PlayGround-LA presents Season 10

BEST OF PLAYGROUND-LA GALA

April 10, 2023 7pm PT
Broadwater Second Stage & Online 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.

Watermelon Love
by M.J. Kang
Directed by Sylvia Cervantes Blush
Nell………………………Katherine Ko
Simon…………………Christain Haines

Eve
by Bailey Jordan Garcia
Directed by Paris McCarthy
Eve……………………………....Krystal Mosley
Bird / Adam 1 / Serpent A………………………………………Tony Kim
Goat / Adam 2 / Serpent B…………………………...Cassie Grilley
Fish / Adam 3 / Serpent C………………..Lea Madda

Come Tomorrow
by Esther Banegas Gatica
Directed by Jesus Reyes
Shereza …………………………...Alejandra Jaime
Guard…………………………….Tahmus Rounds
Consulate Officer………………………..Greg Bryan

The Hunter
by Ayesha Siddiqui
Directed by Jim Kleinmann
Deer…………………………………...Sherry Michaels
Hunters…………………………………...Gary Poux

Louisiana Shoal
by Mildred Inez Lewis
Directed by Rondrell McCormick
Earlene………………………………..Diane Sellers
Licia……………………………………Angela K. Thomas

That’s Not Funny
by Michael B. Kaplan
Directed by Angela Sonner
Customer…………………………………….Eric Geller
Pawnbroker…………………………………...William Warren

Stage Manager – Harrison Butler

PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD & NEW PLAY COMMISSION

Following tonight’s performance, we invite your participation in the Best of PlayGround-LA 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 New Play Commissioning program.

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 next two weeks, we’ll tally up the top vote-getter and recipient of this year’s PlayGround-LA New Play Commission, a full-length expansion and adaptation of their award-winning Best of PlayGround-LA Gala short play. 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

ESTHER BANEGAS GATICA (Come Tomorrow), she/her, is a Honduran bilingual playwright, actress, director & translator. She’s a graduate of Teatro Prometeo, obtained her BFA from Oral Roberts University & an MFA from University of California, Riverside. She’s taught/performed with/at: Miami Hispanic International Festival, Syracuse Stage, PlaygroundLA & Fort Worth Fringe. Follow her work on Instagram @esteyg

BAILEY GORDAN GARCIA (Eve), they/them, is a queer, non-binary writer newly based in LA and a recent graduate of The New School (‘22, BFA in Playwriting). They’ve worked with places such as The Blank Theatre (“What To Expect When You’re Expecting Our Lord and Savior”, “Pedo Punchers”), The Bechdel Group (“Tvilah; or Arriving Where She Left”), Ohio University (“An Abstinent Orgy…”), as well as Playground-NY, Playground-LA, and Playground-One (with their full length commission “Is This Beauty”). A huge thank you to their friends, their family, their dogs, and Playground for their support! baileyjordangarcia.com

M.J. KANG (Watermelon Love), she/her, is a playwright, actor, director and storyteller. She’s had 10 plays produced. Her plays have been produced at Tarragon Theater, Theater Passe Muraille, Son of Semele, Pan Asian Rep, and Factory Theater. This season, she is in the playwrights groups at Company of Angels, The Barrow Group, Vagrancy Theater and Playground-LA. She’s been commissioned by Shotgun Players, Portland Playhouse, AFO Solo Shorts, and Blyth Festival Theater among others. She played Kwan Won-Ji on CBS’ Seal Team and has been on TV, film, new media videos and national commercials.

MICHAEL B. KAPLAN (That’s Not Funny), he/him, had his first play produced in the One-Act Marathon at the Ensemble Studio Theatre in New York. Since then he has worked primarily as a TV writer and producer on a dozen different prime time shows for ABC, NBC, FOX and the CW, including stints on such seminal shows as “Roseanne” and “Frasier.” He created “I’m in the Band” on Disney XD and “Dog with a Blog” on Disney Channel, serving as showrunner for both. He has been nominated for four Emmy Awards, winning one, and received a BET Comedy Award for his work as a writer on “Girlfriends.” He is the author of the “Betty Bunny” series of children’s books. As a playwright, he is a member of EST/LA, Playground-LA, and The Group Rep Theatre.

MILDRED INEZ LEWIS (Louisiana Shoal), she/her, writes and directs for theater, film and the digital space. Upcoming productions at Actors Ensemble of Berkeley and Ohlone College. She has just been commissioned by the Lucille Lortel to write a new full-length FANTASMA CROSSINGS. She’s also writing WE, FOUR for The Road Theatre’s Under Construction project. Her pilot i-CLASS was recently read by First Fifteen LA. Less sleep, more words.

AYESHA SIDDIQUI (The Hunter), she/her, is a playwright of Pakistani-American descent. Works include: Water Lily (Sundance Institute Playwriting Intensive, 2019) and Baba, Jee (Father, Yes)(Hollywood Fringe Scholarship Winner, 2018). Her newest play, Jaldee/Hurry, is in development with The Vagrancy 2020-21 Writers’ Group.

ACTORS

GREG BRYAN (Come Tomorrow, “Consulate Officer”), he/him, has been seen on stage in productions at Mark Taper Forum, The Geffen Theatre, Laguna Playhouse, and has been seen on television recently on MOSQUITO COAST, DEAD TO ME, EUPHORIA, TRUE DETECTIVE. He has been working with Playground group since 1998

ERIC GELLER (That’s Not Funny, “Cutomer”), he/him. For the last twenty years, Eric’s been a member of Dancing Squirrels, a non-profit, children’s theater troupe that performs for ill and abused kids. Eric also works in immersive theater, most recently, Hollywood Fringe Fest award winners, “Unreal City” and “Vote For Murder.” Eric’s most recognized for hosting an archaeology/exploration series, “Cities of the Underworld,” for The History Channel. Eric’s from St. Louis, attended “Mizzou” and graduated from UC-Irvine.

CASSIE GRILLEY (Eve, “Goat / Adam 2 / Serpent B”), she/her, is an actor, improviser, and teaching artist born and raised in San Francisco and now based in Los Angeles. Cassie graduated from the University of California, Irvine with a BA in Drama. In SF, she performed in musicals, drag shows, new works, and theater for young audience shows. In LA, Cassie has studied Improv at the Groundlings, Upright Citizen’s Brigade, and the World’s Greatest Improv School (WGIS). She plays on teams at WGIS, WeImprov, and the Drunk Theatre Company. While she is not performing, she is teaching social skills through Improv to people who are neurodiverse.

CHRISTIAN HAINES (Watermelon Love, “Simon”), he/him, loves PlaygroundLA! Past PG shows include Sapience, Anna Considers Mars, Value Over Replacement and tons of Monday Nights. Other credits include Straight White Men (MTC) Reginald and Ruckus, The Moonrisers (Moonrisers), Operation Ajax (Little Fish ), Jihad Jones (Perpsective) Death of a Salesman, This is Our Youth (ATSF) and a bunch more.. He holds an MFA from the National Theatre Conservatory and loves his wife, Melissa Ortiz. https://amiosco.wixsite.com/christianhaines

ALEJANDRA JAIME (Come Tomorrow, “Shereza”), she/her, is a Los Angeles Based SAG actress. Film/tv: Latasha Harlins 2023 (Natalia), “The Mosquito Coast” season 2 (Apple TV/voice over), Goon (Pilot/Boston). “Period”(short/Jessi) Theatre: “Mirabella” California Inst. of the Arts (Fina), “Bobbie Clearly“ California Inst. of the Arts (Russ Scott), “Taming of the Shrew” (Katherine) California Inst. of the Arts. Insta: @Alejandra_jay_
For talent inquiries contact: Alejandra.Daniela.jaime@gmail.com
www.alejandrajaime.com
https://m.imdb.com/name/nm12485612/

TONY KIM (Eve, “Bird / Adam 1 / Serpent A”), he/him, Hey there good lookin! Thanks for supporting arts and culture 🙂 Enjoy the show. If you are on IG follow @tonykimtime for info on myself and upcoming projects.

LEA MADDA (Eve, “Fish / Adam 3 / Serpent C”), she/her, is a theater artist, educator, and voiceover actor. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Classical Voice Performance from Boston University and an MFA in Acting from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. Recent theater credits include Hand to God (Coachella Valley Rep), A Bright New Boise (Dezart Performs), The Sound of Music (Alaska CAP), Anne, A New Play (Museum of Tolerance), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Theatricum Botanicum), Queen of Califas (Los Angeles Theatre Center) and She Loves Me (Actors Coop). @reallyofficial.leamadda

SHERRY MICHAELS (The Hunter, “Deer“), she/her, is an actor and voiceover artist, with over 50 voiceover commercials and the sole voiceover role on a recent Disney animated short. Favorite stage leads include Auntie Mame, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Veronica’s Room. TV includes principal roles on “Betrayed”, “Investigation Discovery” and the pilot “Generation Clash”. Film includes featured roles in “You Gotta Leave your Mark” and “Old Pals” with Barry Bostwick and Bruce Davison. Commercials include the PSA “Amazon Red” with Julia Roberts, as well as commercials for Discover Card, International Delight, Progressive and Allegiance Gold. Commercial representation is with TGMD. smichaels62@verizon.net

KRYSTAL MOSLEY (Desert Fashion Dreamers, “Polly”), she/her, originally from Chicago, is happy to be part of “Best Of” at the Playground LA. Some of Krystal’s favorite stage performances to date include “Intimate Apparel” (Palmbeach Dramaworks),“10 Virgins” (Chicago Dramatist), “Orpheus and Eurydice” (Chicago Opera Theater), “Ruined” (Eclipse Theatre), “A Doll’s House” (Definition Theatre Company) and MacBeth(Polarity Ensemble Theatre). Krystal has a Bachelor of Fine arts Degree in Theatre from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She also recently graduated from the conservatory program at Second City Comedy, as well as Upright Citizen’s Brigade. Krystal can be seen on CBS’s “Young and the Restless”

GARY POUX (The Hunter, “The Hunter”), he/him, is, as always, excited to share the stage with his Playground-LA fam.

TAHMUS ROUNDS (Come Tomorrow, “Guard”), he/him, has been a stage and television actor for over 30 years, and was a Blue Man in Blue Man Group Chicago. His tv credits include How I Met Your Mother, Bones, and 911 Lonestar, and most recently, Upload on Prime. Tahmus is very excited to be in this 11th season of PlaygroundLA!

DIANE SELLERS (Louisiana Shoal, “Earlene”), she/her, originally from St. Petersburg, Florida, has been acting professionally for over 38 years. Having relocated to Los Angeles from Atlanta, Georgia in 1997 to further pursue her career, she has appeared in over 30 films and logged 6 years as Doreen on CBS’ Rules of Engagement, and guest appearances on Key & Peale, Greenleaf, Atlanta, Law & Order: True Crime and, most recently, A League of Their Own: The Series. On (or about) April 18th, you can catch her on OWN Network’s courtroom drama, All Rise. She’s happy to be back onstage with PlayGround-LA and Rondrell McCormick!

ANGELA K. THOMAS (Louisiana Shoal, “Licia”), she/her, is a Shreveport, LA native. After spending two years in New York City following her MFA at Brown University, she jumped coasts to be in LA full time. Twelve years later, she’s been in a few short films, some co-star roles, and maintained a regional theatre career. Her role in Home at International City Theatre in Long Beach earned her an NAACP Theatre Award nomination. Angela is a brand new business owner of a production company named Ethereal Group Productions. This is her debut performance with Playground!

WILLIAM L. WARREN (That’s Not Funny, “Pawnbroker”), he/him, is a native of Gary, Indiana. He began his journey at the famed Second City Theater Improvisation Workshop in Chicago, Ill. William who is an actor and vocalist has performed in various musical productions, toured Canada with the Platters and performed as a backup vocalist with recording artist Billy Davis and Marilyn McCoo of The Fifth Dimensions, Stephanie Mills, Deniece Williams and Phillip Bailey of Earth Wind and Fire, among others. William is currently collaborating on a production of Igor Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du Soldat with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and recently appeared in August Wilson’s Seven Guitars at The Long Beach Playhouse, the critically acclaimed The Little Foxes at Antaeus Theatre: Towne Street Theatre; IN RESPONSE; THE FERTILE RIVER at Baylor University, and 2019 NAACP Theatre Award nominee PERIPHERY at The Hudson Theatre.

DIRECTORS

SYLVIA CERVANTES BLUSH (Watermelon Love) , is springing into April with pre-production duties for THE COURAGE TO RIGHT A WOMAN’S WRONGS for Bowdoin University’s 2024 season. This summer she will be inspiring high school students to jump into theater arts as part of the Cerritos College Dual Enrollment Program.

JIM KLEINMANN (The Hunter; 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.

PARIS MCCARTHY (Eve; Associate Artistic Director), she/her, is thrilled to be back Directing for the Gala performance of 2023.

RONDRELL MCCORMICK (Louisiana Shoal, he/him: Multi-hyphenate creator.

JESUS REYES (Come Tomorrow; 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.

ANGELA SONNER (That’s Not Funny), she/her, is thrilled to be participating in this year’s PlayGround LA Gala Event! PlayGround LA is such a wonderful opportunity to meet and highlight local artists while promoting new works. Thank you so much for giving space for new stories and voices.

PRODUCTION

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, visit http://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 April 1, 2021 and April 11, 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, Julia Belanova, Josef Bette, Sylvia Cervantes Blush, Hugo Carbajal, Jordan Carlson, Jordan Covington, Frieda de Lackner, Carolyn Deskin, Rogelio Douglas III, Danny Gomez, Christian Haines, Julio Hanson, Mark Jacobson, Kurt Kanazawa, Stephanie T. Keefer, Emily Kuroda, Christopher Gary Lawson, Jully Lee, Christine Liao, Lea Madda, Jackie Marriott, Gabi Mayorga, Paris McCarthy, Rondrell McCormick, Sherry Michaels, Krystal Mosley, Tiffany Mualem, Melissa Ortiz, Tansu Philip, 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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c/o PlayGround
3286 Adeline St #8
Berkeley, CA 94703-2485