Every year at this time I think “my god that was a crazy busy year, next year will be so much lighter,”  and since it’s an annual thought, that means it’s never actually a lighter year.  This year was one of the busiest I’ve ever had.  It was a blessing of projects and artistic challenges.  Whether I was out of my comfort zone performing for the first time in 30 years or accepting a leadership role in an established theatre company or more familiar ground with directing staged readings for ReproRights and PCSF, the year has been full of intense experiences and a lot of laughter and delight with new creative relationships around every corner.

• Acting:
  I performed in Spare Stage’s production of Alan Bennett’s TALKING HEADS and got a few lovely mentions in favorable reviews.  I took over the role of Decima in Ex Nihilo’s radio play series TERRA INCOGNITA for three episodes, which was incredibly fun.  I read in Madeline Puccioni’s stage reading of CYCLONE DANCING for PCSF.  I’ve continued my participation in TRI’s monthly reading series reading various parts every month or so.
  
  

  

  TALKING HEADS

  

  TALKING HEADS

  

  TALKING HEADS

  

  

  photo by Manuel Antares Richard Sanchez

  
• Directing:
  I started the year with stepping into completely unknown territory by directing an excerpt from a musical, THE RIGHT NOTE, for the Winter Musical Cafe Showcase. I had the pleasure of directing staged readings for ReproRights! The Body Politic both in August with 3Girls Festival of New Works and November at PianoFight and worked with so many phenomenal actors and terrific scripts.  I’ll cherish that experience for a long time.  Vital work.   I squeezed in direction of Vonn Scott Bair’s THE POSSIBILITY at PCSF for a staged reading in the spring. I directed an evening of new one acts for the stage reading festival of new works SF OLYMPIANS FESTIVAL in October at the Exit.  And we just wrapped up the full production of PCSF’s PLAYOFFS 2016, wherein I directed four of the eight plays.  I was also overjoyed that Sheherezade 15 received the TBA Award for Outstanding Anthology (I directed four of the eight plays last year).
  
  

  

  ReproRights! run through

  

  ReproRights! run through

  

  ReproRights! run through

  

  ReproRights! run through

  

  ReproRights! cast pic

  

  ReproRights! run through

  

  THE POSSIBILITY rehearsal (photo Charley Lerrigo)

  

  THE POSSIBILITY rehearsal (photo Charley Lerrigo)

  

  THE POSSIBILITY rehearsal (photo Charley Lerrigo)

  

  

  

  PCSF Playoffs 2016 (photo Jim Norrena)

  

  PCSF Playoffs 2016 (photo Jim Norrena)

  

  PCSF Playoffs 2016 (photo Jim Norrena)

  

  PCSF Playoffs 2016 (photo Jim Norrena)

  

  

  THE RIGHT NOTE Books and Lyrics by Jerome Joseph Gentes, Music and Lyrics by Rice Majors, Directed by Laylah Muran de Assereto Shown: Joseph Alvarado, Chris Maltby, Kyle Pretty Cool Stoner, Ayelet Firstenberg, Cabiria Jacobsen, Jesse Cortez, Beebe Reisman, Shannon Kealey photo by Marc Sternberger — at PianoFight.

  

  THE RIGHT NOTE Books and Lyrics by Jerome Joseph Gentes, Music and Lyrics by Rice Majors, Directed by Laylah Muran de Assereto Shown: Joseph Alvarado, Chris Maltby, Kyle Pretty Cool Stoner, Ayelet Firstenberg, Cabiria Jacobsen, Jesse Cortez, Beebe Reisman, Shannon Kealey photo by Marc Sternberger — at PianoFight.

  

  THE RIGHT NOTE Books and Lyrics by Jerome Joseph Gentes, Music and Lyrics by Rice Majors, Directed by Laylah Muran de Assereto Shown: Joseph Alvarado, Chris Maltby, Kyle Pretty Cool Stoner, Ayelet Firstenberg, Cabiria Jacobsen, Jesse Cortez, Beebe Reisman, Shannon Kealey photo by Marc Sternberger — at PianoFight.

  

  THE RIGHT NOTE Books and Lyrics by Jerome Joseph Gentes, Music and Lyrics by Rice Majors, Directed by Laylah Muran de Assereto Shown: Joseph Alvarado, Chris Maltby, Kyle Pretty Cool Stoner, Ayelet Firstenberg, Cabiria Jacobsen, Jesse Cortez, Beebe Reisman, Shannon Kealey photo by Marc Sternberger — at PianoFight.
• Writing:
  One of my short plays, AS OF ONE, was included in ReproRights! The Body Politic, directed by Nikki Menez.  I was also selected as one of the Playground’s Monday Night Playground writer’s pool writers for the 2016/2017 season and had my first play submitted, THE VISIT, was given a reading.  I wrote my first attempt at anything musical-like with AND OTHER NECESSITIES for Playground, which wasn’t selected, but I’m proud to have made the attempt and gotten anything halfway decent done and submitted.  I look forward to the writing prompts and months to come.  I also wrote a very silly thing, SYD’S STARS, for the 48-Hour Film Fest that was a rip off of Charlie’s Angels, much fun and got to see the screening of it.  I was also selected to be a playwright for next years SF OLYMPIANS FESTIVAL, writing a one-act about Hathor.  And although it was not theatre oriented at all, I did write/create a murder mystery party for a friend for Halloween that was a huge success and quite amusing.  I continue to work on a couple of my full-length play projects.
  
  

  AS OF ONE run through for ReproRights! The Body Politic

  

  THE VISIT for Monday Night Playground

  

  At the screening for SYD’S STARS

  

  Still from SYD’S STARS

  

  Still from SYD’S STARS

• Artistic Director:
  At the end of the Talking Heads production, the Spare Stage Artistic Director, Stephen Drewes, had me over for coffee and offered me his company and his role.  This was a completely unexpected honor and after a few months of City, State, and IRS paperwork we got everything squared away and formally announced the change last month.  I’m looking forward to my first season in 2017/2018 and continuing the company’s vision for exploring complex ideas on a spare stage.  I’m in discussions with a few people for production opportunities, reading reading reading more established works, and hope to make some announcements about programming in January.

As busy as it’s been, this is my theatre life and I love it.  It is life and air and sustenance and I, we, need it more than ever before.