Tag: 2015

Stories

• Bertha Reilly, An Irish Version of What’s Love Got To Do With It 
• Elana Isaacs, Mashed Potatoes and the Politics of Desire
• Sharon Eberhardt, Squeaker  
• Gary Pinsky, The Origins of Re-Invention

Music

Joshua Raoul Brody, on piano, accompanies Sandy Noltimier, The Seattle Songbird: They’ll be performing standards, substandards, and non-standards.

Bertha Reilly, on retiring, got into storytelling and drama with Stagebridge and has been telling in schools and adult settings on and off since then. She grew up in Ireland and has lived in the bay area for past 40+ years. Tonight you’ll see a glimpse into a difficult childhood growing up in Ireland in the 40’s and 50’s. All true.

Elana Isaacs is a performer, improv teacher, and facilitator whose diverse experience includes mystery dinner theater on a train, being a lefty aunt to her 10- and 6-year-old Berkeley nephews, and an obsession with “ugly” dogs. 

Sharon Eberhardt has written plays for other performers and performed her solo show, Savage Arts, at The Marsh and at Canadian Fringe Festivals. She has been a member of PlayGround, Youngblood at Ensemble Studio Theatre (New York), and has had ten-minute plays performed all over the country. She is an alumna of Barnard College, has an MFA from Columbia University, and is from Buffalo, New York.

Gary Pinsky found his place in the storytelling community on the stages of Story Slam Oakland, Fireside Storytelling, The Shout and The Moth. After his debut of The Fool’s Journey, produced in David Ford’s class, he found his love for solo performance. Tonight’s story was developed with help from Martha Rynberg.

Joshua Raoul Brody plays his favorite Beatles songs AND accompanies YOU on YOURS the first Monday of every month at Café Royale. Sandy Noltimier is the S of noted a cappella-ish trio PMS.

Stories

• Jeff Byers, The Cherry Tree of the 16th Day
• Andrea Mock, The Moby Dick Diaries (excerpt)
• Malcolm Grissom, The Voices Made Me Do It
• Susan Gill, Rabbi, the Missing Bride is in Miami Beach with a Gentile Life Guard and Twenty-One Cats

Music

Seven Rains: Spencer Evans and Rana Rines, singer/songwriters
Americana, folk, rock and a splash of jazz

Jeff Byers began telling stories the first time his mother caught him with his hand in the cookie jar. Now he tells at the Asian Art Museum, in classrooms from first grade to UC Berkeley, and in various performance venues around the Bay Area. He’s also a story coach and a former board member of the Storytelling Association of California.

Andrea Mock, born and bred in Porterville, received a BA in Performance from UC Santa Cruz then moved to Berkeley to form Dancing Ear, Inc., a contemporary dance and music company. Andrea also served as playwright-in-residence at the Speakeasy Theatre from 1996 to 2002. The Moby Dick Diaries, directed by Leonard Pitt and David Ford, is adapted from a work-in-progress teen novel of the same name.

Malcolm Grissom enjoys exploring the creative process. His passion is helping others any way he can, even if only to bring joy and laughter to their lives for a little while. 


Susan Gill is proud to have spent a thirty year career as a community college English instructor. Since retirement, she has been writing and performing solo pieces under the perceptive, creative, and gentle guidance of David Ford. She will present this show again at Solo Sundays early next year and a full-length version of the show at the Rogue Festival in Fresno in March of 2016.

Spencer Evans and Rana Rines, two independent singer/songwriters, are joining forces to bring to life a new band, which draws on the musical traditions of Americana, folk, rock, and a splash of jazz.

Stories

• Vivien Cook, Smoke and Mirrors
• Bernard Vash, Grumblepuss
• Kenna Fisher, Casting Call
• Kenny Yun, Mom Spilled Guts on My Tater Tots (excerpt)

Music

Future Jazz Trio with Laura Wiley, Eric Smith, & Patrick Fahey

Vivien Cook was born and raised in the industrial city of Birmingham in England and emigrated to the US at the age of 24. She has been part of Tell It On Tuesday’s annual partnership performance, which features Stagebridge tellers. Smoke and Mirrors is an oral story which deals with how we reconcile the passage of time while still living with the ever present shadow of our younger self.

Bernard Vash is a Clown, Moving Artist, Actor, Voice and Movement Teacher.
Most recently a graduate of The Flying Actor Studio, he spent 14 years with the American Conservatory Theatre. Recently he appeared as Tiger in Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, Otto Hermann in The Ape Woman, and Grumblepuss the Clown in Ei8ht. He is a proud member of Actor’s Equity Association.

Kenna Fisher has been called a “bold, honest, fearless” storyteller. She believes deeply in the power of telling stories to forge compassionate connections with each other and within ourselves, performing at venues throughout the Bay Area including the Marsh in San Francisco, Word Up! in Santa Cruz, The Shout in Oakland, and Bustin’ Out Storytelling in Oakland. 

Kenny Yun ‘s first two shows, Lettuce Town Lies and The Kim Jong Il Experience, ran at The Marsh where he teaches solo performance. He primarily directs comedians but loves to guide storytellers of all forms. He looks for the mythic and theatrical. kennyyun.com

Eric Smith is a musician, producer and recording artist with Edgetone Records and has worked with Brian Eno, Madonna, Warren Zevon, Mickey Hart among others. edoctorsmith.com. Patrick Fahey is mandolin virtuoso, comfortable in many genres including folk, jazz, Fado, Indian, prog-rock and world music. Laura Wiley is a jazz flutist and singer who performs with many different groups in the Bay Area. www.lauraaustinwiley.com.

Stories

• Theresa Donahoe, Confessions of a Late Bloomer (excerpt)
• Tim Ereneta, You’re Doing It Wrong (excerpt)
• Nina G, Going Beyond Inspiration
• Gary Walker, Ain’t No Thang

Music

Bekah Barnett, A refreshing blend of jazz, folk, pop, and spiritual music

Theresa Donahoe is an actress who just recently started performing solo pieces. Her first short solo show Cat Nanny 911! was performed at All Terrain Theater’s “Women In Solodarity” showcase in April 2013 and enjoyed a sold out extended run. Confessions of a Late Bloomer is her most recent piece and is currently being developed into her first full length show.

Tim Ereneta does not make films, manage corporate brands, write marketing copy, design video games, photograph weddings, parse data, or investigate news stories. He does tell folktales, fairy tales, and the occasional shaggy dog story in live performances to audiences across the country. Apparently there is not a word for this.

Nina G is America’s favorite female stuttering stand up comedian (granted, she is the only one). She is also a disability activist, storyteller, children’s book author and educator. She brings her humor to help people confront and understand social justice issues such as disability, diversity, and equity. 

Gary Walker made his Off-Broadway debut performing his first solo show, Green Eyes, Just Like You and Me, in New York City at Studio Theatre on Theatre Row. The play has since been published on Indie Theatre Now, and has been performed to sold out houses in various cities across the US, including The Marsh, SF. Gary currently lives in San Francisco where he spends his time writing and working as a theatre, film and commercial actor in the bay area. thisisgarywalker.com

Bekah Barnett’s piano driven tunes and soulful voice have been compared to
Tori Amos, Natalie Merchant, Adele, and Joni Mitchell. Her songs are well crafted and emotionally engaging, with the centerpiece of pure, clear, operatically-trained vocals. “This is smart songwriting for eager ears.” Her sophomore release, Rise, was recorded at Fantasy Studios with local producer and master pianist Julie Wolf.

Stories

• David Caggiano, Gangsters in Freaky Land
• Ann Riley, A New Persephone
• Doug Cordell, Up the Creek
• Brittany A. Kamerschen, Blue Light Love
• Xiaojuan Shu, Don’t You Have Dignity, Mama?

Music

The Uncalled Four, classic and original acoustic folk-rock and blues

David Caggiano is a playwright and solo performer. David’s works include: Walk Like A Man, The Arrival, The Tinker, and The Prophet. David’s solo show, Jurassic Ark, won Best of San Francisco Fringe 2012, and ran for 5 weeks at the EXIT Theater with sold out shows in Edmonton Fringe.

Ann Riley has been telling stories since the first time she needed an alibi. She is a past board member of the Storytelling Association of California. She participates in annual epic tale events, and tells stories at the Silk Road House, the Asian Art Museum, in schools, libraries, and anywhere folks will sit still to listen.

Doug Cordell is an NPR storyteller, solo performer and Emmy-nominated writer. His true-life radio stories air on Snap Judgment and Marketplace. Find video, audio and info about upcoming shows at dougcordell.com.

Brittany A. Kamerschen is a poet with a Degree in Creative Writing from San Francisco State. She is currently the program director for MNM series, at the Marsh Theater. Blue Light Love is a work-in-progress one-woman poetry play. It is about a poet’s love for theater and all the romantic illusions and fantasies that exist there.

Xiaojuan Shu was born and raised in China, studied medicine and business, and currently works on her one-woman show in search of who she really is. 

Stories

• Abe Bernstein, The Lion and the Rabbit
• Ginger Murray, Queen of the Nerds
• Elaine Magree, The Relative Value of Lives (excerpt)
• Deanna Anderson, The Wreck (excerpt)
• David Nihill, A Mother, a Son, a City

Music

The Lazy Governors: gypsy jazz, old timey and assorted surprises

Abe Bernstein was once a scientist, professor, and researcher, but then a genie transformed him into an actor, inproviser, and storyteller. Now he enjoys telling tales about things that never really happened, and pretending to be people he could never be in real life.

Ginger Murray is the editor in chief of Whore! magazine, a journalist and performance storyteller. An avid lover of bad girls, thinkers and radical idiots, Ginger has appeared just about everywhere and done just about everything, including a stint as talking head on the History Channel and a strutter upon the stage with the likes of La Pocha Nostra and Red Hots Burlesque. 

Elaine Magree has written, directed or performed new work at The Marsh, The Magic Theatre, Z Space, The Working Women’s Theatre Festival, Brava, Exit Theatre, as well as many Theatre and Fringe Festivals. She has taught theatre at Solano College, SF City College, East Bay Center for The Performing Arts and in homeless shelters, recovery centers, and the Sacramento county jail.

Deanna Anderson is the program developer and a teaching/performing artist with StoryTeller Project, where she has delivered health, educational and performance projects to diverse populations, including incarcerated women and youth, children with developmental disabilities and teen moms. Deanna teaches dance, theater and movement classes at Stanford U and currently studies the art of mask and physical theater with Leonard Pitt.

David Nihill left Dublin, Ireland at the age of 22, got drunk on travel and never quite hit sobriety of it. He strongly denies being a comedian and is well aware most people don’t understand his accent. David is the founder of Comedy for a Spinal Cause and FunnyBizz Conferences, and author of the book, Do You Talk Funny. 

With the The Lazy Governors, you might hear a gorgeous mandolin composition from the 17th century or an instrumental version of the Bee Gees’ “More Than a Woman.”  You’ll definitely hear a wide range of early jazz and western swing. Sam Barnum on lead guitar, Geoff Boushey on fiddle, Russ Keil on stand-up bass, and Julian Gross on rhythm guitar and occasional mandolin. 

Stories

• Karen S. Ripley, Oh No, There’s Men On The Land!
• Daniel Ari, ask me whether what i have done is my life
• Cassie Cushing, Scylla – Youth Undone
• Erica Lann-Clark, Still Shopping for God (excerpt)

Music

Sund of Sirens: Americana, country blues, folk, ragtime

Karen Ripley has been performing for over 35 years as a comic and improviser. She came on to the gay comedy scene in 1977 in San Francisco. From the cover of the East Bay Express (Berkeley, CA) with Whoopi Goldberg to Ms. Magazine’s top 100 Lesbian Comics. 

Daniel Ari’s forthcoming book, One Way to Ask (Zoetic Press), combines poems in an original form with art by more than 65 artists including Roz Chast, R. Crumb, Henrik Drescher and Wayne White. Daniel leads creative writing sessions at his home in Richmond and performs improvisational storytelling and movement with Wing It. Look for him at The Moth GrandSlam in San Francisco this coming September. 

Cassie Cushing tells myths and folktales for modern adult and young adult audiences.  She finds the personal in the traditional and creates unique retellings for the contemporary audience, entering the world of “Once upon a time” to go beyond happily ever after. She is opening a storytelling coffee shop, Kaleidoscope Coffee, in the quaint, artistic neighborhood of Point Richmond.

Erica Lann-Clark was born Jewish on the eve of the Nazi invasion of Austria. She and her family ran from country to country to Brooklyn, where her parents told her vivid tales of vanished worlds. Their kitchen table tales inspired a passion for the power of story. This play asks: Can we reconcile with people we’ve hated for years—or even with those we’ve loved forever—like our families?  And can we finally change God’s pronoun from He to She? That’s what her pissed off, aging, feminist show is about and its why she’s taking it on tour while she’s still strong enough to go on the road.

Sound of Sirens, like the mythical sea maidens of old, are mesmerizing audiences with scintillating vocal harmonies and intricate instrumental arrangements. From traditional music and original compositions to modern hits, their performances include music by such diverse composers as Paul Simon, Tom Waits, Gillian Welch, Jelly Roll Morton, Vandaveer, and more. As a finely-woven ancient fishing net, the Sound Of Sirens music will capture and hold you riveted from start to finish.

Stories

• Mark Kenward, Nantucket
• Bárbara Selfridge, One Hundred Percent Stymied (an excerpt)
• Jeff Raz & Shira Kammen, Dame Ragnelle

Music

Shira Kammen, Medieval fiddles and medieval harp, playing music of the 12th–15th centuries and beyond

Mark Kenward is the creator of seven full-length solo shows. He has performed his work in over 35 cities throughout the US and Canada, including a reception for The House of Representatives in Washington, DC, and several runs at The Marsh. Tonight he performs an excerpt from Nantucket (directed by TIOT’s very own Rebecca Fisher), a memoir about his years growing up on the fabled island. He is looking forward to his upcoming North American tour of Nantucket with stops in Berkeley, Clayton, Ottawa, Toronto, and Edmonton.  markkenward.com

Bárbara Selfridge did have that whole writer life, complete with an NEA grant, a published story collection, Serious Kissing, and odd jobs like personal assistant to Grace Paley and Alice Walker. She has a sister with brain damage who sings back-up with a rock band, and she inspired Bárbara to work with Theatre Unlimited, a troupe of mostly developmentally-disabled actors and playwrights. Bárbara has worked with David Ford at the Marsh to write a solo performance about how she and her sister coped with their parents’ decline, Zero Tolerance: Sex, Math and Seizures. She took that show to a bunch of Fringe Festivals, and expects to do the same with the full-length version of Stalking Grace.

For the last 40 years, Jeff Raz has performed nationally and internationally with circuses and theaters including Cirque du Soleil, The Pickle Family Circus, California Revels and Lincoln Center Theater.  He has written 15 plays and directed many more. He is the founder of The Clown Conservatory with students currently performing in circuses and theaters around the world. Jeff continues to work in theaters and circuses and is the Artistic Director of the Medical Clown Project in San Francisco. secretlifeofclowns.com

Shira Kammen has spent most of her life exploring the worlds of early, traditional, and countless other styles of music. A member for many years of Ensembles Alcatraz, Project Ars Nova, and Medieval Strings, she has also worked with Sequentia, Hesperion XX, the Boston Camerata, the Folger and Newberry Consorts, The King’s Noyse, Piffaro, Tapestry, Anonymous IV, the California Revels, the California, San Francisco, and Oregon Shakespeare Companies, the Balkan group Kitka, and is the founder of Class V Music, dedicated to performing on river rafting trips. She is particularly interested in collaborations with dancers, circus artists, poets, visual artists, naturalists, actors, storytellers—anything outside of a standard concert venue! shirakammen.com