PlayGround-LA presents Season 10

MONDAY NIGHT PLAYGROUND

Topic: “What the World Needs Now”
February 14, 2022 7pm PT
Broadwater Second Stage & Vimeo Live Simulcast

ACKNOWLEDGING THE LEGACY OF THE LAND WE INHABIT

PlayGround-LA acknowledges that we are on the unceded ancestral homeland of the Chumash, Tongva, and Kizh (“keech”), the original inhabitants of Los Angeles. As the past and present Indigenous stewards of this land and in accordance with their traditions, the Chumash, Tongva and Kizh Nation (Gabrieleño Band of Mission Indians) have never ceded, lost, nor forgotten their responsibilities as the caretakers of this place, as well as for all peoples who reside in their traditional territory. We recognize the historic injustice of the forcible removal of the Chumash, Tongva and Kizh people from their ancestral lands, and that we benefit from living and working on their traditional homeland. We wish to pay our respects by acknowledging the Ancestors, Elders and Relatives of the Chumash, Tongva and Kizh Communities and by affirming their sovereign rights as First Peoples. We honor the storytellers of the Gabrieleño Band of Mission Indians and are grateful for our ability to share and uplift Indigenous stories and those of other historically marginalized communities.

To learn about the legacy of the land you inhabit, visit Native-Land.ca | Our home on native land. To read the complete Land Acknowledgment Policy, click here.

PLAYGROUND-LA’S ANTI-RACIST POLICY

PlayGround-LA recognizes the impact of racial oppression within society and the American Theater and that we have been complicit in White Supremacy culture. Our goal is to co-create safety for our community by identifying and interrupting instances of racism and all forms of oppression when we witness them, through specific actions rooted in the principles of anti-racism and accessibility. In its endeavor to address the implications of our history, PlayGround-LA is committed to its compliance with the following fundamental rights:

• The recognition of inherent dignity and worth of each human being.
• The recognition of equality of all human beings.
• Recognition of rights of ethnic, racial, cultural, linguistic and religious groups.
• Equality and non-discrimination.

PlayGround-LA’s Anti-Racist Policy applies to: all members of the PlayGround-LA community, including employees, independent contractors, volunteers, audience members, donors, and general members of the community.

To read the complete Anti-Racist Policy, click here.

The Intervention
By Ayesha Siddiqui
Directed by Jully Lee
Sun……………………………………Tahmus Rounds
Venus………………………………………Tansu Philip
Mars…………………………………….Danny Gomez
Earth………………………………….Alexia Jasmene

Tippy Toe 
By Tahirih Moeller
Directed by Gabi Mayorga
Lisa……………………………………Sherry Michaels
Mara……………………………………Krystal Mosley

The Love Meter
By Briggs Hatton
Directed by Rondrell McCormick
Sheila…………………………...Stephanie T. Keefer
Todd…………………………………..Tahmus Rounds
The Love Meter……………………..Zach Kumaishi

Up To Here
By Susan C. Hunter
Directed by Jesus Reyes
Walter……………………………………Richard Ruyle
Madlyn………………………………..Sherry Michaels

The Watering Hole
By Starina Johnson
Directed by Jim Kleinmann
Regina…………………………..Stephanie T. Keefer
Gertie…………………………………….Christine Liao
Timmy………………………………………..Gary Poux

Miss Rebecca Is Here With the New Rules
By Scott Mullen
Directed by Frieda de Lackner
Anne……………………………...Hillary DeMartino
Pia……………………………………….Krystal Mosley
Miss Rebecca………………………..Alexia Jasmene

Stage Manager – Tammy Mora

PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD

Following tonight’s performance, we invite your participation in this month’s People’s Choice Award. Through the People’s Choice Award, our audience can play a direct impact in furthering the career of a promising new playwright. To vote, make a People’s Choice Award tax-deductible donation on behalf of your favorite play(s)/playwright(s) from the evening. Every donated dollar counts as a vote while directly supporting PlayGround-LA’s award-winning incubator programs.

Cast your vote for your favorite play(s) by making a People’s Choice donation via Zelle (info@playground-la.org), Venmo (our account ID is @playgroundsf and if they ask for the last four digits of the phone, it’s 8541) or on our website at https://playground-la.org/monday). Add a note/memo with your gift (you can use the donor acknowledgment section when donating on our website) to indicate your favorite play(s) or email your selection to boxoffice@playground-sf.org.

At the end of the week, we’ll tally up the top vote-getter and automatic semi-finalist for our season-ending Best of PlayGround. It’s a powerful way of showing your support for new writers and their work, while helping PlayGround-LA continue doing what we do!

BIOGRAPHIES

PLAYWRIGHTS

BRIGGS HATTON (The Love Meter) is a Los Angeles-based WGA screenwriter, playwright, and solid dude, who is thrilled to return for his second season with PlayGround-LA. His short play “Happy Holidays” was recently commissioned by NY’s Atlantic Theater School. In TV, he worked for two seasons on the TBS comedic game show “The Misery Index,” and previously worked for four seasons on the NBC cult-favorite sitcom “Community.” He’s written and performed at U.C.B. LA, Second City Chicago, and Improv Olympic Chicago. He holds an M.A. in Humanities from the University of Chicago and a degree in Theater and Creative Writing from Northwestern University.

SUSAN C. HUNTER (Up To Here) has been a member of PlayGround-LA since its inaugural season. Her plays have been produced across the country and, with collaborator Tom Shelton, she has received multiple national playwriting awards. Her creative productivity has been curtailed since the unexpected passing of her husband and producing partner, Michael Eiden, in May, 2021. She would like to express much appreciation to Jim, Jesus and the actors who bring her play to life tonight.

STARINA JOHNSON (The Watering Hole) is a multidisciplinary artist who can be seen in award-winning films such as “West Hollywood Motel”, “More Scenes from a Gay Marriage”, “A Measure of the Sin”, “Stuck!”, “Casserole Club”, “Watch Out”, and “Roundball”. Theatre projects include Hollywood Fringe darlings Piñata, directed by Stan Zimmerman, complex[ion] woman, directed by Ebony Gilbert, as well as numerous Towne Street Theatre and NEO Ensemble Theatre productions. She also AD/Co-Produced the revival of Justin Tanner’s Heartbreak Help. Starina’s play Border Towns won SLAM Boston’s Diverse Voices in Theatre competition. And her short plays have been produced in theatres across the country. StarinaJohnson.com

ACTORS

HILLARY DEMARTINO (Miss Rebecca Is Here With the New Rules, “Anne”). Hillary is excited to be working with Playground! Her most recent creative endeavors include studying Shakespeare with Charles Pasternak (Porters of Hellgate) and singing backup vocals for a local musician.

DANNY J. GOMEZ (The Intervention, “Mars”), is a professional actor/model based in Los Angeles, California. Since 2018, he has acted in award-winning films and multiple television shows, including NBC’s hit series “New Amsterdam.” His work on national advertisements for Target, Facebook, and Zappos have all been successes as well. In 2019, Danny was the “Person With Determination” male winner of ModelHunt’s international model search– a worldwide competition with more than 700+ total applicants. He recently was awarded the Christopher Reeve Acting Scholarship at the 2020 Media Access Awards.

ALEXIA JASMENE (Miss Rebecca Is Here With the New Rules, “Miss Rebecca”), Alexia Jasmene is an LA based Trans Actor/Musician/Comedian/Poet (Wouldn’t you know it?) who is classically trained with Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA and had a robust theatre career in Chicago. She worked with companies such as American Theatre Company as Millie in “Picnic”, About Face Theatre as Sandra in a staged reading of “Transcripts”, The New Coordinates as Eleanor in “Kinfolk”, Side Show Theatre as Nastasia in a staged reading of “Pro Am”, and even in the world premiere of “Naming True” as Amy at Urbanite Theatre in Sarasota, FL. This is her second time playing two roles in Playground theatre’s playwright showcase and third time at The Broadwater after performing a staged reading of excerpts of Natalie Nicole Dressel’s plays “There Is Evil In This House” and “Granny-A Memory Play” for Ghosts and Memories. She’s excited to touch back to her roots as she is pursuing TV, Film, and Voice Acting as a new transplant to LA hoping to open hearts and change minds playing courageously vulnerable women.

STEPHANIE KEEFER (The Watering Hole, “Regina”, The Love Meter, “Sheila”). Classically trained actor and filmmaker, Stephanie T. Keefer is based in Los Angeles. She graduated from U. C., Irvine with a Theater B.A., an M.A. in English and had the privilege to study with legendary Polish theatre director Jerzy Grotowski. Badami Productions picked up her award-winning short film ONE DANCE, and broadcast it nationally on CBS and FOX. Stephanie’s other shorts have also garnered nominations and awards, screening in festivals nationwide. She works in film, television, theater and voice over and has been seen on Netflix, Amazon Prime, NBC, and FX. To find out more about Stephanie’s work visit imdb.me/stephanietkeefer

 ZACH KUMAISHI  (The Love Meter, “The Love Meter”) is quite excited to be returning for another round of Monday Night Playground! A recent graduate of UCLA’s school of Theater Film and Television, Zach is an actor specializing in martial arts, stunt fighting, and physical performance. When not auditioning or rehearsing, Zach also works in Arts Education, teaching through LA Unified School district.

CHRISTINE LIAO (The Watering Hole, “Gertie”) Christine’s best known role thus far is as the restaurant cashier in the comedy sketch, The ABC Who Can’t Read Chinese. You can also find her in Fine China on HBO platforms and the recently released video game Life is Strange: True Colors.

 SHERRY MICHAELS (Up To Here, “Madlyn”, The Tippy Toe, “Lisa”) is an actor and voiceover artist, with over 50 voiceover commercials and and the sole voiceover for a recent Disney animated short. Favorite stage leads include “Auntie Mame, ” “On Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, and “Veronica’s Room.” TV includes principal roles on “Betrayed”, and “Generation Clash”, a pilot for HBO. Film includes featured roles in “You Gotta Leave Your Mark” and “Old Pals” with Barry Bostwick. Commercials include a PSA with Julia Roberts and spots for Discover Card, Progressive, and International Delight. Commercial representation is with TGMD. smichaels62@verizon.net

KRYSTAL MOSLEY (Miss Rebecca Is Here With the New Rules, “Pia”) comes all the way from Chicago, currently residing in LA and is super excited about the production this evening! Some of her credits include: 10 Virgins with Chicago Dramatist, Ruined with Eclipse Theatre and Blood Wedding with Pursuit Productions. She would like to thank the PlayGround-LA cast, friends and family for their continued support!

TANSU PHILIP (The Intervention, “Venus”), she/her, is an Indian-American actor from Redlands, CA. She has been performing in plays and musicals since she was a child, and has a degree in Television and Broadcast Journalism from Chapman University. Tansu received improv training from Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre and is excited to perform in her third PlayGround LA Play tonight (her first dramatic, as opposed to comedic, play.) She would like to thank her partner David, best friend Kirsten, her friends and family, and the PlayGround LA team for their constant support as she pursues acting in Los Angeles.

GARY POUX (The Watering Hole, “Timmy”) is thankful for the opportunity to join his PlayGround-LA family once again.

TAHMUS ROUNDS (The Intervention, “Sun”, The Love Meter, “Todd”), he/him, has been a stage and television actor for over 30 years, was a Blue Man in Blue Man Group Chicago. His tv credits include How I Met Your Mother, Bones, and 911Lonestar. Tahmus is very excited to be in this 10th season of PlaygroundLA!

RICHARD RUYLE (Up To Here, “Walter”), he/him, is an actor, playwright, and civil engineer. Regional acting credits include Over The Tavern at La Mirada Theatre, Sideman at Ensemble Theatre in Santa Barbara, Monster at East West Players, and Heathen Valley at San Jose Stage Company. His one act plays have been produced at the Attic Theatre and Moving Arts. Playground plays he has authored include IC, Do You Hear…?, Heart of a Dog, A Gift, and Straight Shot.

DIRECTORS

JIM KLEINMANN (The Watering Hole; Artistic Director & Co-Founder), he/him, co-founded PlayGround in 1994, along with playwright Brighde Mullins and director Denise Shama, and has served as Artistic Director since 1996. For PlayGround, he has provided artistic and administrative leadership for the past twenty-four seasons, developing PlayGround’s unique array of new playwright and new play incubator programs, including Monday Night PlayGround, the PlayGround Festival of New Works, the full-length play Commissioning Initiative, the New Play Production Fund, Potrero Stage: PlayGround Center for New Plays, and most recently the Innovator Incubator.  For PlayGround, he has directed more than one hundred short and full-length plays, including works by Garret Jon Groenveld, Aaron Loeb, Geetha Reddy, Lauren Yee, Katie May, and many others. Recent directing and dramaturgy credits include David Steele’s Vignettes on Love and Ruben Grijalva’s Value Over Replacement. He is a veteran arts administrator with more than thirty years of experience, including stints leading Traveling Jewish Theatre, Smuin Ballet and Berkeley Symphony, and received his MFA from the Yale School of Drama.

FRIEDA DE LACKNER (Miss Rebecca Is Here With the New Rules) is a theater and short film director/producer. She will be directing a short film of Scott Mullen’s 172 Push-Ups with Krystal Mosley, Tahmus Rounds, and Christina Wren this spring. She will be directing Scott Mullen’s Back Seat Driver for the Brisk Festival in April. Diversity makes us all stronger.

JULLY LEE (The Intervention) is the artistic director of COLD TOFU, the nation’s first and longest running Asian American improv company, as well as a producing director with Playground-LA. This spring, she is directing a workshop with The Vagrancy as part of their Blossoming series on a new play by M.J. Kang (also a member of Playground-LA). As an actor, Jully has a recurring guest star role on YOUNG SHELDON with a new episode airing March 10, and will be at the Colorado New Play Summit 2/20-3/5 working on a new play by Kimber Lee at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. jullylee.com

GABI MAYORGA (Tippy Toe) is an actress, teacher and director. She was born in Jalisco, Mexico and grew up in the New Mexican desert. She received her BFA in acting from the Theatre School at DePaul University and performed on Chicago stages such as The Steppenwolf Garage and The Goodman Theatre. She’s acted in commercials and independent films, taught theater to young students and enjoys making short films. She’s excited to direct Tippy Toe by Tahirih Moeller.

RONDRELL MCCORMICK (The Love Meter) Film/Tv/Media: Weakend (Netflix-Proof Of Concept); The Wesley’s (web series); The Old Saturday (short film-Cannes); Effigy (short film-pre production); Theater: Between Dog And Wolf (Theatre Of NOTE); Vol. 1 A Post Racial America (Boston Court Pasadena); Polar Bears, Black Boys & Prairie Fringed Orchids (Orlando Shakespeare Festival / San Diego Repertory Theatre); Training: B.F.A., North Carolina A&T State University; M.F.A., American Conservatory Theater. Currently, check out “The Fire In-Between,” one of six new plays featured in Antaeus Theatre Company’s The Zip Code Plays: Los Angeles, Season Three.

JESUS REYES (Up to Here) he/him, is an Associate Producer for PlayGround-LA and the Community Partnerships Director at Center Theatre Group. At CTG he designs and implements free in-person and online community programs and commissions short plays for the library play readings series. Jesus is a freelance director and writer from East L.A.

PRODUCTION

PARIS MCCARTHY (Associate Artistic Director), she/her, is thrilled to return as the Associate Artistic Director for PlayGround-LA. She first started as an actor in the company in 2013 and moved on to direct before filling in her current role. You may have seen her other directorial work at InkFest women’s playwright festival. She is a Graduate of UNLV’s MFA of acting program and is the proud mother of Clover who turned One yesterday.

JESUS REYES (Associate Producer), he/him, is an Associate Producer for PlayGround-LA and the Community Partnerships Director at Center Theatre Group. At CTG he designs and implements free in-person and online community programs and commissions short plays for the library play readings series. Jesus is a freelance director and writer from East L.A.

HARRISON BUTLER (House Manager; Assistant Stage Manager), he/him, is delighted to be working with playground LA. He is a performer, Director, instructor, and stage technician. Most recently he was the executive Director of the Theatre Of Arts Conservatory in Hollywood. He has produced and directed plays at the arena stage Including The Laramie Project, Eurydice, Our lady of 121st St., The Shape of Things, Lone Star and Laundry and Bourbon. He was a producer and stage manager of the star-studded stand-up comedy series Comedy Night at The Arena. He is currently working on writing and producing a feature film about the immigrant experience.

TAMMY MORA (Stage Manager)

PLAYGROUND-LA is the first regional expansion of the celebrated Bay Area playwright incubator and theatre community hub, PlayGround. PlayGround was launched in San Francisco in 1994 by co-founders Jim Kleinmann, Brighde Mullins and Denise Shama. In 1996, Kleinmann became PlayGround’s first Artistic Director. Since its founding, PlayGround has developed and staged over 1,000 original ten-minute plays by 250 Bay Area and Los Angeles early-career writers and has commissioned/developed more than 100 full-length plays. In the process of staging those works, PlayGround has helped to identify some of the leading emerging writers and, at the same time, has engendered the creation of a true community of theatre artists, bringing together hundreds of local actors, directors and playwrights. Each month, Oct-Mar, PlayGround-LA announces a topic to the thirty-six writers of the PlayGround-LA Writers Pool. Writers have four-and-a-half days to generate their original short plays and the top six are cast with leading local professionals and rehearsed for just 1.5 hours before being presented as script-in-hand staged readings on the second Monday of the month via Zoom live stream. At the end of each season, six of the thirty-six works developed in the Monday night series are selected for a one-night celebration, the Best of PlayGround Gala. The 10th annual Best of PlayGround Gala will take place on Monday, April 11, 2022, live at the Broadwater Theaters and simulcast via Vimeo Live. PlayGround-LA is a fiscally sponsored project of PlayGround. For more information, visithttp://playground-la.org.

PLAYGROUND-LA CONTRIBUTORS
PlayGround-LA is deeply grateful for the generous contributions of the many individuals whose support makes our playwright incubator programs possible. The list below reflects gifts made between February 1, 2021 and February 14, 2022.

Playwrights Circle ($500+)
In Memory of M. David MacCallum, Jr., Les Ostrov, Julianne Spencer, Nancy & Carty Spencer, J.B. Strasser

Patron ($250-$499)
Dr. Elaine Baskin & Kenneth R. Krechmer, Tiffany Mualem, Ben Watkins, Anonymous (2)

Associate Member ($125-$249)
Miss Rebecca Harris

Supporting Member ($75-$124)
Frieda de Lackner, Angela Agard, Steven Haft, Susan C. Hunter, Lara Gilman & Jim Kleinmann, Rob Roy & Kazue McGregor, Mrs. Judith Menzel, Jesus Reyes, Tahmus Rounds, Steven Rubio, Lolli & Pop Rutkowski, Robin L. Wimsatt, Anonymous

Contributing Member ($25-$74)
Janice G Bail, Evan Baughfman, Sylvia & Bill Blush, Ben Cain, Sunah Cherwin, Sheilah F Clarke-Ekong, Sidney Glass & Eleanor Clement Glass, Laura MacCallum, Rhea MacCallum, Paris McCarthy, Daniel Melling, Marti Mimiaga, Kam O’Horo, Ms. Adrienne Whitney Papp, Joni Ravenna, Debba Rofheart, Emily and Gene Rogers, Dale Underwood & Kirsti Aho, Doeri Welch, Anonymous (2)

Friends (Up to $24)
Dr. Leslie Allee, Theresa Amy, Miss Eleanor Anova, MaryTheresa Capriles, Creativity Lover, Angela Cummings, Reena Dutt, Alanna R Gabriele, Lauren Gorski, Miranda Helly, Juls Hoover, Julianne Jigour, Gail MacGowan, Penny Mikesell, Tahirih Moeller, Doug O’Neill, Lorrie O’Shatz, Vanessa Parish, LB Pines, Melanie Claire Queponds, Jess Roat, Roland Ruiz, Cathy M Stonie, Lisa Thompson, Anonymous (2)

To contribute to PlayGround-LA, visit https://playground-la.org/contribute.

PLAYGROUND-LA WRITERS POOL

Michael P. Adams, Brianna Barrett, Evan Baughfman, Rachel Borders, Emily Brauer Rogers, Diana Burbano+, Malick Ceesay, Sarah  Congress, Bridgette Connelly, Allie Costa+, Lauren Gorski+, Briggs Hatton, Elayne Heilveil, Aaron  Higareda, Susan Hunter, Uma Incrocci, Julianne Jigour+, Starina Johnson+, M.J. Kang, Arthur Keng+, Ken Levine, Mildred Lewis+, Rhea MacCallum+, Liza McGowan, Tahirih  Moeller, Scott Mullen+, Nicholas C. Pappas+, Peter Pasco, Joni Ravenna, Eric Reid, Jessica June Rowe+, Richard Ruyle, Mark Sherstinsky+, Ayesha Siddiqui, Nicki Spencer+, Daysha Veronica+
+ Past Best of PlayGround playwright.

PLAYGROUND-LA COMPANY

Jahnavi Alyssa, Josef Bette, Sylvia Cervantes Blush, Jordan Carlson, Jordan Covington, Frieda de Lackner, Carolyn Deskin, Rogelio Douglas III, Julio Hanson, Mark Jacobson, Kurt Kanazawa, Stephanie T. Keefer, Christopher Gary Lawson, Jully Lee, Christine Liao, Jackie Marriott, Gabi Mayorga, Paris McCarthy, Rondrell McCormick, Krystal Mosley, Tiffany Mualem, Gary Poux, Tiana Randall-Quant, Maiya Reaves, Jesus Reyes, Ivan Rivas, Debba Rofheart, Tahmus Rounds, Mae Ruling, Collette Rutherford, Anthony Rutowicz, Lamar Usher, Carla Vega, William Warren, Charlotte Williams, Christina Wren, Demetrius Wren

PRODUCTION & STAFF

James A. Kleinmann, Co-Founder & Artistic Director
Paris McCarthy, Associate Artistic Director
Jully Lee, Associate Producer
Jesus Reyes, Associate Producer
Tammy Mora, Resident Stage Manager

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3286 Adeline St #8
Berkeley, CA 94703-2485