BIOS

Tea Party - March 2 - 19, 2023

GORDON DAHLQUIST (Playwright) is a native of the Pacific Northwest, where he wrote for several years before moving to NYC in 1988. He has been a member of New Dramatists and is a NY Theatre Workshop Usual Suspect. His plays include: Messalina (Evidence Room, LA), text for Babylon Is Everywhere: A Court Masque (CINE, Schaeberle Theatre; published in Theatre Magazine), Delirium Palace (Evidence Room, LA; published in Breaking Ground), The Secret Machine (Twilight Theatre Company at Soho Rep), Vortex du Plaisir (Ice Factory '99 Festival at the Ohio Theatre, WKCR's Manhattan Theatre of the Air), Island of Dogs (4th Street Theatre), Severity's Mistress (Soho Rep Theatre, NYU, winner of Primary Stages' Bug & Bub award), Mission Byzantium! (American Globe Theater, NYTW's Just Add Water Festival) and Reticence (Horace Mann Theatre).

He has written and directed several experimental films, including Boise and Beyond (selected for the SF Int’l. Film Festival), Requiem (Seattle Int’l. Film Festival), and the feature-length Rope of Blood (Northwest Film and Video Festival). A graduate of Reed College and Columbia University's School of the Arts, he received a Garland Playwriting Award for Delirium Palace, the Joe Calloway Award from New Dramatists, and the James Tait Black Prize for his sci-fi thriller Tomorrow Come Today, (premiered Undermain Theatre, Dallas). He is also a novelist, best known for his dystopian sci-fi series that begins with The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters.

ERIN MERRITT (Director, Producer) is an award-winning director, producer, writer/adaptor and dramaturg who came to prominence as the founder of the Bay Area’s all-female Shakespeare company, Woman’s Will (1998 – 2011), which she started to create equitable opportunities for women in the field. In 12 seasons, Ms. Merritt directed 13 productions, including two “Top Ten Shows of the Year” —Brecht/Weill’s Happy End (2005) and Shakespeare’s Pericles (2002), starring a Deaf narrator and the world’s first ASL translation of the play, and site-specific productions of Importance of Being Earnest and Lord of the Flies. She has also garnered rave reviews for her translations and adaptations, including Brecht’s Good Person of Szechuan and Drums in the Night; an expressionist hamlet: the melancholy dame; a 5-person Witches’ Macbeth; and Philip Pullman’s Spring-Heeled Jack, which Mr. Pullman branded “really terrific.”

In 2009, she began a freelance career to focus on new work. Producing includes a film for and about chimps for Primate Cinema in LA; the 2013 and 2014 Bay Area Playwrights Festivals; the 2022 Bay Area Women’s Theatre Festival; and the 2017, 2018 and 2019 Theatre Bay Area Awards. During the pandemic she created the live, distanced performance event, Neighborhood Stories, each “episode” of which placed 7 – 8 mini-performances scattered across a city to offer a collage of perspectives about the past and present of each city, the varied performances tied together drive-time narration that offered additional context about the city’s history and landmarks. neighborhood-stories.com. She has also been directing Jen Coogan’s episodic

The Women in Theater Project—a series of filmed songs written from interviews with female theater leaders, so far covering Lauren Gunderson, Mimi Lien, Ilana Levine, Earon Nealey, and Daryl Roth, who called her directing on the project “keen.” Her writing and directing work can also be experienced by visiting the permanent installation of statues in the Nat’l. Park Service’s Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historic Park in Richmond CA. erinmerritt. com

CASSIDY BROWN* (Agent, Journalist) has appeared in theaters around the Bay Area and a little beyond. He has been seen at TheatreWorks (Fallen Angels, The Loudest Man on Earth, The 39 Steps, Distracted, and Doubt), Berkeley Rep (Imaginary Comforts), San Jose Stage Co. (The 39 Steps), Center Rep (Ella, ART, Don’t Dress for Dinner, The 39 Steps, The Underpants), Marin Shakespeare Co. (Othello, Don Quixote, The Tempest, The Complete History of America), Word for Word (Lucia Berlin: Stories), SF Shakespeare Festival (The Comedy of Errors, King Lear), Aurora Theatre Co. (Safe House, Bosoms and Neglect), Capital Stage (The Thanksgiving Play, The Totalitarians, Hunter Gatherers, The North Plan), and Pacific Rep (Waiting for Godot, Twelfth Night, The Country Wife, God of Carnage, The Winter’s Tale, The 39 Steps, A Servant of Two Masters). He is the co-host of the spiritual comedy podcast All the Answers.

ANTHONY CISTARO* (Chief of Staff, Contractor, Boris) has had the privilege of being directed by Erin Merritt in two previous staged readings of TEA PARTY (at the SF Playhouse and at Shotgun Players). Past theater productions include THE KING STAG at the Barbican Centre London, THE SPEAKEASY interactive theater experience in SF, A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE at the South Coast Repertory, and SIX CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF AN AUTHOR and TARTUFFE at the American Repertory Theatre among others. Local TV/Film credits include a recurring role in the Netflix series SENSE8 and in the Netflix Original feature ALL DAY AND A NIGHT. Additional credits include a series regular role as the villainous Kenneth Irons on TNT’s WITCHBLADE and guest roles on NIP/TUCK, ALIAS, UGLY BETTY, FRIENDS, SEINFELD and CHEERS. Anthony is a graduate of the ART Institute at Harvard University.

LIVIA GOMES DEMARCHI* (Prisoner, Natalia) (she/her/hers) Recent credits: Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing at SF Shakes, Cassandra in Somewhere by Marisela Treviño Orta at Perspective Theater, Miri in Sapience at Playground SF and San Diego Rep Latinx festival, and Lola in the world premiere of Ghosts of Bogotá at AlterTheater (both by the incredible Diana Burbano), Tania in Native Gardens at Center Rep, and Olivia/Maria in Twelfth Night also with Perspective Theater (formerly Arabian Shakes, TBA Winner for Best Ensemble). She was part of the original production of The River Bride as Belmira, presented at AlterTheater. Other companies: SF Playhouse, Magic Theater, Marin Shakespeare, Playwrights Foundation, BRAVA, Shotgun Players, among others. She holds a B.A. in Theater and performance studies from UC Berkeley, where she workshopped her solo bilingual piece Quem Eu. She is associate artist with AlterTheater and a company member at Playground SF.

BOB GREENE* (Prisoner 2, Citizen) hails from Hoboken NJ. Graduating from Rutgers, Bob started his career in NYC as Mack the Knife in The Threepenny Opera. Moving to the Bay Area in 1988, Bob joined the SF Shakespeare Festival as Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Grumio in The Taming of the Shrew, Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing, Shorty in Oh, Kay! and Drumio in Boys from Syracuse, for which he received the Best Actor Award from the Bay Area Theater Critics Circle. California Shakespeare Theater as Feste in Twelfth Night, Master Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor, and Bardolph in Henry IV. Musical performances include the lead roles in 42nd Street Moon’s Fiorello and Do Re MI. Films include: The Pursuit of Happyness with Will Smith, Flubber with Robin Williams, Copycat with Holly Hunter, Woman on Top with Penelope Cruz and Steve Jobs starring Michael Fassbender.

ISABEL ANNE TORRES (Analyst, Kyoko) (she/her) is an actor, singer, and voice over artist based in the Bay Area. Selected credits: a staged developmental reading of Sitcom Seagull (Poltergeist Theatre Project), Freddy Krueger’s Day Off and Let’s Do the Sex (Killing My Lobster), Funny, Like an Abortion (PlayGround), The Jersey Devil Play (Awesome Theatre), Avenue Q (New Conservatory Theatre Center), and the 3-part video series Paranormal Hotline. Offstage, Isabel works at a nonprofit whose mission is to advocate for quality early care and education, empower families with information and financial support, and build the capabilities of early educators to ensure that every child in SF has the opportunity to reach their full potential.

RYAN TASKER* (Swing) has worked with Marin Theatre Company, Word for Word Performing Arts Company, Aurora Theater Company, American Conservatory Theatre, TheatreWorks, Shotgun Players, the SF Shakespeare Festival, Livermore Shakespeare Festival, Shadowlight Productions, and, when they existed, San Jose Repertory, Impact Theatre, Theatre Q, and Dragon Productions, among others. He is a member of Word for Word, member of AEA.

LOUEL SEÑORES (Congressional Aide/ Li-Feng) (he/him/his) is a Berkeley-based actor and stage manager. He appeared in Dream Hou$e (Shotgun Players) or in one of the Monday Night PlayGround shows at Freight & Salvage. He stage managed Balikbayan Box (TheatreFIRST) and Water by the Spoonful (SF Playhouse). He’s a proud company member of PlayGround SF and Berkeley Interactive Theater, which specializes in delivering custom made DEI workshops for universities and other intact organizations. LouelSenores.com

ALICIA M. P. NELSON* (Assistant Director, Understudy) (she/her) is an award-winning SF/Bay Area based actor, clown, and arts educator. As an actor she has worked across the country in varying theatres including SF Mime Troupe, WAM Theatre, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, SF Playhouse, Marin Theatre Company, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, and more. She has worked as a teaching artist in various companies in the Bay Area, and she specializes in working with students in preschool and kindergarten. She is a member of the Red Ladder Theatre Company, where she works to bring arts to at-risk populations, and is a graduate of Boston University where she acquired a BFA in Acting. She has trained in classical theatre and Commedia dell’Arte in Greece and Italy. www.ampnelson.com

TERRI DEMARTINI (Stage Manager) attended SF School of the Arts/McAteer High, concentrating on theatre. She attended NYU where she focused on radio/tv production and had a number of story-worthy experiences, including interning for Howard Stern and working at HOT 97 during the golden age of hip hop. Terri then moved to LA and worked in music and TV production for the Universal Music Group and MTV. After years of working behind the scenes, Terri decided to pursue her lifelong dream of front-of-camera work and began studying at Voicetrax in Sausalito, eventually ended up signing with Look Talent and transitioning to front of camera and print work. She has appeared in a number of commercials, industrials and print projects. Terri now splits her time between SF and a coffee farm in Kona, Hawaii.

DAVE MAIER (Fight Director) is a prolific fight director whose passion for telling stories has led to over three hundred productions. He is the resident fight director at SF Opera, and California Shakespeare Theatre. His award-winning work has been seen at A.C.T., Berkeley Rep, Berkeley Playhouse, Center Rep, Marin Theatre Co., Magic Theatre, SF Playhouse, La Jolla Playhouse, Shotgun Players, and Oakland Theatre Project, among others. Dave is recognized as a Master Fight Director and Master Instructor with Dueling Arts International and is a founding member of Dueling Arts SF.

TAMMY BERLIN (Costume Designer) began her theatre career in Chicago where she was the Artistic Director of Transient Theatre and Heroes Inc. Ensemble and The Managing Director of The Playwrights’ Center. After moving to the Bay Area, she switched her focus to costume design. Most recently she has designed shows for Playground SF, Bay Area Children’s Theatre, Marin Shakespeare, 42nd St. Moon, and Broadway by the Bay as well as films for Flying Moose Productions, Videosyncrasy, Encounters Film Collective and EyeQ Films. She is the resident costume designer for Central Works. In her non-theatre life, she designs murals made of moss which you can see at places like Microsoft, Zendesk and Adobe.

GREGORY SCHARPEN (Sound Designer) is the resident sound designer for Central Works, and has designed over 100 productions for them and various other companies, including Shotgun Players, TheatreFIRST, Theater Rhinoceros, Women’s Will, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, and others. His work as a documentary film editor includes the Emmy-winning series Have You Heard From Johannesburg, and feature films including: The Whistleblower of My-Lai and Town Destroyer. He hosts the programs Film Close-Ups and Artsinreview on KALX 90.7 fm, having conducted over 1000 interviews in the course of his tenure. Under the ultimately transparent moniker Thomas Carnacki, he concocts, records, and performs “experimental” (read: unlistenable) music, whose recent releases Illiminal and The Museum Of LostSpecies will hopefully be followed this year by a new album, Cadavre Isolé. Carnacki scores have accompanied numerous films and dance pieces, including Margaret Jenkins’ Skies Calling Skies Falling that toured internationally.

KATE BOYD (Lighting Designer) is a Bay Area scenic and lighting designer and was a board member for Women’s Will, designing sets for Twelfth Night. She recently designed the lights for Justice at Marin Theatre Company and scenery for The Language of Wild Berries and lighting for Drowning in Cairo, both for Golden Thread. She has designed at Aurora Theater, Center Rep, Golden Thread, Magic Theater, New Conservatory Theater, Merola Opera, the SF Conservatory of Music, Company C Ballet and Theaterworks. Kate is a resident artist with Golden Thread Productions and a recipient of the Gerbode Design Fellowship. Kate teaches stagecraft and design at Lick-Wilmerding High School.

DEVON LABELLE (Props Designer) is a Prop Lead and FX artist whose work has been seen on Bay Area stages since 2009. She is a Company Member with Shotgun Players, a Resident Artist with Crowded Fire Theatre, and a TBA-award–winning Props Designer for her work on Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice (Shotgun Players) and Vanya, Sonya, Masha, and Spike (CCCT). Devon is the Prop Shop Coordinator at San Francisco State University.

*Member, AEA

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