People:

Sofia Ahmad One of the Bay Area's most prolific and gifted actors. Sofia and I first met during "Comedy of Errors" with Role Player's Ensemble out in Danville.

Susan Ali She was one of the A.P.'s on the short film Vinny and worked with me on the second "Tom Sup" film.

Trevor Allen Trevor is the Director of Company Services at Theatre Bay Area. He's also the author of several plays, including "Chain Reactions", which I did with C.A.F.E. back in 2002. Trevor is the TBA liason and mentor for the Bay Area Professional Small Theatres (BAPST)

Antero Alli Antero is a filmmaker, astrologer, ritualist and producer of Vertical Pool Productions. Back when I first began to make the jump back into the theatre scene (way back in 1998), I worked with Antero on his stage production of "The Hungry Ghosts of Albion" as the dream incarnation of Sir Isaac Newton. We have most recently worked together on his feature film "The Invisible Forest"

Arwen Anderson An actor and singer/songwriter, Arwen was the female lead in "Manumission", which I produced for Cassandra's Call Productions. She's also the Artistic Director of Erinys Productions and performs with the band Coraline. She is a contributing songwriter to "Sweetie Tanya"

John Atwood John and I first met during "Comedy of Errors" with Role Player's Ensemble out in Danville. John is a member of Crowded Fire.

David Austin-Gröen Dave is part of RadioStar, and also was in Manumission, both projects of Cassandra's Call Productions. Dave's also part of my semi-weekly gaming group, and a scotch aficionado. You can find out all about him here.

Kate Austin-Gröen I first met Kate in a scene study class with Richard Seyd. She's a caberet singer as well as an actor and not only appeared in Manumission but sang with co-star Arwen Anderson before the show during closing weekend. She is originating the title role of "Sweetie Tanya". You can find out all about her here.

Greg Ayers Greg appeared with me in the award winning production of "Our Town" at the SF Playhouse in 2004. Greg also appeared in "The Adventures of Tom Sup: The Courage Squad Versus The League of Blame" as the intrepid sidekick "Lee Admin" Nina Bargiel I met Nina on Consumating.com and we've become daily chat buddies ever since. She has created a new social category: fabulous dork, and can be found over at the Slack Daily.

Debbie Barsotti Debbie's a member of the "Unusual Suspects" who are not in any way stalking Neil Gaiman. I met Debbie through the Well, and we became good friends after I went to Chicago to find out what the city was like when one isn't a starving, poor, seminary student.

John Bidleman Author, director, producer and cameraman of the eternally caught in post-production hell film "Gravity Hill". John is the physical manifestation of Travel-Light Films and is supposed to be making me a big star... or at least a lot of money.

Jeffrey Bihr I've probably done more training with Jeffrey than anyone else, which I'm sure drives him nuts as I spend more time writing and producing than acting. I've studied Suzuki, Shakespeare, Scene Study, and monologues with him. He's also a complete Mac head and a Jazz musician. All his goodness is at the Jeffrey Bihr Studio.

Bahati Bonner Bahati directed me in Second Wind's production of "Nora". In addition to being a fantastic director, she's also a writer and huge fan of fan-fic. She works at the Aurora Theatre.

John Brooks John is a playwright. I performed in a semi-autobiographical piece of his for the 2005 SF Fringe Festival. He's also a prolific blogger.

Cassidy Brown Cassidy is an actor and improviser, which is a combination that always makes a performer stronger than average in both areas. He's performed with Pharmarsupial and appeared in "The Adventures of Tom Sup" as the evil "Superion".

Diana Brown Co-Producer of Cassandra's Call Productions, performer with "RadioStar" and Pharmarsupial. Diana is also a founding member of The Legal Briefs and appears weekly on the RU Sirius podcast.

Bryce Byerley Bryce was one of the founders of the San Francisco Improv Cooperative and half of the legendary team "The Babcocks". He is a repeat performer with Pharmarsupial, and appeared in both of the "Tom Sup" movies, "Nothing in the Dark" and is next appearing in "Sweetie Tanya"

T.M. Camp Thom and I did shows together waaaay back in college. He was Peter Pan to my hook, and Oberon to my ... Francis Flute. Take that any way you will, but he's turned into a playwright, author, and poetry aficionado in the many years since we last stood face to face. He's worth checking out over at www.tmcamp.com.

Jonathan Caplan Jonathan is an improviser by trade, but in my mind is destined to become the wacky neighbor on a sitcom someday. He's relocated to Los Angeles, but he's also a Pharmarsupial alumnus and played the dead cat salesman in the first Tom Sup movie, "Goode to Greate".

Marca Cassity For "411" I wanted to feature local singer-songwriters as pre-shows. Marca Cassity was at the top of my list. I had caught her at the Rose Street House of Music (a private house concert venue in Berkeley) a few years earlier and her CD had been a favorite of mine ever since. All her musical goodness is at marcacassity.com

Shaun Church Shaun and I joined C.A.F.E. at the same time, and took simiar paths, up to a point. We both moved quickly into directing and writing for the project as well as acting. Shaun was the lead in my adaptation of Neil Gaiman's "Troll Bridge", and I acted in a few different pieces of his as well. I'm not sure where is is now, and he's gotten into the habit of dashing off to far away places and doing volunteer work for absurdly good causes.

Elizabeth Creely Betsy is a force of nature, pure and simple. She's a fierce women's rights activist and a budding playwright. She's part of my unoffical "first pass" crew who I send any new plays to for feedback, and I've served as a performer for her in readings and as a cameraman for a public performance protest on the anniversary of Roe V. Wade. Betsy was also one of my U.K. companions in 2004. While none of the characters in "Vagina Dentata" were explicitly based on her, her voice and passion can be clearly heard throughout the play.

Alexandra Creighton Alexandra and I met doing "Comedy of Errors" for Role 'Players Ensemble out in Berkeley. We haven't had the chance to work together since then, sadly, although she was slated to play a major role in the third Tom Sup movie ("Tom Sup and the Aggregate Child") before it lost it's backing.

Oliver Crow Oliver's one of those unique expatriots who is no longer fully British and not quite American either. He's all warm hugs and gentle geekiness and cleverness, which are not qualities that are normally associated with his "people." Oliver was once the host of many New Year's Eve parties of great renown, and is the source of many good things. He was one of the main forces behind the infamous U.K. trip of 2004.

Melissa Culross Melissa played the role of Kelli in "411". She's also a local radio personality, which is a shame because no one can appreciate her sassy hair on the radio. When I say "sassy", I mean sassy.

Jenene Curtis Style, color, and vibrancy. Jenene is glitter and sparkles and mermaid fins. She's a hair stylist and has recently taken on the awe-inspiring task of curing me of my fashion victimhood. If you think I look good on a given day, it's probably due to her efforts. She can be found at the On Mars studio in SF.

Gary Dailey Gary and I worked together on "The Great Sebastians" and I later cast him as the Father and the Troll in my nightmare play "Pinch". Gary also appears in "The Invisible Forest". Gary is one of the truly kind people in the world.

Susi Damilano Susi played the Mother in my nightmare play, "Pinch" before becoming one of the co-founders of the SF Playhouse. A gifted actor and director, Susi is a force to be reckoned with.

Christopher DeJong Chris is 6'4" of sheer brilliance. He's the Artistic Director of RadioStar, the founder and director of Submergency, a member of Pharmarsupial, and played several roles in Manumission. He was one of the main forces behind the "Lexicon of the Planes" which is the basis of a novel I am currently working on. A good friend, and fecund collaborator.

Kurt DiSessa Mindy Lym made it very clear that I needed to hire Kurt as my stage manager for Manumission. She was adamant for a reason. Kurt is one of those rare finds, a great guy and a damn good stage manager. I can also totally pwn him in Halo.

Marycruz Diaz Marycruz is an Evaluation Researcher at WestEd and is that rare find: a work friend who is also a friend after 5pm. Firey of spirit and generous of heart, she makes going to work a little nicer every day. She's Rebeca's sister.

Rebeca Diaz Rebeca is an Evaluation Researcher at WestEd as well. I got to know her much later than her sister, but she's grown to be an equally close friend. Gentle and thoughtful, 'Beca is one of my true confidants.

Alexis Dinno Lexi-cat is fire and stars and the warm sun on your back. I first met her in line to see the sadly disappointing "Sleepy Hollow" and has become an inspiration, travel companion, and fun generator. She's been journalling online almost as long as I have been over at Alexisville

Rachel Efron I met Rachel when she first started dating a fellow improvisor during the first SF Improv Festival. I quickly found that she is as talented as she is charming and recruited her to play her music before "411". She returned to perform before "Manumission". Rachel is also a songwriter for "Sweetie Tanya", contributing three tracks to the show. She's got her first CD out and if you like something music that is heartfelt, smooth, and eloquent, you need to Check her out.

Anastasia Elizondo Ana is an improvisor par excellance. She's performed with RadioStar  and Submergency, and worked with me during my tenure on the board of directors for the San Francisco Improv Cooperative. She played one of the heroines in The Adventures of Tom Sup. We even got her up on stage once for Pharmarsupial.

Jodi Feder An actor and movement specialist, Jodi worked with me on "Troll Bridge", "Surya and the Marriage of Bright and Shadow" and "Pinch". I would want A and she would want Z and we would make ZAZA!

"Catz" Forsman I met Catz when we did "Our Town" at the SF Playhouse. I later cast him as the intellectual thug "Franco" in "Get it? Got it. Good!" and the dilapadated playboy in "Vial". Catz has a rare stage presence and can be equal parts comedic and terrifying.

Jean Forsman I met Jean doing "Our Town" at the SF Playhouse and later wrote the role of "Gloria" for her in "Vagina Dentata", which she brilliantly brought to the stage in 2006.

Neil Gaiman In my early days with C.A.F.E I adapted and directed Neil's "Troll Bridge" for the stage. We tried to get hold of him for permission to do so, but never heard back. I ran into him online a year later doing an online interview and let him know about the show. Shortly afterwards, I joined a discussion group (marginally focused on his work) on the Well that he frequented and have been bugging him ever since. He's been very generous with letting me adapt his work for the stage ("We Can Get Them For You Wholesale") and encouraging me in my acting and producing endeavors. To say that he's been a huge influence on my writing would be an understatement. If you're not familiar with his work, you should be

Eden Gallanter In addition to being an amazing cook Eden is also an amazing artist. She's also got a blog.

Tristan Goldstein Tristan is a theatre connection I made through non-theatre people. Crazy that. He helps house manage at California Shakespeare Festival, but that really isn't his distinguishing aspect. Tristan is a big bear of a man, loving, boisterous, and super cool.

Gabrielle Guthrie Gabrielle was the assistant costumer for "Nora" with Second Wind. I was not only impressed with her fortitute, spirit, and uncompromising nature, but also was blown away by her artwork. She costumed both "Manumission" and "Vagina Dentata" for me, and also re-created a copy of an earlier painting for "Vagina Dentata" as well. I have a small ink drawing of hers on my wall. Lily Harvey A brilliant improvisational comedianne, Lily has performed with Pharmarsupial.

Chris Hayes Chris is Technical Director of The Eureka Theatre. He has also come on board with Cassanda's Call Productions. Chris is a brilliant improvisor and has performed with Pharmarsupial and Submergency as well as appeared as the "Reactiod Leader" in Tom Sup and The Courage Squad versus The League of Blame. We served together briefly on the Board of directors for the San Franicsco Improv Cooperative. Chris is one of the funniest physical comedians I've seen, and routinely takes things to the next level.

Sharon Hayes I met Sharon back in the late 90's during my brief and shameful AOL period. She's a graphic designer out in the harshly right wing Texas urban wastelands. She declared me her big brother years ago, and send out virtual noogies when I can. Jared Hirsch Jared did lights for the old C.A.F.E. shows and I was fortunate to get him to light "411" before he vanished forever into the world of 'BIG theatre'. Laid back, talented, and a bit of a naughty man. Ethan Hoerneman Videographer who did the amazing visual effects for "Pinch".

Neil Howard Neil and I worked together in "Hungry Ghosts of Albion" way back in 1998. He left acting for a bit to pursue music as both a solo artist and with The New Black Trio. He's a damn good actor, and the fact that he's also a damn good musician just makes me wanna punch him, so it's a good thing he's all the way in New York City now. Neil is a collaborating songwriter on "Sweetie Tanya"

Jennifer Jajeh
Jennifer is a member of RadioStar Improv.

Paul Jennings
Paul and I worked on Ubu Roi together for the Exit Theatre's Absurdist Festival. He later created the role of Jack in my play "411" and Bosko in "Get it? Got it. Good!" and Winston in "Sweetie Tanya: the Demon Barista of Valencia Street"; Paul is also a Shakespearian scholar of impressive alacrity, with an almost frightening retention of historical figures.

Gigi Jensen
Gigi is the force behind "Tango and More" (formerly Tango a Media Luz". I've been doing the web design for the company since the late 90's. Gigi worked with me as crew on "411" and stage managed "Vagina Dentata". She and her husband Warren have been not only amazing supporters, but good friends.

Warren Jensen
Gigi's husband, high school teacher and recently a tango instructor in his own right. Warren is an incredibly kind and patient man whose assistance was invaluable (and freely given) in getting Vagina Dentata up and running.

Sheyanne Johnson
A coworker at WestEd. Sheyanne is a cherished friend who knitted me a fantastic Slytherin scarf.

Steve Kahn
I first met Steve when he performed in my second C.A.F.E. show. He's a composer, classical musician, producer and friend. I've collaborated with Steve more than any other single person. He composed the music for many of my stage productions, including my adaptations of "Troll Bridge", "We Can Get Them For You Wholesale",  "The Arbitrary Placement of Walls", "Darkness Box", and "The Marriage of Surya to Bright and Shadow." He also composed the score to my short films "Goode to Greate" and "The Adventures of Tom Sup: The Courage Squad versus The League of Blame." He performed a wide array of percussive and electric insruments for my SF Fringe Festival show, "Get it? Got it. Good!" and is both a contributing songwriter and the music director for the Exit Theatre run of "Sweetie Tanya: the Demon Barista of Valencia Street".

Kevin Karrick
I first got to know Kevin when he directed me in No Exit in Vallejo. Kevin is one of the strongest actors I know of in the Bay Area, although we lost him to New York for some time. Kevin created the role of "Felix" in "Get it? Got it. Good!"

Karen Kearney
Executive Director of the California School Leadership Academy. I worked for CSLA from December of 1995 until it lost funding due to loss of political favor and budget constraints in 2002.

Suraya Keating
Actor, teacher, and yoga instructor. Suraya directed me in a short one-act called "Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll" (no relation to the play by Eric Bogosian). Suraya created the role of "Trina Parvati" in "Vagina Dentata". She is the embodiment of hope, gentleness and compassion.

Megan Killian
Actor. We met in Staged Hereafter's production of "Reverse Thunder", although we have not worked together since then since she has spent the last several years in New York, completing her training.

Amie Kim
Continually reinventing herself, Amie is currently working in the education sector.

Linda Kim
Photographer and designer.

Kate Kotler
Improvisor. Kate and I served together as board members of the San Francisco Improv Cooperative.

Dan Kurtz
Improvisor. Dan performed occassionally with Pharmarsupial and was a frequent participant at the SFIC improv jams during my tenure on the board.


Julie Kurtz

Improvisor and actor. Julie is a member of both Radiostar and Submergency. She embodies, more than anyone else I know, the spirit of "play". She's also one of the more deeply spiritual people I know, and one who involves her head as much as her heart in matters of faith. She can be bought and sold here.

Shaun Landry
Improvisor. Appeared with Pharmarsupial and in both Tom Sup movies. Founder of the San Francisco Improv Cooperative and the San Francisco Improv Alliance.

Kurt Larsen
Musican known both for his work with Information Society in the 80's and for soundtracks of many popular games such as Soul Reaver II. We insult each other a lot.

Michelle Larson
I met Michelle on the Well back when I was first pseudo-stalking Neil Gaiman. One of the founders of "Death Guild" (Burning Man), and the official "Favourite Stalker" of Neil, Michelle is known far and wide as "Miss Mousey", although there is little "mousey" about her. She's generally here, but you really want to check out her designs here.

Thessaly Lerner
Actor and madwoman extraordinare. Currently in Los Angeles being the Ukulady. Thessaly is a contributing songrwiter for "Sweetie Tanya"

Sandra Lucca
I met Sandra in a pub in Dublin, Ireland and I went to go visit her in Bologna, Italy six months later. An event coordinator and delightful person.

Mindy Lym
We met doing Our Town at the SF Playhouse, and will be originating the role of "Kim" in "Sweetie Tanya". We are equally bad at chess and equally mad in our own delightful ways.

Tom Marcoux
Motivational Speaker and Filmmaker. I've done various things for Tom, revolving around his project "Living". His motivational stuff is here.

Christina Marie
Stand up Comedienne and improvisor, I've worked with Christina mostly with The Legal Briefs and the Electric Candyland project.

Clint Marsh
Independent Publisher and general good guy, I met Clint essentially by going to Brazil with him. He's the head of Wonderella Publishing, which puts out some delightful if somewhat esoteric stuff.

Stacy Marshall
Photographer and all around supporter, Stacy helps out as official photographer of Cassandra's Call Productions and is often just behind the scenes keeping things running. Keep an eye on the Cassandra's Call website for gallery showings.

Joseph Maurer
A true bohemian, Joseph has a variety of callings. He is a gifted tarot reader among other things.

Angela Mazur
Artist, photographer, acrobat and one of the cutest geeks you'll ever meet. Angela is part of the infamous Europe crew. She writes sporadically on Livejournal.

Jean Mazzei
Actor and musician, Jean is the frontwoman of "Flying Venus". We met in an acting class back in the last millenium and she has directed me in staged readings in the past. She can be found here.

Kelilyn McKeever
Actor and filmmaker. Kelilyn were in Second Wind's production of "Nora" together.

Bill McKeever
My old boss from the California School Leadership Academy. Bill is retired and sailing all over the world. Every now and then I get to sail with him. His ship is the Creola.

Sarah McKereghan
Actor, playwright, theatre producer. Sarah and I did several shows with C.A.F.E. (Spring Returns, Naked Fall, Zenith in the Tropic of Cancer) before she went on to found Ripe Theatre.

Adrienne Miller
Writer and former actor. Adrienne and I met while performing in Noises Off at Stage 1 theatre in Newark, CA. I later cast her in both Shakespeare: the Many Faces of Love and then Twelfth Night. She's left acting and is working on a romance novel whenever her two children will let her. She's been known to blog every now and then, too.

Loreli Monohon
A friend that I first met on Tribe.net before I found out she was dating an old friend. A fabulous support and delightful person.

Kevin Montegrande
One of my gaming buddies.

Mayuko Morita
Artist and pianist. We met on ryze.com years ago, and began dating shortly before New Year's 2007. She can be found various places online, but likes to remain anonymous. ssssssh.

Tom Neely
Musician. Tom wrote music for "Twelfth Night" and "Shakespeare: the Many Faces of Love" for me and was the inspiration for the unfinished musical "Wings to Fly". I was his best man when he married the lovely Adrienne Miller.

Jennifer Novakoski
Coworker and designer. Jennifer designed the poster for The Fear Project, which contained my piece "Pinch". Jenn has a fashion sense so advanced that I feel perpetually frumpy.

Heather O'Brien
Improviser. Heather and I did several C.A.F.E. shows in the late 90's, including "Sprint Returns" and "Naked Fall". She also appears in "Goode to Greate", my short film about school leadership.

Pam Peters
My roommate during 2006.

Fred Pitts
Actor. Fred appeared with me in "Nov 2001" as part of the 2005 SF Fringe Festival. He was the inspiration for the role of Hamburg in "Get it? Got it. Good!", although other committements prevented him from playing the role.

Robin Plutchok
Actor and puppeteer. Robin and I did two shows with Lunatique Fantastique ("Fixed Boundary" and "Construction Cabaret"). We also appear together in the short film "Two Weeks From Monday"

Peggy Powell
Writer and Stage Manager. Peggy and I met when she was stage managing for "Nora".

Megan Prelinger
Author, editor, environmentalist, librarian. Meg is one of my oldest friends. We shared an office back when we worked for the California School Leadership Academy. She was the editor of Bad Subjects for a few years, and speaks around the world on a variety of topics. She appeared as Budgetron and Tunnelvision in the second Tom Sup film. You can find out about everything she's doing here.

Rick Prelinger
Archivist. Internationally known for his film archives, Rick and Megan are currently running a text archive of text ephemera. Rick appeared as Paranon in the second Tom Sup film.

Marcie Prohofsky
Actor, photographer and feng shui consultant. Marcie appeared in "A Defense of the Social Contracts", a stage adaptation of Martha Soukup's short story that I wrote for C.A.F.E.

Matt Quinn
Director and Producer, founder of C.A.F.E. and the Off Market Theatre. I auditioned for Matt way back in 1999 and did several shows with him. While working with Matt, I returned to writing for the stage and really stretched myself as a director with adaptations of several short stories and finally with "Pinch". Matt loves multimedia theatre, and my work with him had a very technological bent. We've also worked together on Electric Candyland, and in developing an online entertainment venture that unfortunately coincided with the dot-com bust. Matt is currently working on an San Francisco-Los Angeles theatre "Railroad" and running the Asylum Theatre down in L.A.

Renee Racan Rodriguez
Actor and Director, currently residing in New York City. We were supposed to be in Noises Off together until a broken foot put the kibosh on that. She did play Maria for me in Twelfth Night and someday we'll work together again if we can ever manage to live in the same state. I also designed her site, years ago.

Rachel Rehmet
I met Rachel through Renee, although our paths had crossed a few times before then. We appeared together in "Chain Reactions" and also "Fixed Boundary" with Lunatique Fantastique. She also appears as Karen/Quo in my Tom Sup films. She still acts, and also does children's entertainment.

Eleanor Reinholdt
Joyful and delightful, Eleanor met at the audition for "Hungry Ghosts of Albion" back in '99. We've worked together in C.A.F.E.s "Zenith in Tropic of Cancer", "Vagina Dentata", and "The Chinese Angle". She also introduced me to the idea of blogging long before there was a word for it. She is "emotional, but efficient".

Kim Richards
Director, actor, and improvisor. Kim directed me in "The Unexpected Guest" and we still keep in touch. Kim is traveling the country performing the one woman show "Late Night Catechism" and early in her career performed with Don Rickles on a television special... dancing in a foam "Jaws" costume.

Reannie Roads
Comedianne. Reanne met doing "Runs with Scissors" at the Marsh, and she plays one of the Courage Squad in the second Tom Sup film.

Emily Rosenthal
Actor, dancer, and general pervy bastardress. Emily played the Dreamer in "Pinch" and not only originated the role of Cathy in "Vagina Dentata" but was the model for the character.

Jack Rucker
Actor, currently living in Chicago, who played Orsino for me in my outdoor production "Twelfth Night" with such passion that a passing local stopped to offer applause during a rehearsal.

Dylan Russell
Director and actor. I first met Dylan as a Producer for the California Conservatory Theatre, but quickly became a fan of her work as a performer and director. She directed "Manumission" in 2005 and we're looking at doing another show in 2008.

Chimene Sabeh
We met at Burning Man back in 2000. Currently working as a nurse, Chimene is wise and patient as only the single mother of a precious daughter can be.

Hal Savage.
Actor and playwright. Hal and I met doing "Our Town" for the SF Playhouse. He originated the role of Gino the Priest in "Get it? Got it. Good!" and is the author of "The Chinese Angle".

Brian Schrimer
Filmmaker and gaming buddy, Brian kicks my ass at Halo on a regular basis. Brian was one of the originators of the Lexicon that is the basis for my forthcoming novel.

Ezra Schnick
Tech guru at WestEd. Ezra was originally brought on staff at CSLA as my support, but when CSLA faded and WestEd took us both on, we became equal partners in heroism. We shared an office for five years, making this the longest co-habitation since my marriage.