The Yay

10/17/2024

Looking for a female asian actress to play a lawyer for an upcoming Playground SF show - only four performances (Nov 15-17) and three rehearsals (Oct 22, 24 and Nov 6). It's a one act, very simple and very fun. Please DM/PM if you're interested.

09/22/2024

Jeannie Barroga has been on The Yay more times than any other guest - Episodes 18, 32, 221, 243 (with Raisa Donato) and 279 (with Ely Sonny Orquiza). There's a reason why: we love her so much. Talented writer whom Stanford has honored by having a section of their library dedicated to her, for her work on uplifting Filipino theatre - both in the bay area and throughout the United States. She and her lovely husband, Tony Williams, are moving to Oregon and we couldnt' let her go without saying goodbye. Norman and I share memories we've had with Jeannie; Tony shares their love story; and they talk about their future plans.

Jeannie Barroga has been on The Yay more times than any other guest - Episodes 18, 32, 221, 243 (with Raisa Donato) and 279 (with Ely Sonny Orquiza). There's a reason why: we love her so much. Talen

09/15/2024

Is this seriously happening again???

The Trump campaign on Sunday said former President Donald Trump is “safe following gunshots in his vicinity.”

09/15/2024

3. From a theatre perspective, the Kamala Harris-Trump debate reminded me of a lesser known play called Inherit The Wind, a theatrical adaptation of the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial, which dealt with a small town prosecuting a teacher teaching evolution. At the end of the trial scene, Drummond (a fictional version of Charles Darrow) cross examines Matthew Harrison Brady (a fictional version of William Jennings Bryan) and when Drummond finishes exposing Brady's hypocrisy based on orthodox Christianity, Brady is so flustered, he goes on a rant, trying all of his tricks to get the crowd on his side, only to have the jury and audience laugh at him and ignore him. The play was written in 1955 by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Lee, two writers who were very concerned of the rise of the Religious Right, who had just begun their efforts to politicize Christianity. It's still happening now, and many fundamental Christians support Trump, which is unfortunate. Trump doesn't care about Christians and he doesn't care about Democracy. So as we have a good laugh about the shenanigans of Trump, let's put the popcorn down, donate, talk to your friends and get out the vote for Kamala Harris. For Democracy and for freedom.

09/15/2024

2. The debate on Tuesday reminded me of the Army-McCarthy hearings of 1954, where Senator Joseph McCarthy accused the US Army of harboring communist spies who were giving secrets to the USSR. McCarthy had no proof and didn't care how many lives he ruined by spreading these lies and, like Trump, gained a lot of momentum and won elections as a result of them. It took a prosecutor - Joseph Welch, the lawyer representing the Army - to expose McCarthy on live TV (many Americans who didn't own TVs watched them in movie theaters - the '50s version of streaming) and to thoroughly embarrass him to the point of political irrelevance. After the hearing, McCarthy was rendered obsolete - he lost his next election, fell into a bottle and out of our existence. It's my hope that Kamala Harris did to Trump what Welch did to McCarthy - to render Trump irrelevant and value-less to the Republican party, so we can move on and never hear from him again..

09/14/2024

I'm going to get a bit long winded on this post - i have three hot takes on the Kamala Harris-Donald Trump debate on Tuesday:

1. Of course it was hilarious when Trump talked about immigrants "eating the dogs, eating the cats" and there are tons of memes that are being generated around it, and they're very funny. But let's not undermine what Trump is trying to do: to create a new "Willie Horton" that will help him win this election. For those that don't know, Willie Horton was a black man who was on furlough from a prison in Massachusetts and killed a woman. The GWBush campaign used this info to post horribly racist ads designed to get conservative people to fear black people and to undermine Michael Dukakis' presidential run. And it worked. Trump is doing the same here - it's the reason why he had it in his head. Of course Haitian immigrants aren't eating pets. And the majority of immigrants who come in this country don't commit crime - they take on very low level jobs that we take for granted. Trump is trying to elevate himself by stepping on others - once again using the politics of hate, something Republicans have been doing for a while now.. which brings me to point two:

09/10/2024

Mister Phelps update: the reading will be one week earlier, on November 9th, not the 16th. Please DM/PM me if you will attend.

09/09/2024

08/31/2024

Bridgette Dutta Portman (Episodes 75 & 136), now a faculty member of UC Berkeley and a member of the Pear’s Board join The Yay once again as a guest host, and we welcome Brian Freeman, a veteran actor who has decades of experience as an actor in the bay area. Brian and I was part of the development of the Baldwin Project and he goes back to the days of Thick Description, a theatre group that resided where Playground SF now resides. We talk about Brian’s past, the state of bay area theatre in the ‘80’s and ‘90’s, and what he’s been doing now.

Bridgette’s play, Coffee Lady, has been published by Brooklyn Publishers!

Jameelah Rose has her own business selling healthy drinks - MelanA☥D is a black owned business that specializes in alkaline elixirs used to heal the mind and body. It's currently being sold at the Mandela Shopping Mart and you can find more info on MelanA☥D on this page: https://www.facebook.com/melanaid

Norman and I have been working diligently on the Baldwin Project, where our eventual play will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of one black’s great poet laureates, James Baldwin. Check out new readings and updates here: https://www.baldwincentennialproject.com

We also want to thank Charles Blades Barbershop for sponsoring The Yay! Charles Blades Barbershop is located at 180 Second Street in downtown Oakland. It’s a very cool, relaxing place where you can get your cuts and they’ll even serve you a complimentary drink. Charles is also selling men’s hair products on his website https://cbbgroominingproducts.myshopify.com
Hair Gels, Pomades, Shampoos and Conditioners. Hop online, give the products a try and support minority businesses like my man Charles Blades. Book an appointment online here: https://www.cbb.hair

SHOWS:

Inventory: James Baldwin Abroad (Oakland Public Theatre)
August 23-Sept 1
Norman Gee is directing; Reg Clay, Jake Fong (Episodes 228 & 289) are in the show
https://tickets.playground-sf.org/TheatreManager/1/online?event=378

The Imaginary Invalid (Actor’s Ensemble of Berkeley)
August 24 – Sept 8
Bruce Kaplan (Episode 294) is in the show
https://www.aeofberkeley.org

As You Like It (Cal Shakes)
Sept 12 – Sept 29
Elizabeth Carter (Episode 159) is directing the show
https://calshakes.org/calshakes50_pr/

Spoiled – Part of Reading Series Extravaganza (Magic Theatre)
October 14 – one day only
Eiko Moon-Yamamoto (Episodes 120 & 225) is in the show
https://www.classy.org/event/reading-series-extravaganza/e590229

Legally Blonde (Ray of Light Theatre)
Sept 7 – 29
Curtis Manning aka Cj Strickland (Episode 216) is in the show
https://www.rayoflighttheatre.com/legally-blonde

Barry Graves Jr. (Episode 104) has a new podcast out!
The Black Man’s Heart
On Spotify and all your podcast apps

Adam KuveNiemann(Episode 274) has a new podcast called A Side / B Side, a podcast that features spirited conversations about superheroes, fantasy and all other cool and nerdy stuff.

Central Works Script Club is a podcast where you download and read a play script and then listen to an audio interview with the playwright. Delivered semi-annually. You can find the Central Works Script Club on any podcast app.

Our good friend Aaron Henne is the artistic director of Theatre Dybbuk in LA and they have their podcast – The Dybbokast. Through a combination of performed readings and interviews with artists and scholars, The Dybbukast brings these creations and their historical contexts to life, all while revealing their relationships to issues still present today

Deborah Cortez (Episode 98 & 238) has a podcast called Let’s Talk About Grief – check it out on all podcast apps.

Also, Bindlestiff Studios has a podcast called the Fobcast, exploring Filipino American immigrant stories. Check out The Fobcast in any podcast app.

Reg Clay ()
Norman Gee ()

https://soundcloud.com/user-346794914/episode-295-brian-freeman

Bridgette Dutta Portman (Episodes 75 & 136), now a faculty member of UC Berkeley and a member of the Pear’s Board join The Yay once again as a guest host, and we welcome Brian Freeman, a veteran actor