Berkeley Rep: Mother of Exiles by Berkeley Repertory Theatre

MOTHER OF EXILES

BY JESSICA HUANG

DIRECTED BY JAKI BRADLEY

Chicago Symphony Orchestra

One night only! Revered conductor Riccardo Muti and his beloved Chicago Symphony Orchestra reconvene in Berkeley for a program of orchestral gems by Brahms, Stravinsky, and Ravel.

Riccardo Muti, conductor WEST COAST PREMIERE Mark Morris

In his latest creation, the wildly creative Mark Morris looks upward—at the Moon!—to explore our fascination with our constant celestial companion. MOON celebrates the wonder and poetry of the night sky, through arresting visuals, lively music, and exquisite movement.

Jan 17

ZELLERBACH HALL, BERKELEY

Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre Gathering

Choreographer Samar

Haddad King’s Gathering explores themes of love, loss, trauma, and dislocation. Part staged work, part interactive experience, the production features an international cohort of artists telling a fictional story of a village under siege, and one woman’s struggle to reconcile her fragmented memories.

Jan 23–25

ZELLERBACH HALL, BERKELEY

Feb 27–Mar 1

ZELLERBACH PLAYHOUSE, BERKELEY

Opera Parallèle

La Belle et la Bête

Nicole Paiement, artistic director and conductor

Brian Staufenbiel, director and scenic designer

Music and libretto by Philip Glass

An Evening with Kelli O’Hara

A marquee Broadway star, opera diva, and acclaimed television actor, what can’t Kelli O’Hara do? Don’t miss this special chance to hear her radiant voice, where she sings favorite show tunes and classics from the Great American Songbook!

Jan 31

ZELLERBACH HALL, BERKELEY

Silkroad Ensemble with Rhiannon Giddens

Based on the film by Jean Cocteau (La Bête/Avenant)

Hadleigh Adams, baritone

Opera Parallèle presents an astonishingly original production of the classic Beauty and the Beast tale that blurs the distinctions between cinema and live opera, merging Jean Cocteau’s surrealist 1946 film with Philip Glass’ mesmerizing 1994 score.

Wendall K. Harrington, projections Isaac Mizrahi, costumes Mar 19–20

Sanctuary: The Power of Resonance and Ritual

Visionary musician Rhiannon Giddens leads an accomplished collection of performers steeped in American, South Asian, West African, and southern European musical traditions, in an interactive presentation that explores music as a medium for healing and connection across cultures.

Mar 13–14

ZELLERBACH HALL, BERKELEY

To ensure the best experience for everyone:

While always welcomed , masks are required inside the theatres during five select Sunday and Tuesday performances.

Food and drink: Beverages in cans, cartons, or plastic cups with lids are welcome in the theatre during unmasked performances. Food is prohibited in the theatre during all performances.

Courtesy reminders: To avoid disruption to everyone, please turn off your cell phones, beeping watches, and electronic devices, and refrain from unwrapping cellophane wrappers during the performance. For the comfort of all patrons, please avoid wearing strongly scented personal products.

Photos: Photos may be taken in the theatre before and after the performance and during intermission. Photos and videos during the performance are strictly prohibited. Photos posted on social media must credit Berkeley Rep and the show’s designers.

Smoking and vaping: Berkeley Rep’s public spaces are smoke- and vape-free.

Late seating: If you leave the theatre during the performance re-seating is not guaranteed and is at the discretion of the house manager.

One of the joys of live theatre is the collective experience. Audience members respond to the show in many different ways. We invite you to join together and enjoy the show! If there is anything we can do to make your experience more enjoyable, please see a member of the house staff.

Get closed captioning on your smartphone! Closed captioning is available for the following evening performances: November 20, 21, 23, 25, and 26; and every matinee through December 18.

For detailed information on how to access and connect to Closed Captioning service, please consult lobby signage or ask an usher for an instruction card.

To visit Encore+ (encoreplus.app) and sign up for our newsletter, scan the QR code above.

PAUL HEPPNER

President & Publisher

BRIEANNA HANSEN

Vice President of Sales

SHAUN SWICK

Brand & Creative Manager

CIARA CAYA

Marketing & Communications Manager

GENAY GENEREUX

Accounting & Office Manager

CALEB AGEE

Design & Publications Manager

LIZELLE DIN

Production Designer

MARILYN KALLINS

Bay Area Representative

LYLE LAVER

Regional Sales Representatives

Encore Media Group 1631 15th Ave W. Suite 219

Seattle, WA 98119-2796

206.443.0445

info@encoremediagroup.com encoremediagroup.com

WELCOME TO MOTHER OF EXILES!

A month or so ago I was in New York. I visited rehearsal for Mexodus and as I walked through the Lower East Side towards my next show, I realized that I was around the corner from the tenement on Hester Street where my grandfather’s family had landed when they immigrated from Russia in 1912. They left the Ukraine so that my grandfather’s oldest brother wouldn’t be conscripted into the czar’s army — essentially the equivalent of enslavement for a young Jewish boy. Once in the US, my grandfather worked constantly — he left school at 14 to work in a factory cutting gems then crisscrossed the country by train as a traveling salesman of watches during the Depression. He never completed a formal education but read voraciously and took classes at the New School whenever he could to satisfy his avid intellectual appetite. He eventually landed in Los Angeles where the watches became a small jewelry store, which over time became three stores, which ultimately enabled his family to live a life of post-war stability and relative privilege.

My grandpa’s greatest desire was that his children and grandchildren get the education that he had not been able to access himself, and we did. And that afternoon on the Lower East Side, I thought of him, and the fact that his sacrifices, his labor, in the precise neighborhood where I was now buying an overpriced cup of tea, created the ability for me to have the life I have, and do the work that I feel so deeply privileged to engage in.

A year ago, Mexodus asked us to consider what we will do with the days our ancestors have earned us, and now Jessica Huang’s gorgeous Mother of Exiles looks at the many generations that have carried each of us to where and who we are today. How lucky are we to be in the presence of artists who allow us to reflect on the varied paths that have led us to this moment, in which we sit together in the dark, to better understand ourselves and each other?

Thank you for being part of our journey.

Warmly,

WELCOME TO BERKELEY REP

and thank you for joining us for the world premiere of Mother of Exiles — our 89th world premiere production. Developed in part through The Ground Floor: Berkeley Rep’s Center for the Creation and Development of New Work, Jessica Huang’s sweeping, multigenerational triptych blends historical drama with the supernatural, weaving moments of surprising humor into a powerful portrait of belonging and resilience.

Your presence today helps make Berkeley Rep a home for some of the most vital and visionary voices in theatre today. As a member of our community, you play a critical role in enabling us to create ambitious, thought-provoking work that sparks dialogue, builds empathy, and inspires people to see the world in new and surprising ways.

As the year draws to a close, I invite you to deepen your impact with a tax-deductible donation to Berkeley Rep. Your generosity uplifts emerging artists, sustains our artistry, and ensures access for students and underserved communities. And if you’re searching for a meaningful holiday gift, consider giving the joy of live theatre — whether through gift certificates, ticket packages, or a special evening out. Highlights still to come this season include the much anticipated All My Sons, featuring Jimmy Smits and Wanda De Jesús, along with three more remarkable mainstage productions.

And for a festive treat, don’t miss Tony Award–winner Jefferson Mays’ virtuosic one-man retelling of A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story across the Narsai M. David Courtyard in the Roda Theatre. I’ve seen Jefferson perform this tour de force on Broadway and elsewhere, and his performance truly embodies the spirit (and spirits) of the season.

On behalf of all of us at Berkeley Rep, I wish you a joyous, healthy holiday season and a new year filled with connection, creativity, and, of course, theatre.

Enjoy the show!

Tom Parrish Managing Director

Johanna Pfaelzer Artistic Director

Berkeley Repertory Theatre acknowledges and honors its presence on the unceded ancestral lands of the Chochenyo-speaking Ohlone people, now colonially known as Berkeley. The land from which we benefit continues to be a place of foremost importance to the Ohlone and all descendants of the Verona Band. Berkeley Rep is committed to actively centering antiracism and living our values by promoting the history and culture of the Ohlone People and sustaining an ongoing relationship which supports the art, resources, and values of indigenous peoples and tribes. We are grateful to our friends at the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust and the Confederated Villages of Lisjan for their support and guidance as we continue to educate ourselves and our community to uplift and support our indigenous communities .

CELEBRATING DONOR APPRECIATION MONTH

“I love Berkeley Rep. I love how powerful and relevant it has been over so many years. This live theatre offers joy, introspection, a new way of seeing the world, delight, masterful playwriting, and community involvement. Berkeley Rep has a soul and it shines out into the world. I’m so proud to be a subscriber and donor.”

— JACQUELINE, DONOR SINCE 2002 joy,

Support from donors like you is crucial to continue Berkeley Rep’s mission of making extraordinary theatre in the Bay Area. We are so grateful to you – thank you!

Join our amazing community of donors. Scan the QR code to the right for more info.

LEAVE YOUR LEGACY

When you join the Michael Leibert Legacy Society, you help secure the future of Berkeley Rep’s treasured tradition of producing adventurous and thought-provoking theatre and impactful educational programming.

HOW TO JOIN? IT’S EASY!

Make a bequest: Defer a gift until after your lifetime. Name Berkeley Rep in your will (designate a specific amount, a percentage, or a share of the residue).

Gift of retirement assets: Avoid twofold taxation on your IRA or other retirement plans. Name Berkeley Rep as a full or part beneficiary of the remainder of the assets after your lifetime.

To learn more ways to leave your legacy, contact Philanthropy Officer Andrew Maguire at 510 647-2904 or amaguire@berkeleyrep.org

Right: The cast of The Hills of California

PHOTO: LIZA VOLL

MICHAE L LEIBERT LE GA CY SOCIETY

BERKELEY REP

Healing Histories

THROUGH STORY AND SOLIDARITY

Berkeley Rep’s associate artistic director, David Mendizábal, sat down with Mother of Exiles playwright Jessica Huang and executive director of the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation, Ed Tepporn, for a conversation about the play, immigration history, and the power of ancestral storytelling.

DAVID MENDIZÁBAL: Jessica, what inspired you to set the first act of Mother of Exiles at Angel Island in 1898?

JESSICA HUANG: When I was in history class, the immigration pathway I learned about was through Ellis Island. I didn’t learn very much about the West Coast immigration pathway, which is wild because that’s where half of my identity comes from. And so when I first learned about Angel Island after college, I was fascinated by its history and by that journey. I began doing research into Angel Island, which has so much documentation because of the incredible work being done by the Immigration Station Foundation, and it became an American landmark for me. When I started to write Mother of Exiles , which tells the story of multiple generations of one American family from the moment they immigrate to the moment they emigrate, it made sense to me to start this story at Angel Island.

DM: Ed, since you started as executive director at the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation in 2019, has anything changed in your experience of the island and its importance over time?

ED TEPPORN: Like Jessica, I didn’t learn about Angel Island growing up in Texas, and I didn’t learn about it in college. It wasn’t until I moved to the Bay Area that I started hearing whispers of this place called Angel Island. So, I hope that more people are becoming increasingly aware of this important place and chapter not only in Californian history, but in US history. Both Angel Island and Ellis Island represent bookends of how our nation has treated immigrants and remind us how we’re treating immigrants today. When I first joined in 2019, it was right before COVID-19, and before we saw the significant increase in anti-Asian racism and xenophobia that came with the pandemic. And so, six years later, especially with all the anti-immigrant rhetoric that we’re hearing and seeing, it is even more important that everyone understands, recognizes, and connects with this part of our history.

DM: Mother of Exiles explores families that have been torn apart and sewn back together in a new way, while the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation uncovers family records and connects people to their ancestry. Jessica, what are you hoping to inspire folks to learn while exploring their ancestry? Ed, how can learning about one’s own family history empower immigrant communities in America today?

JH: I think about my own family history and there’s so much that I’ve learned from the ancestors I haven’t met — at least not with those on this plane, you know? I take so much inspiration from their journeys and their challenges and who they were that I hope to infuse in my work and in my conversations. I would hope that if people are interested in learning more about their ancestors, it’s about learning who they were and building a more present relationship with them as humans.

ET: One of the longest running projects that we’ve led

JH: Well, I’m a product of interracial marriage and I’m in an interracial marriage. As much as the Asian immigration story is a part of my lineage, so is cross-cultural solidarity. Because my experience is the American story. It’s about how this is a place where people from so many different backgrounds can come together, fall in love with each other, support each other, learn from each other. That is the beauty of this place. When I think about the America that I love, that’s what it is. This play is my American play. It’s about how cultures are born from other cultures coming together, and how survival means widening your definition of family.

at the foundation has been our Immigrant Voices Project, where we’ve collected over 250 stories of immigrants who were either processed or detained on Angel Island, as well as immigrants who came after the immigration station closed, or who’ve arrived in more recent years. In many cases, the experience for the immigrants at Angel Island’s Immigration Station was so traumatizing that they didn’t tell their children or their grandchildren. When you combine that with some of the cultural norms we see in Asian and Pacific Islander communities where you just keep your head down and don’t talk about your troubles or hardships, unfortunately, this contributes to a continued “invisibilization” of those experiences. I believe the opportunity for people to connect with their family’s histories is so powerful because it uplifts those invisible experiences. I am trying to create a community where we can be inspired to imagine a different future where all of us feel safe, where all of us feel like we belong.

DM: With Mother of Exiles , we begin on Angel Island, but the play traverses time and space to bridge together multiple narratives and immigrant communities, displaying solidarity among these groups. Jessica, why did you choose to highlight migrant solidarity? Ed, what are some best practices for migrant solidarity that you have seen or experienced to be successful?

ET: As horrendous as the experience of detention is, my hope is that people aren’t defined solely by those traumatic experiences and that we recognize the full journeys of their lifetimes. That’s one of the things I really appreciate about stories like Mother of Exiles, as well as the stories of real-life journeys through Angel Island. There are many beautiful examples of how immigrants have come together to build community despite active efforts to try to keep us divided and separated. And that’s not to say that conflict and discrimination don’t exist between communities, but it’s important to learn from both of those examples, right? And to be inspired by them. Because ultimately there are so many experiences our communities share.

DM: Absolutely. So beautifully spoken. Thank you both!

Tepporn is the executive director of the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation (AIISF). AIISF works with California State Parks to preserve the buildings and histories connected to the former US Immigration Station at Angel Island.

Jessica Huang, playwright of Mother of Exiles. See page 17 for bio.

Edward

This Fragile Earth: A

Look at the Climate Displacement Crisis

by victor cervantes

jr., associate producer — new work

on Monday, September 22, 2025, a little before 3am, as i woke up in a shaking bed, i realized i was experiencing my first earthquake.

when speaking to the Berkeley Rep staff at large about her inspiration for Mother of Exiles, playwright Jessica Huang shared, “climate must now be a part of everything I write. so, the impact of climate change has always been a part of the show — from the beginning.”

with the reality of earthquakes and rising sea levels in the Bay Area, global climate experts forecast a harrowing future as early as within the next 25 years. recently, i have come across the terms “climate refugee” and “climate displacement” with increasing frequency, but how do these terms apply to me and my communities here in the Bay Area?

as we set on this journey with the López-Loi family, i ask myself and encourage you to ponder: what is the potential impact of environmental migration for the United States? what will I do to support my family? my neighbor? what is the first step towards climate protection and resilience that i am willing to take to care for the fragile earth i inhabit?

Below are a few facts to understand the impact of climate change globally, nationally, and locally.

Today, every 1.3 seconds, one person is forced to leave their home and community due to the climate crisis.1

Between 2008 and 2016, an annual average of 21.5 million people were inescapably displaced each year globally by weather-related events such as earthquakes, floods, storms, wildfires and droughts.2 By 2022, this average increased to 32.6 million people ousted from their homes.3 Research and modeling from the Institute for Economics & Peace predicts that this number will surge by 2050, with 1.2 billion people displaced across 31 countries not resilient enough to withstand ecological threats.4

The term “climate refugee” was first articulated in 1985 by Essam El-Hinnawi, a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) expert. He poses that climate refugees — also called “environmental refugees” or “climate migrants” — are identified as people who have “had to leave their habitat, temporarily or permanently, because of a potential environmental hazard or disruption in their life-supporting ecosystems.”5 Though introduced in 1985, El-Hinnawi’s term has not been officially recognized by the UN.

The UN’s definition of a refugee is someone who has crossed an international border due to a “well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion” or conflicts and “events seriously disturbing public order.” 6 The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees argues that “climate refugee” is inaccurate based on this definition. Many people fleeing the effects of climate change do not leave their own country and, based on climate events alone, generally do not face persecution.

This divide on how to categorize climate refugees within the UN’s definition impacts how various refugee service organizations can implement aid, raising the question of how to determine and prioritize individuals displaced by weather-related events. As the global refugee crisis exponentially worsens, how should these service agencies support inevitable climate emigration specifically — especially when urbanized populations such as those from or housed in the Bay Area have traditionally not been recognized as refugees.

With sea levels rising each year, by 2100 up to 410 million people will be living in areas less than 7 feet above sea level.7 In the Bay Area, this reality is even more urgent with local organizations positing that by 2050, water levels could rise over a foot if current human-caused emissions continue.8

More than 300,000 properties in the Bay Area have an 80% chance of flooding in the next 30 years, with a projection of nearly 90% of those homeowners losing flood insurance by 2050.9 When this is considered in combination with coastal erosion, fog-caused accidents, and wildfires, statewide damage to residential and commercial buildings could reach almost $17.9 billion.10

Right: orange skies over the Bay Area on September 9, 2020 — the result of a dry lightning storm that started a spate of wildfires, destroying 9,000 structures and killing 31 people.

Works Referenced

1 Environmental Justice Foundation, “Extreme Weather and Climate Events.”

2 Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, “2016 Global Report on Internal Displacement.”

3 Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, “2023 Global Report on Internal Displacement.”

4 Institute for Economics & Peace, “Ecological Threat Register Report,” 2020.

5 El-Hinnawi, “Environmental Refugees,” United Nations Environmental Programme, 1985.

6 UNHCR, “The 1951 Refugee Convention.”

7 Hoojier & Vernimmen, “Global LiDAR,” Nature Communications, Issue 12, 2021.

8 California Ocean Protection Council, California Sea Level Rise Guidance, 2024.

9 First Street Foundation, “California Flooding Risk.”

10 ABC7 News, “How Will Climate Change Impact the Bay Area?” 2024.

BERKELEY REPERTORY THEATRE

JOHANNA PFAELZER, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR | TOM PARRISH, MANAGING DIRECTOR

PRESENTS

MOTHER OF EXILES

WRITTEN BY

JESSICA HUANG

DIRECTED BY JAKI

BRADLEY

SCENIC DESIGN

RIW RAKKULCHON

WIGS, HAIR, & MAKEUP DESIGN

EARON CHEW NEALEY

COSTUME DESIGN

HAYDEE ZELIDETH

LIGHTING DESIGN REZA BEHJAT

FIGHT DIRECTOR & INTIMACY

CONSULTANT DANI O'DEA

STAGE MANAGER

KRISTY BODALL

DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND AUDIENCE SERVICES VOLEINE AMILCAR

DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION AUDREY HOO

SOUND DESIGN & ORIGINAL MUSIC JAKE RODRIGUEZ PROJECTION DESIGN NICHOLAS HUSSONG

VOICE & DIALECT COACH ADI CABRAL

ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER ANTHONY LOPEZ

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER — NEW WORK VICTOR CERVANTES JR.

DIRECTOR OF THE SCHOOL OF THEATRE ANTHONY JACKSON

ASSOCIATE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR/DIRECTOR OF IN DIALOGUE DAVID MENDIZÁBAL

DIRECTOR OF FINANCE SAM LINDEN

DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES AND DIVERSITY MODESTA TAMAYO

YANKWITT, CSA

GENERAL MANAGER SARA DANIELSEN

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT ARI LIPSKY

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS AMANDA WILLIAMS O’STEEN

Mother of Exiles received a Venturous Playwright Fellowship at the Playwrights' Center in St. Paul, MN, supported by Venturous Theater Fund of the Tides Foundation. WORLD PREMIERE

Stephen & Susan Chamberlin Yogen & Peggy Dalal

Frances Hellman & Warren Breslau

Wayne Jordan & Quinn Delaney

SEASON PRESENTING SPONSORS

Bruce Golden & Michelle Mercer Marcia Grand

SEASON SPONSORS

Jonathan Logan & John Piane

The Strauch Kulhanjian Family

Gail & Arne Wagner

Gisele & Kenneth F. Miller Jack & Betty Schafer The Hearst Foundations Kelli & Steffan Tomlinson

SPONSOR

ASSOCIATE SPONSORS

Rich & Robin EdwardsRosalind & Sung-Hou Kim Jack Klingelhofer

KRISTY BODALL *

ANTHONY LOPEZ *

CAST

In alphabetical order

MICHELE SELENE ANG .

KINA KANTOR . .

. . . .Eddie Loi

Sister

EMMA KIKUE .Missionary/Sophia/Mimi López-Loi & Others

AMY LIZARDO .Mother

DAVID MASON .

.Guard/Mick/Henry & Others

CAMILA MORENO .Tata/Claudia López & Others

MONICA OROZCO Midwife/Sarge/Karina López-Loi & Others

RICARDO VÁZQUEZ .

WAYNE DEXTER WONG

UNDERSTUDIES

.Modesto/Braulio Loi

. . Grandfather

CASSIDY BROWN . .

. . .Guard/Mick/Henry & Others

KINA KANTOR . . Eddie Loi, Missionary/Sophia/Mimi López-Loi & Others

JOHN R. LEWIS .Modesto/Braulio Loi

AMY LIZARDO Tata/Claudia López & Others, Midwife/ Sarge/Karina López-Loi & Others

Understudies never substitute for listed performers unless a specific announcement or notice is made at the time of appearance. The actors and stage managers on this production are members of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.

Understudies never substitute for listed performers unless a specific announcement or notice is made at the time of appearance. * Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.

This theatre operates under agreement with the League of Resident Theatres, Actors’ Equity Association (the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States), the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, and United Scenic Artists.

Please turn off your cell phones, beeping watches, and electronic devices, and refrain from unwrapping cellophane wrappers during the performance. The videotaping or making of electronic or other audio and/or visual recordings of this production and distributing recordings or streams in any medium, including the internet, is strictly prohibited, a violation of the author(s)’s rights, and actionable under United States copyright law.

OPENING NIGHT: NOVEMBER 19, 2025

PEET'S THEATRE

MOTHER OF EXILES WILL BE PERFORMED WITHOUT AN INTERMISSION.

FOR THIS PRODUCTION

Assistant Director .....................................

Katie Genzer (Bret C. Harte Artistic Fellow)

Assistant Lighting Designer ....................................... Claire Chesne (Electrics Fellow)

Assistant Sound Designer ........................ Riley Oberting (Harry Weininger Sound Fellow)

Associate Projections Designer ..................................................... Duncan Davies

Production Assistant .................................. Olivia Spreen (Stage Management Fellow)

Deck Crew ......................................................

Solomon Casado, Brittany Johnson, Hannah Linaweaver, James McGregor (automation)

Wardrobe Crew......................................... Barbara Blair, Siobhán Slater, Malia Sittler

Wardrobe Subs Linda Wu, Jessa Dunlap

Hair and Wigs Crew Keke Vasquez-Tamali'i

Lighting Programmer/Board Op Desiree Alcocer

Sound Crew Conor Fortner (A1), Courtney Jean (A2)

Scenic Fabrication by Berkeley Repertory Theatre Scenic & Paint Shops

Additional Scenery Fabricators

Additional Scenic Artists .....................

Cassidy Carlson, Cameron Edwards, Carl Martin, Troy McClendon, Maggie Wentworth, Isla Hofmann (Scenic Construction Fellow)

Kenzie Bradley, Julie Ann Brown, Cayla Ray-Perry, E Wayman-Murdock, Trinity Wicklund, Courtney Sutherland (Scenic Art Fellow)

Props Fabrication by Berkeley Repertory Theatre Properties Shop

Additional Prop Artisans .................................................. Hanbyul Joo, Sofie Miller, Amelia Reyes-Gomez (Properties Fellow)

Costumes Built by Berkeley Repertory Theatre Costume Shop

Additional Costume Technicians......................................

Malia Sittler, Chris Weiland, James Calhoun (Costumes Fellow)

Lighting Services provided by Berkeley Repertory Theatre Lighting Department

Additional Lighting Technicians ....... Emma Buechner, Brittany Cobb, Jack Grable, Jacob Hill, A. Chris Hartzell, Hannah Linaweaver, Margaret Linn, Charlie Mejia, Nori-Hayden Quist, Taylor Rivers, C. Swan-Streepy, Matthew Sykes, Trinity Wicklund

Sound Services provided by Berkeley Repertory Theatre Sound and Video Department

Additional Sound Technicians Elliott Orr, Camille Rassweiler

Production Manager Kali Grau

Assistant Production Manager

Alex Hamm (Production Management Fellow) Company Manager Ryan Duncan-Ayala Assistant Company Manager Katelin Shum (Company Management Fellow)

Company Management Assistant Bella Campos Hintzman

Medical Consultation for Berkeley Rep provided by Mari Bell MPT (UCSF), Ed Blumenstock MD, Charissa Chaban DPT, Cindy J. Chang MD (UCSF), Christina Corey MD, Neil Claveria PT, Patricia I. Commer DPT, Kathy Fang MD PhD, Steven Fugaro MD, Anjali Gupta MD (Kaiser), Olivia Lang MD (Berkeley Pediatrics), Allen Ling PT, Liz Nguyen DPT, Desiree A. Unsworth DPT, Christina S. Wilmer OD, Eric Yabu DDS, and Katherine C. Yung MD

Special Thanks to Jules Anastasia (Congas) and Jason Stamberger (Guitar).

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

ARTISTIC

BERKELEY REP STAFF

Johanna Pfaelzer Artistic Director

David Mendizábal Associate Artistic Director/Director of In Dialogue victor cervantes jr. ................... Associate Producer – New Work

Karina Fox .......... Resident Casting Director and Artistic Associate

Todd Almond, Rafael Casal, Daveed Diggs, Dipika Guha, Nico Muhly, Lisa Peterson, Brian Quijada, Nygel D. Robinson, Sarah Ruhl, Jack Thorne, Sanaz Toossi

Artists Under Commission

GENERAL MANAGEMENT AND COMPANY MANAGEMENT

Sara Danielsen .......................................... General Manager

Ryan Duncan-Ayala .................................. Company Manager

Emily Betts General Management Associate

PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT

Audrey Hoo ....................................... Director of Production

Kali Grau Production Manager

COSTUMES

Joleen Addleman Loyd ................................ Costume Director

Kiara Montgomery .......................... Resident Design Associate Star Rabinowitz Draper

Barbara Blair ....................................... Wardrobe Supervisor

Caz Hiro................................. Associate Wardrobe Supervisor

Erin Taylor Wig, Hair, and Makeup Technician

ELECTRICS

Frederick C. Geffken ................................ Lighting Supervisor

Kenneth Coté ............................ Senior Production Electrician

Desiree Alcocer Production Electrician

PROPERTIES

Jillian A. Green .................................... Properties Supervisor

Amelia Burke-Holt Associate Properties Supervisor

Brittany Watkins Properties Artisan

SCENE SHOP

Matt Rohner, Jim Smith Co-Technical Directors

Read Tuddenham Assistant Technical Director — Shop

Grant Vocks .............. Assistant Technical Director — Engineering

August Lewallen, Zach Wziontka ................... Scenic Carpenters

SCENIC ART

Lisa Lázár ............................................ Charge Scenic Artist

STAGE OPERATIONS

Julia Englehorn Stage Supervisor

Gabriel Holman Associate Stage Supervisor

James McGregor ............................ Assistant Stage Supervisor

Siobhán Slater .......................................... Stage Technician

SOUND/ VIDEO

Lane Elms ................................... Sound and Video Supervisor

Rebecca Satzberg ............. Associate Sound and Video Supervisor

Angela Don Senior Sound Engineer

Conor Fortner Sound Engineer

BERKELEY REP SCHOOL OF THEATRE

Anthony Jackson Director of the School of Theatre

MaryBeth Cavanaugh Director of Classes and Summer Programming

Ashley Lim ..................... Marketing and Registrations Manager

AeJay Antonis Marquis Mitchell ...... Education Programs Associate

Euan Ashley In-School Residency and Curriculum Supervisor

Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe, Bobby August Jr., April Ballesteros, Diana Brown, Erica Blue, Elizabeth Carter, Rebecca Castelli, Jiwon Chung, Debroah Eubanks, Nancy Gold, Gary Graves, Marvin Greene, Susan Jane Harrison, George Higgins, Gendell Hing-Hernandez, Mondara Ixchel, Paul Jennings, Erolina Kamburova, Kenneth Kelleher, Jennifer LeBlanc, Dave Maier, Carolyn McCandlish, Amanda Nguyen, Annie Obermeyer, Joel Ochoa, Joe Orrach, Robert Parsons, Pamela Rickard, Alexandra Rivers, Adrian Ruvalcaba, Teresa Salas, Hayley Sherwood, Joyful Simpson, Skyler Sullivan, Brennan Pickman-Thoon, Samuel Tomfohr

.Teaching Artists

Matty Bloom, Joy Lancaster, Selma Meyerowitz ....... Docent Chairs Ted Bagaman, Beth Cohen, Michelle Cordero, Miles Drawdy, Charles Evans, Tyrone Fleurizard, Sergio Garcia, Randi Helly, Diana Insolio, Sue Kaplan, Jim Krampf, Mark Liss, Virginia McCarthy, Judith O’Rourke, Jeanette Pettibone, Gigi Singer, Bridget Soto Docents

ADMINISTRATION

Tom Parrish Managing Director

Sam Linden ........................................... Director of Finance

Katie Riemann ........................... Associate Director of Finance

Jennifer Light Payroll Administrator

Alanna McFall ................................................ Bookkeeper

Modesta Tamayo Director of Human Resources and Diversity

Faith Elder.

. . .Human Resources and Diversity Coordinator

Annie Stonebarger ..................................Executive Assistant

DEVELOPMENT

Ari Lipsky ....................................... Director of Development

Laura Fichtenberg Associate Director of Development

Kelsey Scott ................ Associate Director of Institutional Giving

Andrew Maguire . .

Philanthropy Officer

Harper Brown ..................................... Annual Fund Manager

Elaina Guyett ........................ Corporate Partnerships Manager

Lucy Tafler Special Events Manager

Cassidy Milano ................. Development Operations Coordinator

OPERATIONS

Amanda Williams O’Steen ....................... Director of Operations

Peter Orkiszewski ................... Associate Director of Operations

Adam Johnson Facilities Manager

Thomas Tran ........................................... Building Engineer

Jesus Rodriguez Building Technician

Theresa Drumgoole, Wendi Lau, Sophie Li, Darrel De La Rosa .

.Facilities Assistants

Destiny Askin CRM Project Manager

Christina Cone ............................ Web and Database Specialist

Nicole Peña Medak and Rentals Manager

MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS

Voleine Amilcar Director of Marketing and Audience Services

Heather Orth ...........................Associate Director of Marketing

DC Scarpelli ............................................ Creative Director

Kevin Kopjak –

Prismatic Communications .............. Public Relations Consultant

Kristi Deprin Digital Content Manager

Rodrick Edwards ......................... Community Engagement and Partnerships Manager

Calvin Ngu Video and Multimedia Content Creator

Quinn Barringer ........................................ Graphic Designer

Klaus Andrieu Marketing and Communications Coordinator

AUDIENCE SERVICES

Emily Byrne .................. Associate Director of Audience Services

Saoirse Keogh Box Office Supervisor

pan ellington, Matthew Hayden, Kathlyn Ibazeta, Olga Khitarishvili, Jack Melcher, Lauren Payne, Sesar Sanchez, Celeste Wong ....................... Box Office Agents

Maddi Gjovik, Armando Herrera, Caitlyn Lee, Megan Rossoni House Managers

Carlos Andrade, Julian Balcziunas, Lee Barrett, dean dawkins, Latasha Hayes, Camille Kobelin, Courtney Marchi, Nicolas Puorro, Tuesday Ray, Kira Street, Kailani Zabala, Angela Phung, Julian Balcziunas Patron Experience Representatives

2025/26 BERKELEY REP FELLOWSHIPS

James Calhoun Costumes Fellow

Claire Chesne ............................................. Electrics Fellow

Katie Genzer Bret C. Harte Artistic Fellow

Alex Hamm ............................. Production Management Fellow

Isla Hofmann................................ Scenic Construction Fellow

Khia Jefferson Marketing and Development Fellow

Karina Lipe .............................................. Education Fellow

Riley Oberting Harry Weininger Sound Fellow

Amelia Reyes-Gomez

.Properties Fellow

Elena Sanchez ............................. Peter F. Sloss Artistic Fellow

Katelin Shum Company Management Fellow

Olivia Spreen ................................. Stage Management Fellow

Courtney Sutherland Scenic Art Fellow

Michele Selene Ang*

Eddie Loi

Michele is a Chinese-Indonesian-American actor and writer. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre performance from Fordham University and her screen acting work can be found on Netflix’s hit TV drama 13 Reasons Why and CBS’ Elementary. On the film side, you can find her in the indie movie How I Learned to Fly on Apple TV. Michele has originated lead roles in new plays at acclaimed venues like Lincoln Center, Yale Rep, East West Players, The Old Globe, and

now — Berkeley Rep! You can keep up with her at michelesang.com

Kina Kantor *

Sister, u/s Eddie Loi, Missionary/Sophia/Mimi López-Loi & Others

Kina is a Bay Area actor, artist, and cellist. She is thrilled to return to Berkeley Rep where she previously appeared in Uncle Vanya, The Far Country, and The Great Wave. Selected regional credits include Indecent (Center Rep), Mrs. Christie (TheatreWorks, West Coast premiere), Naomi

Iizuka’s Garuda’s Wing (world premiere) and Richard II (The Magic Theatre/Campo Santo), The Great Khan, The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin, Tiny Beautiful Things (SF Playhouse), and Torch Song (Marin Theatre Company). Additional credits include ACT, Aurora, Golden Thread, and SF Mime Troupe. Film credits include Free (2024) and You’ll Lose a Good Thing (2024). Kina is a company member of the Actors’ Reading Collective and PlayGround SF, a teaching artist for the SF Shakespeare Festival, and has taught for StageWrite and Academy of Art University. @kinakantor

Emma Kikue *

Missionary/Sophia/Mimi López-Loi & Others

& 31

Emma has originated roles in world premiere plays both off-Broadway in New York with Primary Stages, Clubbed Thumb, Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Civilians, Ma-Yi, Pan-Asian Rep, and The Hearth; as well as outside of the city at The Humana Festival with Actors Theatre of Louisville and Detroit Public Theatre. Television credits include Love Life, The Sinner, Blue Bloods, Bull, Elementary, The Code, Instinct, Madam Secretary, and Braindead. Feature films include The Adults (Universal) and Josie & Jack (Tubi). You can hear her in the Audible audio drama Song of the Northwoods, also written by Jessica Huang and directed by Jaki Bradley!

Amy Lizardo *

Mother, u/s Tata/Claudia López & Others, Midwife/ Sarge/Karina López-Loi & Others

Amy is an actor, singer, and teaching artist formerly based in the Bay Area. As a current company member with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Amy has appeared in productions including Quixote Nuevo, As You Like It, Macbeth, Twelfth Night, The Tempest, Mother Road (world premiere), and La Comedia of Errors. Amy has performed in productions throughout the country including Real Women Have Curves: The Musical (American Repertory Theater), Mother Road (Arena), Party People (Berkeley Rep), Men on Boats, A Christmas Carol, The Unfortunates (ACT), Quixote Nuevo (Cal Shakes, world premiere), and many more. Amy sends love to her wonderful husband Mozart Pierson, newlyweds as of October 20, 2025.

David Mason * Guard/Mick/Henry & Others

David is a New York-based actor who has worked professionally for over 30 years on stages around the country. Recent credits include Pictures from Home on Broadway, Dig (Primary Stages) and Seared (MCC), both by Theresa Rebeck,

and world premiere productions by Theresa Rebeck, Brenda Withers, Ronan Noone, John Cariani, and others. Selected regional credits include numerous productions at Denver Center, Dorset Theatre Festival, Cleveland Play House, Cape Playhouse, Geva Theatre, TheatreSquared, Portland Stage, Northern Stage, and Arizona Theatre Company. TV credits include The Beauty, Blue Bloods, The Good Fight, The Blacklist, The Leftovers, and House of Cards.

Camila Moreno * Tata/Claudia López & Others

Camila Moreno is a Puerto Rican actress quickly making her mark on stage and screen. She starred as a series regular in Ava DuVernay’s superhero series Naomi (The CW) and recently took on the title role in Luis Alfaro’s Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles at Yale Repertory Theatre. Her recent work includes readings of Karina Billini’s Apple Bottom, in which she played Winnie, at both The Public Theater and La Jolla Playhouse. Her stage work also includes Irina (Three Sisters), Cordelia (King Lear), and Ophelia (Hamlet). She is the recipient of the Victoria Espinosa Award from the Universidad de Puerto Rico and holds an MFA from NYU’s graduate acting program. Moreno divides her time between New York and Puerto Rico.

Monica Orozco * Midwife/Sarge/Karina López-Loi & Others

Monica has worked on stages across the country and extensively in Chicago, her artistic home base. Notable institutions include Goodman Theatre, Victory Gardens Theater, and Utah Shakespeare Festival. She has also appeared in numerous commercials and on television in various episodes of Chicago Med (NBC) and Soundtrack (Netflix). She is currently on the faculty at Smith College where she teaches acting, theatre, and dramatic literature courses in addition to directing department productions.

Ricardo Vázquez *

Modesto/Braulio Loi

Ricardo is a New York-based actor whose Broadway credits include the Tonynominated 2024 revival of Our Town (dir. Kenny Leon) and the Tony-winning production of The Inheritance (dir. Stephen Daldry). He has performed with New York Stage and Film, TFANA, The Eugene O'Neill Theater, Page 73, Clubbed Thumb, Berkeley Rep's The Ground Floor, The New Group, Rattlestick Theater, Kitchen Theatre, Chance Theater, and Seattle Rep. He originated leading roles in Naomi Iizuka's The Last Firefly, Kira Obolensky's The Changelings,

and Joe Minjares' musical River Road Boogie: The Augie Garcia Story, among others. He has appeared in feature films Nina of the Woods, Farmer of the Year, The Public Domain, and Death to Prom. TV credits include The Other Two (HBO), In an Instant (ABC), and M@dAbout TV (CBS). For upcoming projects and news: Ricardo-Vazquez.com and IG: @RicardoaVaz

Wayne Dexter Wong

Grandfather

A veteran character actor and singer, Wayne Dexter

Wong has appeared in over 100 productions, mostly operas. He was last seen in Opera Parallèle's production of Harvey Milk Reimagined. Other engagements include SF Playhouse (As You Like It), Shotgun Players ( The Triumph Of Love ), West Edge Opera, Ars Minerva, Playwrights Foundation, The Handel Opera Project, Playwrights' Center of SF, and Teatro Bocchino (the world premiere of David Morris' Il Bobo Sferrato). Upcoming appearances include PlayGround-SF's production of Fool Proof and Pocket Opera's bilingual production of Madame Butterfly. He is a graduate of UC Berkeley and Brown University.

A Friendship that Shaped Modern Art

Édouard Manet, The Balcony (detail), 1868–1869. Musée d’Orsay, Paris, Bequest Gustave Caillebotte, 1894. © RMN-Grand Palais (Musée d’Orsay) / Sylvie Chan-Liat

Cassidy Brown *

u/s Guard/Mick/Henry & Others

Cassidy is happy to return to Berkeley Rep where he previously appeared in Imaginary Comforts and as understudy in The Thing About Jellyfish. He has appeared at TheatreWorks in Fallen Angels, Doubt, Distracted, The 39 Steps and at San Jose Rep in Game On. Other Bay Area credits include Center Rep in The Great Leap, Ella, The Underpants, and The 39 Steps; Aurora Theatre in Bosoms and Neglect and Safe House; Marin Shakespeare Company in Don Quixote and Othello, San Jose Stage in The 39 Steps, and SF Playhouse in You Mean to Do Me Harm. Regionally he has appeared in multiple plays at both Capital Stage and Pacific Repertory Theatre. Berkeley Rep audiences can look forward to seeing him on stage in the upcoming 2026 production of All My Sons.

John R. Lewis *

u/s Modesto/Braulio Loi

John is proud to be a part of this beautiful new production. Recent credits include Clyde’s (Berkeley Rep), Richard II (Pear Theatre), Our Town (Center Rep), Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Perspective Theatre), The Legend of Georgia McBride, The Jungle Book (Marin Theatre), The Memory Stick (San Jose Stage), and Cymbeline (New Orleans Shakespeare Festival). Other understudy credits include The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (TheatreWorks), A Whynot Christmas Carol, The Unfortunates, and Stuck Elevator (ACT). Lewis is a member of Actors’ Equity Association and a tireless advocate for balance, safety, and joy within our Bay Area theatre community.

Jessica Huang

Playwright

Jessica is a playwright and librettist whose award-winning work includes The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin, Blended (Harmony): The Kim Loo Sisters (music by Jacinth Greywoode), Song of the Northwoods (Audible), and Ten Things I Hate About You: The Musical (with Lena Dunham, score by Carly Rae Jepsen and Ethan Gruska). For Mother of Exiles, she has earned many distinctions including the highly competitive Venturous Playwright Fellowship. Jessica has commissions from Manhattan Theatre Club and TimeLine Theatre, and is the James Still Playwright-in-Residence at Indiana Repertory Theatre where she has been commissioned to create an original adaptation of H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds. She is a graduate of Juilliard's playwriting program. Thank you to Marvin, Stefani, and Carmen for their support with translation, as well as the organizations that supported the development of this play: Playwrights' Center, NNPN, Alliance Theatre,

NYSAF, Florida Studio Theatre, Two River, Old Globe, The New Group, and Hedgebrook. jessica-huang.com

Jaki Bradley Director

Jaki is a director of theatre, TV, and film. Most recently she directed All Nighter at MCC. Jaki has directed at theatres across the country, including Berkeley Repertory, New York Theatre Workshop, The Old Globe, Ars Nova, New York Stage and Film, Ojai Playwrights Conference, Denver Center, and Arena Stage. Her films have screened at festivals in San Francisco, Palm Springs, and Beverly Hills. She has written for Netflix, Paramount, AGBO, Artists Equity, Wonderland, Scott Free, and sold an original series to FX. Proud member of SDC and WGA. jakibradley.com

Riw Rakkulchon

Scenic Design

Riw (pronounced ree-yoo) is a set and costume designer, animator, and chef from Bangkok, Thailand. They have worked at Yale Repertory Theatre, Syracuse Stage, The Old Globe, Asolo Rep, The Acting Company, 59E59, Berkeley Rep, Edinburgh Fringe, Primary Stages, Hartford Stage, The Public Theater, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music amongst others. As a Broadway associate set designer he has worked on Pass Over, & Juliet, and Parade. They are a member of USA829 and a board member of WithAll, a non-profit organization on a fight to end eating disorders. IG: @riwrdesign

PRONOUNS: HE/THEY

Haydee Zelideth

Costume Design

Haydee is a Chicana artist and costume designer. Clothes carry on public conversations with others and share stories about who we are, who we are not, and who we wish to be. They are a means of exploring how image can open up perceptions of race, class, socioeconomic status, and more — all of which interests her most. She grew up on both sides of the Mexican border and these experiences inform her point of view and how she approaches her work, giving depth, dimension, and color to the specificities of someone’s life. @haydeezelideth

Reza Behjat

Lighting Design

Reza is an Obie Award-winning lighting designer and theatre artist based in New York. On Broadway, his work has been featured in English. Off-Broadway, his work has appeared in Atlantic Theater, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Signature Theatre, Public Theater, The New Group, MCC, Playwrights Horizons, Audible Theater, Page 73, The Flea, Red Bull Theater, and Ars Nova, among others. His regional credits include work at Guthrie Theater, Steppenwolf Theatre, Berkeley Rep, The Old

Globe, Milwaukee Rep, Seattle Rep, Hudson Valley Shakespeare, Milwaukee Rep, Wilma Theater, Arizona Theatre Company, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Geva Theatre, Long Wharf, and Alabama Shakespeare. He received an Obie Award in Design for English and Wish You Were Here (2022) and the Knight of Illumination Award for Nina Simone: Four Women (2019). Other nominations include Drama Desk, Henry Hewes, and Jeff Awards.

Jake Rodriguez

Sound Design

& Original Music

Jake is a sound designer and composer working in theatre and based in the San Francisco Bay Area. His recent theatrical credits include Don’t Eat the Mangos (Huntington), Mother Road (Berkeley Rep), Between Two Knees (Perelman Performing Arts Center, Yale Repertory Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Frankenstein Revived (Stratford Festival), and Poor Yella Rednecks: Vietgone 2 (ACT). Jake is the recipient of a 2004 Princess Grace award and received an honorary MFA from ACT in 2021. Find sounds at soundcrack.net.

Nicholas Hussong

Projection Design

Nicholas is a designer and creative producer whose work has appeared across the globe in theatres, opera houses, museums, and more. His Broadway credits include Skeleton Crew (Tony-nominee). Off-Broadway, his work includes These Paper Bullets (Atlantic, Drama Desk-nominee), Wet Brain (Playwrights Horizons, Obie & Lucille Lortel award), On That Day in Amsterdam (Primary Stages, Drama Desk-nominee). Additional credits include The Marriage of Figaro (Little Island NYC), Fiddler on the Roof (Alliance, Atlanta Opera), Next to Normal (Round House Theatre, Barrington Stage Company, Helen Hayes-nominee), Magic Flute, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Cabaret (Atlanta Opera), and Vietgone (Guthrie). Co-creator of FEAST, an immersive dining experience with Listen&Breathe (Nantucket, Ireland). nickhussong.com

Earon Chew Nealey

Wigs, Hair, & Makeup Design

Earon is thrilled to return to Berkeley Rep following her previous work as wig designer on POTUS. Her credits include Fat Ham on Broadway, Almost Famous, Jersey Boys (ACT of Connecticut), Huzzah (Old Globe), Camelot, Blues for an Alabama Sky (Barrington), Two Strangers, Diary of a Tap Dancer (ACT), The Grove, Sojourners, Toni Stone, Fat Ham, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (Huntington), Bad Kreyòl, Three Houses (Signature), Table 17 (Makeup Design, MCC), A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Malvolio, Twelfth Night (Classical Theatre of Harlem), Hamlet, The Harder They Come, Fat Ham, Cullud Wattah, Mojada (Public Theater), Dames at Sea, Kinky Boots (Bucks

County Playhouse), The Last Supper (SOPAC), Notes on Killing (Soho Rep), and Little Girl Blue (Goodspeed, New World Stages).

tbd casting co. / Stephanie Yankwitt, CSA

Casting

tbd casting co 's casting team includes Margaret Dunn, Tanis Parenteau, Nia Smith, and Stephanie Yankwitt. Their casting credits at Berkeley Rep include the aves, The Thing About Jellyfish, and Here There Are Blueberries. Current and upcoming NYC credits include Watch Me Walk (Soho Rep), The Emporium (Classic Stage Company), JESA (Ma-Yi with The Public Theater). Current regional theatre casting includes All the Men Who've Frightened Me (La Jolla Playhouse) and Inherit the Wind (Arena Stage). Film/TV credits include the series 10036 and upcoming feature films The Year of the Monarchs, Still Life, and Petrichor. tbd casting co. cast the award-winning film In the Summers, which won the 2024 Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival and was an official selection of Tribeca, Cartagena, and LA Latino International Film Festival. @tbdcastingco

Kristy Bodall *

Stage Manager

Kristy is a NYC-based stage manager, producer, and general manager. Her credits include The Beastiary (Ars Nova), The Keep Going Songs (LCT3), Another Rose (Virgin Voyages), Paris (Atlantic), The Maturation of an Inconvenient Negro (Cherry Lane), Ghost Quartet (NYTW), STREEPSHOW! (The Tank), Material Witness (La MaMa), and The Exalted (BAM). Credits at Clubbed Thumb include Deep Blue Sound, Spindle Shuttle Needle, King Philip’s Head ... Just Down the Road, and Plano. Credits at Pipeline Theatre Company include Playing Hot, Folk Wandering, Beardo, The Gray Man, and Clown Bar. Additional credits include developmental work with The Public Theater, Second Stage, Playwrights Horizons, Center Theatre Group, and Fresh Ground Pepper.

Anthony Lopez *

Assistant Stage Manager

Anthony is thrilled to be returning to Berkeley Rep. Anthony was most recently the sub stage manager for The Reservoir and was previously a stage management production assistant on The Thing About Jellyfish. Anthony started at Berkeley Rep as the Stage Management Fellow in 2023/24 season. Other Bay Area stage management credits include Ride the Cyclone (NCTC, 2024), Carrie: The Musical, Hadestown: Teen Edition (Young Conservatory at ACT), and many shows with the Education & Community Programs department at ACT.

Johanna Pfaelzer

Artistic Director

Johanna joined Berkeley Rep in 2019 as its fourth artistic director following 12 years as

the artistic director of New York Stage and Film (NYSAF), a New York City-based organization dedicated to the development of new works for theatre, film, and television. Notable works developed under Johanna’s leadership at NYSAF include Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda, The Humans by Stephen Karam, Hadestown by Anaïs Mitchell, The Wolves by Sarah DeLappe, The Invisible Hand by Ayad Akhtar, A 24-Decade History of Popular Music by Taylor Mac, The Homecoming Queen by Ngozi Anyanwu, The Great Leap by Lauren Yee, John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt, The Fortress of Solitude by Michael Friedman and Itamar Moses, The Jacksonian by Beth Henley, and Green Day’s American Idiot. In addition, Johanna has developed the work of many notable artists including Jocelyn Bioh, Zach Helm, Halley Feiffer, Billy Porter, Lucy Thurber, Duncan Sheik, V (formerly Eve Ensler), Steven Sater, Jaclyn Backhaus, Patricia Wettig, and Marcus Gardley. Since arriving at Berkeley Rep, Johanna has produced multiple world premieres as well as projects that have gone on to notable future productions including Swept Away, Galileo, Mexodus, and Cult of Love. She was formerly a producing director of Zena Group and served for five years as the associate artistic director of American Conservatory Theater. Johanna is a graduate of Wesleyan University and the Actors Theatre of Louisville apprentice program and has taught in the MFA theatre program at Columbia University School of the Arts. She lives in Berkeley with her husband Russell Champa and their son Jasper.

Tom Parrish

Managing Director

Tom has served as a theatre leader and arts administrator for over 20 years, with experience in organizations ranging from multivenue performing arts centers to major Tony Award-winning theatre companies. Prior to Berkeley Rep, he served as executive director of Trinity Repertory Company, Geva Theatre Center, and Merrimack Repertory Theatre and as associate managing director/general manager of San Diego Repertory Theatre. His work has been recognized with a NAACP Theatre Award for Best Producer and “Forty Under 40” recognition in Providence, Rochester, the Merrimack Valley, and San Diego. He received his MBA/MA in arts administration from Southern Methodist University; BA in theater arts and economics from Case Western Reserve University; attended the Commercial Theater Institute, National Theater Institute, and Harvard Business School’s Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management; and is certified in leading diversity, equity, and inclusion by Northwestern University. He and his husband live in Berkeley.

THANK YOU

to our supporters!

We thank the many organizations and individuals who enrich our community by championing Berkeley Rep’s artistic, education, and community engagement programs.

INSTITUTIONAL FUNDERS

FOUNDATION

Anonymous (3)

The Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation

Civic Foundation

Davis/Dauray Family Fund

The William H. Donner Foundation

The Ira and Leonore Gershwin Philanthropic Fund — Jean Strunsky, Trustee

The Hearst Foundations

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

JEC Foundation

Jewish Community Federation & Endowment Fund

Koret Foundation

Laurents/Hatcher Foundation

Libitzky Family Foundation

Jonathan Logan Family Foundation

The John Logan Foundation

The Maurer Family Foundation

Arjay R. and Frances F. Miller Foundation

Miranda Lux Foundation

Kenneth Rainin Foundation

The Shubert Foundation

The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust

Tarbell Family Foundation

Taube Philanthropies

Ingrid D. Tauber Fund

Venturous Theater Fund, a fund of Tides Foundation

Westridge Foundation

Woodlawn Foundation

PUBLIC FUNDING

City of Berkeley

National Endowment for the Arts

CORPORATE & HOSPITALITY SPONSORS

SEASON PRESENTING SPONSOR

THE RESILIENCE CAMPAIGN

Berkeley Repertory Theatre gratefully recognizes the following contributors for their transformational contributions to The Resilience Campaign that support the Theatre’s future.

SEASON SPONSOR

LEAD SPONSORS

S PONSORS

ASSOCIATE SPONSORS

BENEFACTOR

Andrea Gordon Real Estate

Aurora Catering

BluesCruise.com

Broc Cellars

City Baking Co.

Comal Next Door

Covenant Wines

Eureka!

Family Laundry

Gallagher Risk Management Services

Hafner Vineyards

Hammerling Wines

Heroic Italian

JazzCaffè

Jupiter

Kermit Lynch

Latham & Watkins LLP

Lucia’s Berkeley

The Republic of Tea

Palisades Canyon

Panoramic Interests

Perfusion Vineyard

Picante

Pinx Catering

Smile City Photo Booth

Anonymous

California Wellness Foundation

Stephen & Susan Chamberlin

Yogen & Peggy Dalal

Robin & Rich Edwards

David & Vicki Fleishhacker

Kerry Francis & John Jimerson

Jill & Steve Fugaro

Karen Galatz & Jon Wellinghoff

Bruce Golden & Michelle Mercer

Marcia Grand

Frances Hellman & Warren Breslau

Dugan & Philippe Lamoise

The Jonathan Logan Family Foundation

Sandra & Ross McCandless

Gisele & Kenneth F. Miller

Sudha Pennathur & Edward Messerly

Jack & Betty Schafer

Pat & Merrill Shanks

Michael* & Sue Steinberg

The Strauch Kulhanjian Family

Kelli & Steffan Tomlinson

Gail & Arne Wagner

Linda & Steve Wolan

SPONSORS CIRCLE

SEASON PRESENTING

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR’S CIRCLE

PARTNER

Anonymous

John Brennan & Stephanie McKown

Italo & Susan Calpestri

Venus David, in memory of Narsai David

Bill DeHart

Richard DeNatale & Craig Latker

Carol DiFilippo

Corinne & Mike Doyle

Thomas W. Edwards & Rebecca Parlette-Edwards

Jerry Falk

Cynthia A. Farner

Linda Jo Fitz

Jeryl Fry

Earl & Bonnie Hamlin

Stan Hoffman

Lynda & Dr. J. Pearce Hurley

The Jackson Family Foundation

Carla Javits & Margaret

Cecchetti

Peggy Kivel

Fred Levin

Joel Linzner & Teresa Picchi

Rosa Luevano & Charles Marston

Mona Marbach

Marymor Family Fund

Judy Minor

Leonard X & Arlene B.

Rosenberg

Jack & Valerie Rowe

Todd Rubin

Barbara Sahm & Steven Winkel

Cynthia & William Schaff

Ed & Liliane Schneider

In Memory of Rob Schonholtz

Pat & Merrill Shanks

Michael* & Sue Steinberg

Barbara Tomber

Steven & Linda Wolan

ASSOCIATE SPONSORS

Anonymous

Shelley & Jonathan Bagg

Lynne Carmichael

Sandra & Ken Eggers

Kerry Francis & John Jimerson

Lisa Franzel & Rod Mickels

Jennifer & Abe Friedman

Laura Graham

Richard N. Hill & Nancy Lundeen

Sy Kaufman & Kerstin Edgerton

Rosalind & Sung-Hou Kim

Suzanne LaFetre Collier

Dugan & Philippe Lamoise

Eileen & Hank Lewis

Susan & Moses Libitzky

Elsie Mallonee

Helen M. Marcus, in memory of David J. Williamson

Tim Marten

Phyra McCandless & Angelos Kottas

Martin & Margi Cellucci McNair

Miranda Family Fund

Juan Oldham & Deborah

Morgan

James O’Toole

Tom Parrish & Steve Dow

Norman & Janet Pease

David S. H. Rosenthal & Vicky Reich

Dennis Ryan & Rebecca Sutter-Ryan

Patricia Sakai & Richard Shapiro

Sarah E. Shaver

Karen Smyda

Monica Salusky & John K. Sutherland

THANK YOU

to all of the generous members of our community who he lp Berkeley Rep produce adventurous, thought-provokin g, and thrilling theatre and b ring arts education to thousands of people every year. We gratefully recognize our donors at the Champion level and above, who made their gifts between September 1, 2024 a nd S ep t embe r 1 , 2025. We also express our dee p gratitude to all of the Friends of Ber keley Rep that we are unable to recognize here due to space limitations.

Jeannie Pfaelzer & Peter Panuthos

Johanna Pfaelzer & Russell Champa

Shelby Rachleff

Audrey & Paul L. Richards, in honor of Barbara Peterson

Jaimie Sanford & Ted Storey

Valerie Sopher

Trevor & Anne-Marie Strohman

Ama Torrance & David Davies

Sarah Van Roo

Toni Weingarten

Elizabeth Werter & Henry Trevor

Felicia Woytak & Steven Rasmussen

BENEFACTOR

Anonymous (3)

Norman Abramson, in memory of David Beery

Eric Allman & Kirk McKusick

George & Marcia Argyris

Michelle L. Barbour

Valerie Barth

Ashvini Bhave & Kishore Bopardikar

Becky & Jeff Bleich

Paul Brody

Luna Foundation

Linda Brown

Bonnie Burt & Mark Liss

Ronnie Caplane

Ardie & Mary Clark, in memory of Patricia Fox

Dr. Jim Cuthbertson

Barbara & Tim Daniels

Arvada Darnell

Richard & Anita Davis

Ilana DeBare & Sam Schuchat

Donald & Jeannette Dow

Linda Drucker

William & Susan Epstein

Paul Feigenbaum & Judy Kemeny

Ben & Mary Feinberg

James & Jessica Fleming

Dean Francis

Sharon & Tom Francis

Kevin Gahagan

Dennis & Susan Johann Gilardi

Mio & Jon Good

Robert & Judith Greber

Anne & Peter Griffes

Karen Grove & Julian Cortella

Migsy & Jim Hamasaki

Jeannene Hansen

Bob & Linda Harris

Dan & Shawna Hartman Brotsky

Elaine Hitchcock

Bill Hofmann & Robbie Welling

Jim & Xanthe Hopp

Barbara & Peter Jensen

Dana Kirkland

Michael H. Kossman

Jane & Mike Larkin, in memory of Lynn & Gerald Ungar

Sherrill Lavagnino & Scott McKinney

Andrew Leavitt & Catherine Lewis

Ellen & Barry Levine

Marcia C. Linn

Jay & Eileen Love

Gerry & Kathy MacClelland

Henning Mathew

Susie Medak & Greg Murphy

Toby Mickelson & Donald Brody

Carol Mimura & Jeremy Thorner

Andy & June Monach

Ronald Morrison

Pam & Mitch Nichter

Shanna O’Hare & John Davis

Carol J. Ormond

Janet & Clyde Ostler

Kristin Pace

Sandi & Dick Pantages

Barbara L. Peterson

Randy Sue Pollock

& Steve Kornetsky

Tushar Ranchod

Marjorie Randolph

Dr. Jason Ravenel & Leann Ravenel

Terri Remillard

Gary & Noni Robinson

Patrick Romani

Becky Saeger & Tom Graves

Jeane & Roger Samuelsen

Dan Scharlin & Sara Katz

Jackie Schmidt-Posner & Barry Posner

Helen Schulak

Ruchira Shah & David Grunwald

Emily Shanks

Kim Silva

David & Lori Simpson

Ed & Ellen Smith

Ann M. Smulka & Bob Blackburn

Audrey & Bob Sockolov

Laura Svienty

Dr. Edward Sweet

& Mr. Harold Stevens

Alison Teeman & Michael Yovino-Young

Henry Timnick

Deborah & Bob Van Nest

Beth Weissman

Susan West

Patricia & Jeffrey Williams

Faye Wilson

Mark Zitter

& Jessica Nutik Zitter

FRIENDS OF BERKELEY REP

CHAMPION

Anonymous (6) • Philip Arca & Sherry Smith • Linda & Mike Baker •

Monya Baker • Celia Bakke • Jeff & Karen Banks • Michael Barnett and Judith Bloomberg • Marc Blakeman • James Blume & Kathryn Frank •

Jane V. Buerger • Fran Burgess • Robert & Margaret Cant • Dr. Jon Carr

• Terri Clark and Marty Lay • June & Michael Cohen • Bart Connally •

Constance Crawford • Karen & David Crommie • Ed Cullen & Ann

O’Connor • Joshua Dapice • Drs. Kevin & Susan Denny • John & Janet

Dodge • Martin & Barbara Fishman • Donald & Dava Freed • Linda Schacht Gage & John Gage • Clara Gerdes & Ken Greenberg • Marjorie

Ginsburg & Howard Slyter • Mary W Graves • Mary Grogan • Henry L. Hecht • Thomas & Elizabeth Henry • Susan L. Hill • Marilyn & Michael Jensen-Akula • May Johnston • Jeanne Killian • Tim Kochis • Janet

Kornegay & Dan Sykes • Woof Kurtzman & Liz Hertz • Ann Lincoln • Jennifer S. Lindsay • Tom Lockard & Alix Marduel • Nancy Lumer • Paul

Mariano & Suzanne Chapot • Susanna & Brad Marshland • Rebecca Martinez • Stephanie Mendel • Geri Monheimer • Daryoush Mortazavi & Caroline Razavi • Jane Neilson • Thomas Nelson & Jessica Wickens • Judy Ogle • Patti Oji Haas • Judy O’Young, MD & Gregg Hauser • Kathleen

Quenneville & Diane Allen • Todd & Susan Ringoen • John & Jody Roberts • Jane Rokita • Rhoda Rossman • Chris & Mike Rupp, Descendant Cellars • Lisa A. Salomon • Barbara & Jerry Schauffler • Eric & Lauren Schlezinger • Deborah Sedberry & Jeff Klingman • Robert Sheppard • Shirlen Fund • Steve & Susan Shortell • Amrita Singhal & Michael Tubach • Arlene & Matthew Sirott • Suzanne Slyman • Allan & Maria Smith • Betsy Smith • Cherida Collins Smith • George & Camilla Smith • Gary & Jana Stein • David Surrenda & Lisa Rafel • Jane & Jay Taber • Fred & Kathleen Taylor • Sam Test • Larry Vales • Gerald & Lynda Vurek-Martyn • Susan Whitman & Mark Gergen • Irene Yen

THE MICHAEL LEIBERT LEGACY SOCIETY

Anonymous (9)

Norman Abramson & David Beery*

Sam Ambler

Carl W. Arnoult & Aurora Pan

Ken & Joni Avery

Nancy Axelrod

Edie Barschi

Neil & Gene Barth

Susan & Barry Baskin

Linda Brandenburger

Broitman-Basri Family

Bruce Carlton & Richard G. McCall*

Stephen K. Cassidy

Paula Champagne & David Watson

Terin Christensen

Sofia Close

Ed Cullen & Ann O’Connor

Andrew Daly & Jody Taylor

Narsai* & Venus David

Darren & Sunshine Deffner

M. Laina Dicker

Christopher Doane & Neal Shorstein, MD

Thalia Dorwick

Robin & Rich Edwards

Thomas W. Edwards

& Rebecca Parlette-Edwards

Bill & Susan Epstein

William Espey

& Margaret Hart Edwards

Merle & Michael Fajans

Bill Falik & Diana Cohen

Dr. Stephen E. Follansbee

& Dr. Richard A. Wolitz

Catherine Fox

Kerry Francis

ADVOCATE

Anonymous (10) • David Baer • Alisa Baker • Tracy Ballard • Karen Baratta • Steven Beckendorf • Richard & Kathi Berman • Veronica Bettencourt • Patti Bittenbender • Thomas Bosserman • Rena Bransten • Eric Brink & Gayle Vassar • Cathy Bristow • Aimee Brown • Robert P. Camm & Susan Pearson • Christina Campbell & Tim DeWolf • Laura Chenel • Barbara & Rodgin Cohen •

Joan & Edward Conger • Pam & Mike Crane • malcom davis • Harry & Susan Dennis • David desJardins • David Deutscher • Kathryn Doi • Tammerlin Drummond • Daralyn Durie • Dr. Norma

Fiedotin • Daniel Friedland & Azlynda Alim • Herb & Marianne Friedman • Carol & Tony Friscia • Lisa and Jack Fuchs • Brett Gardner & Joe Stampleman • Paul & Marilyn Gardner • Rachel Garlin • Ellen Geringer & Chris Tarp • Steven Goldberg & Sandee Blechman • Paul Goldstein & Dena Mossar • Pamela & Tim Gray • Judy & Sheldon Greene • Karen Greig & Mike Frank • Don & Becky

Grether • George P. Haley • Geoffrey Haynes • Tamra C. Hege • Jim Helman & Linda Fried Helman • Donald Hershman • Al Hoffman & David Shepherd • Rachel & John Horsch • Hilary & Tom Hoynes

• Pam & Ted Johann • Thomas Johann • Stephen Kerr • Juanita Kizor • Ralph & Tonya Koenker • Lynn Eve Komaromi, in honor of the Berkeley Rep Staff • Diana & Jim Krampf • Andrea & Kenneth Krueger • Jennifer Kuenster & George Miers • Lucy Kuntz and Ned Fielden • Kevin & Claudine Lally

• Wayne Lamprey & Dena Watson-Lamprey • Shirley Langlois • Tami Lau • Susan Carol Ledford • Dennis Lenehan • Deborah Lewis & Martin H. Myers • Steve & Judy Lipson • Margo & Josh

Lowensohn • Peter Luk • Ingrid Madsen & Victor Rauch • Mark Marin • M. Mathews & K. Soriano •

Ash McNeely & Elisa Odabashian • Ellen Meltzer and George Porter • Zoe Mercer-Golden, in honor of Bruce Golden • Susan Morris • Patti Mulqueeney • Toby Nady • Ron Nakayama • Sandra Nichols

• Michael O’Donnell • Barbara & Philip O’Hay • Mitchell Ost • DiAnn Perko • Charles & Linda Phillips

• Malcolm & Ann Plant • Robert & Marcia Popper • Roxann R. Preston • Daniel & Barbara Radin • Elizabeth Raffin • Maxine Risley, in memory of James Risley • Kathy Rogers • William Rogers • Bruce Rohde • Deborah Dashow Ruth, in memory of Leo P. Ruth • Emily D. Sexton • The Sippel/ Farb Family • Linda Snyder • Robert & Naomi Stamper • Carol Sundell • Margo & Drew Tammen • Ragesh Tangri & Daralyn Durie • John & Christine Telischak • Pate & Judy Thomson • Dana Tom & Nancy Kawakita • Glenn Urban • Jill Van Dalen • Willian van Dyk & Margi Sullivan • Leon Van Steen

• Marcia & David Vastine • Brian Watt & Daisy Nguyen • Jonathan & Kiyo Weiss • Dick & Beany

Wezelman • H. Leabah Winter • Wilma Wool • Moe & Becky Wright • Laura Blair & Mitchell Zeemont

Berkeley Rep gratefully acknowledges the following individuals who have generously provided for the organization in their estate plans:

Dr. Harvey & Deana Freedman

Joseph & Antonia Friedman

Paul T. Friedman

Marianne Friedman

David Gaskin & Phillip McPherson*

Marjorie Ginsburg & Howard Slyter

Mary & Nicholas* Graves

Elizabeth Greene

Sheldon & Judy Greene

Don & Becky Grether

Barry* & Micheline Handon

Julie & Paul Harkness

Linda & Bob Harris

Fred Hartwick

Ruth Hennigar

Daria Hepps

Douglas J. Hill*

Peter Hobe & Christina Crowley

Hoskins/Frame Family Trust

Lynda & Dr. J. Pearce Hurley

Robin C. Johnson

Janice Kelly & Carlos Kaslow

Bonnie McPherson Killip

Lynn Eve Komaromi

Michael H. Kossman

Woof Kurtzman

Joy Lancaster & Martin Freedman

Scott & Kathy Law

Marcia C. Linn

Dot Lofstrom

Ingrid Madsen & Victor Rauch

Andrew Maguire

Helen M. Marcus

Dale* & Don Marshall

Rebecca Martinez

Sarah McArthur LeValley

Sandra & Ross McCandless

Suzanne & Charles McCulloch

John G. McGehee

Miles & Mary Ellen McKey

Ruth Medak

Susie Medak & Greg Murphy

Stephanie Mendel

Toni Mester

Shirley & Joe Nedham

Jane & Bill Neilson

Theresa Nelson & Bernard Smits

Pam & Mitch Nichter

Wallace Oman

Sharon Ott

Fr. David Pace

Amy Pearl Parodi

Barbara L. Peterson

Regina Phelps

Margaret Phillips

Mark J. Powers & Albert E. Moreno

Marjorie Randolph

Gregg Richardson

Bonnie Ring Living Trust

David Rovno, MD

Tracie E. Rowson

Deborah Dashow Ruth

Patricia Sakai & Richard Shapiro

Brenda Buckhold Shank, MD, PhD

Emily Shanks

Valerie Sopher

Michael* & Sue Steinberg

Dr. Douglas & Anne Stewart

Jean Strunsky

Mary, Andrew & Duncan Susskind

Jim Tibbs & Philip Anderson

Henry Timnick

Guy Tiphane

Dana Tom & Nancy Kawakita

Phillip & Melody Trapp

Janis Kate Turner

Gail & Arne Wagner

Barry & Holly Walter

Weil Family Trust — Weil Family

Susan West

Steven & Linda Wolan

The Woolfson Blumenfeld

Living Trust

Karen & Henry Work

Anders Yang, JD

Martin & Margaret Zankel

* deceased

GIFTS RECEIVED BY BERKELEY REP

Estate of Suzanne Adams

Estate of Pat Angell, in memory of

theatre architect Gene Angell

Estate of Nina Auerbach

Estate of Helen C. Barber

Estate of Fritzi Benesch

Estate of Carole B. Berg

Estate of Nelly Berteaux

Estate of Jill Bryans

Estate of Paula Carrell

Estate of Victoria Carter

Estate of Robert Chase

Estate of Nancy Croley

Estate of John & Carol Field

Estate of Ralph Garrow

Estate of Richard & Lois Halliday

Estate of Ellen Jasnosz

Estate of Nancy Kornfield

Estate of Audrey J. Lasson

Estate of Zandra Faye LeDuff

Estate of Ines R. Lewandowitz

Estate of Jim Lillienthal

Estate of John E. & Helen A. Manning

Estate of Richard Markell

Estate of Sumner & Hermine Marshall

Estate of Margaret D. & Winton McKibben

Estate of Robert S. Newton, in honor of John T. & Jean Knox

Estate of Sheldeen G. Osborne

Estate of Timothy A. Patterson

Estate of Gladys Perez-Mendez

Estate of Margaret Purvine

Estate of Guy T. Roberts, Jr.

Estate of Leigh & Ivy Robinson

Estate of Gretchen Saeger

Estate of Stephen C. Schaefer, in honor of Jean and Jack Knox

Estate of Kevin Shoemaker

Estate of Peter Sloss

Estate of Harry Weininger

Estate of Grace Williams

Estate of Sheila Wishek

As of September 2025.

Berkeley Rep makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of these listings. If there is an error or you would like to adjust your listing, please contact us at 510 647-2905 or give@berkeleyrep.org.

MAKING THEATRE

MEET THE ARTISANS WHO BUILD OUR SHOWS

BY DC SCARPELLI

This space is most often reserved to celebrate the design and creation of the physical productions you see on our stages. Berkeley Rep’s artisans and designers are peerless, but one of the most important parts of making theatre — the fundamental part — is the development of a play’s ideas, structures, and texts that will go on to further life either at Berkeley Rep or other theatres throughout the nation.

“ The lab gave us all the resources, time, and space we needed to create the work and to have deeper conversations.”

—

Play incubators dedicated to the development of new theatrical work have dwindled in number, both because of the current political climate and because of the extreme financial hardships faced by the theatre industry, especially in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Across the country, theatre labs, workshops, and new works festivals have shuttered. Since becoming the artistic director of Berkeley Rep, Johanna Pfaelzer has emphasized the development of new works, championing emerging, relevant voices to create a robust and vigorous future for the American theatre despite the challenges it currently faces. And victor cervantes jr., our associate producer of new work, leads the effort.

“It’s so, so good and filling a vital niche in the field.” — LISA KRON ( 2.5 Minute Ride, Well, Fun Home )

Berkeley Rep’s new works program, The Ground Floor, fosters the creation of new plays from page to production. In 2025, the well-known Summer Residency Lab supported 128 total artists, 57 lead artists, 24 projects, and 583 audiences members . Many artists on our stages have been supported within the Lab, including several in this season’s lineup: Jessica Huang and Jaki Bradley (Mother of Exiles), Ngozi Anyanwu (The Monsters), and Ritesh Batra and the Lazours (The Lunchbox).

(Top): Playwright Jessica Huang leads a reading of Mother of Exiles during the 2025 Summer Residency Lab.

(Above): Playwright and performer Sara Porkalob with director Andrew Russell, their dramaturg Lisa Kron and AAD of Geffen Playhouse Amy Levinson

(Top left): Artists Eric Emauni, a.k. payne, Ashley M. Thomas, and Nora Schell share in The Ground Floor’s 2025 Summer Residency Lab

(Center left): associate producer — new work victor cervantes jr.

(Bottom left): Phil Wong reads at the 2025 Summer Residency Lab.

“ You went way above and beyond the call for supporting this project. We had a wonderful, wonderful team and will forever be grateful.”

— DANIEL HANDLER, AKA LEMONY SNICKET ( Imaginary Comforts, Why We Lost)

The Ground Floor’s 2026 Summer Residency Lab runs June 8–28. To find out more, scan the QR code to the right!

CHAY YEW, PLAYWRIGHT (The Whitelands Trilogy, Red, The House of Bernarda Alba…)

Wake up inspired every day at St. Paul’s Towers, where you’ll find endless opportunities to grow, connect, and stay inspired. Here, you’ll enjoy elegant midcentury modern residences with sweeping views of the Golden Gate Bridge, downtown San Francisco, and the golden East Bay hills.

Here, new beginnings and fresh perspectives aren’t just ideas–they’re a way of life. Whether you’re exploring a new hobby, attending a concert, or sharing ideas with neighbors, the possibilities for fulfillment are as expansive as the views from your floor-to-ceiling windows.

EXPLORE YOUR OPTIONS.

510.891.8542

STPAULSTOWERS.ORG I 100 BAY PLACE, OAKLAND, CA

LICENSE NO.011400627 COA #351