Making magic: Art + Community

Gwynnevere Cristobal (she/they) is a (gender/) queer, Filipina, multi-hyphenate artist born and raised in the California Bay Area. Aside from obtaining her Bachelor’s in Psychology from Humboldt State University in 2020, she has acted across the Pacific Northwest. Some of her favorite collaborators include: Tri-Valley Repertory Theatre, Pacifica Spindrift Players, and Art of Acting in LA where she trained under professors like Philip Charles MacKenzie and the late Ron Burrus.Offstage, she has been nationally recognized as a member of the Kennedy Center’s ASPIRE Arts Administration cohort for their American College Theatre Festival. She has also worked as an assistant production manager for Dell’Arte International, an associate editor for Theatre in Higher Education, and vocal director for Mountain House High School. Currently she also works as a Teaching Artist/Private Coach for American Conservatory Theater’s Youth Conservatory and freelance Intimacy Coordinator when not onstage or filming.

Anne Yumi Kobori is a Japanese-American playwright, actor, director, producer, and teaching artist. She has written multiple short plays: The Art of Suffrage (Best of PlayGround 25), New Year, Coward’s Flame, Give Me the Sky (MondayNightPlayGround), Simulation (Pear Theatre), and Roses in the Desert (Dragon Theatre). Her full-length plays Seeds and Every Day Alice, and her adaptation of Chekhov’s The Seagull, have premiered with Utopia Theatre Project. Select performance credits include: title role in Hamlet (Silicon Valley Shakespeare), Celia in As You Like It the musical (SF Shakespeare Festival), Henrietta in The Hollow (City Lights Theater), Nina in The Seagull, and Masha in Three Sisters immersive (Utopia Theatre Project). Recent writing projects include Braided at CalShakes, A.C.T.’s Neo Symposium, a PlayGround Festival staged reading of The Window Affair, and the Pear Slices festival with Pear Theatre, where she is a Playwrights’ Guild member. www.anneyumikobori.com

Devin Cunningham is an actor, singer, and writer from Oakland, CA. He studied acting at on California’s central coast at PCPA- Professional Actor Training Program. He has worked with the Lower Bottom Playaz on Amiri Barka’s, The Toilet. He has additionally worked with African American Shakespeare Company on multiple productions, most notably: Leon, Black Eagles; Shaniqua, Cinderella; and all male roles in The Trial by Karani Marcia Leslie Johnson. His most recent credits include The Wake of a Dead Drag Queen by Terry Guest and Youth in Passing Strange. Devin is excited to continue development in theatre from behind the table as he’ll be directing Cinderella with African-American Shakespeare Company. If he’s not reading plays in his downtime, you can find him at an amusement park.

Nicole Apostol Bruno (they/them) is a multidisciplinary theatre artist (acting, playwriting, movement) and educator based in San Francisco. In their teaching practice, Nicole values a holistic and practical theatrical learning experience, where students have the opportunity to try their hand in different areas while learning skills they can use both in theatre and their everyday lives. A fun fact about me is: I love the color green, so much so that at times I won't notice I've left home in a monochrome green outfit (it's fashion??).

Faustino Cadiz, M.Ed (he/him/his) is a Filipino-American San Francisco Bay Area Educator, Theatre Artist, and Performer. He is an educational leader with a passion for creating equitable opportunities and advocating for socio-cultural diversity and representation within the field of public education. His work delves deeper in integrating the performing arts within the general curricula and developing fellow educators and elementary youth's cognitive worldview as a Teacher Leader in his hometown of Vallejo, CA. In his spare time, Faustino loves to partake in finding different coffee and matcha locations around the Bay Area.

Semhar Gebrat holds a Bachelors of Arts degree from CSU Fullerton in Theatre Arts. While there, she studied Fitzmaurice Voice Work, Michael Chekov Acting Technique, and the Lucid Body Technique. Semhar also directed a student production of The Bluest Eye, adapted for stage by Lydia R. Diamond.While teaching English in Córdoba, Spain, Semhar sang with Coro Ziryab across Andalucia in Festival de Málaga MOSMA, Festival Internacional de Canto Coros: Millencuentros, and La Pasión según San Mateo de Bach. She also performed jazz and soul with AR Minimal Project in different locales in Córdoba.Currently, she resides in East Bay, California and continues to perform professionally in musicals, films, and with her band, The Nightcaps. She was last seen as Joanne at Landmark Musical Theatre's production of Rent.

Brittany Vi-King (Villars) (they/them) is a Stage Director, and Teaching Artist. Born and raised in Seattle, WA. Brittany graduated with B.A in Communications: Film studies and a minor in Dramatic Arts from Northwest University. They currently serve as a Teaching Artist in the bay area, as well as an Education Workgroup member for the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival. They are currently teaching a 12-week Tools for the Trade Class for Magic Theatre that is looking at the connections of story and expression of Shakespeare and Ntozake Shange. They recently assisted directed the staged reading of Imogen Says Nothing for the BaWTF (2021). They were the director for the main stage production of The Tempest (2017), and served as the Stage Manager for the production of The Diary of Anne Frank (2015), at Northwest University. They love storytelling and sharing space with others. It is their hope to use their skills in storytelling to invite more folks to share stories as well.

Kunal Prasad (he/him) is a Theatre Artist and SDCF Directing Fellow on ‘Wizard of Oz’ at American Conservatory Theater. And has an interest in the intersection of poetry, gesture and social dance. They direct and lead workshops and residencies at San Francisco Shakespeare Festival. As an actor, they are featured in the indie film ‘Gone in the Night,’ starring Winona Ryder, and they perform in ‘Baloney’ at The Oasis nightclub. Other theater credits include: ‘Wives,’ (Aurora Theatre Company) ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns,’ (A.C.T.) ‘Taylor Mac: A 24-Decade History of Popular Music,’ (SF Curran) and ‘Hedda Gabler,’ (The Cutting Ball Theater.) On instagram follow @kunalized

A 2023 YBCA 100 Honoree, Ely Sonny Orquiza (he | him) is a multidisciplinary Queer Filipino artistic director, stage director, and arts educator native to San Francisco Bay Area, the unceded territory of the Ramaytush Ohlone People. Through theater and the performing arts Orquiza illuminates the experiences of the Asian diaspora, explores the politics of Queer/ness, and gives voice to the narratives of People from the Global Majority. As an artist, Orquiza draws on his heritage and lived experiences to create stunning theatrical productions that captivate audiences and spark meaningful conversations about equity and representation. Through his art and advocacy, he is breaking down barriers and elevating marginalized voices; and as a passionate teacher and community leader, Orquiza uses his extensive background in teaching artistry to engage with diverse communities and non-profit organizations, creating spaces for creativity, collaboration, and empowerment. To keep in touch and learn more about Ely's works: elysonnyorquiza.org.

Yari Cervas (all pronouns) is an awarded director, dramaturg, and teaching artist inspired by stories of restorative justice, queerness, and trauma recovery. They are proud to have collaborated with numerous organizations across the West Coast including South Coast REP, La Jolla Playhouse, The Old Globe, and San Diego REP. As the founding Artistic Director of MaArte Theatre Collective in San Diego, they produced, developed, and directed two dozen plays by emerging Pilipinx playwrights including world premiere Your Best American Girl (Best of the ‘19 SDFringe Fest, Critics’ Pick, & Cultural Exchange awards). Most recently, they were honored by the 2022 Craig Noel Award for Outstanding Direction of a Play for the world premiere of Desert Rock Garden at New Village Arts. They have developed works that have gone on to the National Playwright’s Conference at the Eugene O’neill (2022) and National Alliance for Musical Theatre Festival (2022). Yari continues to develop new plays while teaching creative expression through the arts to under-served youth in San Francisco with organizations such as A.C.T and Performing Arts Workshop. As the creator of Practical Somatics, Yari believes that by practicing breathing, intuitive movement, and compassionate self awareness we are better positioned to heal our relationships with ourselves and our wider communities. yaricervas.com.

Angelica Elaine Gonzales (she/her) is a proud Filipino-American actress/model born and raised in the Bay Area, graduating from UC Berkeley with a B.S. in Business Administration. She has played roles in both independent films and theater, with her most recent work in Shidaiqu at SFBATCO. Her passions lie in strengthening her mental and physical health, studying 3 different languages (Tagalog, Japanese, and Spanish) while also weightlifting regularly. To her next adventure and its unknowns, she quotes Professor Layton: “Every puzzle has an answer!”