11th Contemporary Performance
Diasporas Festival: Our America
Meet the Artists
Master of Ceremonies
Mayou Roffé is a Bay Area native, actor, and musical director. She has worked with vocal coaches in London and the Bay Area and has been singing in choirs and musicals since she was a child. Most recently, Mayou performed with the San Francisco Shakes production of Cymbeline, and as Ariel in Inferno Theatre's production of The Tempest. As an unabashed Shakespeare nerd, Mayou is happiest when picking apart the text, finding performance clues in the structure, and bringing these shockingly modern, 400-year-old words to life!
Choreographed by Conni McKenzie, in collaboration with Adrian Contreras, Monica Portugues Frangoul, Danielle Noda, and Sierra Paola, "Borrowed" addresses the urgent need for action against climate change and its impact on marginalized communities by enabling audiences to examine how humanity has disproportionately used Earth's resources – "borrowing time" from the planet, each other, and ourselves. This excerpt will be featured in the Joshua Tree chapter of "Borrowed" in May 2024, which has been honored with the California Arts Council Impact Award for the ‘23-’24 cycle.
Borrowed
Conni McKenzie (she/her) is a versatile performer with an extensive background spanning across dance, theater, psychology, education, filmmaking, and photography. She directed the film “Set Me Free” (2021), featured in the San Francisco Dance Film Festival and internationally, and “Flow” (2023), a multi-room exhibition and performance experience for the DEAR Residency. Conni is actively engaged in various creative projects, exploring themes of climate, sustainability, and liberation. Her latest endeavor, "Borrowed," is supported by a 2023-2024 CAC Impact Grant, and she is also a 2024 recipient of the BASE Residency through PUSH Dance for her project “Abundance.”
Adrian Contreras (he/him) dancing at the age of 17 at Melodic Remedy Dance Studio. While there, he trained in Jazz, Ballet, Contemporary, Modern, Tap, Musical Theater, Jazz Funk, and Hip Hop. He then went to Chapman University to further continue his training in Jazz, Ballet, Modern, Contemporary, and Ballroom and simultaneously obtained a degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance. After college, he was a mentee with the IAF dance company in LA run by “So You Think You Can Dance” winner Chehon Wespi-Tschopp. Since then he has performed in San Francisco with Stacy Printz on a few of her projects as well as a music video for a local artist and with the Ramm Dance company. He looks forward to performing Conni's work.
Monica Portugues Frangoul (she/her) is a dancer and therapist in-training, emphasizing her art in contemporary-ballet and modern dance. She has received her BA in Performing Arts and Social Justice and an MA in the Arts of Teaching Reading with a bilingual credential in Spanish. After working for SFUSD as a Spanish immersion kindergarten and first-grade teacher, and a teaching artist with SFArtsEd, she is now exploring the healing nature of movement through her graduate studies at the California Institute of Integral Studies to soon become a somatic-based Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT). Her studies in Somatic Psychology inspire her art exploration in the interconnectedness of the psychology of the body and mind and the power of reconnecting to our bodies through stillness and movement.
Sierra Paola (she/her) is a dancer and attorney in the Bay Area. Sierra attended Pacific University where she danced for the Pacific Dance Ensemble and graduated in 2019 with a minor in Dance. She then danced for Vytal Movement Dance in Spokane, Washington, for three years while attending law school. Since moving to the Bay Area, Sierra has had the pleasure of working with an array of choreographers including Alex Tiscareno, Sara Bush, Courtney Ramm, and Maggie Ogle.
Sound of the Far East
A presentation of the sound of the Daf and in the context of a historical background.
Amir A. Etemadzadeh is a Middle Eastern musician, instructor, performer, and composer. Born and raised in Iran, he received extensive musical education from various masters. After arriving in the U.S. in 2002, he expanded his portfolio to include world music drums. Amir’s collaborations in the U.S. include numerous performances and recordings with musicians and the music groups Ethel String Quartet, Hafez Modirzadeh, Ramin Zoufonoun, Miriam Pretz, Qadim Ensemble, Silk Road Festival, and Cal Poly Middle Eastern Music Orchestra.
He is passionate about promoting peace through music and education and manages his organization "Mint Tea Music Production" and his music academy "Amir School of Music" at www.amirschoolofmusic.com. Instagram: @amirschoolofmusic
An impromptu gathering of four hard hitting improvisers who take big risks and make their own rules.
Improv Story Time
Fred Chung has been playing at Improv since 2012 in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has been a guest player for Out of Line Improv and a founding member of The Occupants.
Michael Fleming has been performing in and around the Bay Area ever since he fell in love with improv almost 20 years ago. He has played on the BATS stage and has been a company member of groups such as The Un-Scripted Theater Company, Out of Line, Operavised, Just a Musical, and, most recently, The Incidentalists.
Jennifer Simmons has studied, performed, and taught improv in the East Bay for 20 years. She got her start with East Bay Improv, was a founding member of Stone Soup Improv, and is now a company member of The Incidentalists. Jennifer’s favorite thing about improv is telling stories.
Bill Stahl has trained and performed at BATS Improv (2010-2019), Secret Improv Society (2016), and the Un-Scripted Theater Company (2015-2019). He is also a former member of The Five Deadly Improvisers (2011-2017). Bill also directs and performs in Wondertown Improv (2017-present).
Molinete is a Spanish word that means to spin or twist one thing around a pivot point. This concept and word are also used as one of the fundamental dance elements of Argentine tango. The Molinete ensemble began as a violin, guitar, and cello trio. Carol Braves and Robert Fields were two founding members of the original group. Steve Heckman joined as our woodwinds player, and Suzanne Schrift joined as our bassist thereafter. Recently, Molinete added back a cellist, Nancy DeRoche.
Molinete
Molinete performs original Argentine tango-style music penned by Fields and Heckman. Each piece blends in musical tidbits from other styles like soul, funk, and jazz. Fields’ arrangements follow as many of the Argentine tango traditions as are practical. This includes using simple acoustic instruments, no drums, per se, yet presenting a strong sense of rhythm. Our pieces are generally styled as one of the three major Argentine tango forms: Tango, Vals and Milonga.
Inferno Theatre
Giulio Cesare Perrone (Playwright/ Stage Director) is a playwright, director, set and costume designer. His approach to theater, informed by his experience and training in the U.S. and Europe, emphasizes the physical aspects of movement and dance, and the central role of the actors/performers/creators in the creative process. The artistic importance of scenery always incorporates live music, and often video as well. As a writer, designer, and director, Giulio has been recognized with two prestigious Pew Grants and several industry awards.
His commitment to making and supporting progressive, traditional, and non-traditional forms of theater and programs gives voice to the many urgent cultural narratives that have been historically excluded from theater throughout his lifetime. Giulio moved from his native Italy to the United States in 1995. Now a U.S. resident, Giulio has over 300 theater and opera productions to his credit.
Alula Dreicer (Tecmessa) is thrilled to make her Inferno Theatre debut with A Midsummer Night’s Dream! She recently graduated from Oakland School for the Arts (vocal music/theatre pathways), where she performed in Mary Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses and Into the Woods. She enjoys singing, playing violin, and being left-handed. @the_chaos_fairy
Canberk Varli (Ajax), a Turkish-American actor, seamlessly blends his diverse passions. From his software engineering degree in Istanbul to piloting adventures in Budapest, his journey intertwines with a deep love for acting. Having trained at Yat/Bentley Center with Tom Bentley, he eagerly anticipates A Midsummer Night's Dream, having met director Giulio during last summer's enchanting rendition of The Tempest.
Brandi Ynocencio (Athena) is an actress, model, and artist currently living in San Francisco. She is from Racine, Wisconsin and received her BFA from the University of Missouri. She has performed in various stage productions, walked in fashion shows and exhibited her artwork in the Bay Area over the last few years. She studied under Matt Shelton at the Shelton Theater and worked with the African American Shakespeare Company.
A traditional Bharatanatyam performance centered on compositions exploring themes of love, separation, and longing. The performance follows the classical format of Bharatanatyam, characterized by its intricate footwork, expressive gestures and movements with eyes that speak.
Stories of Love
Surabhi Bharadwaj is the Artistic Director of Siddhi Creative, a seasoned Bharatanatyam Dancer, Educator, Curator, and Lighting Designer based in the Bay Area. She holds a double MFA in Dance and has received accolades for her performances across the globe, including rave reviews in “The New York Times”. Committed to inclusivity, Surabhi seamlessly blends Bharatanatyam with contemporary relevance, emphasizing collaboration, justice, and community building.
Trio de Dames
An invitation to perform for the significant birthday of a mutual friend brought together Bay Area-born musicians Carol Braves (violin), Nancy DeRoche (cello), and Mardi Sicular (piano). As Trio de Dames, they were on a quest to find something unique to play for the Diasporas Festival. They stumbled upon “Soir-Matin” by French composer Mélanie “Mel” Bonis (1858-1937). Bonis attended the prestigious Paris Conservatoire alongside Claude Debussy and Gabriel Pierné and studied under César Franck. Camille Saint-Saëns once exclaimed, “I never imagined a woman could write such music”. As Bonis was too modest for self-promotion, her music (over 300 compositions) fell into obscurity. Trio de Dames is delighted to introduce her to the Diaspora audience.
Lifted My Eyes
&
Choreopoem for When Expression Is All We Have
“Lifted My Eyes” and “Choreopoem for When Expression Is All We Have” came from the creative process of rewriting a play called Elijah’s Hope. In Elijah’s Hope, after a family leaves the Diaspora for its country of origin, fault lines emerge which mirror the conflict on the ground.
Rica Anderson (Director) is honored to direct Marianne Franck in Jamie Greenblatt's evocative pieces for the Diasporas Festival. For the past twenty years, she has produced the free monthly series Actors Reading Writers at the Berkeley City Club and regularly directs readings. She has worked with Bay Area companies Central Works, Shotgun Players, and TheatreFIRST, among others. At her day job, Rica works as Cal Performances' Education and Community Programs Manager.
Marianne Franck (Performer) is excited to participate in Inferno Theatre’s Diasporas Festival. From her start in the New York theatre, she took a detour to the corporate arena but is thrilled to be back. Most recently she has been active in the improv community here and as an Awkward Face troupe member at PAN in Oakland. Since coming to the Bay Area, she has studied at Berkeley Rep School of Theatre.
Jamie Greenblatt (Playwright) Jamie’s plays often integrate music, movement, and puppetry. Her full-length plays My Recollect Time and Female, Ashkenazi with a Sewing Machine were produced by Inferno Theatre. A monologue from My Recollect Time was published in Smith & Kraus’ “WE/US: Monologues for The Gender Minority” anthology, 2022. She is a member of The Dramatists Guild of America.
Her New Play Exchange Profile is: https://newplayexchange.org/users/27406/jamie-greenblatt
Diaspora Ensemble
Leah Sirkin and Friends
Diaspora plays the music of the Eastern Mediterranean region. The Sefardic songs they cover have roots in the musical traditions of Medieval Spain. The soulful and lively songs in varied meters are sung in Ladino (Judeo-Spanish). Diaspora also plays music from Greece, Turkey, the Balkans, and Afghanistan.
Leah Sirkin (violin, vocals) is a core member of this family band from San Francisco. Guest artists joining her today are Zina Pozen (accordion/vocals), Faisal Zedan (Arabic percussion), and Peter Bonos (oud). Diaspora has been performing at venues and events in the Bay Area since 2010.
Leah Sirkin has been singing all her life and began playing violin at age eleven. She owes her inspiration to music camps she has attended since 2000, notably the Middle East & Balkan Camps in Mendocino. Leah has performed with the Aswat Arabic Ensemble, Helm, and the Silk Road Caravan. Leah is also a playwright and songwriter and has written a musical based on the life of Mirabai. https://www.leahsirkin.com
Originally from Ukraine, Zina Pozen grew up in a family of classical musicians, playing piano from a young age. After moving to the U.S., Zina fell under the spell of the Eastern European Folklife Center Balkan Music Camps and picked up the accordion to play traditional music. Zina plays klezmer, Moldovan, Ukrainian, Turkish, Armenian, Greek rebetiko with many bands, including the Saul Goodman Klezmer Band, Orchestra Euphonos, Metanastys, Yeraz Ensemble, Cabin 19, and Moonshine Jelly. Zina is also a language technologist, training robots to help humans learn human languages.
Born in Beirut, Lebanon, and raised in Oum Dbaib, Syria, Faisal Zedan grew up impassioned with the derbekki drum. A great love for drumming and years of practice resulted in his mastery of Arabic percussion instruments. Based in the Bay Area, Faisal works regularly as a performer and teacher, working with diverse artists, such as Airto Moreira, Joan Baez, Miriam Peretz, Khalil Shaheed, Yuval Ron, Selim Sesler, and Yair Dalal.
Peter Bonos plays trumpet, oud and euphonium in a variety of styles, including klezmer, balkan brass, and Turkish music. He produces The Berkeley Balkan Bacchanal, a monthly concert series at the Starry Plough. He is a founding member of Balkan brass band Fanfare Zambaleta and is the bandleader of Orchestra Euphonos, an instrumental Eastern European folk ensemble specializing in Moldovan music and klezmer.
Off Ramp
Have you ever seen an unhomed person you knew from your past?
Karen Marguerite Caronna is a San Francisco Bay Area writer and actor, honored to be a Brady Fellow with 3Girls Theater. Short plays have been produced locally, including Playwright’s Center of San Francisco, Play Cafe, Women+ in Theater conference Howard, MD. She has been semi-finalist at Ground Floor, Garry Marshall Theater, B Street Theater New Works festivals, finalist in 46th Bay Area Playwright’s Foundation New Works Festival and winning script in Napa Valley Players Spring Festival ’24. A California native, Oakland is home.
Tom Breunig is a performer with a background in physical comedy and drama. He currently reads with Actors Reading Writers (ARW) and prior to that played leading roles in Shadow of a Gunman, The Winslow Boy, Oedipus Rex, Miles Gloriosus and My Fair Lady. He studied clowning with Bill Irwin at Oberlin College and mime with Hervez-Luc in Lille, France.
Crystal Brown is an actor, director, singer, and educator. She has performed with a wide variety of domestic and international theater organizations, and has sung with various jazz and funk bands. As a director and educator, she works primarily as a 1st grade teacher and is the founder of Theater4Life, an organization which uses devised theater through which children explore their creativity and build community. She has an MA in Music Theatre from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and is represented by JE Talent. She is very grateful to be a part of this production.
Ariel Belmont + Connor Allen
Ariel Belmont is an amateur tango dancer based in Oakland, California. Ariel has been enjoying and learning this art since July, 2018. He expresses himself as a member of the LGBTQ+ community by joining the San Francisco Queer Tango group led by Miranda Lindelow. His interest lies in the social dancing scene as he is perfecting his role of leading and following, challenging more traditional and conservative gender roles imposed in heteronormative spaces. You can follow his journey on Instagram at @le.chat.belmont
Connor Allen has been an avid partner dancer for over 10 years. With a deep background in the Swing and Lindy Hop dance scene, Connor has spent the past two years diving head first into the world of Argentine Tango. Connor approaches tango with a healthy appreciation for the subtleties of tango, while bringing a bombastic flair for the dramatic from his lindy hop background.
A woman, unsilenced
Texts and reflections by and about slain Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaïa.
Valentina Emeri, an Italian native, began dancing at age 8 and earned her BA in Acting at the National Academy of Dramatic Arts “Silvio D’Amico” in Rome, learning with Luca Ronconi and Andrea Camilleri. She studied with Peggy Hackney in Berkeley to be a Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analyst (CLMA). Valentina performs in Italian, German, English and loves movement theater. She is in an ongoing collaboration with Roland Selva and Freilichtspiele Südtiroler Unterland in Italy, and with Giulio Cesare Perrone’s Inferno Theatre in Berkeley. She is excited to collaborate with Michelle Haner.
Michelle Haner is a theater maker and teacher. You can read more about her work at www.michellehaner.com. She co-directs Blue Monkey Works, with Steve Morgan Haskell. The company's mission is "to explore life on earth through investigation, collaboration and creation."
Read more at: www.bluemonkeyworks.com
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