Tell It On Tuesday

Stories

• Kirk Waller, “Shasta Creek”
• Laura Wiley, “Panic!” (An Excerpt)
• Keith Bowers, “dummy: the story of the biggest error I ever made”
• Dhaya Lakshminarayanan, “Desperate Vegetarians in Georgia”

Music

The California Poppies: Foresta Sieck-Hill and Sarah Domenico, guitar, egg shaker, harmonica, and vocals

Kirk Waller summons all of his God-given talents and fuses them together – spoken word, rhythm, music and movement to create an unforgettable storytelling experience. He performs throughout the Bay Area and the United States. This fall he is slated to tell at the National Storytelling Festival for the first time in Jonesborough, Tennessee.

Laura Wiley has studied solo performance at the SF Marsh.  Four people affiliated with the Marsh helped her put this piece together from start to finish—Ann Randolph, Mark Kenward, David Ford and Rebecca Fisher—and she is very grateful to them. In addition to writing and acting, Laura sings, plays the flute, and paints.

Keith Bowers is arts and culture editor for SF Weekly. He is a veteran journalist, lifelong visual artist, and occasional performer. His most recent exhibit of photographs and junk sculpture was titled “Art of Death / Art of Life” at the Actual Cafe in Oakland. He co-founded an East Bay artist group known as ARTSEM. He had a brief but extremely memorable experience performing in an alternative film.

Dhaya Lakshminarayanan is a San Francisco-based stand-up comedienne, storyteller, television host, business consultant, and ubergeek. Before starting in the business of “show,” she taught “Charm School” at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she graduated (twice). She’s traveled to Cuba as a researcher, worked as a venture capitalist, and taught public speaking in Kathmandu, Nepal. She was the host of the Emmy-winning High School Quiz Show, on PBS’s WGBH, which premiered March 22, 2010. www.dhayacomedy.com

The California Poppies consist of two native California girls, Foresta Sieck-Hill and Sarah Domenico. Their inspired harmonic reinterpretation of old-timey, trail-o-tears classics, combined with melancholy originals, gently yet playfully lull one through a musical moment, as a path lined with their namesake just might.

Stories

• Mark Kenward, “Nantucket” (excerpt)
• Daniel Ari “I knew a woman”
• Violet Juno, “Impossible Things”  
• Marijo, “Hair: A Noir-ish Dilemma Tale”

Music

Megha/Tom deLackner, piano improvisation

Mark Kenward has written seven one-man shows. He has performed his work in over 30 cities, including 4 mainstage runs at The Marsh. He has also directed several one-person shows. Tonight he will perform an excerpt from his autobiographical novel about growing up on Nantucket Island. Tonight’s excerpt is directed by Rebecca Fisher.  markkenward.com

Daniel Ari writes poems, fiction, music and marketing copy; performs poetry, music, and the kinds of things you’re seeing tonight; and leads workshops in poetry, theater and improvisation. He lives in Richmond with his wife and daughter.

Violet Juno creates interdisciplinary performance often combining storytelling with kinetic and fragrant props, soundscapes, movement, flamboyant costumes, live video projection or an unique form of cognitive mapping. Her goal is to create a multi-sensory experience so that the artwork is not just what is happening on stage but what audience members conjure in their minds of the various strands to take with them when they leave. Juno has performed and exhibited at over 70 theaters in 30 cities in the United States, Canada and Scotland. Venues include PS122, PS1, and Museum of Modern Art in New York, Highways and LACE in Los Angeles, and Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada. 

Marijo is an actor, storyteller, arts educator, and writer, and has performed at festivals, libraries, schools, theatres, concerts, corporate conferences, birthing rooms… and funerals! She has performed for CAC’s “Governor’s Conference on Arts-In-Education”; the Exchange Place at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN; the Sierra, Rhode Island, and Los Angeles Storytelling Festivals; and has toured London, Germany, and Zimbabwe. A ‘Truth-Teller’ and ‘History-Keeper’, she most often uses humor in her writing and performing, while showing the importance of personal and community values as a bridge towards cultural pride and understanding.

Megha/Tom deLackner, after studying the basics of harmony and composition at Pomona College, eventually started exploring the keyboard independent of theory, at first haphazardly and only in the last dozen years achieving a sound worth listening to, weaving common songs into a tapestry of meditative music.

Stories

• Karim Scarlata, “Born Into This”
• Ruth Fraser, “A great man and a great story”
• Kurt Bodden, “Steve Seabrook: Better than You”
• Cara Lazarus, “Wanda’s Magical Garden”

Music

Kaitlin McGaw and the Mr. Right Nows: Bluesy, Soulful Singer-Songwriter, Vocals, Piano, Bass, Drums, Violin/Saxophone

Karim Scarlata is a playwright and filmmaker. His work has been performed by the San Francisco Mime Troupe, published in numerous literary journals and played at film festivals throughout the United States. He plays the role of an American immigration attorney on the Filipino television show Pusong Pinoy. He has worked with David Ford and Charlie Varon on this solo performance piece.

Born into a household rich in language, literature and oral history is it any wonder Ruth Fraser became a storyteller! For 14 years she has told stories of wit and wisdom from around the world and her own adventurous life, sharing them in gatherings large and small, including parties, conferences and the Asian Art Museum. Offering workshops and coaching she shows others that they too have stories to offer the world. www.mellowstory.com

Kurt Bodden has performed improv at the Edinburgh Fringe, hosted a talk show and literary events, done standup for Harvard alumni and rednecks, done solo work at the Marsh, and acted in normal plays.  Recently he’s been studying physical theater (mask, mime, clowning) at Flying Actor Studio in San Francisco.  Tonight’s piece is a preview of a full-length show he’ll present in September at the SF Fringe Festival.

Cara Lazarus, playwright and actor, is working on “Wanda’s Magical Garden” with David Ford at The Marsh. A love story populated with talking animals, witchery, potions, and charms, the action takes place in the Temescal neighborhood of Oakland as seen through the antics of a lesbian couple and their son, Jack. Jack, an ambitious muralist, strives to become a recognized muralist and also impress Angie, the unrequited love of his life. Cara also performs stand-up comedy and improvisation. 

Jazz, Hip Hop, Blues, Pop Rock, Children’s music; stalwart fans of these genres would have trouble finding much crossover or similarities between them, but Oakland-based singer songwriter Kaitlin McGaw does them all. Receiving comparisons to Sara Bareilles, Carole King, and Liz Phair, McGaw has a gift for finding herself in prestigious company and collaborations. Her newest project, Kaitlin McGaw and the Mr. Right Nows is showcasing her vocal and piano abilities in a bluesy pop rock outfit all over the Bay Area. www.kaitlinmcgaw.com

Stories

• Jeff Byers, “Their Double Bed”
• Safiya Martinez, “So You Can Hear Me”
• Annette Roman “Hitler’s Li’l Abomination” (Excerpt)
• David Kleinberg, “Straighten Up and Fly Right,” (excerpt from “The Voice”)

Music

Joshua Raoul Brody, pre-show ivory-tinkling

David Kleinberg is a comedian who has performed with Robin Williams, Dana Carvey, Sinbad and Richard Lewis. He was also the editor of the Sunday Datebook for 14 years during a 34-year newspaper career at the San Francisco Chronicle. He has worked on The Voice at the Marsh Theater with David Ford, Ann Randolph and Mark Kenward for the last two years. The full piece will be present at the Marsh San Francisco on May 10.

Jeff Byers tells stories at the Asian Art Museum, in classrooms from first grade to UC Berkeley graduate programs, and in various performance venues, including the San Francisco Theater Festival, The Magic Theatre, the Chicago Calling Arts Festival, Ashby Stage, and Tell It On Tuesday. He is a board member of the Storytelling Association of California.

Safiya Martinez is a poet, playwright and performer and MFA student at San Francisco State University. She has been featured at the Nuyorican Poets’ Café in New York City, and is a principal member of Girlstory, and inter-generational performing and writing collective. Safiya’s poetry has been included in Generations Literary Magazine, and is currently at work on a one-woman show about teaching high school in New York City.

Annette Roman is the author of the graphic novel 1 World Manga: Passages, a comic book about issues facing the developing world. Her performance history includes two Monday Night Marsh evenings at The Marsh Theater, San Francisco, and the role of Narrator in a high school production of Kafka’s Josephine the Mouse Singer. The latter may explain a lot. Annette’s father is a Hungarian Jewish Holocaust Survivor and her mother was in the Hitler Youth. Annette’s one-woman show, entitled Hitler’s Li’l Abomination, is a story of strife and reconciliation-not necessarily in that order. Developed with David Ford.

Joshua Raoul Brody: When asked to describe himself in one word, Mr. Brody replies “Unable to follow instructions.” www.jraoul.org

Stories

• Ericka Lutz, “A Widow’s To-Do List” (excerpt)
• Howard Petrick, “Rambo: The Missing Years” (excerpt)
• Libby Skala, “Lilia!”
• Leo Petropoulos, “Growing up Greek in America, a precursor to mental illness.”

Music

Jeff England, acoustic and electric guitar

Ericka Lutz, performer and author, has performed solo at Solo Sundays, City Solo, Words First, the San Francisco Theater Festival, Solohouse, and the SPW Theater Festival. A writer as well as a performer, she is a member of The Guild, the Solo Performance Workshop’s development lab. For more information on her full-length show, A Widow’s To-Do List, please visit http://erickalutz.com

Howard Petrick has studied with David Ford, Ann Randolph, James Donlon, and Leonard Pitt. He has performed at The Monday Night Marsh, Tell It On Tuesday, FronteraFest 2009/2010/2011 in Austin, Texas, Words First, City Solo, San Francisco Theater Festival, Solo Sundays, Boulder Fringe Festival, and Chicago Fringe Festival. Rambo: The Missing Years was developed with David Ford and is directed by Mark Kenward .

Libby Skala is infinitely grateful to improvisation teacher Gary Austin (founder of The Groundlings) for introducing her to solo performance as a means of finding autonomy and independence as an actor. It was in his workshop that Lilia! began its development. She’s been solo-performing internationally ever since, and has even been cast in ensemble pieces as a result of the work. Last Fall, she performed her piece, A Time to Dance, at The Marsh, where she’s been developing a new piece in David Ford’s workshop.  www.LibbySkala.com

Leo Petropoulos has performed at the Improv San Jose, Rooster T Feathers, and the Brainwash Café as a comedian. As a storyteller, he has been a regular at Bawdy Storytelling and has also performed at Fireside Storytelling, Previously Secret Information and Porchlight.

Jeff England is a SF-based writer/improviser/musician who uses guitar, loop pedal, beatbox and the audience as his backing band.  While his music spans genres such as blues, jazz, bluegrass, funk, rockabilly, and rock, the focus is mostly on storytelling–sometimes even in character. (http://www.youtube.com/user/TaleMeAnother)

Stories

• Leta Bushyhead, “Bolt from the Blue”
• Bruce Pachtman, “Bruce Pachtman’s Solo Show #2” (an excerpt)
• Charlie Varon and Jeri Lynn Cohen, “Rewind”

Music

Rana Weber: Singer/Songwriter on guitar and ukulele

Hindus say the universe exists because it is the dream of the great god Vishnu as he floats, sleeping, on the Cosmic Sea. In that immense dream, Leta Bushyhead is a storyteller who finds stories to share at Tell It On Tuesday.

Bruce Pachtman’s first full length solo show, Don’t Make Me Look Too Psychotic, was developed with Club Solo and David Ford and directed by W. Kamau Bell. It ran in San Francisco, Philadelphia and LA for a total of 100 weeks. Tonight you will see a section of his new piece, which is being created in the Solo Performance Workshop and is co-written and directed by Kamau. Bruce began studying solo performance 13 years ago. His first teacher was Charlie Varon.

Charlie Varon’s solo plays include Rush Limbaugh in Night School, The People’s Violin and Rabbi Sam, which is now available as a double CD. In addition to his work as playwright/performer, has directed Dan Hoyle’s shows Tings Dey Happen and The Real Americans. charlievaron.com.

Jeri Lynn Cohen has been a Bay Area actress for 25 years. She is a charter member of Word for Word Performing Arts Company and has originated roles in over a dozen of their productions. She has appeared at the American Conservatory Theatre, the Aurora Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Campo Santo, Eureka Theatre, Magic Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, San Jose Stage Company, A Traveling Jewish Theatre and she has toured internationally with both Word for Word and the San Francisco Mime Troupe.

Stories

• Chris Wolfe, “Speaking the Names”
• Neshama Franklin, “Poems and Pillows”
• Patricia Savitsky, “The Secret of the Rose Star Revealed”
• Paul Sussman, “Do the Math”

Music

 Evie Ladin & Keith Terry, banjo, bass, body music and vocals

Chris Wolfe is a performer, writer, and teacher. Previous solo work includes Spanish Goldfish (The Blank Theatre Company’s Young Playwrights Festival) and Step Through the Mirror (Seattle, Cornish School of the Arts.) “Speaking the Names” is part of a full-length show that focuses on how people responded to 9-11 from a distance, based on the collected stories of everyday people who found out about the disaster via TV, the internet, and word of mouth. Share your story: bit.ly/9-11Stories; find out more: www.facebook.com/9.11SoloShowProject.

Neshama Franklin has been telling stories for more than two decades, ever since she was drafted as a traveling witch at the library where she still works.  In addition to that day job which connects her with all those books she she loves, she has a radio show on a local station where she reads what she whatever catches her fancy.  In her spare time she dances, hikes, takes Pilates, and hangs out with her beloved family in the East Bay.

Patricia Savitsky has been working for the last four years with David Ford—and has worked with Ann Randolf and Joya Cory as well—to tell her personal coming-of-age story about growing up in Hollywood in a show-business family.

Paul Sussman developed his approach to melodrama and farce through years of work in financial management with Bay Area nonprofit organizations. He has written and performed a series of solo pieces through the eyes of road-ragers, insects, Anabaptists, cannibals, and others who persist in the search for meaning amidst the puzzling evidence.

Evie Ladin is a banjo player, step-dancer, singer, songwriter and square-dance caller with a lifetime of experience in traditional American cultural arts, that she applies to her original songs. A dynamic performer, she released her solo debut CD earlier this year (www.evieladin.com). Keith Terry is a pioneer in Body Music—displacing his trap set onto sounds made with his body.  He is the founder of the International Body Music Festival, produced by his arts non-profit Crosspulse.

Stories

• Zahra  Noorbakhsh, “All Atheists Are Muslim”
• Maryclare McCauley, “A Real Cowboy and Indian Story”, pt.3
• Martin Holtz, “Wahkanjewbu Tree”
• Sharon Eberhardt, “Second-Hand Muse”

Music

Cynthia Weyuker, Musical saw, voice, effects box and miscellaneous instruments.

Zahra Noorbakhsh is a comedian, writer, and solo performer who was a finalist in the Aspen National College Comedy Competition.  She’s performed as part of the San Francisco Theater Festival, the Solo Performer’s Workshop Festival, and will be debuting the one hour full length piece “All Atheists Are Muslim” at the Stage Werx Theatre Nov 7th & 18th. zahracomedy.com

Maryclare McCauley likes telling stories with lots of characters. The dialogue between the characters is compelling to watch and the physicality she infuses into them brings exuberant life to each. Maryclare is proud to preview tonight part 3 of the 4-part 90-minute show she has been working on for over two years. She has also written six shorter more comedic stories, and loves to perform for children. 

Martin Holtz is a founding member of the Bay Area Playback Theatre, a veteran of thirty years in the performing arts in Miami, Florida and locally where he has been a featured actor in Shakespeare festivals, cabaret and political street theatre. As artistic director of Unexpected Company, he has written and produced numerous performances, workshops, education and training events. He teaches improvisational acting at Stagebridge and storytelling in the Oakland public schools.

Sharon Eberhardt’s play, Savage Arts, was performed at two Canadian Fringe Festivals and at The Marsh, in San Francisco. Her play, Becca and Heidi, was produced by The Shee Theater (San Francisco), Alleyway Theatre (Buffalo, NY), and Chashama (New York City). Spacegrrls! was produced by AndHow! (NYC), and B Street Theatre (Sacramento)’s intern company. She thanks her husband for supporting her work.  

Cynthia Weyuker is a three time winner of the ” Most Unique Performance” at the International Musical Saw Festival. She has performed with her musical saw and voice on local radio stations KALX and KALW. Other recent adventures include the San Francisco and Dublin Fringe Festivals, Idiolexical Poetry Reading Series, and recording “Folkspeare: The Bard in a Nutshell”,  with the Berkeley-based Rude Mechanicals.