Category: Monthly Shows

Stories

• Lauren Crux, “THREE”, an excerpt
• Kate Frankel, “The Learning Curve”
• Audrey Dundee Hannah, “Workhorse”
• Tim Ereneta, “Happy Endings are Overrated”

Music

Paul Bregman, piano

Lauren Crux was a late bloomer in the performance world. She started her performing career seven years ago, and gone on to write and perform four solo shows, which have been produced at various venues in northern and southern California. She received a Bay Areas Theatres CA$H grant for help in the development of her new solo show, THREE, a risky, irreverent, and curious look at the things that keep us awake at night. Her work is political, poetic, and abundant.

Kate Frankel has been storytelling all her life, and recently began work to recreate her gradual awareness of the social problems that led to the Civil Rights movement. Her story, “The Learning Curve,” draws on a San Francisco childhood with no awareness of discrimination, working in Harlem, a short trip to the South, and back to Berkeley in the ’50s before Berkeley was BERKELEY.

Audrey Dundee Hannah is an actor, writer, and teacher with a passion for Karl Marx and sock puppets. Luckily, that hasn’t stopped directors from casting her in film, on stage, for print modeling, and for voiceovers. She is a graduate of Stanford University’s Department of Drama.

Tim Ereneta’s varied performing career includes a stint as a singing dinosaur at Lawrence Hall of Science and originating roles in new works by MacArthur fellow Mary Zimmerman. For 10 years he was in the mainstage company of San Francisco’s BATS Improv troupe, making up stories spontaneously. Currently developing a repertoire of traditional tales to tell to adults, Tim is the recipient of the National Storytelling Network’s J.J. Reneaux Emerging Artist Award for 2006, given to an outstanding performer in the early stages of a storytelling career.

Stories

• Jessica Ferris, “Missing”
• Newt Bailey, “The Game”
• Ismail Azeem, “Rude Boy”

Music

Sarah Dominico and Foresta Sieck-Hill
Vocal harmony, guitar and percussion

Jessica Ferris is a teacher and performer whose physically-based work has been described as ” Sensitive, precise, pure, hilarious, riveting.”

Newt Bailey is British but has lived in the Bay Area for eight years. Currently he’s embarking on a new career in conflict resolution, mediation and coaching people in improving their communication skills. A math teacher in London in the nineties, he took the role of the “dame” in the traditional Christmas pantomime several years in a row. Last year he took a solo performance workshop with Charlie Varon and developed this piece, “The Game,” which received a great reception at the Marsh in San Francisco.

Ismail Azeem After being named Best Hip Hop Artist in the Bay by the East Bay Express and ranking 2nd Best Slam Poet in the nation, was chosen to perform for La Casita at the Lincoln Center in New York City. His one man show, Rude Boy, is being produced by The Marsh Theater in San Francisco and will debut in the spring of ’06.

Stories

• Greg Begin, “Ninety Nine and a Half”
• Kikelomo Adedeji, “Tolula”
• Jeanne Haynes, “The Stove is White”
• Fred Wickham, “Drop Your Pants”

Music

Miko Sloper
Drums, Winds and Strings

Greg Begin has been a professional storyteller since 1993. A graduate of the Dominican College Storytelling Certificate Program, Greg entertains audiences throughoutCalifornia and Oregon. Having been a musician for most of his life Greg frequently combines the two media. The stories Greg tells fall into categories as wide and varied as the art form itself, ranging from personal experience stories, folklore, legends, mythology, parables, fairytales, historical stories and just good old fashioned yarns.

Kikelomo Adedeji first came to solo performance developing pieces in classes with Bill Talen and Anne Galjour. She has performed three previous solo pieces in San Francisco and has performed in plays and original works at many theatres in the Bay Area including Theatre of Yugen’s Noh Space, Theatre Rhinoceros, Dean Lesher Center in Walnut Creek and the New Performance Gallery. Tolula is Kike’s first full-length work.

Jeanne Haynes believes that becoming a storyteller is the culmination of both her personal and professional life. A storytelling seminar 10 years ago, catapulted a new career performing in numerous venues including the Marsh Theatre, Bay Area Storytelling Festival, regional Tellabrations, and KPFA radio. She draws from her communications background as a media relations specialist and news reporter, to tell personal and traditional tales. A resident artist with Stagebridge Oakland and Young Audiences of Northern California, she has taught the art of storytelling to 1,120 students in 15 Bay Area Schools.

Fred Wickham: After 20 years of writing advertising, Fred tired of putting his best efforts into selling “overpriced crap” that can be purchased in any mall. In the mid-90s he began writing and performing satirical pieces—the kinds that can get a guy fired from an ad agency—and did.

Stories

• Randy Rutherford
• Sandra Niman
• Gay Ducey
• Marijo
• Terri Tate
• Erica Lann-Clark

Music

Henry Klyce and Ken Goldman, Viola and Cello Duet

Randy Rutherford is a musician, humorist, writer, and an award-winning solo performer who has been performing and teaching for over 20 years in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has worked extensively with Goldie Award-winning playwright David Ford at The Marsh, Nina Wise and Cory Fischer at A Travelling Jewish Theater, Ruth Zaporah of Action Theater and Arina Issacson at the San Francisco Clown School.

Sandra Niman was born in East Africa to medical missionaries, and has lived in many countries and played many roles. Currently she is the director of a program serving the academic, social, physical and emotional needs of homeless middle school children in San Francisco. Sandra’s story today reflects her dedication to finding common ground among people of all races and persuasions.

Gay Ducey is a nationally recognized storyteller who learned an appreciation for stories in the best way possible: from family. Descended from generations of Southern women who treasured independence and a sassy mouth, she grew up in New Orleans with its endless parade of ritual, ceremony and play. She still can’t resist stepping into any parade that passes by.

Marijo is an actor, storyteller, writer, director, and arts educator. She trained at A.C.T and has performed in theatre, stand-up comedy and storytelling. Marijo has toured her solo works throughout the U.S., Germany, London and Zimbabwe. Marijo is known as a Griot and Truth-Teller!

Terri Tate is a down-to-earth inspirational comedienne. Her unique brand of humor shines hilarious light into the darkest corners of the human experience. She has visited those dark places, most notably during two near-fatal bouts of disfiguring oral cancer. Terri has re-emerged, committed to illuminating the way for others as they find their way to aliveness, laughter and passion. Terri shops for healing, husbands and happiness and discovers the life-giving power of discount shopping!

Erica Lann-Clark is a former New Yorker, a storyteller, an actor, an award-winning playwright, a published poet and an alternative healer. She’d thought she’d stay in Greenwich Village forever, but then the ’60’s happened and Erica joined the migration of those who came west to find Paradise. She’s also a Viennese Jew whose family escaped to Brooklyn’s cultural hotbed where she grew up listening to the tales of a vanished world.

Stories

• Terri Varela,  “To Dye A Thousand Cuts”
• Ron Jones, “Three Stories that Start with B”
• Teresa Walsh, “Body Revolution”  (excerpt)
• Randy Rutherford, “One Frigid Shiny Knight” (excerpt)

Music

Joseph Leonard, instrumental acoustic guitar

Terri Varela has played numerous roles throughout the East Bay and Los Angeles areas, recently performing a solo show in Canada for the Vancouver Fringe Festival.  She has also performed her solo story with The Marsh. This is her first time working with the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts.

Ron Jones is a San Francisco Original.  He is a Bird watcher, has a Granddaughter named Breanna and likes to hang out in Buddhist coffee shops. Hence, three stories that start with B.

Teresa Walsh is a writer and performer living and working in San
Francisco. She worked with Canyon Sam and Anne Galjour in developing
Body Revolution, which is her first play.

Randy Rutherford is a musician, humorist, writer, and an award-winning solo performer who has been performing and teaching for over 20 years in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has worked extensively with Goldie Award-winning playwright David Ford at The Marsh, Nina Wise and Cory Fischer at A Travelling Jewish Theater, Ruth Zaporah of Action Theater, and Arina Issacson at the San Francisco Clown School.

Stories

• Marjorie Mann, “Serafina’s Unveiling”
• Maiyah Hirano, “Power Drink”
• Jessica Ferris, “Speechless”
• Sandra Niman, “Deep Skin”

Music

Natalie Taylor, Piano

Marjorie Mann has performed all over the U.S. and Europe in National Tours and Theater Productions. Her television credits include General Hospital, Disney Specials, and the children’s show, Mrs. Twizzleton’s Garden (she plays a miniature genie). Marjorie’s first love is musical theater, and her favorite musical is Starlight Express, which she performed in Germany, sang in German, while roller-skating on a mammoth set! She also enjoys performing with the belly dance troupe Desert Jade.

Maiyah Hirano has been creative most of her life ( writing, painting, dance, music)… but since she started taking David Ford’s Solo Performance class at The Marsh a year ago, her life has totally changed. The art form and her life are one now, and she’s very grateful.

Jessica Ferris teaches voice and movement for the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival. Her piece “Speechless” was self-written and performed and has been developed with and directed by David Ford.

Sandra Niman was born in East Africa to medical missionaries, and has lived in many countries and played many roles. Currently she is the director of a program serving the academic, social, physical and emotional needs of homeless middle school children in San Francisco. Sandra’s story today reflects her dedication to finding common ground among people of all races and persuasions.

Stories

• Ruth Halpern, “Grandma Elsie Loves Lists”
• Wayne Harris, “The May Day Parade”
• Marijo, “Colored Secrits from a Blak Quilt” (excerpt)
• Gay Ducey, “It’s Only a Paper Moon: Stories About Perception”

Music

French Toast Trio
Featuring Olivier Zyngier, Laura Wingerd, Steven Friedland

Ruth Halpern performs and teaches storytelling and writing workshops for all ages in schools, libraries, storytelling festivals, and river rafts. She has participated in grants from the California Arts Council and the NEA. The Los Angeles Times calls her “a spellbinding master storyteller.” Her recording, She Set Out to Seek Her Fortune-Tales of Adventures Heroines, was voted one of the top 25 children’s recordings of the past 25 years by the Parents’ Choice Foundation.

Wayne Harris is an up and coming Bay Area storyteller. Coming off the success of his last play, Train Stories, Wayne is embarking on a new journey / project in conjunction with renown director David Ford. Wayne is also the manager of an East Bay school district transportation department and in what little time is left works with various youth organization.

Marijo is an actor, storyteller, writer, director, and arts educator. She trained at A.C.T; has performed in theatre, stand-up comedy and storytelling. Marijo has toured her solo works throughout the U.S.,Germany, London and Zimbabwe. Marijo is known as a Griot and Truth-Teller!

Gay Ducey is a nationally recognized storyteller who learned an appreciation for stories in the best way possible: from family. Descended from generations of Southern women who treasured independence and a sassy mouth, she grew up in New Orleans with its endless parade of ritual, ceremony and play. A Berkeley resident since 1967, the Bay Area’s constantly changing social landscape and New Orleans’ timeless enchantments have formed an artist who relishes diverse experience yet reveres the traditional place of stories in family and community. She still can’t resist stepping into any parade that passes by.

Stories

• Seth Leonard, “North American Rail Pass”
• Sameer Siruguri, “What Am I Doing Here?”
• Gillian Summers, “Crush-ed”
• Terri Tate, “Shopping as a Spiritual Path”

Music

Esther Shubinski, solo classical guitar

Seth Leonard likes to have many irons in the fire. In addition to his recent venture into theatre, he is a screenwriter, traveller, poet, model train enthusiast, a computer programmer, and the creator of MatchFlick.com, an online film community. He resides in San Francisco, where he was born.

Sameer Siruguri is a computer scientist by training, who stumbled upon the world of acting while wandering about Silicon Valley in a confused and disillusioned way. He has been in a couple of musicals and a serious play, and has written two solo pieces. While his primary creative focus is on writing, he finds the performance aspect to be pretty exhilarating too.

Gillian Summers grew up in Liverpool in UK. She lived in Australia for 13 years, where she studied writing for performance at the University of Technology, Sydney.  She has lived in the bay area for three years and has recently been studying solo performance with David Ford at the Marsh, where this current piece was born.

Terri Tate is a down-to-earth inspirational comedienne. Her unique brand of humor shines hilarious light into the darkest corners of the human experience. She has visited those dark places, most notably during two near-fatal bouts of disfiguring oral cancer. Terri has re-emerged, committed to illuminating the way for others as they find their way to aliveness, laughter and passion. Terri shops for healing, husbands and happiness and discovers the life-giving power of discount shopping!

Stories

• Randy Rutherford, “One Frigid Shiny Knight”
• Todd Lejeune, “6th Grade Angel”
• Dan McHale, “Will Draw For Food”
• Erica Lann-Clark, “Shopping For God”

Randy Rutherford is a musician, humorist, writer, and an award-winning solo performer who has been performing and teaching for over 20 years in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has worked extensively with Goldie Award-winning playwright David Ford at The Marsh, Nina Wise and Cory Fischer at A Travelling Jewish Theater, Ruth Zaporah of Action Theater, and Arina Issacson at the San Francisco Clown School.

Todd LeJeune was born and raised in New Iberia. He moved to S.F. in 1995 with 500 bucks and a beat up truck in search of… well… he’s still trying to figure that out. Currently he is working on a one man show under the direction of David Ford at The Marsh. What influences his work? Making lemonade out of lemons.

Dan McHale is a Berkeley native who has worked in animation in San Francisco, Paris and Trivandrum (India!)  He also does illustration and song writing. His solo play, Meet John W.T.O., made best of Fringe in San Francisco 2001.

Erica Lann-Clark is a former New Yorker, a storyteller, an actor, an award-winning playwright, a published poet and an alternative healer. She’d thought she’d stay in Greenwich Village forever, but then the ’60’s happened and Erica joined the migration of those who came west to find Paradise. She’s also a Viennese Jew whose family escaped to Brooklyn’s cultural hotbed where she grew up listening to the tales of a vanished world.