PlayGround-LA presents Season 10

MONDAY NIGHT PLAYGROUND

Topic: “REBIRTH”
October 11th 2021 7pm PT
Broadwater Second Stage & Vimeo Live Simulcast

The Rebirth of Arrow Brooks™
by Rachel Borders
Directed by Angela Sonner
Mia Brooks…………………………………….………………..………..Melissa Ortiz
Trevor Brooks……………………………..………………………………..Jon Gentry
Doctor………………………………………….…………………………..Emily Kuroda

The Consecration of Terrence G.
by Mildred Inez Lewis
Directed by Jully Lee
Terrence G.……………………….……..……………………………Kurt Kanazawa
Greg…………………………..……………………………………….…………Ben Cain
Maury…………………………..…………………………………..…………Gary Poux

Uncle Gary Gave Out Cigars
by Briggs Hatton
Directed by Ivan Rivas
Katrina………………………………………………………………Stephanie Keefer
Angelle…………………….………………………………..………..Sherry Michaels
Moira…………………….……………………………………..Tiana Randall-Quant

Rise Up
by Allie Costa
Directed by Rachel Berney Needleman
Killi………………………………………………………….…………….Julia Belanova
Suna………………………………………………..……………………….Melissa Ortiz

South Hope St.
by Aaron Higareda
Directed by Jim Kleinmann
Assistant Directed by Sergio Perez
Sergio……………………………….…..…………………….………….Hugo Carbajal
Eddy………………………………………………………………..………Danny Gomez
Noah/Noah Look Alike………………………………………………..Roland Ruiz

Harried Haworthia Hunting
by Arthur Keng
Directed by Jesus Reyes
Layla………………………………………………………………………..Christine Liao
Steph…………………………………………………………………………….Mae Ruling
Harry…………………………………………………………………….Christian Haines
Esmerelda……………………………………………………………Linda Maria Girón

Stage Manager – Tammy Mora

BIOGRAPHIES

PLAYWRIGHTS

RACHEL BORDERS (The Rebirth of Arrow Brooks™) is a screenwriter, playwright, and director based in Los Angeles. She recently wrapped her second short film Those We Carry, starring Nancy Travis. She has written for FOX’s Proven Innocent and DirecTV’s Rogue. She was a Writers’ Assistant on CW’s Life Sentence & NBC’s Chicago Justice and works as a Creative Executive for showrunners Erin Cardillo & Richard Keith. Originally from Chicago, Rachel attended Brown University where she received degrees in Literary Arts & Psychology.

ALLIE COSTA (Rise Up) is an actor, screenwriter, playwright, director, and singer working in film, TV, theatre, and voiceover. Her acting credits include Future Shock, 90210, Spring Awakening, You Me & Her, and Alien vs. Musical. She’s also appeared in commercials and podcasts, narrated audio books and documentaries, and lent her voice to video games and animated projects. When Allie isn’t performing the works of others, she’s writing her own. Her scripts have been produced internationally, including the critically-acclaimed Two Girls, Safe Distance, Boxes Are Magic, and Can You Keep a Secret? Occasionally, she sleeps. http://www.alliecosta.com  http://www.imdb.me/alliecosta

BRIGGS HATTON (Uncle Gary Gave Out Cigars) 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 commissioned this summer by NY’s Atlantic Theater School. In TV, he recently wrote and developed “Tantrum Jesus,” a half-hour animated comedy pilot, and worked for two seasons on the hit TBS comedic game show “The Misery Index.” Previously, he 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. 

AARON HIGAREDA (South Hope St.) is an emerging playwright from southern California. He is currently the Data and Membership Specialist at Theatre Bay Area. Aaron has had workshop productions with CASA 0101 and El Teatro Campesino and most recently self-produced a zoom staged reading of his first full length play “You don’t even speak Spanish!”. He holds a B.A. in Theater: Writing for the Performing arts from the University of California, Riverside, and will be entering UC Riverside’s Creative Writing and Writing for the Performing Arts M.F.A. program in the fall of 2021.

ARTHUR KENG (Harried Haworthia Hunting) is a Los Angeles-based writer and actor. He has had multiple pieces selected for Best of PlayGround-LA and is thrilled to be back in the theatre this season. He has performed in theatres across the country in addition to his work on television. Arthur earned his MFA in Acting from USC.

​​MILDRED INEZ LEWIS (The Consecration of Terrence G.) writes and directs for theater, film and the digital space. JAB, CROSS, HOOK which began at PlayGround-LA has been expanded and accepted to Houston’s Fade to Black festival. Her podcast script Meets Frog, Loves Prince has been accepted for the Feminist Fairytales series.

ACTORS

JULIA BELANOVA (Rise Up, “Killi”) is thrilled to perform with Playground LA! This spring, she appeared as Wookie in Playground SF’s online production of Sapience by Diana Burbano. Julia grew up in Northern California, where she has performed at San Francisco Playhouse, Marin Shakespeare Company, Jewel Theatre Company, Custom Made Theatre Company, and TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. She’s a recent graduate of Harvard, where she created a musical about Shirley Temple as her senior thesis. As an artist and activist, Julia is proud to serve as Program Coordinator of the Anita Hill-led Hollywood Commission. Find her online: @jebelanova or juliabelanova.com     

BEN CAIN (The Consecration of Terrence G., “Greg”) is very excited to be performing on the Playground stage again. You can currently see him in action on the shows  “Cruel Summer” on Hulu, “Panic” and “Bosch” onAmazon. And coming soon to the final season of “Animal Kingdom.” But his first love is to be here on stage!

HUGO CARBAJAL (South Hope St., “Sergio”) has been a theatre artist for over 20 years. An actor, director, and teacher.  Served as a performer educator with Educational Theatre at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland for 8 years. He has also worked with companies such as Cal Shakes, Hartford Stage, Huntington Theatre, The Alley, SF Mime Troupe, Shotgun Players, Cuttingball Theatre, TeatroVision, and Bay Area Children’s Theatre, among others.  Currently a professor of drama at Los Medanos College and CSU Chanel Islands. Currently pursuing a career on TV and Film in Los Angeles.  Look for him on shows like SWAT, Bosch, Good Girls, Brooklyn Nine Nine, and more. 

JON GENTRY (The Rebirth of Arrow Brooks™, “Trevor Brooks”) has performed in numerous regional theaters throughout California, including the Mark Taper Forum, ACT, Aurora Theater, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, and CASA 0101. He has appeared in numerous films, commercials and voiceovers. Most recently he can be seen starring in ‘Creature Fear’ and ‘TEN,’ currently making the rounds on the film festival circuit.

LINDA MARIA GIRON (Harried Haworthia Hunting, “Esmerelda”) (they/them) is a queer, Guatemalan-american actor, playwright, musician and visual artist. Linda has performed and collaborated with a number of Bay Area theaters including Crowded Fire Theater, Shotgun Players, Cutting Ball Theater, Idiot String, The Peripatetic Players, NCTC, SFBATCO, Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, Faultline Theater and PlayGround SF Writer’s Pool. Linda is thrilled to return to acting in their hometown with PlayGround LA! www.lindamgiron.com

DANNY J. GOMEZ (South Hope St., “Eddy”) is a professional actor 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”.  He recently was awarded the Christopher Reeve Acting Scholarship at the 2020 Media Access Awards.

CHRISTIAN HAINES (Harried Haworthia Hunting, “Harry”) is very excited to be making his debut with PGLA!  Past PGSF 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 dozens more. Currently he is doing a bunch of student films and trying to figure out  LA.  He holds an MFA from the National Theatre Conservatory and loves his wife, Melissa Ortiz.

KURT KANAZAWA (The Consecration of Terrence G., “Terrence G.”) is a Los Angeles native. He studied opera at The Juilliard School, and lived in Italy for several years where he starred in the Italian drama series, PROVACI ANCORA PROF. He most recently starred at Tad on GREY’S ANATOMY. Kurt is fluent in English, Japanese, Italian, and Spanish, as well as French

STEPHANIE T. KEEFER (Uncle Gary Gave Out Cigars, “Katrina”) is a Los Angeles based actor and filmmaker. She earned her degree in Theater at U.C., Irvine where she had the good fortune to study with legendary Polish theatre director Jerzy Grotowski. Her short film, ONE DANCE, was licensed and broadcast nationally on CBS and FOX, and Stephanie has gone on write, act in, and produce other short films that have been seen in various film festivals nationally.  Catch her on YouTube in the sci-fi rom-com A GIRL, A GUY, A SPACE HELMET.  Connect on Instagram @stephanietkeefer

EMILY KURODA (The Rebirth of Arrow Brooks™, “Doctor”), she, worked at Theatreworks (Language Archives, Calligraphy), New York Theatre Workshop (Endlings), Pan Asian(Brothers Paranormal), American Repertory Theater(Endlings), Page 73(Today is My Birthday), Actors Theater of Louisville(we, the invisibles), Huntington Theater(Tiger Style, Woman Warrior), Artists at Play (Two Mile Hollow), South Coast Rep (Fast Company, Ballad of Yachiyo and Our Town), Alliance (Tiger Style), East West Players, Kirk Douglas, Mark Taper Forum, Public Theater, La Jolla Playhouse, Seattle Rep, Singapore Repertory, Berkeley Repertory, The Doolittle, LATC, Zephyr, LA Women’s Shakespeare Company, and the Los Angeles Shakespeare Festival. Recent TV: “All Rise,” “The Good Doctor,” “The Resident,” “Drop Dead Diva,” “Gilmore Girls.” Recent Films: “Take the 10,” “Party Boat,” “Red and Sensei.” Awards: – Dramalogue Ikebana, The Maids, Minamata, The Golden Gate, and Visitors from Nagasaki – LA Commendation (About Love) – Garland Straight As a Line. Entertainment Today (Winter People).

CHRISTINE LIAO (Harried Haworthia Hunting, “Layla”), she, is best known for her role as the restaurant cashier in the comedy sketch, “The ABC Who Can’t Read Chinese.” She also played Waverly Jong in Sierra Madre Playhouse’s Joy Luck Club in the Fall of 2019. You can also find her in Fine China on HBO platforms as part of the HBO APA Visionaries 2020 winners.

SHERRY MICHAELS (Uncle Gary Gave Out Cigars, “Angelle”) Sherry is an actor and voiceover artist, with over 50 voiceover commercials and the sole VO role on a recent Disney animated short.  Stage leads include “Auntie Mame”, “One Flew Over  the Cuckoo’s Nest” and “Veronica’s Room”.  TV includes principal roles on “Betrayed” and “Generation Clash”, a new series for HBO.  Film includes featured roles in “You Gotta Leave your Mark” and “Old Pals” with Barry Bostwick.  Commercials include the PSA “Amazon Red” with Julia Roberts, as well as commercials for Discover Card, International Delight, and Progressive.  Commercial representation: TGMD.  smichaels62@verizon.net

MELISSA ORTIZ (The Rebirth of Arrow Brooks™, “Mia Brooks”; Rise Up, “Suna”) is so excited to make her debut with Playground LA!  She is a recent transplant from the SF Bay Area, where she served as a Playground Ambassador and Company member.  Recent credits include F L I G H T (Playground Solo Fest), Shoot Me When (SF Playhouse) & Anna Considers Mars (Playground Festival).  She couldn’t do any of this without the support of her incredible husband, Christian Haines.  Website: https://amiosco.wixsite.com/melissaortiz

GARY POUX (The Consecration of Terrence G., “Maury”) Gary Poux was born on April 6, 1976 in Mansfield, Texas, USA. He is an actor, known for Live Fast, Die Young (2008), The Young and the Restless (1973) and Sister’s Keeper (2007). He has been married to Melissa since June 30, 2007. Gary is extremely thrilled to return home to his PlayGround-LA family.

TIANA RANDALL-QUANT (Uncle Gary Gave Out Cigars, “Moira”), she, is a Los Angeles raised actor working to challenge the idea that “LA is not a theatre town”. As always, she is so excited to get to play with and experience the new works of this PlayGround-LA season. Recent credits include “What We Might Do in the Shadows” with New Online Theatre and “Fairyland Foibles” with The Wallis Studio Ensemble, both of which are available for viewing on Youtube. She can also be found making fun comedy content with The 354 Squad on Youtube and Patreon.

ROLAND RUIZ (South Hope St., “Noah/Noah Look Alike”) is known for his work on Contraband (2012), Machete (2010) and Boyhood (2014). He’s stoked to collaborate and play w/ LA’s finest on stage again. Suck it, Covid! @Brolopic 

MAE RULING (Harried Haworthia Hunting, “Steph”) is a proud SAG-AFTRA member. She has appeared in multiple short films as the girl who eventually takes control of her life and in a feature film as a literal dream girl named Gorgeous. Her most recent role was a tenacious reporter in a pilot. She is thrilled to have the chance to continue playing and growing as a part of the Playground-LA company.

DIRECTORS

JIM KLEINMANN (South Hope St.), he, 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.

JULLY LEE (The Consecration of Terrence G.) is the artistic director of COLD TOFU, the nation’s first and longest running Asian American improv company, as well as Associate Producer for PlayGround-LA. She has also directed with Playground-SF, Company of Angels, Exposition Review, hereandnow, Center Theatre Group’s Library Readings Series, East West Players’ David Henry Hwang Writer’s Institute, Los Angeles Female Playwrights Initiative, The Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights, Artists At Play, EST-LA, Road Theatre and Playwright’s Arena. As an actor, recent TV/film credits include Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Jane the Virgin, Veep, This Is Us, Henry Danger and The Kominsky Method. jullylee.com

RACHEL BERRY NEEDLEMAN (Rise Up) most recently directed Theresa Rebeck’s What We’re Up Against at Pacific Resident Theatre Co-op. Other directing credits include Cabaret Noel with Gigi Bermingham (Antaeus Theatre Co. and Skylight Theatre), Five Second Chances by Mattie Brickman (PRT Co-op), Cowgirls by Mildred Lewis (EST-LA), The Space Between (The Braid).  Rachel has directed new play readings and workshops at The Blank, EST-LA, Skylight and Theatricum Botanicum. She is also a dramaturg, most recently for Antaeus and Arizona Theatre Company.  She is thrilled to be directing at Playground-LA for the first time.

JESUS A. REYES (Harried Haworthia Hunting) 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.

IVAN RIVAS (Uncle Gary Gave Out Cigars) is a resident director at Downtown Repertory/Sierra Madre Shakespeare Festival and a company member of Rogue Machine Theatre.

ANGELA SONNER (The Rebirth of Arrow Brooks™) is a mom with a theatre degree. She is currently the musical theatre director for Performing Arts Workshops and a resident stage manager for 24th St Theatre’s Enter Stage Right Program. Angela also enjoys taking on guest director roles for Theatre 21 with Biola University  and also enjoys working as a professional mentor with the MFA Directing candidates of University of California, Los Angeles. She is currently working with About…Productions on their new work, Adobe Punk, opening this Spring 2022.

PRODUCTION

PARIS MCCARTHY (Associate Artistic Director) 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.

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 October 1, 2020 and October 11, 2021.

Playwrights Circle ($500+)
Les Ostrov, Julianne Spencer, Nancy & Carty Spencer

Patron ($250-$499)
Dr. Elaine Baskin & Kenneth R. Krechmer, Miss Rhea M. MacCallum, Tiffany Mualem, J.B. Strasser, Dale Underwood & Kirsti Aho, Mr. Ben Watkins, Anonymous (2)

Associate Member ($125-$249)
Frieda de Lackner, Angela Edewi, Miss Rebecca Harris, Lara Gilman & Jim Kleinmann, Lizi Watt, Tahmus Rounds

Supporting Member ($75-$124)
Karen & Michael Berk, Kathy Bette, Angela Agard, Becky Harris, Julianne Jigour, Paris McCarthy, Rob Roy and Kazue McGregor, Penny Mikesell, Steven Rubio, Demetrius Wren, Anonymous (2)

Contributing Member ($25-$74)
Miss Erika Agard, MaryTheresa Capriles, Daysha’s Big Sister, Ms. Elaine Sandra Feincalvin, Casee B Francis, Sarah Gasser, Mr. Joshua Gershick, Ms. Frances Gillmor, Frances Gillmor, Pete Hazelett, Elayne Heilveil, Cynthia Hunter Lang, Eliza McGowan-Stinski, Daniel Melling, Kam O’Horo, Sharon Ridge, Debba Rofheart, Emily Brauer Rogers, Jessica June Rowe, Collette Rutherford, Ms. Doeri Welch, Robin L. Wimsatt, Ms. Kristina Velasquez Witosky

Friends (Up to $24)
Dr. Leslie Allee, Theresa Amy, Miss Eleanor Anova, Mr. Evan Baughfman, Sylvia & Bill Blush, Rena Brewer, Ms. Lisa Bruce, Steve Budd, Hillary Burrelle, Jab, Cross, Hook, Creativity Lover, Susan Culver, Ralph Damato, Lisa Dutton, Andrew Eiden, Alanna R Gabriele, Juls Hoover, Ms. Judy Louise Johnson, Robert Klump, Claire Louge, Miss Nakasha Norwood, Doug O’Neill, Lorrie O’Shatz, Ms. Adrienne Whitney Papp, Vanessa Parish, LB Pines, Joshua Pritchard, Jesus Reyes, Mr. Jess Roat, Mercedes Segesvary, Susan Sher, Sindy Swerdlove, Lisa Thompson, Jo Yuan, Anonymous

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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