning Plenary
Land Acknowledgement
Morning Plenary, Z Space, Steindler Stage
Linda Amayo-Hassan
Linda Amayo-Hassan is an enrolled member of the Spirit Lake Tribe. She’s a Native/Chicana actor, playwright, and director. Linda is the Founder & Artistic Director of Theatre Cultura, and a board member with PlayGround. Linda has performed at the Aurora Theatre, Shotgun Players, Oakland Theater Project and Town Hall. She had the honor of a summer residency at Berkeley Rep Ground Floor in 2024. Linda has an MFA from UMKC and teaches at Chabot College.
Plenary Panel
State of the State: Arts and Culture in California
Morning Plenary, Z Space, Steindler Stage
California theatre is evolving. New partnerships are emerging, audiences are changing, and the challenges facing our field demand fresh thinking. Join leaders from across California for a conversation about the forces shaping theatre today and the opportunities ahead. Together, we'll explore where we're gaining momentum, what questions deserve our attention, and how we can build a stronger, more connected future for California theatre.
More panelist information coming soon!
Emilya Cachapero
Emilya Cachapero (she/her/siya) is the Co-Executive Director for National and Global Programming for Theatre Communications Group and has been active in the global arts community for more than 40 years. Formerly as TCG’s Director of Grantmaking Programs she guided TCG’s grant programs, professional development programs, international programs and selected special projects. That work is represented by 1200+ grants to theatre organizations and individuals and the development of 22 impactful national re-grant programs. For 11 years she was a member of the Executive Board and Council of International Theatre Institute (ITI) Worldwide and was a US National Commissioner to UNESCO from 2002 – 2008. Ms. Cachapero has facilitated workshops and trainings for groups that include the Norwegian Consulate, Grantmakers in the Arts, Chorus America, the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, the Weissberg Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon foundation, and the Pew Charitable Trusts. She was instrumental in creating the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival and was its founding producer for the first two years of the program. Ms. Cachapero is a published poet who received her Bachelor of Arts degree in creative writing from San Francisco State University and an honorary M.F.A. from the American Conservatory Theater. She is an alumna of the James P. Shannon Leadership Institute and artEquity National Facilitator Training.
Julie Baker
Julie Baker has been the CEO of California’s statewide arts advocacy organizations since late 2018. During her tenure, she has increased the legislative influence and visibility of arts and culture communities by building coalitions across for-profit and non-profit sectors of California’s creative industries. She has championed a month-long arts awareness and advocacy campaign every April and fought for resources and legislation to serve and protect artists and cultural workers. Julie has served in various leadership roles, including California State Captain to Americans for the Arts’ National Arts Action Summit, co-chair of the creative economy working group at the CA Economic Summit, and co-chair of the Western Arts Advocacy network for Creative West, where she is also a member of the Board of Trustees.
In 2025, she was appointed to the CalNonprofits Board of Directors. She also serves as Board President of California Heritage: Indigenous Research Project. Her past roles include serving on the Nevada County school board (2020-2024) and as an appointed member of the State of California’s 2022 Entrepreneurship & Economic Mobility Task Force (EEMTF) and the Creative Economy Working Group (2024-25).
Julie’s background in arts administration and non-profit management includes eight years as Executive Director of The Center for the Arts and the California WorldFest. Her entrepreneurial and commercial arts experience includes owning a fine arts gallery for emerging artists, co-founding the Flow art fair, founding the consulting firm Julie Baker Projects, curating a world music series at the Crocker Art Museum, serving as President of a NYC arts marketing firm, and working with Christie’s Auction House.
Her advocacy and community impact have been widely recognized. In 2021, she received the Americans for the Arts Alene Valkanas State Arts Advocacy Award for transformative legislative advocacy. She was also honored with the Nevada County Arts Council’s inaugural Peggy Levine Arts & Community Service Award.
Lyz Luke
Lyz Luke is a cultural leader and arts advocate with more than 20 years of experience advancing arts, culture, and community empowerment. As Cultural Affairs Manager for the City of Oakland, she leads investments in the creative economy, cultural infrastructure, and cross-sector partnerships. Previously, she served as Executive Director of Living Jazz and founded the award-winning UnderCover Presents, engaging thousands of artists throughout her career.
Josy Miller
Josy Miller is an Arts Programs Manager at the California Arts Council, where she has served since 2016. At the CAC, Miller manages a team that oversees the agency’s statewide Cultural Districts program, Individual Artist Fellowships, California Creative Corps, and Arts & Youth portfolio. A theatre director and scholar, she received her Ph.D. in Performance Studies from the University of California, Davis. Miller has been the recipient of the Center for Cultural Innovation's Emerging Arts Leader Award, the Mellon Foundation Teaching/Research Fellowship in Early Modern Studies, and the University of California Institute for Research in the Arts’ Major Grant Award (for her production of The Dogs of War at the 2014 Edinburgh Fringe Festival). She works regularly as visiting faculty for the UC Davis Department of Theatre and Dance and as a freelance theatre director in the greater Capital region. Her article "Performing Collective Trauma: 9/11 and the Reconstruction of American Identity" appears in the collection History, Memory, Performance. She is co-editor, with Peter Lichtenfels, of Shakespeare and Realism: On the Politics of Style.
Lily Tung Crystal
Lily Tung Crystal is the artistic director of East West Players in Los Angeles, the former artistic director of Theater Mu in the Twin Cities, and the co-founder of Ferocious Lotus Theatre Company in the Bay Area. She is also an award-winning actor/singer and director who has worked on new and reimagined plays and musicals across the country. She most recently directed the world premiere of David Henry Hwang’s 2026 version of Flower Drum Song at EWP.
Breakout Session A
Unlocking the Promise of Prop 28: Strategies for Sustainable Arts Education Programs
Breakout A, Theatre of Yugen
California’s Prop 28 represents a historic investment in arts education, but many districts and arts organizations are still figuring out how to use these funds strategically and sustainably. This session focuses on how theatre educators, administrators, and arts organizations can leverage Prop 28 to build long-term, equitable theatre programs rather than short-term fixes.
Participants will gain a clear understanding of what Prop 28 does and does not allow, including common compliance pitfalls such as supplement vs. supplant and the 80 percent staffing requirement. From there, the session shifts into practical strategy. How do we design theatre pathways that last? How do we partner with districts to expand access and deepen impact? How can arts organizations position themselves as essential collaborators in this new funding landscape?
Alli Gamlen
Alli Gamlen is an award-winning performer, director, and arts educator committed to equity and anti-racist practices in arts education. A Bay Area native, she has spent more than 20 years serving students, families, and educators through culturally sustaining and inclusive arts practices. Alli is a Musical Theatre Instructor at Studio A.C.T. and the Visual and Performing Arts Coordinator at the San Mateo County Office of Education.
Multilingual Theatre: Producing in Our Own Words
Breakout A, Z Space, Steindler Stage
Language shapes how we see the world and how we tell our stories, yet most of our performances are limited to English. What happens when we expand out script, making space for more languages to take center stage? Our panel of experts invite you to join them as they share the joys of producing theatre in their own words, how they explore language in their shows, and the unique gifts linguistic access can bring to an audience.
Allan S. Manalo
Allan “Samson” Manalo is a Filipino American writer, director, producer, theatre artist, and stand-up comic who has performed in venues throughout 46 States and three countries. He, along with his wife Joyce Juan Manalo, is credited with ushering in the Filipino American era of Bindlestiff Studio, a San Francisco black box theatre which has operated in the heart of SOMA Pilipinas since 1989. In May 2025, with funding support from Theatre Bay Area’s CA$H grant program, Samson wrote and performed his only solo theatrical show, IN BITUIN, as a way to deal with the grief of losing his wife Joyce to cancer. Samson is also the author of GOSSIP, SEX, AND THE END OF THE WORLD: THE COLLECTED WORKS OF TONGUE IN A MOOD, a book that chronicles the popularity of his sketch comedy troupe “tongue in A mood” and the takeover of Bindlestiff Studio. Click here to learn about the Joyce Juan Manalo Legacy Fund for Pinay Artists and click here to learn more about Joyce Juan Manalo.
Lorna Velasco
Lorna Velasco is a theatre artist who began her training at Bindlestiff Studio under founding director Chrystene Ells. She earned a B.A. in Anthropology from UC Berkeley, studied traditional performance at the Arts Institute of Indonesia, and received an M.A. in Drama from San Francisco State University. A former principal puppeteer with Larry Reed's ShadowLight Theatre, she toured nationally and internationally. After Allan Manalo and Joyce Juan Manalo transformed Bindlestiff into the nation's only permanent Filipino theatre arts space, Lorna succeeded Allan as Artistic Director. Today, Bindlestiff is San Francisco's longest-running black box theatre. Now based in Seattle, Lorna founded Sariwa Farm, a sustainable agricultural program that centers bayanihan (collective power) through inspired gatherings, performance, and storytelling.
Virginia Blanco
Virginia Blanco is an actor, director, and theatremaker with regional acting credits including Oakland Theater Project, TheatreFirst, Theatre of Yugen, Cutting Ball Theater, Anton's Well Theater Company, and La Lengua Theater. She trained at Studio ACT, Berkeley Rep School of Theatre, and Shakespeare & Company, and holds a bachelor’s degree in Communications from the University of Buenos Aires. In 2019, she founded La Lengua Theater, serving as Artistic Director and Producer. She’s an artist in residence at Brava Theater and a TBA Arts Leadership fellow. Follow: @virginia.m.blanco and lalengua.org
Antoine Hunter
Oakland native Antoine Hunter aka PurpleFireCrow is an award-winning internationally known Black, Indigenous, Deaf, Disabled, choreographer, dancer, actor, instructor, speaker, producer and Deaf advocate. PurpleFireCrow creates opportunities for Disabled, Deaf, and hearing artists, produces Deaf-friendly events, and founded the Urban Jazz Dance Company in 2007 and Bay Area International Deaf Dance Festival in 2013. Awards include the 2023 Dance Magazine Award, 2022 Disability Futures Fellowship, 2021 Dance Teacher Award, 2019 Disability Changemaker, 2019 National Dance/USA fellowship recognized by the Mayor of Oakland, 2018 inaugural Jeanette Lomujo Bremond Humanity Arts Award and 2017 Isadora Duncan (Izzie) for BAIDDF.
Hunter’s work has been performed globally and he has lectured across the U.S. including at Kennedy Center’s VSA, Harvard and Duke University, and the National Assembly of State Arts as an ambassador for social change. Hunter utilizes his company’s artistic talents to engage with audiences, empower Deaf and disabled communities, and advocate for human rights and access, working to end discrimination and prejudice.
Hunter’s shoe company DropLabs and Susan Paley released an innovative haptic product to help people feel music. Hunter curated 2021 Bay Area Deaf Arts at SOMArts, is a 2021 YBCA 100 honoree, is on the production team of Signing Animation actively working on inclusive films, and serves on the boards of Dance/USA, BABDA, Museum of Dance and councils for CalArts Alumnx and Intrinsic Arts.
In response to Covid-19 in July 2020, Hunter founded #DeafWoke, an online talk show that amplifies BIPOC Deaf and Disabled stories as a force for cultural change. Www.realurbanjazzdance.com
Karina Gutiérrez
Karina Gutiérrez (She/Her) is a Bay Area-based director, dramaturg, and scholar. She is passionate about supporting new play development, fostering local artists, and creating welcoming, equitable, and accessible theatre spaces and classrooms. She considers theatre a powerful space for social change and the mending, healing, and restoring of communities.
As a director and dramaturg, Karina has had the pleasure of working with Bay Area Children’s Theatre, BRAVA, Magic Theatre, Crowded Fire, Huntington Theatre, Magic Theatre, PlayGround, Playwright’s Foundation, Shotgun Players, Stanford University, TheatreFirst, Townhall Theatre, UC Berkeley, West Edge Opera, and Word for Word. She is additionally a member of the Latinx Theatre Commons Steering Committee, Theatre Bay Area, and a founding member of the Bay Area Latinx Theatre Alliance Network (BALTAN).
Karina received her Ph.D. in Theatre and Performance Studies from Stanford University, where she was awarded the Carl Weber Prize for integration of Creative Practice and Scholarly Research. Her scholarship concentrates on the intersection of politics and performance, specifically how digital interventions, institutionalization efforts, and historical narrative affect the development and sustainability of social and politically engaged performance companies and collectives in the Americas. Karina currently serves as the Theatre Bay Area Board secretary.
Before You Decide: A Working Session on AI and Theatre
Breakout A, Z Below
Some of us are already using AI in their work. Some have decided not to. Most have questions they haven't had a good place to ask. What does it actually do? When it makes something, whose work is it? What happens to the people who were paid for that work? Join Dr. Shubham Atreja of USF's Center for AI and Data Ethics for a session that's neither a sales pitch nor a eulogy. A short, plain-language look at what these systems really do and don't do. Most of the hour will focus on real situations theatres are facing now, where the answer isn't obvious, and the room won't agree. No technical background required. No position required. Bring your enthusiasm (or skepticism); it will be useful here.
Shubham Atreja
Shubham Atreja is an Assistant Professor of Data Science and AI at the University of San Francisco. He brings deep experience designing computing technologies in both industry and academia, and understands how these systems shape human behavior and society. He holds a PhD in Information Science from the University of Michigan.
What Lasts: A Movement Inquiry for Theatremakers
Breakout A, Joe Goode Annex
What can we learn about longevity from making? Right here. Right now.
This session is a Choreographic Lab — an in-your-body inquiry experience designed for theater makers who want to step into the question. Using the tools of choreographic practice, we'll investigate what legacy, sustainability, and longevity actually feel like in the body. Not as concepts. As lived experience.
No dance background required. No performance pressure. Real, on-our-feet work that meets us where we are.
Every person in the room is a contributor. Your movement, your perspective, your presence will shape what we discover together.
Claire Alexander
Claire Alexander is a dance artist and educator based in San Jose, California. Her research centers on the body as a primary site of knowing, and how movement shapes the way we connect, communicate, and experience being human together. Her practice spans original choreography for theater and film, devised work, and embodied movement experiences for organizations and communities. Her roots are in youth theater and contemporary physical storytelling, where she developed a practice grounded in unprecious making, active collaboration, and creating with and for the people in the room.
Photo: Scott Donschikowski Photography
Lunchtime Discussion Groups
Lunch Break
During the 12:30 - 2:00 PM lunch break, conference attendees are invited to attend lunchtime discussion groups and workshops to deepen their connection to other theatre professionals and dive deeper into topics discussed in the breakout sessions.
Dress Rehearsal: Donor Dialogues
Join other theatre professionals and practice the art of light shmoozing over food to help strengthen your connections to your patrons and donors.
AI in the Field
Join this discussion group to talk with other theatre professionals about the impacts of AI in your work, the field, and our world. This conversation will be informed by information presented in the morning breakout session on AI, but attendance at that session is not required to join this discussion.
Presentation of Arts Leadership Residents and RHE Charitable Foundation Artistic Fellowship
Afternoon Plenary, Z Space, Steindler Stage
The RHE Charitable 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.
This program is made possible through a generous grant from the RHE Charitable Foundation.
The Arts Leadership 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.
Keynote with Roberto Bedoya
Afternoon Plenary, Z Space, Steindler Stage
Keynote details coming soon!
Roberto Bedoya
Roberto Bedoya is a writer, cultural strategist, and the former Cultural Affairs Manager for the City of Oakland where he shepherded the City’s Cultural Plan, “Belonging in Oakland“ and Oakland’s Cultural Strategist in Government Program, which placed artists and cultural workers in various city departments aiming to operationalize belonging as a democratic charge within government. Throughout his career he has consistently supported artist-centered cultural practices and advocated for expansive definitions of inclusion and belonging in the cultural sector. His essays “Placemaking and the Politics of Belonging and Dis-belonging,” “Spatial Justice: Rasquachification, Race and the City,” and “The Courage of Imagination, A Pro-Democracy Movement, and the Civic We” have reframed cultural policy to shed light on exclusionary practices, decision making processes, and its creative potential. He has been a Rockefeller Fellow at New York University and a Getty Visiting Scholar at the Getty Research Institute. As a public speaker he has addressed audiences at the Creative Time Summit, Grantmakers in the Arts conference, Americans for the Arts conference, and The Other & Belonging Conference. He is the recipient of the United States Artists 2021 Berresford Prize given annually to a cultural practitioner who has contributed significantly to the advancement, well-being, and care of artists in society.
Photo: Bryan Mitchell
Breakout Session B
The Art of Clown: Legacy Trailblazers Teaching Us About Today
This panel is dedicated to Judy Finelli
Breakout B, Joe Goode Annex
The Bay Area has a rich tradition of Clown and Physical Theater, with an exciting range of organizations including performance companies, training programs, and healthcare clowning. Join this session where trailblazers and keepers of these artistic traditions share what they find crucial in Clown in the current moment, socially, politically, and artistically. Inviting us in as they look forward to the future of Clown and Physical Theatre and share their hard-won knowledge from the past.
Josh Matthews
Josh Matthews (They/He) is a teacher, actor, and clown/circus performer. He has traveled around the world with his theater company, Under the Table, performing original physical comedies. Josh Has performed at The Lincoln Center (NYC), The Big Apple Circus (NYC) and Third Rail Projects (NYC) to name a few companies. Josh has been a teaching artist and guest lecturer for the past 25 years, some of the organizations Josh has worked with have been the New Victory Theater, Word For Word theater company, American Conservatory Theater, Occidental College, Sarah Lawrence College, and New York University. Currently Josh serves as a lead clown and artistic director for Medical Clown Project.
Lance "Derique" McGee
Lance "Derique" McGee (Unique Derique) blends clowning and Hambone body percussion with community healing. An international TV performer who has opened for major celebrities, McGee returns to The Marsh Berkeley in December 2026 for his annual holiday show, Fool La La: Whimsical. For 11 years, Lance has also served as a Trauma-Informed Wellness Consultant, coaching educators and teaching artists throughout the Bay Area to build compassionate relationships so students can thrive.
Jeff Raz
Jeff Raz has performed nationally and internationally for decades, starring in Cirque du Soleil’s Corteo, in Comedy of Errors on Broadway, with the Pickle Family Circus, Make*A*Circus, and many other circuses and theatres. He is the co-founder of the Medical Clown Project and five other arts organizations and worked globally as a communications and leadership consultant. His four books are inspired by his career.
Art in the Face of Demonization
Breakout B, Z Space, Steindler Stage
Art is an essential tool of resistance, and yet artists are also often targets. Leaving us to continually ask, in the face of bigotry, fascism, and demonization what is our role as theatremakers? How can we continue sustainably meet this moment? Join us for a panel led by director and TBA Board Chair, Dr. Dawn Monique Williams where experienced local theatre leaders breakdown the impact of systemic demonization on targeted artists, what we can do to support one another, and how theatremakers can use the power of our art to shift the national narrative towards justice.
More panelist information coming soon!
Dr. Dawn Monique Williams
Dr. Dawn Monique Williams (she/her), an Oakland, CA native, served four years as Associate Artistic Director at Aurora Theatre Company. She was the Artistic Associate and a resident artist at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for six seasons before that. Williams is a nationally celebrated director who has worked in theatres across the U.S., including The Kennedy Center, Orlando Shakespeare, American Shakespeare Center, Cal Shakes, Profile Theatre (Portland), Third Rail Rep, American Conservatory Theatre, Chautauqua Theatre Company, Marin Theatre Company, Elm Shakespeare, New Jersey Rep, and African American Shakespeare Company. She holds an MA in Dramatic Literature, an MFA in Directing, and advanced certificates in Film Studies and Screenwriting. Her first book of poetry, Clothed in My Right Mind, was published earlier this year. She serves on the Board of Directors for Theatre Bay Area and the Playwrights’ Foundation and sits on the Drama League National Directors Council. Dawn is a proud member of SDC.
Nabra Nelson
Nabra Nelson is the Artistic Director of Golden Thread Productions, the first US theatre company dedicated to the Middle East. She is a founding company member of the Seattle-based MENA theater company, Dunya Productions, leads the Nubian Foundation for Preserving a Cultural Heritage, and is the co-host of the Kunafa & Shay Theater Podcast. Her plays have been produced and developed in Los Angeles, Seattle, Milwaukee, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Portland, and Minneapolis. nabranelson.com
Ezra Reaves
Ezra Reaves (they/them) is an actor, writer, director, comedian, and drag king. They’ve appeared in TRAVESTY at Woolly Mammoth, VELOUR: A DRAG SPECTACULAR at La Jolla Playhouse (dir. Moisés Kaufman), and THE WIZARD OF OZ at A.C.T. (dir. Sam Pinkleton). TV includes 4400 (CW, GLAAD-nominated). Regional work spans TheatreWorks SF, Center Rep, SF Playhouse, Z Space, and more. NYC: WORLD ECONOMICS (La Mama). Former Co-Artistic Director of NY Neo-Futurists. Director of COMPTON'S CAFETERIA RIOT, now playing in San Francisco. www.ezrareaves.com
Narrative Justice Storytelling: A Framework for Transformative Theatre
Breakout B, Z Below
As theatre makers, we believe our work does good, makes change, and positively impacts thought around us, but what does that mean in measurable terms? This session introduces participants to a framework called Narrative Justice Storytelling (NJS), which was developed over the last seven years by Dr. Timmia DeRoy, a professor at UC Berkeley and life-long theatre director, to enable the facilitation of social transformation through storytelling. NJS includes a series of practices and principles designed to empower those who have been and continue to experience harm to identify their own power and heal self and community. This session will provide participants with the opportunity to discuss case-studies of the impact-focused work they have done in the past, or are planning for the future, utilizing NJS to understand more deeply its efficacy and potential.
Dr. Timmia DeRoy
Dr. Timmia Hearn DeRoy is a practitioner and scholar of social justice-based theatre and film. She directs, writes, produces, dramaturgs, and teaches. She was a founding member of the Trinidad and Tobago PRIDE Arts Festival, former Director of the School for the Arts at the Trinidad Theatre Workshop, the Caribbean’s oldest theater company, and former Marketing Manager at the CaribbeanTales International Film Festival. She works in areas of post-colonial theater practice, transnational feminist praxis, and Disability Justice, and engages in community-oriented and social change focused theater across the Diasporas to which she belongs. Timmia’s directing credits include 10,000: A One-Woman New Play Development by Victoria Taurean (2020) at the Lawrence Arts Center, In the Blood by Suzan-Lori Parks (2019) at the KU University Theatre, an original I Am One musical comedy called Buss de Mark (2016) which premiered at the PRIDE Arts Festival in Trinidad, A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare (2013/4), Two Can Play by Trevor Rhone (2013/4), and An Echo in the Bone by Dennis Scott (2012) at the Trinidad Theatre Workshop. Timmia has taught both acting and playwriting in Trinidad and Tobago as well as the United States and Nepal. She additionally has worked as a new script development consultant in both theater and film, and provides dramaturgical frameworks that decolonize scripts and directing practice. Timmia holds a Ph.D. and an M.A. in Theatre and Performance Studies from the University of Kansas, and a B.A. in Theatre Studies from Yale University. You can see her work at TimmiaHearn.com
The Group Chat Problem: Building a Safer, Smarter Theatre Community
Breakout B, Theatre of Yugen
This session is presented by conference sponsor Ensemble.
Panelist information coming soon!
Breakout Session C
New Journalism Theatre: Rooting New Work in Reported Truth
Breakout C, Z Below
Explore the world of New Journalism Theatre and learn what it takes to incorporate primary sources into playwriting or season curation! Playwrights Julius Rea and Megan Calfas will share tools for how to incorporate interviews, reporting, and true personal experiences into theatrical processes. By staying grounded in truth and telling stories with local relevance, theatremakers can build a sustainable relationship with our audiences and create theatre that has the potential to inspire lasting change. This session will feature a live interview demonstration and a practical toolset to get started in this work. Dig into the world of New Journalism Theatre to discover how incorporating personal experiences can inform your next work and authentically engage your communities and audiences!
Julius Rea
Based in the SF Bay Area, Julius Ernesto Rea uses playwriting, conflict resolution and arts producing to hold an empathetic mirror to the world—encouraging deep listening and deeper discourse. With a background as a journalist, he obtained a degree in Philosophy at San Francisco State University. He co-founded The Forum Collective, a multidisciplinary arts organization that focuses on new journalism, theatre, and community-focused events. Currently fiscally sponsored under Playground SF’s Innovator Incubator, the company has received support from the Sam Mazza Foundation, the California Arts Council, and Zellerbach Family Foundation. As a playwright, Rea has participated in Crowded Fire Theater’s Resilience and Development Lab, and is now part of the 2026-27 Playwrights Foundation Resident Playwrights Program. In 2025, he premiered The Day the Sky Turned Orange as the playwright / book writer, produced by SFBATCO and Z Space. He is a previous recipient of a Theatre Bay Area (TBA) Arts Leadership Residency and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Creative Corps Initiative Grant.
photo: Cheshire Isaacs
Megan Calfas
Megan Calfas is a 2026-2027 Resident Playwright at the Playwrights Foundation in San Francisco. Her play, Sleepover, was performed at the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. She co-directed two sold-out runs of the original show Crushing at the Dixon Place Theater in New York City in April 2023 and at the Bayfront Theater in San Francisco in February 2025. She has coached over 200 people on telling their true, personal stories live on stage and has, herself, performed stories for Back Pocket Media, First Person Story, and on PBS with Stories from the Stage. As a journalist, she has reported on the environment for theLos Angeles Timesand investigated maternal mortality in Zanzibar. She is on staff with the Stanford Storytelling Project.
AB5 and Beyond: Employing CA Theatre Workers Today
Breakout C, Z Space, Steindler Stage
With the changing theatre employment landscape here in California, it can be hard to know how to access accurate and up-to-date information. Join local labor and employment experts as they breakdown what theatres actually need to know to be in compliance with the current laws. This session will help you navigate working with union and nonunion employees, how to align with best practices, and what it takes to create a person-centered workplace that protects and supports our theatre workers while ensuring the stability and resilience of our theatre organizations.
More panelist information coming soon!
Velina Brown
Velina Brown is an actor, director, and co-artistic director of the Tony and Obie award winning San Francisco Mime Troupe with which she’s toured nationally and internationally. For 14 years Velina wrote a monthly advice column called "The Business of Show Biz," named after her coaching practice and workshops. Velina is also a Drama and Film Appreciation teacher at Gateway High School and is currently performing at ACT’s Strand Theater in SFBATCO’s Every Saturday Night.
Lisa A Tromovitch
Lisa A Tromovitch, founder and Executive/Artistic Director of the Shakespeare & Performing Arts Regional Company (SPARC), has over 40 years of experience directing, producing and teaching live theatre. She has led SPARC (formerly Livermore Shakes) for 20 years, with additional leadership experience including PCPA TheatreFest. A past president of the Shakespeare Theatre Association and member of AEA, she remains active with business and theatre organizations that support nonprofits. BA, Dartmouth College. MFA, SMU.
Shireen Wetmore
Shireen Wetmore is a dedicated mediator specializing in complex employment disputes. She has extensive experience with wage and hour matters, including class actions and Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) matters across California and the United States. With a foundation built on 15 years of legal experience, including as a litigation partner at two AM Law 100 firms, and a heartfelt commitment to understanding all parties, Shireen’s empathy-focused approach empowers participants to resolve their most complex disputes.
Get Practical: Hand-to-Hand Stage Combat Workshop
Breakout C, Joe Goode Annex
Take That! Learn to take a punch in this workshop covering unarmed stage combat basics. Get practical experience in this hands-on workshop with stage combat expert Dave Maier. Learn safe practices and protocols for rehearsal and performance of convincing theatrical violence and put these protocols into practice today!
Dave Maier
Dave Maier is a multi-award-winning fight director and stage combat instructor with over 20 years of experience creating the illusion of violence in the Bay Area. He is currently in residence at San Francisco Opera, Marin Shakespeare Company, and Oakland Theater Project. He is currently teaching at UC Santa Cruz, SF State University, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Studio ACT, and Berkeley Rep School of Theatre.
Nurture Bay Area Theatre
Organizational partners and in-kind donations make our events possible! We have sponsorship opportunities at multiple levels for TBAConnect. Reach out to Meghan@TheatreBayArea.org to learn more about the sponsorship opportunities available or select your preferred sponsorship online!