Coming up next: April 29, 2025

FIPPP Partnership Show

Featuring performers from the Formerly Incarcerated People’s Performance Project (FIPPP)

hosted by Wayne Harris

7:00 p.m., at The Marsh Berkeley cabaret

Head shots of performers: Juan Salinas, Gerald Cypert, Scott Schell, Freddy Lee Johnson

Music

Mark Kenward, original songs on guitar, with special guests Megan Armstrong and Tyrone “Short Leg” Johnson


Stories 

Juan Salinas, Salinas: Etched in Stone
Have you ever seen your own name carved into a prison wall? From that first hit of speed at thirteen, to being arrested after mourning the loss of a childhood friend, Juan’s story navigates addiction, grief, and incarceration. It’s a journey toward redemption—one choice, one day, one class on the yard at a time.

Gerald Cypert, Crossing Lines
What is the path from trusting child to committed criminal? Is redemption possible? 

Scott Schell, Time Machine
A tale of addiction, crime and incarceration. Crime and Punishment, is it that simple? Underlying issues brought to the surface illuminate things not clear at first glance. A swift introduction to the criminal injustice system makes one question where am I or when am I?

Freddy Lee Johnson, Armed for Life
Freddy Lee shares his life story from hopelessness to hope, emphasizing the multitudes of individuals and experiences that influenced his journey.

About the Performers

Juan Salinas: Formerly incarcerated and a grateful recovering addict, Juan finds healing through storytelling. As a Rhetoric student at UC Berkeley, he’s thankful for Berkeley Underground Scholars’ support in transforming his life. His creative work blends writing, photography, culinary arts, and performance to inspire social change.

Gerald Cypert works for a local nonprofit providing a safety net for system impacted youths and adults. He’s starting a side project focused on workforce development for the same demographic. He enjoys Siddha Yoga Meditation, watercolor painting, astrology, studying AI, working out, enjoying the profundity of freedom, and connecting with others. 

Scott Schell, a performer with the Formerly Incarcerated People’s Performance Project (FIPPP), was born in Nantucket Massachusetts. He got involved in drug use at a young age, moved to San Francisco in 1997. He was arrested in 1998 for Grand Theft. He has a unique lived experience and his dedication to this very important work exemplifies his investment in the betterment of our communities. 

Freddy Lee Johnson is one of the original members of The Formerly Incarcerated People’s Performance Project. Music has always been important to Fred. Ever since he saw a beat up trumpet in a Pawn shop at 15 years old. Sentenced to prison at 18, a turning point for Fred was joining the San Quentin Stage Band. When paroled, he became involved with The Harm Reduction Coalition, a national organization that promotes health and dignity of individuals and communities impacted by drug use. To this day, Freddy Lee continues his work through his music and storytelling.

Mark Kenward is a director, producer, creator, and performer of solo theater. He has directed over 100 one-person shows, and is the producer and co-director of The Formerly Incarcerated People’s Performance Project. Making music is one of his favorite pastimes, and tonight he is grateful for the opportunity to step out for a friendly crowd. Y’all going to be friendly, right?

Ticket Information

Tickets: $10–$20 general seating sliding scale.

Online ticket sales close 2 hours before each performance,
and additional tickets may be available for purchase at the door.

buy tickets

March 25, 2025

hosted by Natacha Ruck

collage of performers: Victoria Sol, Janet Thornburg, Algiin Ford, Holly Shaw, Allan Pleander

Music

Victoria Sol, Acoustic duo set of original singer songwriter music influenced by love for Joni Mitchell, Kate Bush, the American Songbook, and experimental music making techniques.

Stories

Algiin Ford, The Silent Assassin: It Happened One Day
An examination of both the positive and negative impact of addictive tendencies on the collective consciousness, and their use and misuse through conscious and unconscious mind sets.

Allan Pleaner, What Could Be Easier? (excerpt)
I simply need to fill out the form, the key to my getting Social Security. For heaven’s sake, what could be easier?

Holly Shaw, Roar!
After her boyfriend dies, Holly makes an unexpected discovery about his true feelings. With help from all sides of herself she explores the nature of secrets, the crazy way people react to death, and what it costs to have someone believe in you.

Janet Thornburg, Showdown (Excerpt)
One way to view the psyche is as a family of sub-personalities, with inner children, inner parents, inner rebels, and inner creators. What happens if the internal family members can’t agree on adventure versus security? Showdown!

About the Performers

Algiin Ford is a writer/performer/poet/storyteller passionate about the craft of artistic expression and its transform of power to reshape the tone of the collective consciousness into a more vibrationally inclusive present .

Originally from a small town in South Africa, Allan Pleaner has lived with his family in San Francisco over 40 years. When he’s not writing or on picket lines, he does wood turning, dabbles in magic illusions, builds depression-era model buildings and works as a psychotherapist. 

Holly Shaw is a stand-up comedian and storyteller who regularly performs at comedy clubs and showcases all over Northern CA and competed in the 2024 San Francisco Int’l  Comedy Competition. Shaw has spent a lifetime on stage, T.V. and film as an actor, professional dancer and later as a speaker and coach. She’s currently working on publishing her third book, Queen Lessons: What Stand-Up Comedy Taught Me About Courage. www.HollyShawComedy.com

Janet Thornburg has written and performed eight solo shows in San Francisco. In August 2024, her solo piece, The Bequest, was voted Audience Choice Short at the In Front of Your Eyes Festival at the Marsh in San Francisco. Showdown, her current piece, has been developed with David Ford as part of her new full-length show in progress.


Victoria Sol is a Cuban-American artist and musician based in San Francisco, CA. Her first EP explores themes of place, ancestry, climate catastrophe, grief, limerence, and the loss of her two brothers. She studied humanities at UC Berkeley and design at the GSD. Algorithms have described her music as “melancholic romantic idm adjacent pop that features a dreamy vocal and a grooving beat” Other AIs have called it “downtempo electronica for when you’re feeling sexy, sad, idk.”

February 25, 2025

7:00 p.m., at The Marsh Berkeley cabaret

hosted by Mark McGoldrick

Collage of performer headshots: Theresa Donahoe, Steve Budd, Tylon T-Boogie Sizemore, Mark Adams

Music

Misha Safran & Anthony Carpintieri,  folk, americana, social justice

Stories

Theresa Donahoe, All the Great New Things to Come (excerpt)
December 2019, my sister and I are enjoying our annual holiday visit in Union Square in San Francisco. All of a sudden, a guy on a bike whizzes past me and practically knocks me over. He yells, “Tourist!”
Me? I am NOT a tourist! TRIGGERED!!

Steve Budd, Oy, What They Said About Love (excerpt) 
Is there such a thing as “the one”?  Steve Budd wonders why other people can tie the knot and he can’t. Oy, does he wonder! So, he asked a bunch of couples what brought them together and what keeps them from pulling apart. Meet a Jewish couple who met on Craigslist, an interfaith pair who met at a Halloween party, and more.

Tylon T-Boogie Sizemore, The High Price of Restitution: My $6000 lesson (excerpt)
You know that time you shouldn’t have been sent to state prison but were, and almost died for it? Tylon will share some of the challenges and triumphs of her time in the prison system, including a near-death experience that changed her life forever. It’s a story about resilience, hope, and a willingness to overcome adversity.

Mark Adams, Unravelling the Construct
Come hop on my bike and experience life on the Playa in real-time. A fun romp through the craziness of Burning Man, complete with a sandstorm, crazy outfits, and a chance to participate in the shenanigans. Not for the squeamish.

About the Performers

Theresa Donahoe is a writer, actor, and fourth-generation San Francisco Bay native. She has been performing solo shows since 2014. theresadonahoe.com

Steve Budd is a playwright, standup comic, and award-winning solo performer.  His shows What They Said About Love and Seeing Stars have enjoyed runs at The Marsh.  He’s performed with the San Francisco Playhouse, Marin Shakespeare, Central Works, Custom Made, the New Conservatory, and many other Bay Area theater companies. stevebudd.com

Tylon T-Boogie Sizemore, a native of Oakland, CA, is a captivating stand-up comedian and storyteller with a gift for making people laugh. Drawing inspiration from her parents and life experiences, Tylon discovered her passion for comedy and theater. With a background in Broadcast Journalism and Community Social Services, she entertains and actively contributes to the community through restorative initiatives. She is a fellow in the Formerly Incarcerated People’s Performance Project (FIPPP.org).

Mark Adams is a storyteller and world traveler, having lived in three continents.  After a career in high tech, where he nurtured visions of world domination, he has focused his storytelling on his personal journey. This is his third piece and by far the most fun!

January 28, 2025

7:00 p.m. in The Marsh Berkeley cabaret

hosted by Tim Ereneta

Music

Beryl and Nicole, acoustic rock covers

Stories

Irma Herrera, Class Migrant: de Aquí y de Allá (Excerpt)
Is it the grammar error, the less than perfect teeth, the silence when the conversation turns to childhood summer vacations? What clues reveal whether we grew up poor, middle class, or downright rich? Class Migrant explores the joy and the sadness that come with class mobility. What can she do with all the rage she feels when people born on third base believe they’ve hit a triple every time?

Pearl Louise, Pass the Nails and Shame the Devil (excerpt)
A Southern family originally from Louisiana decides to build a house in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Oakland, CA.  It’s the Mid-1980’s and the Crack Epidemic and all its danger, recklessness and destruction has taken a foothold in this struggling neighborhood. But with the determination of this family, headed by a strong-willed mother and father and their daughter Pearl, they gather a motley crew of men: parolees, those fighting drug addiction, the least fortunate, and together they fight to make this dream home into a reality. 

Brandon Spars, Lessons I learned…
In my early days as a ninth-grade teacher, I found myself on a retreat with sixty freshmen and only one other chaperone. Needless to say, a lot happened… and I learned a lot. 

Linda Yemoto, Lunar New Year Bullfrogs … and more
What do Buddhism, bullfrogs, and Tilden Regional Park have in common? Come find out!

About the Performers

Beryl and Nicole are a Bay Area duet that does your favorite covers and your new favorite originals, using whatever instruments they can get access to.

Irma Herrera is a writer, solo performer, and former civil rights lawyer. Her first play, Why Would I Mispronounce My Own Name? has been presented at theaters, colleges, and universities nationwide. https://www.irmaherrera.com/

Pearl Louise is a Bay Area performance artist and mother who performed in the Fresno Fringe Show, several performances in SF Stage Werx, Tell It On Tuesday at the Marsh and performed two solo pieces for the Formerly Incarcerated People’s Performance Project (FIPPP), leading to the opportunity to perform at Berkeley Repertory Theater.

Brandon Spars has been a high school teacher for more than twenty years. In his classroom, he began telling folktales and personal stories that have taken him as far as the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee, and the Federation of Asian Storytellers Conference in Suwon, Korea. He is a board member of the Storytelling Association of California, and he resides with his wife of thirty years in Santa Rosa. https://www.brandonspars.com/

As a park naturalist, Linda Yemoto presented nature programs, guided hikes and backpacking programs for over 30 years with the East Bay Regional Park District. She co-chairs the Bay Area Storytelling Festival, and is a member of the Storytelling Corps at the Asian Art Museum, where she uses Asian folktales to interpret the art to school kids and families.

October 27, 2024

Stagebridge Partnership Performance

Collage of headshots: Linda Wright, Jordan Feinstein, Eleanor Clement Glass
Collage of headshots: Samir Saad, Melinda Ginne, Cynthia Cudaback

Music

Jordan Feinstein Piano and vocal / singer-songwriter
Very cool sounds from one of the Bay Area’s most sought after performers. Playing everything from Jerry Garcia to Professor Longhair, Jordan will take you on a musical journey!

Stories

Cynthia Cudaback, Raven and the Tides
A personal variation of a traditional Native American story. Cynthia hopes it will inspire you to listen to the original, perhaps as told by Gene Tagaban.

Eleanor Clement Glass, The Maestro
Do you think you can control how your things are distributed after you die? Can you orchestrate how your children will behave? How they will treat one another? To these questions, my mother, Gloria Baldecano Santiago Clement, answered an emphatic “YES!”

Melinda Ginne, Signs and Symptoms
A look back at the career of a psychologist from one of the first patients she ever saw to one of the last. Some lessons take time to be learned.

Samir Saad, Transitions
Samir lived in New York City for a while… and loved it! Good money and good friends, but the weather in summer and winter was horrible. So Samir moves to Oakland, California, and settled into a weather agreeable all year around and MAGIC happens!

Linda Wright, The Spirit of Fanny Lou Hamer
Do you know what it was like to grow up in Mississippi in the early 1900’s poorer than dirt? How did a child feel, raised in miserable poverty, crushed by injustice and cruelty? Fannie Lou discovered her breakthrough and turned her freedom into a rallying cry for the entire world: “Nobody’s Free until Everybody’s Free.”

About the Performers

Jordan Feinstein is one of the Bay Area’s go-to keyboard players—a regular in 30 or so bands as well as leading his own, Jordan and the RituaL. He is the musical director for Jay Lane and the Mayhem, and regularly plays with Joe and Hattie Craven and the Smokedaddies (to name a few). Jordan is a partner in True Productions, a Bay Area music and event company. He also runs a recording project studio in San Francisco, Studio 352.

Cynthia Cudaback loves to combine her passions for science, exploration, teaching and storytelling. Her stories join the mystery and myth of the ocean with personal experiences and real science. From gentle tales of love and longing to tall tales salted with sea spray, prepare to experience the ocean in all its moods.

Eleanor Clement Glass tells folktales from around the world as a volunteer with the Storyteller Corps of the Asian Art Museum, in libraries, public elementary schools and the YouTube channel Asian American Storytopia. She also draws stories from her Black and Filipino heritage for the personal stories she shares at local Bay Area and national storytelling venues. She earned her storytelling chops from the storytelling training programs at Stagebridge and the Asian Art Museum, where she is currently co-teaching a New Storyteller Class for 47 budding storytellers. She lives in Oakland.

Melinda Ginne, Ph.D., is a psychologist with over 40 years of experience in geriatrics and treating the psychological aspects of major medical illnesses. She draws inspiration from Glinda the Good Witch (Billie Burke), Oliver Sacks, Sid Caesar, and Imogene Coca. For generations, her family lived in Boyle Heights, the Jewish-Latino comunidad of East Los Angeles where tacos were kosher and the Shul was directly across the street from the Catholic Church. The language of the streets and of her family is English, a bissel of Spanish y un poquito of Yiddish. She is a graduate of the EPIC storytelling program at Stagebridge in Oakland and has been telling stories on Bay Area stages for many years.

Samir Saad, resides in Oakland. retired in 2015 from Child, Family and Community Services. A good friend referred him to Stagebridge, which offered courses in Playwriting and Storytelling… and he got the STORYTELLER BUG! Samir has been at Stagebridge for nine years now!

Linda Wright: Rooted in Oakland, graduated from UC Berkeley, married to Randy with three adult children, writer of children’s books, retired educator, amazing storyteller, and a huge fan and supporter of Stagebridge Performing Arts.

September 27, 2024

Collage of headshots of featured performers

Music

Bekah Barnett, Lemondrop Love Songs 
How is it that love can inspire both the sweet and the sour? Bekah explores the tender and bittersweet aspects of human connection through her songs that are heartfelt anthems born out of healing, growth, and love. 

Stories

Joan Bernier, The Captain (excerpt)
What is passed down? How do we navigate in a starless sky? Inspired by the final voyages of Captain Joseph Elzéar Bernier (1852-1934).

Joanne Green, You Come From a Long Line of Shallow People (excerpt)
My mom, Winnie Green, as she was known to most, was 94 when she died last year of lung cancer. She was brilliant, beautiful and brutal. As I grieve the loss of a mother, whose rejection I felt my entire life, I find myself remembering those moments of love between us that I couldn’t recognize while she was alive.

Ben Tucker, The Wedding
A father/son road trip to a family reunion in Louisiana brings back bittersweet memories, and from this adventure comes another one, in the form of a wedding invitation—to a wedding in China! 

Noemi Zeigler, You’ve Been Booked (excerpt)
Recently divorced and looking to launch her music career, Noemi flies to Vegas for a meeting with Rama, a record label producer slash spiritual guru. Though the meeting never happens, Noemi undergoes a mind-bending transformation as Rama transfers energy fields with her, guides her through an ayahuasca-induced breakdown, and baptizes her in a swimming pool—ultimately reprogramming her to join his mysterious cult. But after mysticism turns to mayhem, instead of finding herself, Noemi finds herself in jail.

About the Performers

Bekah Barnett’s songs are smart, thoughtful and heartfelt anthems born out of healing, growth and love. Imagine the piano skills of Tori Amos combined with the vocal depth of Fiona Apple. This evening will focus on songs that reflect the tender and bittersweet aspects of love and connection. bekahbarnettmusic.com

Joan Bernier is a theater maker who has performed with Berkeley Rep, Shotgun Players & beyond. She is grateful to have collaborated on this story with David Ford, directed by Rebecca Fisher & performance coaching by Tina D’Elia.

Joanne Green is thrilled to be performing again at TIOT! Her first one-person show was nominated for “Best Solo Show” by The LA Weekly and she’s had several short plays produced both here and in Los Angles. A former member of the LA based improv troupe, The Groundlings, Joanne is currently teaching improvisation to middle schoolers and groups of corporate executives, both of whom help keep her on her toes. This show is dedicated to her daughter, Olivia Levine.

Ben Tucker is a storyteller, author, and podcaster. He specializes in personal and historical stories, fairytales and folktales. He is a board member of the Storytellers Association of California (SAC) and the Prescott Circus Theatre. iambentucker.com

Noemi Zeigler earned her MFA in Film Directing from the American Film Institute. Her films and music videos have screened at South By Southwest, Ann Arbor Film Festival, Jewish Film Institute, SF Documentary, Caostica (Bilbao, Spain), Euro Underground and the Student Academy Awards. Her screenplays have won awards at Broad Humor and Female Eye film festivals and have been finalists in the Sundance Screenwriter Lab, Austin Film Festival, Cinestory TV, BlueCat Screenplay Competition, Santa Barbara Screenplay Awards and more.

August 27, 2024

Collage of headshots: Scott Cohen, Annamarie MacLeod, musicians Lewis Santer and Caroline Testard, Rachel Garlin, Al Sasser
Screenshot

Music

Lewis Santer and Caroline Testard, Hard to Leave, Harder to Stay 
Why did millions of Irish leave their lives and country? Lewis and Caroline present songs in the Irish tradition about love and heartache, famine and opportunity, adventure and longing for a lost home.

Stories

Al Sasser, Suitable Placement
I have never met anyone who was born a criminal. Something has to happen for a person to think, “Maybe I was dealt a bad hand. But, I can trust people.”

Annamarie MacLeod, Medusa Reflects (excerpt)
Medusa is tired of men telling you what happened to her. She’s not dead, she’s not a villain, and she wants to look you in the eyes.

Scott Cohen, Always Start With A Joke
Why do people laugh when someone tells a joke? Scott thought he knew the answer to this question. It’s because the joke is over. Scott had heard and retold thousands of jokes before his seventh birthday. He was intimately familiar with the pattern: Step 1: Say some words; Step 2: Pause; Step 3: Say some more words; Step 4: Everyone laughs. Every joke was the same, until he heard the one about the elephant and the naked man. What the elephant said changed his world, forever.

Rachel Garlin, The Ballad of Madelyne & Therese (excerpt)
When was the last time you saw a show about 1940’s lesbians hiding in plain sight?

About the Performers

Lewis Santer is a luthier and plays in a number of Traditional Irish Music bands. Caroline Testard is a European emigrant with a love for modern and traditional songwriting.

Al Sasser is a veteran performer with FIPPP, the Formerly Incarcerated People’s Performance Project. He has traveled far—all the way from South-Central L.A.

Annamarie MacLeod is a local creator of several solo shows. Her first show, Full Fathom Five, about post-partum depression and mermaids, was accepted into the SF Fringe Festival in 2020. Someday, she wants to write something funny.

Scott Cohen is a storyteller and comedian, but only at night. By day, he is a mild-mannered accountant and no one knows how funny he is.

Berkeley-born Rachel Garlin is a songwriter and playwright who recently produced her first one-person show, The Ballad of Madelyne & Therese. Performed to critical acclaim at The Lost Church in San Francisco, it’s now on the move, with upcoming performances in Colorado and New York.

July 30, 2024

collage of tonight's performers

Music

Kenji Costantini,  Isn’t It Romantic? 
Looking for true love at all the wrong times in all the wrong places? Get the lowdown on the down low from Cabaret artist Kenji Costantini in his delightful new show “Isn’t It Romantic?” … not! 

Stories

Jeremy Greco, The Big Snap!
On March 17th, 2020, a lockdown was announced in San Francisco, Jeremy Greco decided to document each day by taking a picture. From these pictures, Greco conducted a series of interviews of people from all walks of life: head of the SF Republican party, John Dennis, author Nicole Galland, and many others. All of whom discussed their year of COVID, Trump and their hopes for the future—without Snapping.
jeremygreco.com

Marion Lovinger, How to Change a Changeling
How do you become a changeling? A substitute. A fraud. A fake baby who replaced the real baby, the good one.
When you are a fairytale character, you have to embark on an imaginary quest. Will there be a happy ending? Can you change a changeling?

Anthony Michael, Threat to Public Safety
A poignant exploration of resilience, the struggle for normalcy, and the complex emotions tied to freedom and reintegration.

Beau Davis, Bat Out of Hell
As a small child Beau never felt like he fit in as “one of the guys”. One day he has a chance to prove his manhood when a bat flies into the house, terrorizing the family. 


About the Performers

Kenji Costantini studied classical voice for 3 semesters at SF State. He has performed both in school operas and professionally at Woodminster Summer Musicals for 3 seasons in musicals such as South Pacific and Oklahoma. He is a proud graduate of Saint Mary’s College and now holds a bachelor’s degree in Theater Performance.

Jeremy Greco’s first solo show, With Held, directed by Mark Kenward, was based on six months of interviews with San Francisco mail artist and writer John Held, Jr. Greco performed his most recent solo work, Keeping Up with the Jorgensons—also directed by Mark Kenward—throughout the US, including the 2017 San Francisco Fringe Festival (where it won a “Best of” award honors), and a Discovery Run at The Marsh Theater.

Beau Ryder Davis is a comedian and storyteller based in Oakland, California. He is an 8-time Moth Story Slam winner, most recent Bay Area Moth GrandSLAM winner, and has appeared on the nationally syndicated Moth Radio Hour. He’s currently working on a show about growing up in the rural mountain town of Hazard, Kentucky, which was rated “the least happy town in America” in 2008 by the esteemed Dr. Oz television show. He promises this show is funny and not as sad as Hazard.   

Marion Lovinger started writing solos 10 years ago, developing them with David Ford. She performed many times at the Marsh and Stage Werx. Trying to make sense of memories and experiences with humor and critical hindsight proved to be the most enlightening journey that can be. 

Anthony Michael is a multifaceted professional dedicated to personal growth and empowering others. Anthony’s journey is one of resilience and transformation. Through his diverse roles and relentless pursuit of improvement, Anthony strives to create a lasting, positive impact on the lives of those he encounters.

Albertina Zarazúa Padilla is an educator and the Co-Founder of www.MiHistoria.net where she facilitates workshops and curates the online archive.  She is on the board of Luna Dance & Creativity and dances with the Elders Project of Destiny Arts Center.

June 25, 2024

19th Anniversary Celebration!

Screenshot

Music

Wayne Harris and Alex Baum

Stories

Beth McLaughlin, 34 Steps
On the second floor of her apartment building is a door that leads out to the back steps, with variegated panes of glass in yellows, whites and reds. The light that falls through there is gentle and calming. Just not today.

Algiin Ford, The Silent Assassin: My Addictive Mind
An examination of both the positive and negative impact of addictive tendencies on the collective consciousness, and both their use and misuse through conscious and unconscious mind sets.

Paul Sussman, Did She Really Say “Tantrum Yoga”?! (Excerpt)
“Why?” is not a party question – we just met!
“Why the two of us… right here… right now?” Now this is starting to get interesting…
“Is it already… too late?” She’s grabbed my hand, but I’d sure like to get over to the desserts before they’re all gone.

About the Performers

Wayne Harris is an award-winning solo performer, writer, educator, curriculum innovator and musician. A gifted artist with wide ranging interests, he has accumulated an impressive body of work over the years that includes 5 full length plays, presentations for schools, directing and designing for pageantry groups as well as various musical projects. wayneharris.net

Alex Baum is a renowned bass player, composer and recording artist. He resides in the East Bay and runs one of the premier recording studios in the country. Alex has performed with Melissa Manchester, Dan Hicks and many others.

Beth McLaughlin is a San Francisco-based writer and performer whose work has been seen at the Frigid, Rogue, Boulder, Vancouver and San Francisco Fringe Festivals, as well as at StageWerx, the Marsh and Tell It On Tuesday. Her full-length solo pieces are Here to See the World, The Readiness is All and Cocky, and she is currently working on a fourth, Silenced.

Algiin Ford is a writer/performer and a TV/film/stage actor. A member of the Formerly Incarcerated People’s Performance Project, Algiin also recently completed a run of his first full length show, Tobacco, Zig-Zags & Gum at The Marsh.

Paul Sussman has written and performed a series of solo pieces through the eyes of Neanderthals, Anabaptists, cannibals, spores and others who persist in the search for meaning. He’s entertained and provoked audiences from Fundy to Fresno.

May 28, 2024

Collage of May performer headshots

Music

Stuart Rojstaczer, American Mutt Music

Stories

Anthony Michael Jefferson, The Bumpy Road Less Traveled
The Bumpy Road Less Traveled is AJ’s journey through the harsh and at times deadly world of incarceration.  He spent twenty three years navigating the roads of being a non-gang member in prison, while yearning for his freedom, oatmeal cookies, and surfing at his break in Hermosa Beach California.

Barbara Pastorello, Long White Socks
This is a story of how a special relationship was cut affected by the repressive values of 1970’s New England.

Lauren Mayer, Don’t Mind Me, I’ll Just Sit Here In The Dark: Reclaiming and Reframing the Jewish Mother
Comedy has evolved past most ethnic humor, but Jewish Mothers are still stuck in a Borscht Belt caricature of a nagging, intrusive monster.  Lauren takes a look at the history of the caricature and why it’s important to update it.  How do we find ways to laugh that celebrate our heritage while moving past an inaccurate and harmful stereotype?

Albertina Zarazúa Padilla, Not a whole lot of people…
Sometimes we all need a “little story” medicine.

About the Performers

Stuart Rojstaczer gets bored easily and has done lots of different stuff: geophysics prof (Duke), bestselling novelist (Mathematician’s Shiva, Penguin), memoirist (Gone for Good, Oxford) and librettist (Fordlandia, Fort Worth Opera). With his band, Stuart Rosh & The Geniuses, he’s put out four albums and has charted on the Americana Music Association Top 40.  He has lectured around the world, has appeared on CNN, ESPN and NPR, and tries to be a decent husband.

Anthony Michael Jefferson (AJ), is a Le Cordon Bleu trained Chef, actor, and activist.  He has been performing locally for the past four years.  The first role he landed was in The Box, which toured nationally.  The Box depicts the persistence of humanity despite the torture of solitary confinement.  He has performed at the Marsh SF, with the Marin Shakespeare Company, and at the Monkey House Theater in Berkeley where he is featured regularly as a storyteller.  AJ is also a Fellow in the Formerly Incarcerated People’s Performance Project. 

Barbara Pastorello was born in New England and has been living in San Francisco since the early nineties.  She has long wanted to be a storyteller.  As a child, she kept a notebook of life events she could someday talk about.  Now, after retiring from a career in finance, she has that chance.  

Lauren Mayer is a prolific songwriter, teaching artist, performer, and political satirist whose weekly topical comedy songs have attracted millions of views (and almost as many trolls). She teaches Musical Theatre at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and is a regular panelist on Brian Copeland’s podcast, Copeland’s Corner.  Lauren is a 5-time recipient of the San Francisco Cabaret Gold Award and has released over 20 albums of award-winning comedy songs and educational music.  In her spare time, she teaches tap dancing.  Despite all the awards and accomplishments, Lauren’s mother still doesn’t understand why she didn’t go to law school. laurenmayer.com

Albertina Zarazúa Padilla is an educator and the Co-Founder of www.MiHistoria.net where she facilitates workshops and curates the online archive.  She is on the board of Luna Dance & Creativity and dances with the Elders Project of Destiny Arts Center.