Download Press Release - San Francisco Mime Troupe

ELLEN CALLAS - PUBLIC RELATIONS – [email protected] – 415-285-1717 (o)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
For press materials and hi-res color press photos, visit:
http://www.sfmt.org/Press/index.php
Tony Award-Winning SAN FRANCISCO MIME TROUPE
Freedomland
http://www.sfmt.org
https://www.facebook.com/sfmimetroupe
Trailer: http://tinyurl.com/owkbjrp
Trailer with excerpt: https://youtu.be/bXDOqjN000c
A door is blown off its hinges! Into a blasted room of scarred walls and shattered windows, armed
with M-16's, America's brave men and women in blue duck and dodge for cover, finally training their
deadly gunsights on... an old black man watching TV on his couch? This isn't Baghdad or Kandahar it’s a home in America, and for ex-Black Panther Malcolm Haywood it's just another wrong door police
raid in the War on Drugs. So of course Malcolm is horrified when the grandson he’s tried to protect,
Nathaniel, returns from serving in Afghanistan only to find another war zone at home - and one where
young Black men like Nathaniel are in the crosshairs! Meanwhile the Mayor and the Police Chief one desperate for votes, the other desperate to fund his militarized police force - ramp up the fear
(and their shiny new tank) to fight the newest, drug threat to America... worse than weed, meth, coke,
crack, or crank, it's... SNORF!!
A drug trade that is, of course, centered in the darkest part of town…
Are the police out of control? What happened to "innocent until proven guilty”? Is Malcolm's neighbor
Lluis (an undocumented immigrant,) actually a SNORF-lord? And can Malcolm convince his grandson
that it is safer to re-up and fight overseas than to try to survive here at home, in Freedomland?
Critical responce:
"The show is high--energy and often hilarious while also serving as a sobering depiction of how entire
segments of the population can be automatically seen as a threat because of the color of their skin in
this supposedly "post-racial" society."
Marin IJ - 7/8/15
"Once again, the San Francisco Mime Troupe has produced an action-initiating play that deserves to
be seen far and wide this very summer."
Talkin' Broadway - July 2015
SAN FRANCISCO MIME TROUPE PRESENTS - Freedomland – 2015 Summer
"The production should break under the weight of its content aspirations, but playwright Sullivan and
director Snow keep the pathos on simmer until the end. The laughs, served in a steady flow, are justly
earned and make it almost too easily bearable to consider the tragic situation on display."
Examiner.com - 7/8/15
"Bravura performance." "Brilliant." "Freedomland stands out as one of the most thoughtful and
sobering (of the Troupe's productions.) It is fraught with emotion and analysis. Call it, for want of a
better phrase, a "musical tragedy," fueled with a polemicist's intensity, a Shakespearean reach, and a
doo-wop dollop of tuneful songs. Freedomland rises to an important new level of radical criticism."
berkeleydailyplant.com - 7/19/15
Freedomland is written by Michael Gene Sullivan.
Music & lyrics by Ira Marlowe.
Music director: Michael Bello. Musicians include: Ray Fernandez, Michael Pinkham and Daniel
Savio. Directed by: Andrea Snow.
Freedomland features Mime Troupe collective members: Victor Toman (Lluis),
Lisa Hori-Garcia (Emily Militis), Michael Gene Sullivan (Malcolm Haywood) and first-time troupe
performer George P. Scott (Nathaniel Haywood).
Tech credits for Freedomland include: Scenic Designer: Keiko Shimosato Carreiro; Costume
Designer: Dorothy Martinez & Blake More; Props Designer: Devon Labelle; Photography:
DavidAllenStudio.com; Poster Design: Lawton Lovely
Character Breakdown:
Malcolm Haywood - Black male, early ‘50s, proud but realistic. Malcolm is hard-working and proudly working
class, who uses stories of the Black Panthers to inspire his grandson to be a revolutionary leader. Malcolm has
developed a plan to “overthrow the insane cruelty of capitalist oppression” from the living room of his
apartment. But does his fervor cover a secret that his son may not be too proud of?
Nathaniel Haywood - Black, male, late 20’s, a veteran of Afghanistan, Malcolm’s grandson. Nathaniel has
grown up with his grandfather’s stories of how his parents died in a shoot-out with the police, and has become
the straight-arrow kid who idolizes his passionately political grandfather. He believes in Malcolm’s vision of
revolutionary change for the better, but is a little daunted by the idea of being a leader. He wants a normal life but knows that a “normal life” for a Black man in America is a dubious proposition.
Lluis - Latino male, 40’s - 50’s, a chameleon who knows how to survive. Lluis is an undocumented immigrant,
and a law-abiding resident of the USA for decades, but lives with the constant fear of discovery. He has
become a master at living under the radar of the State.
Emily Militis - Female, late 20’s, a veteran of Afghanistan, a police officer who believes the police are a force
for good. Emily Militis is hard-nosed but idealistic. She doesn’t come from wealth, is oblivious to the skin
privilege she carries with her - believing instead that in America hard work and good citizenship are rewarded.
Militis wants a strong, law-abiding nation, but believes only stability can lead to equality, and before you can
have Law you must have Order. Militis served with Nathaniel in Afghanistan.
Chief Parker - Male, 40’s, the Chief of Police. Like so many police chiefs in America, Chief Parker has fallen in
love with the power of the weaponry provided him by a nation gripped in the propaganda of The War On
Drugs. He has turned his entire force into an extension of the SWAT team, and counts success not by civilians
saved, but by doors kicked in… and by the amount of money the federal government pays him for each kick.
Mayor Henderson - Black, male, 50’s, an ambitious politician willing to step on his own people to get ahead.
SAN FRANCISCO MIME TROUPE PRESENTS - Freedomland – 2015 Summer
A black mayor of a town where most of the black population is denied the vote as felons, Henderson uses the
fear of the black to get the white votes. With the Police Chief he has set up a legal system that keeps blacks in
a permanent state of disenfranchisement -and keeps the city coffers full of money from fines, fees, and bail.
Q: Why do you call yourself a Mime Troupe if you talk and sing?
We use the term “mime” in its classical and original definition, "The exaggeration of daily life in story
and song." It is a form of popular theater that is as old as the marketplace itself. From the ancient
Greek and Roman farces to the Renaissance commedia dell'Arte to modern Chinese Opera, using
archetypes comically to illustrate people's issues is a time honored worldwide tradition. Our broadly
drawn characters are instantly recognizable allowing the audience to immediately engage in the
action. Our work is political satire and anything but silent.
News of SF Mime Troupe for 2016:
SF Mime Troupe seeks to Expand:
"Funded by a grant from the SF Arts Commission, the Troupe has completed an initial Feasibility
Study that has determined what process, permits and design criteria are necessary to realize SFMT’s
dream of enhancing and expanding our 855 Treat St. home in SF so that it will better serve the SF
Mime Troupe and our community. Aided by the skillful B.A.R. Architects, Bay Hill Builders, and other
talented local professionals, initial plans include a black box theater, workshop and gallery space,
expanded production facilities, and residential space for visiting artists. Adhering to the Troupe's
commitment to alternative energy, the entire compound will be net-zero, resource self-sustaining, with
multiple water conservation systems."
SFMT Awarded prestigious grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
In May 2016 the first of our 3 teaching teams hit the road, beginning an exciting project funded by the
prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). The foundation's primary focus is health on
both the individual and community levels. They've asked us to bring the SF Mime Troupe’s
collaborative playmaking workshops to rural disenfranchised communities. Health is the burning issue
that will inform and generate more specific discussions about subjects which will mold the one act
plays that will be performed in each respective community. Velina Brown and Mario Gonzales will
be the first team out - heading to Golden Valley High School in Merced, CA. They will be followed by
Wilma Bonet and Hugo E Carbajal, who will facilitate the workshops at Buena Vista Migrant Center
in Watsonville, CA. Finally, Ed Holmes and Bob Ernst will work with the inmates of Salinas Valley
Prison (formerly Soledad).
Each group will spend 2 weeks learning theatrical skills and creating an original one-act play on a
health topic that is pertinent to their community. Workshops led by the teachers will help guide the
discussion with the participants about what health means to the participants on a personal, societal,
and planetary level. Upon the workshop’s conclusion, the participants will perform their plays locally
use them as an activists tool in their community. In the autumn, the SFMT will weave the different
elements and into a larger fourth play adding music and songs.to highlight the common threads. In
early 2017 the Troupe will return to the original workshop communities and perform staged readings
of the new combined play. In post-show discussions, feedback provided by the original workshop
participants will help inform the play’s continuing development hopefully generating a piece that can
bring these issues to an even broader audience around California and the nation.
Recent awards and press:
SAN FRANCISCO MIME TROUPE PRESENTS - Freedomland – 2015 Summer
The Rosetta LeNoire Award
The SF Mime Troupe has been awarded the Rosetta LeNoire Award by Actors Equity
Association for 2014. The Rosetta LeNoire Award strives to recognize outstanding artistic
contributions to the universality of the human experience in American theatre. Award Criterion:
Inherent in the award is acknowledgement that the recipient has an exemplary record in both the
hiring of ethnic minorities (including female actors, actors with disabilities, and senior actors); and
should have a working relationship (and a history) with Actors’ Equity Association.
Award for Achievement from the SUI Generis Foundation.
SF Mime Troupe gets a dubious shout out on CNN in March 2016:
Congressional 2015 Waste Awards by Congressman Steve Russell (R- OK) (author of 4 Waste
Watch books). Who's blowing your tax money? CNN's Jake Tapper speaks to one lawmaker who
calls out organizations that are receiving federal funds for unusual reasons.
http://tinyurl.com/hz9ojcq (The SF Mime Troupe received $20,000 in 2015 and just $10,000 in
2014)
SF Mime Troupe History:
Founded in 1959 by R.G. Davis, as an experimental project of the Actors’ workshop, the San
Francisco Mime Troupe’s early works were…silent, (but not pantomime) avant-garde pieces that
today would be called performance art. By the early sixties, the SF Mime Troupe began performing
spoken plays with character archetypes drawn directly from the Commedia dell’Arte. Continuing in the
broad styles of popular theater, the Troupe’s productions became overtly political.
In 1965, the city's Recreation and Park Commission revoked the troupe’s performance permit, on
grounds of "obscenity". Refusing to allow his company to be censored, on August 7, 1965, R.G. Davis
attempted to perform Il Candelaio in Lafayette Park, loudly announcing to his audience: “today for
your appreciation, we perform an arrest,” as Davis was swept up by the police for performing without
a permit. The ensuing court case, argued by Marvin Stender, established the right of artists to
perform uncensored in the city's parks. The SFMT has opened a new show in the parks every
summer since.
In 1965, future rock impresario Bill Graham, then the company's business manager, organized his
first rock dance/light show at the Fillmore Auditorium as a bail benefit for the SFMT.
In 1965, Davis, Saul Landau, and a racially mixed group of actors created A MINSTREL SHOW, OR
CIVIL RIGHTS IN A CRACKER BARREL, using a historically racist form to attack racism in both its
redneck and liberal varieties. The Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) sponsored
performances around the country, the Troupe began its life as a touring company.
In 1970 Davis left the Troupe, and the company became collectively run: Instead of a single Artistic
Director the Troupe - a company dedicated to telling the stories of workers – committed itself to being
run by its workers. They then began a series of experiments with industrial-era popular theater forms:
melodrama and its descendants: science fiction and spy thriller.
Adding music, songs, and physical comedy the Mime Troupe’s style solidified and its national and
global popularity increased. In addition to performing, the Troupe has taught workshops on both the
SFMT “style” and its unique method of collaborative playmaking. The Mime Troupe also has a youth
SAN FRANCISCO MIME TROUPE PRESENTS - Freedomland – 2015 Summer
theater component - its Youth Theater Project, which bring student from underserved communities to
the Troupe’s studio to study playmaking with veteran Troupers, and the Young California Writer’s
Project, which send a veteran Troupe writer into locals schools to teach the art of activist playwriting.
In 1987, the Troupe's Brechtian style of guerrilla theatre earned them a special Tony Award for
Excellence in Regional Theater. The Troupe has since been nominated for and received multiple
awards, including OBIE, Drama-Logue, Bay Area Drama Critic Circle, and Theatre Bay Area awards most recently for its 2015 production of its critically-acclaimed tragic farce, FREEDOMLAND. In its 57
years the Troupe has performed at The Israel Festival (1990), The Festival of People’s Theater
(Canada, 1991), The Asian People’s Theatre Festival (Hong Kong, 1996), The Kwachon International
Open Air Theatre Festival (Korea, 1998), The International Festival of Theatre Action (Belgium,
1998), the Festival of Verbal Heroes (Germany, 2001), as well as performances in France,
Nicaragua, Columbia, Cuba, Off-Broadway, The Kennedy Center for the Arts, and in tours across the
United States. Yet the Bay Area parks still remain the Troupe’s home stage.
Post Show discussions associated with SF Mime Troupe’s production of FREEDOMLAND
Bios:
DIRECTION & SCRIPT:
Andrea Snow (Director) is a former member of the SF Mime Troupe. During her years with the SFMT, Andrea
collaborated on creating shows (scripts, lyrics, and music) and performed: she played the title roles in The
Dragon Lady's Revenge and Factperson, as well as many other characters. Additionally she has directed plays
for the SFMT, World of Tales, Make*A*Circus, and the Z Collective. The directed the talent for the 10-part
children's series, You Can Choose and Stepping On Up. She has also directed solo shows for Terry Baum as
well as Keith Terry. Andrea holds Master's Degrees in Theater Arts and in Communicative Disorders.
Michael Bello (Musical Director) graduated with honors from the Jazz department at Sonoma Sate University
in '06 with a bachelor's degree in funkology. He has played in clubs, halls and at major festivals touring
throughout the US with many projects. Bello is a multi-instrumentalist who has composed and performed with a
wide range of groups. Some of the current bands Bello is playing with include: - Albino! Heavy Afrobeat,
FogDub - Reggae Dub, Miles Ahead Group - Miles Davis Tribute 70's, Stacks - Blue Note Jazz 60's,
Telepathy, Latin Rhythm Boys (Molly Maguire - Singer/songwriter), David Jeffery's Jazz Fourtet, Sean Nelson's
Ecotones: including some projects he is affiliated with on a semi regular basis - Sean Hayes Singer/Songwriter, Cuban Salsa with Rumbache and Fito Reinoso, Go By Ocean, Modern Dance with Lisa
Townsend, East Bay Brass Band (EB3), Cheap Therapy - rock, funk, folk.
Michael Gene Sullivan (Actor, Director, Resident Playwright, SFMT Collective) has performed in, written,
and/or directed over thirty SFMT productions. As an actor, Sullivan has also appeared in productions at the
American Conservatory Theater, Denver Center Theater Company, Theatreworks, Magic Theatre, Lorraine
Hansberry Theater, SF Shakespeare Festival, Berkeley Repertory Theater, and San Jose Repertory Theater.
In addition to directing for SFMT such shows as Killing Time, 1600 Transylvania Avenue, Red State, and For
The Greater Good, Michael has also directed for the SF Shakespeare Festival, African American Shakespeare
Company, Mystic Bison Theater, and Circus Finelli. In 1992 he became a Contributing Writer for the SFMT,
and the Resident Playwright in 2000. His scripts for SFMT include 1600 Transylvania Avenue, GodFellas, Red
State (2008 nominee, Best Original Script, SF Bay Area Theater Critics Circle), and Too Big To Fail (2009
nominee, Best Original Script, SF Bay Area Theater Critics Circle), Posibilidad, For The Greater Good. NonSFMT scripts include his all-woman political farce “ Recipe,” (Central Works, winner of the Israel Baran
Playwriting Award,) his adaptation of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, (Open Door Theatre, Sheffield, England,) the
historical drama “fugitive/slave/act.” and his award-winning one person show, “Did Anyone Ever Tell You - You
Look Like Huey P. Newton? “1984”, his critically acclaimed stage adaptation of George Orwell’s dystopic
novel, opened at the Actors' Gang Theatre under the direction of Tim Robbins in 2006, and has since been
SAN FRANCISCO MIME TROUPE PRESENTS - Freedomland – 2015 Summer
performed in Europe, Asia, Australia, Central and South America, has had several tours of the USA, and has
been published in English and Catalan. Michael is also a Resident Playwright with the Playwright’s Foundation,
a Playwright Fellow with the Djerassi Arts Center, and a blogger for the political website, The Huffington Post.
Ira Marlowe (Composer, Lyrist) has been described by The SF Chronicle as: "Berkeley's sweet little secret.
...(He) sold his soul to the devil to develop the sound he continues to perfect." He's won the international
"Songs Inspired By Literature Contest", the "Best of the Bay" contest, and - in his parallel life - the coveted
Parents' Choice Award for his acclaimed series of Brainy Tunes kids' CDs. In 2012 he opened The Monkey
House, a private theater in Berkeley hosting intimate performances of all kinds, including his "one-man musical
for brave kids and weird adults", Mortimus Greely's Haunting School.
CAST:
Hugo E Carbajal (Actor, SFMT Collective) is a recipient of the 2013 Theatre Bay Area Titan Award and is
proud to be the newest member to join the SFMT Collective. He began his involvement with the SFMT as a
mask designer for the production of 2012: The Musical! In 2013, he performed in SFMTs Oil & Water. He has
performed with Bay Area companies such as Cutting Ball, Bay Area Children’s Theatre, Shotgun Players,
Stagebridge, Alter Theater Ensemble, Shadowlight, and TeatroVision. He was also a performer with Kaiser
Permanentes Educational Theatre, touring the bay area for 8 years. A proud member of the Bay Area Latino
Theatre Artists Network. Follow on Twitter.
Lisa Hori-Garcia (Actor, SFMT Collective) has been with the troupe since 2004, working on summer shows as
an actor and assistant director. She has worked with a wide variety of theater companies such as Marin
Theatre Company, Asian American Theater Company, Magic Theatre, Berkeley Rep, Womans Will, Impact
Theater, and Word for Word. Lisa has been program director and a lead teacher with the Mime Troupe’s Youth
Theater Project and summer workshop. Currently she is a professor in the Drama Department at Los Medanos
College in Pittsburg, CA. Lisa is a former Ensemble Member & Production Manager with New WORLD Theater
in Amherst, MA and received her BA from Smith College and MFA in Acting from the USC.
George P. Scott (Actor) is grateful to be joining the SFMT this year. As an actor he has performed in the Bay
Area for the last 6 years in productions at Altarena Playhouse, S.F. Playhouse, New Conservatory Theatre
(NCTC), Broadway by the Bay, Teatro Zinnani SF, Berkeley Playhouse, Alter Theatre Ensemble, and 6th
Street Playhouse. Other theaters include: P.C.P.A. Pacific Conservatory Theatre, Phoenix Theatre, Missoula
Children's Theatre and The COLORed Cabaret. As a Puppet Designer he's had the great privilege to work with
Taylor Mac on the epic tale of The Lily's Revenge at the Magic Theatre and A Quarreling Pair at ACT.
Michael Gene Sullivan – (Actor, Director, Resident Playwright, SFMT Collective) See Bio above.
Victor Toman (Actor) bio coming soon.
MUSICIANS:
Ray Fernandez (Musician) has played professionally for 35 years as a Musician/Bandleader. Fernandez has
played and toured with The Mad Maggies, Sonic Strut, Trousers, The Overcommitments, Macy Blackman,
Club Ed, Beat Freaks, Bohemian Luv Jones, Kings Hat, Spare Parts, Action Jackson, Party of Five, Stiff Upper
Lip, All the Kings Men, Joyce Rooks, Rudy Chalard and Blue Light Revue. Steeped in r&b, soul, funk, rock and
jazz Multi-instrumentalist Ray Fernandez always brings it from the heart.
Michael Pinkham (Musician) has been a working Bay Area drummer for over 20 years. He has performed with
the Oakland Symphony, Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, Joan Baez, Peter Rowan and a host of others. He
currently holds the drum chair with Kugelplex, This Old Earthquake, Circus Bella, High Tide, and Physical
Suicide Deterrent System Project... Just to name a few. Michael worked with the San Francisco Mime Troupe
on their 2007 production of Making a Killing and he's excited to work with them again on Freedomland!
Woohoo!
SAN FRANCISCO MIME TROUPE PRESENTS - Freedomland – 2015 Summer
Daniel Savio (Musician) started his professional theater career playing for the SFMT, participating in the tours
for GodFellas ('06) and Making a Killing ('07), and he is delighted to be back in the pit this summer. He recently
was co-composer/lyricist, with SFMT vet Bruce Barthol, of the play FSM ('14, Stagebridge Senior Theater),
written by fellow SFMT vet Joan Holden. Daniel has composed the scores of four musicals for young
audiences at Stagebridge, all with book and lyrics by Josiah Polhemus. He also composed original music for
an early production of Lauren Yee's A Man, His Wife, and his Hat ('11, AlterTheater). Currently he is beginning
work on a musical to be produced by the Kaleidoscope company of Northern Ireland. Daniel plays keyboards
for The 808 Band, winner of the 2011 North Bay Bohemian Award for Best Hip Hop Band, which has backed
many hip hop and reggae performers including KRS-ONE, MC Radioactive, and Robert Herrera. He has
performed as an improv pianist with the Antic Witties, the Un-Scripted Theater Company, 6th Street Improv!,
and the Midnight Matinee. Since 2008 he has been musical director of Sharon Boucher's children's theatre
companies in San Rafael, Pied Piper Productions, Young Actors Theater, and North Bay Rep, where he has
put on West Side Story, RENT, A Chorus Line, Les Miserables, and many other shows. Daniel has a BA in
Music from the UC Santa Cruz and currently studies with Bay Area composer Michael Kaulkin.
PRODUCTION TEAM:
Maurice Beesley (Technical Director) was tricked into auditioning for the Senior Class play in 1961. Since
then he has built scenery for A.C.T., S.F. Opera and Berkeley Rep.. He has been a member of the stage crew
of nearly every theatrical venue in SF and has supervised tours around the West and to Hawaii. Maurice has
been a proud member of Local #16, I.A.T.S.E. for over 30 years.
Devon Labelle (Props Designer) is a multidisciplinary artist with emphasis on vivid visual and special effects
components. She is the Production Manager of Just Theater, Props Master of Contra Costa Civic Theater, and
a Resident Artist with both Crowded Fire Theater and Theater FIRST. She has curated properties for over 60
productions and is thrilled to be designing for SFMT.
Lawton Lovely (Sound Engineer, Poster Designer, SFMT Collective) is a 2012 graduate of Miami University in
Oxford OH - (BA in Theatre and a minor in American Studies). He spent his first summer in the Bay Area in
2010 working for the SFMT. In 2012 he became an Emerging Artist in Residence with the company; in 2013, a
Collective Member; and in 2015, a member of the SFMT Board. He has constructed puppets, designed posters
and taught in the SFMT Youth Program. He is an avid juggler as well as the in-house sound engineer for
SFMT. All this troupe activity hasn't prevented him from doing work elsewhere; Marin Theatre Company's It's a
Wonderful Life; Radio Play; the California Shakespeare Company's A Winter's Tale; Z Space with Marcus
Shelby Jazz Orchestra in the world premiere of Be Bop Baby: A Musical Memoir; The Bengson's, who won the
TBA for Best New Musical, Hundred Days; Fat Mike, Jeff Marx, and Goddess Soma in the first staged
production of Home Street Home. He has recently stepped into the pool of Sound Design with Carl Djerassi's,
Ego and Insufficiency, Joan Holden's Free Speech Movement, Foolsfury Faulted, The Douglas Morrisson
Theatre's Hank Williams: Lost Highway. His projection and video designs have been seen in Peter Sinn
Nachtrieb's The Totalitarians at Z Space.
Dorothy Martinez (Costume Designer) began designing original pieces for the Chicano theater company El
Teatro Campesino at 19. Aside from such works at La Pastorela and La Carpa de Los Rasquachis, her most
recent designs with El Teatro can be seen in the three part Cosmic Pageant Trilogy: Heart of Heaven, The
Story of Seven Macaw, and The Magic Twins. Her creative constructs for this trilogy were based on the Maya
Quiche book of POPOL VUH and first emerged in 2010 (exploratory session) with follow up 2011, 2012 and
2014 seasons. Martinez will continue her work on Popol Vuh: Heart of Heaven for the 2015 summer/fall
production collaboration with El Teatro Campesino and Center Theatre Group, in LA. Other costuming credits
include the theater workshop presentation of OLLIN at Stanford University's Drama Department under the
direction of Singer-Songwriter Daniel Valdez, plus, the world premiere of The Fifth String: Ziryab's Passage To
Cordoba by Golden Thread Productions. Her film credits include: The Crumbles (winner 2012 Audience Award
at the SF Int’l. Asian American Film Festival). Martinez' capabilities also include designing select set pieces for
many productions, interdisciplinary shows featuring theatre groups, bands, poets, and visual artists. Martinez
currently resides in SF and works at Live Oak School. Additionally, she is acting manager and costumer for
Indigenous Chaos, a family collective composed of three generations of her family. Email Dorothy.
SAN FRANCISCO MIME TROUPE PRESENTS - Freedomland – 2015 Summer
Blake More (Costume Designer) began working with the Mime Troupe as a summer workshopper in 2001
and never stopped. She has been the Mime Troupe's Annual Youth Theater Project Costumer since 2001, as
well as the costumer of the 2012 summer production of For the Greater Good. In addition to costuming, Blake
is an artist with many creative voices and obsessions. Blurring the boundaries between disciplines, her work
embraces visual art, poetry, video, performance, costume design, teaching, functional mixed media art/life
pieces and hand-painted art cars, including her newest artcar, a Mercedes SL500 painted with a metallic
palette she calls "Star Yantra". She also hosts an hour long public affairs program called Women's Voices on
KZYX&Z FM Mendocino. Author of five books of poetry, her book godmeat is a collection of poetry, prose,
color artwork, and a DVD compilation of poem movies (available at godmeat.com), and her chapbook Up In the
Me World is available on her website.
Karen Runk (Production Stage Manager, Web Programmer) moved to SF with the intention of only staying for
a few months. Nearly two decades later she's still here! This is largely due to the talented folks at SFMT. Runk
first experienced the Troupe by stage managing two 97 youth projects, Revenger Rat Meets the Merchant of
Death and Inside Out. After which she ran screaming into the arms of the Magic Theatre and there she stayed,
contently for two years. The Troupe then wooed her back for their 99 Summer Production City For Sale. Still
under the Troupes wooing spell she's stage managed a plethora of their summer shows and has only
managed to escape, successfully, one full summer back in 02 when she worked with SFShakes.
Keiko Shimosato Carreiro (Scenic Designer, SFMT Collective) was born in Cambridge MA. Keiko holds a
BFA in Interdisciplinary Arts and an MA in Multimedia from the University of Iowa. She arrived in SF with the
Horse Drawn, Caravan Stage Company of Canada. She has been an actor, designer and director for SFMT
since 1987. Keiko has designed costumes for many other Bay Area Theater companies including, Berkeley
Rep, S.F. Shakespeare in the Parks, The Asian American Theater Company, African American Shakespeare
Company, Crowded Fire and Custom Made Theater as well as the SFMT. She has directed City for Sale and
Gotta Getta Life for SFMT, and Cowboy versus Samurai for the Asian American Theater Company.
Junelle-Johannah Taguas (Tour Manager, SFMT Collective) became a Collective Member in 2013. In 2008
she startedas a tech intern and summer workshopper and remained involved with SFMT filling various
positions: Ass’t. Stage Manager, Production Assistant, YTP Stage Manager, and YCWP Stage Manager.
Junelle is an Equity Membership Candidate Stage Manager. Companies she has stage managed for include:
Central Works, Golden Thread Productions, Transient Theater, Symmetry Theatre, RasaNova Theater,
OutLook Theater Project, Climate Theater, and the USF’s PASJ department. She has a B.A. in Drama from the
University of Portland, OR. Aside from theatre, Junelle is a NIC Pre-Certified ASL-English Interpreter. She is
graduating from 2-year Interpreter Preparation Program at Ohlone College in Spring 2015.
PRESS PAGE: http://www.sfmt.org/Press/photos.php
WEB PAGE: www.sfmt.org
TRAILER:
http://tinyurl.com/owkbjrp
PERORMANCE SCHDULE:
Bruce Davis Theater
Wed, Oct 26th @ 8:00 PM
Thu, Oct 27th @ 8:00 PM
47645 College Drive, St. Mary's City, MD
Ticket Info: free
Must reserve seats, 240-895-4243 (ext. 4243), or [email protected]