CENTER REPERTORY COMPANY OF WALNUT CREEK Michael Butler, Artistic Director Scott Denison, Managing Director presents Cast Michael A. Berg Richard Louis James Mark Anderson Phillips* Darren Bridgett* Kalli Jonsson Joel Roster Sarah Bush Carie Kawa* Kimberly B. Valmore Lizzie Calogero* Fredrika Keefer Liam Vincent* Jeffrey Draper Krissy Keefer Adam Yazbeck* Lena Gatchalian Arthur Jason Keng Elise Youssef Mick Mize Scenic Designer Lighting Designer Costume Designer Kim A. Tolman Kurt Landisman B. Modern Sound Designer Choreographer Stage Manager Will McCandless Krissy Keefer Frank Corso* Composer Marc Ream Directed by Michael Butler Mar 27 - Apr 26, 2008 Lesher Center for the Arts Margaret Lesher Theatre Season Sponsor Season Partner Season Media Sponsor *Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States The Costume Designer and Lighting Designer are members of United Scenic Artists Union The Director in this production is a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers Cast of Characters Floor. She has performed at San Jose Rep, the Magic Theatre, Marin Matter hip hop Company and a member of Grrrl Brigade, Dance Theatre Company, San Francisco Shakespeare Company and in Mission’s Performing Company for young women. She has expertise Theseus, Duke of Athens ......................................... Kalli Jonsson numerous plays with Woman’s Will and TheatreFIRST. in ballet, modern, hip hop and taiko drumming. This is her first Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons ........................... Carie Kawa* repertory performance. Lysander ............................................................ Adam Yazbeck* Jeff Draper (Snout) has been seen in many Hermia ............................................................. Lizzie Calogero* Center REP productions, including How the Krissy Keefer (Cobweb/Choreographer) co- Demetrius ......................................................... Darren Bridgett* Other Half Loves, Around the World in 80 Days founded the Wallflower Order Dance Helena .................................................................... Elise Youssef and Picasso at the Lapin Agile. Jeff loves Collective (1975) that toured internationally Egeus, Hermia’s father ................................ Richard Louis James spending his summers with the students of for nine years. In 1984 she co-founded Dance Philostrate, Master of the Revels ................................. Mick Mize Young Rep, where he is Co-Education Director Brigade and developed a new kind of modern with Kerri Shawn. Jeff would like to thank his dance-theater that was stylistically rooted in Peter Quince, a carpenter ...................................... Liam Vincent* husband Dalon for supporting his crazy love of acting and theater. the martial arts, in female athleticism and in social justice issues. She Nick Bottom, a weaver ............................ Mark Anderson Phillips* has created over 200 original works and produced the work of Francis Flute, a bellows-mender ...................... Arthur Jason Keng hundreds of artists. For this she has received numerous grants and Tom Snout, a tinker .................................................... Jeff Draper Lena Gatchalian (Mustardseed) was born in awards, including three NEA Choreographers’ Fellowships, San Snug, a joiner .............................................................. Joel Roster Pittsburgh PA and grew up in Manila, Francisco Magazine’s Arts Achievement Award for Dance, two Robin Starveling, a tailor ...................................... Michael A.Berg Philippines where she began her dance training Individual Artist Commissions from the San Francisco Cultural His dog .......................................................................... Ophelia at the age of 6. She moved to New York City Equity Grants Program, a “Goldie” Award from the Bay Guardian, after high school where she received her BFA Isadora Duncan Awards in and the East Bay Express’ “Artists Who Oberon, King of Fairies ............................................. Kalli Jonsson from Parsons School of Design and continued Make A Difference.” Since 1999, Keefer has been the director of Titania, Queen of the Fairies .................................... Carie Kawa* her dance training and performing with various Dance Mission Theater, a dance school and performance center in Puck ......................................................................... Mick Mize teachers and choreographers. It was here that she had the pleasure the Mission. This multicultural center has an adult and a youth Cobweb ................................................................. Krissy Keefer of working with Ms Agnes de Mille in her creation of ABT’s The program and a 140-seat theater. She has established Grrrl Brigade, Moth ....................................................................... Sarah Bush Other. In 1994 she moved to San Francisco and has been performing a dance program for 100 young girls. Dance Brigade has been Mustardseed ..................................................... Lena Gatchalian with Dance Brigade since then. Among the other companies and featured in Ballet Tanz, Kung Fu Magazine, Deborah Jowitt’s Peaseblossom ....................................................... Fredrika Keefer choreographers and directors she has worked with are: Timothy Near “Dancing Image” among others. Keefer has also been the subject of Peaseblossom ................................................ Kimberly B. Valmore and San Jose Repertory Theatre, Pearl Ubungen Dancers and a half-hour documentary for Artist’s Eye. Her work around creating Musicians, STEAMROLLER, Terry Sendgraff, Anne Bluethenthal a new aesthetic in dance is featured in the book “Warrior Mothers,” Place & Dancers, Arturo Fernandez, Stephen Pelton Dance Theater. She released in September 2004. Athens, and the woods outside the City currently studies ballet with Sandra Chinn and yoga with Nina Gold. Arthur Jason Keng (Francis Flute) is thrilled Richard Louis James Time Richard Louis James (Egeus) just completed to be making his CenterREP debut in A Between then and now a critically acclaimed run of his one man show Midsummer Night’s Dream. Most recently Tea ‘N Crisp, www.quentincrisp.info, based on Arthur was seen playing a Fezziwig daughter, CAST BIOGRAPHIES the life and writings of the notorious Quentin a suicidal Dutchman, a maid, and George Bailey Crisp. He has appeared with Aurora Theater, in SF Playhouse’s Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Michael A. Berg (Starveling) has been a member Center REP, Fantasy Forum Actors Ensemble, Christmas Binge! Other credits include King Lear at Calshakes and of the Bay Area theatre scene for nearly 30 years. New Conservatory Theater, SF Playhouse, Take Me Out at NCTC. Arthur is a 2006 graduate of UC Berkeley He has directed, designed sets and costumes, ShotgunPlayers, and Rising Phoenix Repertory (associate artist), New with a minor in theatre. stage managed and acted for numerous theatre York. Critically acclaimed roles include: Lear (King Lear), Salieri- companies in the Greater Bay Area. He first Shellie nomination (Amadeus), Bartholo-Shellie nomination (The Mick Mize (Puck/Philostrate) is thrilled to be worked at Center REP way back in 1981 when Marriage of Figaro), Scrooge, (A Christmas Carol), Stanislavski- Bay performing at CenterREP for the first time. A we were still Walnut Creek Civic Arts! He is seen yearly in A Christmas Area Critics Circle Nomination (The Death of Meyerhold), Marquis recent Bay Area transplant, Mick has performed Carol and has designed costumes for several productions over the de Sade (Quills) & Man in the West Coast premier of Edward Albee’s all over California and in upstate New York at past years for Center REP. He has worked for Mountain Play, Marin (The Play About the Baby). He received the Eugene O’Neill Artistic the GEVA Theater Center. His first Shakespeare, Theatre Rhino, Shakespeare at the Beach, Ross Valley Merit Award for 2003 and has been a resident actor with the professional role was at Shakespeare Santa Cruz Players and Guerilla Shakespeare. He is very happy to call Center foundation for the past twenty years. His co-adaptation of Charles as Paris’ Page in Romeo and Juliet. This is his third time interpreting REP his home ....and...he loves his job! Dickens A Christmas Carol has been a staple for Center REP’s holiday Puck; he has also performed as Puck at the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare season. Festival, and understudied the role last summer for the SF Darren Bridgett* (Demetrius) credits include: Shakespeare Festival. Locally he’s performed with TheaterFIRST, Center REP (How the Other Half Loves, Summer Kalli Jonsson (Oberon/Theseus) is pleased Crowded Fire, Just Theater, and understudied at the California and Smoke, Vikings), Aurora Theatre (Satellites), to return to Center REP where he was last seen Shakespeare Theater. When he’s not doing theater, voiceover, and rd Marin Theatre Company (Love Song, The Good in Laughter on the 23 Floor. Other appearances commercial work, Mick loves reading big, heavy books and climbing German, Woman in Black, Fortune, The Last at Center REP include: The Taming of the trees. Schwartz), Marin Shakespeare Festival (King Shrew, Arsenic & Old Lace, A Christmas Carol Lear, Romeo and Juliet, She Stoops to Conquer, and The Man Who Came to Dinner. Recently, Mark Anderson Phillips* (Bottom) is pleased Merry Wives of Windsor, Hamlet, Complete Works of William Kalli has appeared in Charles Mees’ Gone