Michael Stevenson

For Capital Stage, Michael has directed THE HUMANS, THE OTHER PLACE, SWEAT, THE THANKSGIVING PLAY, LUNA GALE, STUPID F##KING BIRD, HOW TO USE A KNIFE, DISGRACED, MR. BURNS, IDEATION, CLYBOURNE PARK, MAURITIUS, ERRATICA (World Premiere), and LES LIAISONS DANGERUSES. He has directed at regional theatres including: B Street Theatre, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, Orlando Shakespeare Company, Perseverance Theatre Company, and Sacramento Theatre Company. As an actor he has appeared at many regional theatres including: 42nd Street Moon, American Conservatory Theatre, The Aurora Theatre, Bailiwick Repertory Theatre, Capital Stage, B Street Theatre, the Utah Shakespeare Festival, and Marriott’s Lincolnshire Theatre. He holds an M.F.A. from the American Conservatory Theatre.

Keith Riedell

Keith Riedell brings to Capital Stage his varied experiences in the theatre, management, team building, counseling, training and corporate improvement. During his 13-year tenure with the Conejo Players in Thousand Oaks, California, he assumed many roles. Artistically, he won critical acclaim for his direction of Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd; Evita; The House of Blue Leaves; Anything Goes!; P.S. Your Cat Is Dead!; and The Elephant Man. He was instrumental in efforts resulting in the introduction of live music, expanded programming, newsletter development, and broadening theatre participation. He developed the first comprehensive guidebook for producers of plays and musicals at the Conejo Players, documenting the processes used to mount mainstage and afternoon theatre productions. In Tucson, Arizona, he worked with the One-In-Ten Theatre Company co-directing 17 DAYS. Onstage, he has been seen in dozens of roles ranging from Touchstone to Bert Healy, the blanket-carrying Linus to the revolutionary Perchick. Keith was an early member of the Moorpark Melodrama and Vaudeville Company. Prior to coming to Capital Stage Keith served as Managing Director of River Stage. Keith received his Master’s Degree in counseling in 1998 and is a nationally certified mental health counselor. In 2004, Keith was certified as a Six Sigma process improvement black-belt, focusing on the application of process improvement techniques on business processes. As an organizational development expert, Keith has successfully led major efforts to build organizational capacity and designed workshops for groups in team building, appreciative inquiry, workplace diversity/inclusion, and LGBT workplace issues. Keith has led organizations and community leaders through corporate change efforts including providing accommodations for people with disabilities to establishing the future direction of HIV/AIDS care and services in Southern Arizona. He is always thrilled to find opportunities to combine his talents for helping organizations grow with his lifelong passion for the theatre.

Katie Cannon

Katie is pleased to be returning for this amazing season as Production & Company Manager for Capital Stage, after several years with them as an AEA Stage Manager. Favorite shows stage managed for Capital Stage include AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY, BETRAYAL, DISGRACED and ANNA KARENINA. She has also stage managed for Broadway at Music Circus for 17 seasons, most recently for SHREK, as well as being their Production Stage Manager at the Cosmopolitan Cabaret. Additional stage management credits include productions for the Sacramento Opera, Sacramento Theatre Company, and Musical Theatre West & Main Street Theatre in the greater Los Angeles Area.

Melissa Jernigan*

Melissa has most recently worked at Capital Stage on THE HUMANS, THE OTHER PLACE, VIETGONE, MISS BENNET, MARJORIE PRIME, THE NETHER, MISS BENNET in 2017, AN OCTOROON, STUPID F##KING BIRD, THE SANTALAND DIARIES and AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY. Some favorite theatrical credits include: Production Assisting on Broadway’s LENNON, Off-Broadway: FELA! the Lagos Tour, David Cromer’s OUR TOWN, John Leguizamo: A WORK IN PROGRESS, BEAUTY OF THE FATHER at Manhattan Theatre Club, BREATH & IMAGINATION at Hartford Stage, OUR TOWN starring Helen Hunt at The Broad Theatre in Santa Monica and THE LASSO OF TRUTH at Marin Theatre Company. She is a proud Equity Member.

Christopher Fitzer

Christopher Fitzer is a freelance theatrical designer based in the San Fransisco Bay Area. Christopher is currently the properties master at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley and part of the creative ensemble of Our Digital Stories. His previous design credits include productions at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, San Francisco Playhouse, Aspen Opera Theater Center, World Literature Today’s Puterbaugh Festival, San Jose Stage Co., Hillbarn Theatre, Woodminster Summer Musicals, Oklahoma City Theatre Co., Flat Rock Playhouse, Los Altos Stage Co., Douglas Morrisson Theatre, Palo Alto Players, and Foothill Music Theatre. He has held production and artistic positions at Aspen Music Festival, Curtis Opera Theatre at the Curtis Institute of Music, Sanguine Theatre Company, and Dallas Summer Musicals. He holds a BFA in theatrical design from the University of Oklahoma. www.christopherfitzer.com

Michael Palumbo

MICHAEL PALUMBO returns to  Capitol Stage after designing ALABASTER and THE HUMANS. He has designed for TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, San Jose Repertory Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, 42^nd Street Moon, Opera San Jose, San Jose Stage Company, LaGuardia High School (NYC), Magic Theatre, Sacramento Opera, Aurora Theatre Company, American Conservatory Theatre, Shotgun Players, San Francisco Playhouse, Berkeley Playhouse, and City Lights Theater Company. His producing company, Next Stage Productions (formerly Carollo & Palumbo LLC), has credits including BARE: THE MUSICAL Off-Broadway and the Broadway production of A TIME TO KILL. MFA: New York University, Tisch School of the Arts. michaelpalumbodesign.com

Teddy Hulsker

Teddy Hulsker is a San Francisco Bay Area based multidisciplinary theater artist specializing in sound and projection design. Recent design credits include Art at the San Francisco Playhouse, Rime of the Ancient Mariner with Word for Word, Eureka Day at Aurora Theater, and Love with Marin Theater Company. He received the Landisman Fellowship for Emerging Designer in 2012 and has been awarded BATCC awards for his sound design for the plays Warplay with theater company NCTC, Jesus Christ Superstar with Ray of Light, and for his projection design on Sunday in the Park With George with the San Francisco Playhouse. In addition to his theater design work Teddy has created original installations and performances in San Francisco, Oakland, Berlin, New York, Detroit, and LA. In addition to his theater work Teddy also runs after school Dungeons and Dragons camps for children, teens, and families. More information can be found here: http://www.theodore-hulsker.com or here: https://bayarearpg.com

Ed Lee

Ed is delighted to be part of another season at Capital Stage. He has been involved in almost every production since the company’s aquatic days at the Delta King, from artwork for SPEECH AND DEBATE to appearing in FIRST PERSON SHOOTER. Favorite sound
design credits include: MASTER CLASS; SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME; 4000 MILES; MISTAKES WERE MADE; RAPTURE, BLISTER, BURN; and UNCANNY VALLEY.

Mari Oyaizu Carson

Samantha McLean Haas

Rebekah Fegan

Cecilia Castillo Juarez

Betty & Cliff Nakamoto

Bill English

Bill English is the co-founder and artistic director of the Playhouse. In fifteen years with Susi Damilano, he has guided its growth from a bare-bones storefront to the second-largest nonprofit theatre company in San Francisco. Bill designed our first theatre space at 536 Sutter Street and personally reconfigured our current space from a barn-like 700-seat hall into the current gracious and intimate 199-seat venue. Along the way, he has served as director, actor, scenic designer, and sound designer, winning San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle nominations and awards in each of those categories. Bill is also an accomplished musician and builder. Milestone accomplishments include bringing Pulitzer Prize-winner Stephen Adly Guirgis to the Bay Area by directing three of his plays, commissioning twelve playwrights including Theresa Rebeck, Aaron Loeb, Lauren Gunderson, Lauren Yee, and Christopher Chen, and developing world premieres from workshops to Sandbox Series to Mainstage Season to Off-Broadway (including the Off-Broadway transfers of  IDEATION and BAUER), and presenting the very first production of GROUNDED by George Brant which later played at the Public Theater. He coined the phrase “the empathy gym” and it drives everything at the Playhouse. 

Susi Damilano

Susi is co-founder and producing director of the Playhouse. She is a five-time recipient of the Excellence in Theatre Award for Principal Actress in a Play from the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle for the Playhouse productions of ABIGAIL’S PARTY, HARPER REGAN, BUG, SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION, and RECKLESS. Susi has also performed leading roles here in YOGA PLAY, THE EFFECT, THE ROOMMATE, RED VELVET, TREE, BAUER, ABIGAIL’S PARTY, HERPER REGAN, CORALINE, SLASHER, ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST, LANDSCAPE OF THE BODY, FIRST PERSON SHOOTER, JESUS HOPPED THE ‘A’ TRAIN, THE CRUCIBLE, KIMBERLY AKIMBO, OUR TOWN, and THE SMELL OF THE KILL. Directing credits include Playhouse productions of GROUNDHOG DAY THE MUSICAL, CABARET, MARY POPPINS, NOISES OFF, SHE LOVES ME, STAGE KISS, COMPANY, STUPID FUCKING BIRD, INTO THE WOODS, A BEHANDING IN SPOKANE, DEN OF THIEVES, and WIREHEAD (SFBATCC nomination), the West Coast premieres of HONEY BROWN EYES (SFBATCC nomination), DEAD MAN’S CELL PHONE, CORONODO, THE MYSTERY PLAYS, and ROULETTE, and the world premieres of ON CLOVER ROAD by Steven Dietz, FROM RED TO BLACK by Rhett Rossi, and SEVEN DAYS by Daniel Heath in the Sandbox Series. (she, her, hers)

Heather Kenyon

Heather is a Bay Area scenic and lighting designer. Previous Playhouse lighting designs include SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD, I WAS RIGHT HERE, ART, and THE FIT. Heather worked on the sets for the Playhouse productions of THE FIT, WASHED UP ON THE POTOMAC, BORN IN EAST BERLIN, SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, KING OF THE YEES, and ART. Other scenic design credits include TI-JEAN AND HIS BROTHERS (MFA program at American Conservatory Theater), AMERICAN HERO and CLOUD 9 (Custom Made Theatre Co.), and THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE and A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER (South Bay Musical Theatre). She has also worked with TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, Aurora Theatre Company, Ballet San Jose, CMT San Jose, and WVLO Musical Theatre Company. Heather earned an MFA in scenic design from San Francisco State University and is a proud member of United Scenic Artists 829. Heatherkenyon.net (she, her, hers)

Wolfgang Lancelot Wachalovsky

Wolfgang started manipulating and scrubbing live video seven years ago. His design work includes theatre, dance, and VJing for live music. His video work was honored by Theatre Bay Area for his design on IN EVENT OF MOON DISASTER, produced with Mugwumpin. Currently, Wolfgang is collaborating with Ray Oppenheimer to design and facilitate virtual performance work for theatre makers, dancers, and performance creators. (he, him, his)

Sarah Marie Selig*

Sarah is a graduate of San Francisco State University with a BA in theatre. Favorite Playhouse credits include ABRAHAM LINCOLN’S BIG GAY DANCE PARTY, PERIOD OF ADJUSTMENT, BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON, THE MOTHERF**KER WITH THE HAT, JERUSALEM, THE NETHER, THE ROOMMATE, and KING OF THE YEES. Other stage management credits include IO SPERO CHE BALLI (Teatro Della Pergola in Florence, Italy), THREE WISE MONKEYS (Bay One Acts Festival), FOREVER NEVER COMES (Crowded Fire Theater), and  THE NATURE LINE (Sleepwalkers Theatre). “Lots of love to the cast of this awesome show and my wonderful Playhouse family!” (she, her, hers)

Ada May

Janel Miley

Yuto Shinagawa

Cliff Nakamoto

Danika Ingraham

Danika is an artist and passionate advocate for inclusion and diversity in the performing arts. She takes pride in helping to shape organizational cultures where all people feel valued and seen. In previous managerial roles, Danika has established inclusive practices in the workplace and instituted policies to ensure the safety of all staff members. She has worn many hats including producing, budget management, theatre tech, and everything in between. Danika recently became a certified COVID compliance officer to oversee and implement the safety program at the Playhouse.