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 (she/her) is a San Francisco-based performer, educator, director, and producer. She is a graduate of the University of New Mexico, with a focus on bilingual performances of Federico Garcia Lorca’s pastoral trilogy, and was a founding member of Tricklock Theatre Company. She has trained with Augusto Boal in Theatre of the Oppressed; Moscow Art Theatre School in Stanislavsky technique and Chekhov; Viewpoints with Mary Overlie; Lunatique Fantastique in found-object puppetry; Theatre of Yugen and Theatre Nohgaku in classical Japanese Noh drama and Kyogen comedy. She has performed nationally and internationally, including the GALA Choruses Festival, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and the Hosho Noh Theatre, Tokyo. She has collaborated with playwrights Erik Ehn, Chiori Miyagawa and Katie Pearl, among others. As a drama instructor, she has taught students from pre-school through college. She has served on the Board of Directors at the Vortex Theatre, ABQ; produced Reading the Kilroys List; served as founding member and Managing Director of Bacchus Players, summer Shakespeare at Coppola Winery; Assistant Managing Director at Theatre of Yugen; Communications Manager for the Bay Area Consortium of Ensemble Theatres; a coproducer of the 2020 Bay Area Women’s Theatre Festival; regional coordinator of the StateraArts mentorship program. She is equally excited by classical, new and devised plays, and joyously collaborates with living writers, with a special emphasis on female playwrights. She is a member of Theatre Bay Area since 2003 and Theatre Communications Group since 1997.
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 Melissa Hillman
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
Melissa Hillman (she/her) East Bay-born Melissa Hillman has been part of the Bay Area theatre community for most of her life. She was the Artistic Director of Impact Theatre and served for a decade on TBA's Theatre Services Committee. She holds a PhD in Dramatic Art from UC Berkeley, and has taught all over the Bay Area, including Cal, CSU East Bay, and the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre. She writes the blog Bitter Gertrude, and has been published by Methuen, HuffPo, TCG, and many others. As a dramaturg, she's worked for a number of companies and playwrights, most recently as PlayCafe's resident dramaturg. As a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion consultant, she specializes in white allyship, cis allyship, and disability. In her free time, she's a Dungeons & Dragons DM and loves to bake. She and her husband, Jon Nagel, have two college-aged children, Jacob and Marian.
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 (they/them) has devoted their life to the theatre, specifically to using it as a tool to activate audiences and incite political change. They’ve worked as an actor, Theatre of the Oppressed facilitator, and producer in Los Angeles, Sacramento, and the Bay Area, working on shows such as The Drowsy Chaperone, Displaced, The Crucible, and F*ggots and their Friends Between Revolutions. A recent UC Berkeley graduate, Mylo was awarded the 2022-23 Theatre Bay Area Arts Leadership Residency, and is currently in residence at Oakland Theater Project.
Leigh Rondon-Davis (they/them) is a theatre performer, dramaturg, director, and producer who has worked widely both within the Bay Area and national industry. They attended Wellesley College and were a member of Oakland's Laney College Fusion Theatre Project. Leigh is on staff as Shotgun Players’ Associate Artistic Director and Crowded Fire Theater’s Director of Artistic Programming & Marketing, where they host a recurring Twitch Stream and are also a Resident Artist. They are an Artistic Company Member at Shotgun and Oakland Theater Project, Casting Director with the Casting Collective, and Producing Director at The Forum Collective. Leigh has had the immense pleasure of working at dozens of local companies, including Aurora Theatre, Curran, Magic Theatre, New Conservatory Theatre Center, PlayGround, Playwrights Foundation, TheatreFIRST, and West Edge Opera. While Leigh wears many hats as a theatre-maker, much of their work and personal passion has been to shift the industry and its culture to be more equitable, inclusive, accessible, and sustainable. Leigh is an organizing member of a number of accountability and EDI groups to help further initiatives and policies to better support BIPOC and other artists of marginalized identities, and they recently completed the anti-racist train-the-trainer program, Making Good Trouble, becoming an anti-racist educator and facilitator. Leigh's practice draws inspiration from liberation and abolition movements, transformative justice, adrienne maree brown’s Emergent Strategy, trauma-informed care, and their experience as a sexual health educator and rape crisis counselor in order to create safe and supportive creative spaces.
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 (she/they) Fight Director, Intimacy Director, and Artistic Director Carla is currently working her third season at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the last two seasons, as their first female fight director. This past fall, their fight and/or intimacy direction was seen at Z Space, SFBATCO New Roots Festival, Golden Thread, Stanford University, TheatreWorks, and A.C.T. Carla has trained for the last 6 years in intimacy direction, first through Intimacy Directors International and then with Intimacy Directors and Coordinators. She is a certified stage combat instructor through Dueling Arts International, where she serves as Vice President on their governing body. Carla is a proud member of MGT (Making Good Trouble) an anti-racist facilitator group focused on the Bay Area, mom of two, and newly named Artistic Director of San Francisco Shakespeare Festival.
Moderated by Jonathan Spector with Lisa Ramirez, Min Kahng, and Nakissa Etemad
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
Nakissa Etemad (she/her) is the Associate Artistic Director of Marin Theatre Company and an Iranian American Dramaturg, Producer, and French Translator, specializing in new BIPOC plays and musicals for 30 years. Recent dramaturgy credits: Justice: A New Musical by Gunderson, Lowdermilk, and Kerrigan (Marin Theatre Co.) and Hotter Than Egypt by Yussef El Guindi (Denver Center for the Performing Arts; world premiere co-production at Marin Theatre Co. & ACT in Seattle). Lead Dramaturg for ReOrient Festivals, and Dramaturg for nine Bay Area Playwrights Festivals. Resident Artist of Golden Thread, Regional VP of LMDA, and former Dramaturg & Literary Manager of The Wilma Theater, San Jose Rep, and San Diego Rep. MFA in Dramaturgy, UCSD. Elliott Hayes Award winner 2015 for The Lark’s four-city productions of Marcus Gardley’s the road weeps, the well runs dry.
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 (she/her) is the Director of Artistic & Artist Development at Crowded Fire Theater Company. A celebrated new plays director, Mina has worked at The Guthrie Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Magic Theatre, Center REPertory Company, American Conservatory Theater, Campo Santo, Shotgun Players, Playwrights Foundation, TheatreFirst, Ferocious Lotus, Bay Area Children’s Theatre, Berkeley Playhouse, and Crowded Fire with such creators as Susan Soon He Stanton, Qui Nguyen, Anna Deavere Smith, Star Finch, J.C. Lee, Christopher Chen, Lauren Gunderson, Isaac Gomez, Philip Kan Gotanda, Young Jean Lee, Idris Goodwin, Lloyd Suh, Dave Harris, Amelia Roper, Adam Chanzit, Sean San Jose, Min Kahng, Wes Nisker, and Dustin Chinn. Mina is a recipient of Theatre Bay Area’s [TBA] Outstanding Direction of a Musical in 2014 and nominated by TBA for Outstanding Direction of a Play in 2017, as well as Shellie Awards Best Director in 2018. She was recognized as a Beinecke Fellow with Yale University in 2022 and will be directing Sanaz Toossi’sEnglish at Berkeley Rep in Spring 2023. Previously, Mina served as the Artistic Associate at Berkeley Repertory Theatre and its center for the creation and development of new work, The Ground Floor. She has also served as Board President of Shotgun Players; as a 2014 Lincoln Center Director’s Lab participant; as one of the founding members of Bay Area Children's Theatre; as a panelist with the Zellerbach Family Foundation, San Francisco Arts Commission, Theatre Bay Area, and Hewlett Foundation; as a speaker for the Getty Leadership Summit; lead facilitator for the Lotus Playwriting Retreat with Playwriting Australia; and Guest Artist at UC Berkeley and Stanford University. In 2016, TBA awarded her the 40@40 distinction for her impact on Bay Area Theater. In 2015, Mina was honored to share her story on TEDx, and in 2016, she was chosen as one of the YBCA100, for "asking questions and making provocations that will shape the future of culture."
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(they/she/siya) is a freelance director, movement artist, and arts administrator based in the San Francisco Bay Area and a graduate of Environmental Studies and Theater Arts from The University of California at Santa Cruz. When not directing, Nikki works in casting and artist outreach, theater education, and arts advocacy for a more equitable, sustainable, and humane creative ecosystem. Nikki is the Curatorial Director at Z Space where they curate the bookings and rental partnerships that populate the venue side of the organization and strive for creative cross-pollination and community building between different performing arts communities. Local creative affiliations include Awesome Theatre, Queer Cat Productions, Killing My Lobster, Custom Made Theater Company, Faultline Theatre, & PianoFight.
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 (she/her) is a bilingual vocalist, songwriter, and dancer. Singing in English and Spanish, she has worked with the Latin company MundoBeat Entertainment and was featured as lead singer of Indianapolis Salsa band Grupo Bembe. She currently performs as a solo artist and is one tenth of Bay Area Choir, Ja Ronn and FLOW; performances include Yoshi’s in Oakland and BottleRock 2019 in Napa Valley. In 2015, Angel moved from Indianapolis to California and has since jumped into musical theatre, teaching, and choreography. Her stage credits include Footlite Musicals, Ray of Light Theatre, New Conservatory Theatre Center, Bay Area Children’s Theatre, and, most recently, the smash hit Natasha and Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 at Shotgun Players. Her exceptional work in musical theatre earned her the 2022-23 RHE Artistic Fellowship. With a dance background in Salsa, Plena, Bhangra, and Hip Hop, Angel has choreographed for Ray of Light Theatre and Peaches Christ Productions. As an educator, she uses her talents to bring out the unique and artistic gifts of her students. She conducts musical workshops with Bay Area Children’s Theatre, serves as Casting Manager at Ray of Light Theatre, Director at Tomorrow Youth Repertory, performer at Bay Area Children’s Theatre, and Education Director for Yeah, Art! In Oakland, CA. Angel’s debut EP, Love Always, Angel was released in 2020. She is currently working on music, score writing for OasisTV in San Francisco, and doing voiceover for BACT’s online platform Play On! Instagram and YouTube @AngelAdedokun For more information, go to Hellosoulangel.com
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 (he/him) works internationally as an art and culture producer for theatre and film. A director, playwright, designer, educator, and facilitator, he is the recipient of awards from the Kennedy Center Meritorious Achievement Award, North Bay Artys, Marquee Journalists, Ellys, Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle, and Theatre Bay Area, and has also been honored with the Solano College Theatre Alumni Award. He is a grant recipient from Theatre Bay Area, Shotgun Players’ Bridging the Gap, SUI Generis, and the National Endowment for the Arts. He has recently come on board at Marin Shakespeare Company as the Artistic Producer of the Summer Season. Past work includes Artistic Facilitator at TheatreFIRST and Co-Artistic Director of Groundswell: The International Theatre Intensive. Jon is a Company Member of both Shotgun Players and PlayGround, a proud member of SDC, the union for stage directors and choreographers, and the father of Evelyn and Jacob.
Moderated by Juan Manzo with Anthony Jackson, LeShawn Holcomb, and Kimiya Shorki
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 Darnell Holcomb is an educator and artist living in Marin City, CA. He teaches Middle School English Language Arts at Martin Luther King Academy and the Artistic Director of Griot Theater Company. He pushes students to their full ability in those spaces, as he encourages them to learn through a cultural and artistic lens. Holcomb holds a Master's in Education from the University of San Francisco in Urban Education and Social Justice and a Bachelor's Degree from California State University Fullerton in Humanities and Afro-Ethnic Studies. He has worked with The African American Shakespeare Company, Marin Theater Company, and Actors Theater of Louisville. His plays have been produced and performed at theaters in California, New York, Washington D.C., Arizona, Utah, and Michigan. Holcomb wishes to continue to write for the stage. More specifically, he hopes to write with youth, where he gets the opportunity to foster and nurture young new voices. leshawn@griottheatercompany.org
Kimiya Shokri (she/her) is a Bay Area born and raised Iranian American educator and creator, committed to creating equitable spaces for and centering the voices of her students. She is an alumna of Saint Mary’s College, where she graduated with a double major BA in English and Theatre. She has taught acting courses at Saint Mary's and has developed and taught curriculum rooted in social justice work and social emotional learning with students from kindergarten through college at American Conservatory Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, California Shakespeare Theater, StageWrite and more. Kimiya is passionate about building community through the lens of ensemble, and has worn many hats as a writer, director, actor, dramaturg, development associate, and (her favorite) teaching artist. Kimiya has joyously returned to Saint Mary's as the Assistant Director of the Delphine Intercultural Center, where she works full time with students that are committed to and passionate about social justice and DEI work.
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.
3-4 PM: Con Floor
With community partners: Dream Warrior Group, Great Star Theater, Landmark Musical Theatre, and TodayTix
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 (she/they) is a multi-hyphenate artist and activist creating for collective liberation from her home in Occupied Huchiun/Oakland, CA. As a theater artist and cultural producer, they have co-created spaces braiding performance, activism, healing, and critical consciousness-raising at theaters, community-based organizations, schools, and parks, behind prison walls and in the streets. She’s won an Isadora Duncan "Izzie" Dance Award, earned award nominations from Theatre Bay Area, and performed with House/Full of Black Women, the Black Choreographers Festival, Dance Brigade’s D.I.R.T. (Dance in Revolt(ing) Times) Festival, Campo Santo, BAMBDFEST, the Bay Area Playwrights Festival, and others. They’ve directed for Playwrights Foundation, PlayGround, and The People’s Conservatory and choreographed for the National Queer Arts Festival, Spectrum Queer Media, and TheatreFIRST. Devised works with her collective The Bonfire Makers include PLACE to LAND (an oakland love story), which explored cycles of displacement and pathways toward a just future in Oakland, and a performance-based toolkit to organize for housing justice and Proposition 10. Tierra’s activism has included alternatives to displacement, homelessness, and the housing crisis; defunding police terrorism; and co-organizing a transformative justice intensive to address sexual and identity-based violence in Bay Area theater — check out THE REAL WORK: A Podcast About Theater Culture & Transformative Justice, co-produced with We Rise Production. Tierra’s speculative abolitionist short film THE REMEMBERING TIME screened at the 18th International Queer Women of Color Film Festival.
Elizabeth Carter is a longtime San Francisco Bay Area Theatre actor/director. Her regional directing credits include most recently Confederates (St. Louis Rep), upcoming Steel Magnolias (TheatreWorks Silicon Valley), and past productions Every 28 Hours Plays and A Place To Belong (A.C.T Conservatory), Stoop Stories (Aurora Theatre Co.) and associate director on the ripple the wave that carried me home (Berkeley Rep/Goodman Theatre) and assistant director How I Learned What I Learned (Oregon Shakespeare Festival). She directed the ground breaking 2020 virtual King Lear, (SF Shakespeare Festival), Feel the Spirit (Shotgun Players/Colt Couer NYC). Her production of for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf (African American Shakespeare Company) was named Broadway World Best Play. Her directorial film debut Bottled Spirits will be released this Spring. A graduate of Mills College, she is a recipient of the Bridging the Gap Grant and is a 2019 alum of Director’s Lab West. Elizabeth is the inaugural SDCF Lloyd Richards New Futures Resident Director at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and is a 2023 Princess Grace Award Nominee.
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 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 presenter
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 Sarah Coykendall with Ray Oppenheimer, David Herrera, and Delaney
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
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.”
David Herrera (he/him), is a gay Latinx choreographer, producer, and community leader. He is the Artistic Director and lead choreographer of David Herrera Performance Company (DHPCo.) in San Francisco, CA. In 2007, he launched DHPCo. as a response to the lack of Latinx visibility and representation in the U.S. modern/contemporary dance field. DHPCo. centers intersectional Latinx/e/a/o and Hispanic experiences in their dance work and through their community impact programming. David also launched LatinXtensions, a mentorship program for emerging Latinx and Hispanic dance artists, and Latinx Hispanic Dancers United, a national caucus, pipeline, and network from which working artists unite to form coalitions, collaborate, and gain cultural and political power.
David served as an advisor to the Festival of Latin American Contemporary Choreographers for multiple years, is an Isadora Duncan Dance Awards committee member, and is co-facilitator of “Dancing Around Race”, a community arts organization dedicated to the research and implementation of cultural equity in the dance sector led by Gerald Casel. David has also mentored homeless individuals through the Community Housing Partnership in San Francisco. He has served in multiple grant funding panels regionally and nationally.
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 is from the San Francisco Bay Area. They practiced theatre at Impact Theatre in Berkeley, CA. Delaney founded Splathouse Productions in 2014 with their long-time creative partner, Sarah Coykendall. Delaney is known for their Splathouse productions (The Sadist, Eegah, and Plan 9 from Outer Space) and the Oakland comic-thriller, Medias Res (2019).
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
Joe Waterman is deliriously happy to be part of TBA’s Annual Conference. He has performed in 7 Dreams on the Rocks Productions; most recently as Newt/TalkyTina/Rod Sherling in The Twilight Zone Parody Series Special Edition at Stage Werx. He also performed in Terror Vault: The Summoning in October at The SF Mint. Joe is a visual artist and designer. Follow his work on social media @burnsybannister.
Moderated by Michaela Goldhaber of Wry Crips with Tiffany Taylor from Gravity Access Services 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
Michaela (Mickey) Goldhaber (she/her) is a playwright, director, producer, and performer who has worked in New York and the San Francisco Bay Area.. She is Artistic Director of Wry Crips Disabled Women’s Theatre in Berkeley and the Lead Instigator/Co-Artistic Director (with Kathryn Seabron) of the Bay Area Women’s Theatre Festival. With Wry Crips she cowrote, directed, and performed in Iretonia, a sci-fi fantasy at TheatreFirst and Wry Crips Occupy! at ACT’s Costume Shop Theatre. She co-directed an online performance of Wry Crips Occupy in collaboration with Phamaly Theatre. In New York, she co-founded and served as Co-Artistic Director (with Heather Ondersma) for Flying Fig Theater, a company whose mission was to tell women’s stories on stage by commissioning new works and rediscovering plays from the past. She directed The Wonder! A Woman Keeps a Secret by Susanna Centlivre and Shiloh Rules by Doris Baizley for Flying Fig. Her plays include The Lady Scribblers (Custom Made Theatre Company and Those Women Productions), The Rehab Follies (Central Works Writers Workshop), Watch Out for Falling Women (Berkeley Rep School of Theatre), and What Does it Matter? A Morality adapted from the short story by E. M. Forster (Center for Sex and Culture). Her plays are available at the New Play Exchange. She wrote about returning to directing after having a stroke for Theatre Bay Area.
Tiffany Taylor (she/her) is a Blind queer dancer and accessibility consultant. She holds a BA in Theatre and brings her lived experience of blindness to help performers and venues make their materials accessible to persons who are blind or have low vision. Tiffany consults on a wide range of topics including website, marketing and social media accessibility, venue access and implementation of audio description services and haptic touch tours for events for blind patrons. She sits on the Board of Directors for Jess Curtis Gravity and works as a Visual Access Consultant for Gravity Access Services.
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.