RICHARD II
New Version By Naomi Iizuka
Directed by Karina Gutiérrez
Richard II is Shakespeare’s examination of the destructive powers of privilege. In the second half of the Iizuka Repertory at The Magic, the company from the world premiere of Garuda’s Wing will perform a new, lean production of Iizuka’s Richard II shaped for this company. This will be the first Shakespeare produced by The Magic Theatre in decades and will feature a POC cast.
Iizuka's Richard II has been produced at Prague Shakespeare Company (2019)
The African-American Shakespeare Company (2022)
Staged readings at the Play On! Festival (2019) and Shakespeare Dallas (2023).
Co-production with Play On! Shakespeare and the Magic Theatre
August 22, 2024 - September 8, 2024
Playwright and Director
Naomi Iizuka - Playwright
Naomi lizuka’s plays include ANON(YMOUS), 36 VIEWS, POLAROID STORIES, AT THE VANISHING POINT, LANGUAGE OF ANGELS, SKIN, TATTOO GIRL, ALOHA SAY THE PRETTY GIRLS, CITIZEN 13559, CONCERNING STRANGE DEVICES FROM THE DISTANT WEST, and SLEEP (in collaboration with RipeTime). Her plays have been produced at theatres across the country including BAM’s Next Wave Festival, Berkeley Rep, the Goodman, Actors’ Theatre of Louisville, the Guthrie, Cornerstone, Children’s Theater Company, the Public Theater, and Campo Santo. lizuka is an alumna of New Dramatists and the recipient of a PEN/Laura Pels Award, an Alpert Award, a Whiting Award, a Stavis Award from the National Theatre Conference, a Joyce Foundation Award, and a Hodder Fellowship. She was a Berlind Playwright-in-Residence at Princeton University. In television, Iizuka has written for THE TERROR: INFAMY (AMC), TOKYO VICE (HBO Max), BOSCH: LEGACY (Amazon), and THE SYMPATHIZER (HBO Max). Iizuka heads the MFA Playwriting program at UC San Diego where she is incredibly inspired by the next generation of playwrights.
Karina Gutiérrez* - Director
Karina Gutiérrez (She/Her/Ella) is a Bay Area-based director, dramaturg, and scholar. As a director and dramaturg, Karina has had the pleasure of working with Bay Area Children’s Theatre, BRAVA, Crowded Fire, Huntington Theatre, Magic Theatre, Marin Theatre, PlayGround, Playwright’s Foundation, Shotgun Players, Stanford University, TheatreFirst, Townhall Theatre, UC Berkeley, West Edge Opera, and Word for Word. She is additionally a member of the Latinx Theatre Commons Steering Committee, Theatre Bay Area, and a founding member of the Bay Area Latinx Theatre Alliance Network (BALTAN). Karina received her Ph.D. in Theatre and Performance Studies from Stanford University, where she was awarded the Carl Weber Prize for integration of Creative Practice and Scholarly Research. Her scholarship concentrates on the intersection of politics and performance, specifically how digital interventions, institutionalization efforts, and historical narrative affect the development and sustainability of social and politically engaged performance companies and collectives in the Americas. She is currently a professor of Theatre History and Performance Studies in the Department of Theatre and Dance and Santa Clara University.
Juan Amador* - Henry Bolingbroke, Captain
Juan Manuel Amador (he/him) is excited to be back at his theatrical homebase the Magic Theatre with the Naomi Iizuka Repertory after being seen as Michael Suarez in Garuda's Wing earlier this summer. Juan is an actor, emcee, DJ, and active member of the Bay Area's Campo Santo artist collective. Regional Credits: A Lie of the Mind, Dirty White Teslas Make Me Sad (Magic Theatre); Romeo y Juliet, Quixote Nuevo (Cal Shakes); Between Riverside and Crazy (San Jose Stage); Candlestick (ACT Costume Shop); Casa de Spirits (Yerba Buena Center for the Arts); To The Bone (Ubuntu Theater Project); Babylon is Burning (Z Space); Superheroes (Cutting Ball Theater). National Tours: The Travelers (Magic Theatre/ Latino Theater Company); Quixote Nuevo (Hartford Stage/Huntington Theatre Company/Alley Theatre); Nogales (Borderlands Theater/Magic Theater); Tree City Legends (Living Word Project). Audio Plays: Hotel Angulo; The Palacios Sisters; Shelter. Web Series: East WillyB. Film: Side Effects (Campo Santo); 406 Bullet. Awards: Connecticut Critics Circle; Grammy Award nominee. You can also hear Juan every weeknight (when he's not performing) 8-10pm on 91.7 KALW in the Bay Area.
Catherine Castellanos* - John of Gaunt, Earl of Northumberland, Earl of Salisbury, Exton
To be home is a tender blessing-here, in San Francisco, with my Campo Santo familia since 2001, beginning with our angel brother Luis Saguar’s Hotel Angulo. The start of one of the most profound gifts I’ve received, as an artist and person. Louie and I tripped our wares, along with so many beautiful artists, in my first Naomi Iizuka journey at Intersection For The Arts/Campo Santo with her play: 17 Reasons(Why?). The world is held with our writers. At this Magic edge of land place, I’m grateful to commune with you all and send our ripples out to the bay, beyond the Golden Gate, from all of our hearts sending sonic beats and energy: to heal, to better understand, to yearn to learn, to love. Gratitude to my generous sons, to Dani, to Margo and Sean, to Nancy and Carmela, to Lori, and to baby West. May we strive to make this world a better place for his bright and amazing future. For Lucy and Joe-love, your dreamgirl.
KAMALAHARRIS2024
MakeAmericaLoveAgain
Nora El Samahy* - Lord Marshal, Green, Duke of York, Lady 1, Gardener
Nora is a Resident Artist at Golden Thread Productions, a company member of Campo Santo, and Playground. She has worked at Oregon Shakespeare Company, Portland Center Stage, Aurora Theatre, Berkeley Repertory, Crowded Fire, Magic Theatre, foolsFURY, Traveling Jewish Theatre, Theatre Rhinoceros, Shotgun Players, The San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, African American Shakespeare Company, among others. In 2013 Nora founded a performance company called Affinity Project with Atosa Babaoff, Beatrice Basso and Emily Hoffman. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees with Golden Thread.
Kina Kantor* -Duke of Aumerle, Queen, Henry "Hotspur" Percy
Kina Kantor is a Bay Area actor, artist, and cellist. Kina is honored and thrilled to have The Magic Theatre as her artistic home for the Naomi Iizuka Repertory Company. Selected Bay Area credits include: the West Coast premiere of Mrs. Christie (TheatreWorks), originating the role of Gao-Ming in the World Premiere of The Great Khan (San Francisco Playhouse), The Far Country u/s (Berkeley Repertory Theatre), The Great Wave u/s (Berkeley Repertory Theatre), The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin (San Francisco Playhouse), Tiny Beautiful Things (San Francisco Playhouse). She also works with companies such as the American Conservatory Theater, San Francisco Mime Troupe, Crowded Fire, Word for Word, and PlayGround SF. Kina is a company member of the Actor’s Reading Collective (ARC) and has taught at the Academy of Art University in SF. @kinakantor (she/her)
Jeunée Simon* - King Richard
Jeunée Simon (she/her) is bicoastal actor, director, and consent educator. Recent acting credits include: The Ripple, The Wave That Carried Me Home u/s (World Premiere, Berkeley Repertory Theatre), Intimate Apparel (Lorraine Hansberry Theatre), La Ronde (Cutting Ball Theater), Men On Boats u/s, performed* (American Conservatory Theater)—as well as the one person shows: Tasha (3Girls Theatre) and Stoop Stories (Aurora Theatre Company). Simon is a proud recipient of the 2017 RHE Artistic Fellowship and was a 2019 Directing Apprentice with PlayGround. www.jeuneesimon.com
Mia Tagano* - Duchess, Bishop of Carlisle, Duchess of York, Ross, Bagot, Lady, Soldier & Servant
Mia Tagano* a Voice/Speaker Coach and professional Actor whose local credits include Magic Theatre (Garuda's Wing and Every Five Minutes), Berkeley Rep (Macbeth), ACT (Love and Information), Cal Shakes (Hamlet and NicholasNickleby), Aurora Theatre (Splendour and Bull In A China Shop), Oakland Theatre Project (a 3 woman Macbeth, Hamlet and The Endlings), and TheatreWorks (MButterfly, Snow Falling on Cedars, Calligraphy and Loudest Man on Earth); Regional credits include Tamburlaine (DC’s Shakespeare Theatre), and Snow Falling on Cedars (Hartford Stage and Portland Center Stage). New York credits include Far East (Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts), 99 Histories (Cherry Lane Theater), and Song of Singapore (Capital Repertory). Internationally, Mia toured the UK with the Royal Shakespeare Company in the 10-hour Tantalus (9-month rehearsal and Opening at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts) closing at the Barbican in London. During that time, she also performed the solo show "Cincinnati" at the Camden People's Theatre in London under the direction of RSC co-founder, John Barton. A member of AEA and SAG-AFTRA since 1998, Mia received her MFA in Acting from the University of Washington.
Ogie Zulueta* - Thomas Mowbray, Bushy, Lord Willoughby, Sir Stephen Scroop, Abbot of Westminister
SF/Bay Area Theatres: The Travelers, Campo Santo/Magic Theatre. Ubuntu Theatre Project - Rashomon, Streetcar Named Desire, Hamlet; A.C.T. - Monstress, After The War, The New Americans; Magic Theatre - Dogeaters; Crowded Fire Theater – 100 Flowers Project, The Late Wedding; Ferocious Lotus – Lu Shen, the Mad; Center REP - Sisters Matsumoto; Playwrights Foundation – Bay Area Playwrights Festival; Altertheatre - Circular. Other Regional Theatre: Latino Theatre Co., LATC - The Travelers, La Jolla Playhouse – Bay and the Spectacles of Doom; South Coast Rep. – Caucasian Chalk Circle, Dogeaters (Pacific Playwrights Festival); Mark Taper Forum – Architecture of Loss, L.A. Stories - 900 miles from Iraq; Antaeus Theatre Company/Boston Court – Pera Palas; Singapore Rep. – Hamlet; East West Players – The Tempest; Cornerstone Theatre Company/East West Players - As Vishnu Dreams; Playwrights’ Arena – Sleepwalk, Gumsimao; Nevada Shakespeare in The Park – Othello; Deaf West – Romeo and Juliet; East L.A. Classic Theatre - Midsummer Night’s Dream; Sledgehammer Theatre – Three Sisters; Theatre Nada – The Battles of Coxinga, SoHo Rep. – Malibu. Film & T.V.: The Truer History of The Chan Family, You'll Lose a Good Thing, Day Without A Mexican, Pink as the Day She was Born, How to Make your First Billion & Save the World, My Bad Dad, One West Waikiki, First Years, 2 Guys and a Girl, L.A. Heat, Models Inc.
Alejandro Acosta-Lighting Designer
Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe - Dramaturg
Monique Crawford - Assistant Director
Monique Crawford is ecstatic to get her feet in the waters of assistant directing once again! Monique is a multidisciplinary African-Caribbean artist and actor from Fairfield, CA. She graduated from California State University Sacramento with her B.A. in Theatre. Monique has most recently performed in American Conservatory Theater’s inaugural A.C.T. OUT Tour of Measure for Measure, EDIT ANNIE (Crowded Fire Theater), Mondragola (Central Works), and Cinderella (African-American Shakespeare Company). Monique founded BE FREE (Black Engaged Fundamental Racial Equity Everyday), calling for radical change within CSU Sacramento, where she also led affinity and Racial Healing Circles through The Center for Spiritual Awareness. Follow Monique on social media to stay updated with what’s coming next! IG: @monique.c.rawford
Camryn Daniels - Assistant Stage Manager
This is Camryn Daniels third show with The Magic Theatre as an Assistant Stage Manager. She previously worked as Assistant Stage Manager for Dirty White Tesla's Make Me Sad by Ashely Smiley and Garuda's Wing by Naomi Iizuka. Camryn is delighted to be a part of the Richard II team and thanks her fiancé Max, parents, and friends for their love and support.
Dave Gardner - Technical Director
Dave’s been very happy to work on theatre productions all over the Bay Area for 25 years… With the Magic Theatre being one of his favorites. Dave also keeps busy working on television and film projects and large public artworks that have been seen on the streets of San Francisco, and at the Smithsonian.
Leah Hammond - Props Design
AeJay Marquis Mitchell
AeJay Antonis Marquis (They/Them) is a multi-hyphenate performance artist, scholar, educator, and activist whose work centers the decolonization of the theatrical canon, the black avant-garde, and queer political performance practice. Currently a PhD student at University of California- Berkeley, they have served as cultural creative consultant on four projects at the Magic. Their performative work has been seen across the Bay Area performance landscape as a director, choreographer, actor, producer, and dramaturg, and will continue to marry scholarship with practice in their doctoral journey.
Ashley Mendez - Associate Scenic Designer
Ashley Méndez (she/ her/ hers) is a writer and scenic designer based in San Francisco, CA. Her artistry revolves around various themes including the immigrant experience, women's issues, mental health, queer lives, and the natural environment. Méndez's work has been seen in venues including the Magic Theatre, the Ashby Stage, Cutting Ball, and Prospect Theatre Project. Some of her selected design work includes Fran Astorga's Exhaustion Arroyo: Dancing Trees in the Ravine directed by R. Réal Vargas Alanis and Fran Astorga (In the Margin/ Cutting Ball Theater), Mary Glen-Fredrick’s Edit Annie directed by Leigh Rondon-Davis and Nailah Harper-Malveaux (Crowded Fire Theater/ Magic Theater), and Deneen Reynolds-Knott’s Babes in Ho-lland directed by Leigh Rondon-Davis (Shotgun Players/ Ashby Stage). ashleymilagros.com
Abhiraj Muhar- Costume Assistant
Abhiraj S. Muhar, or just Abhi(a-bee), is honored to be working with the Magic Theatre. Previously Abhi has worked with the San Jose Stage Company, Joe Goode Dance Company, and the San Francisco Girls Chorus. Having transferred from Foothill College in Los Altos to UC Berkeley studying both theatre and law, Abhi focuses his work on social justice and inclusivity. Founding ANTI (Artistic Nerds 4 Theatre Inclusivity), Abhi also managed productions, promoted activism, and platformed voices on the UC Berkeley Campus. Abhi is excited to begin his new steps in preparing for law school, and looks forward to future artistic opportunities in the meantime. You can find his work on LinkedIn. I totally understand that I am sending this in late and once again my apologies. But please feel free to let me know if there is anything else IC ana do to help, otherwise thank you so much for your time and attention. Hope you have a great evening and weekend!
Crys Nilson - Deck Crew
Crys Nilson, they/he Excited to make San Francisco home base for learning and participating in theater of all kinds! Aspiring to be an actor in the future but working as Stage hand for now.
Patricia Ong- Movement Director
Based in Huchuin, unceded Lisjan territory (Oakland, CA), Patricia Barretto Ong is a dancer, choreographer and video maker with a creative practice rooted in movement for cultural expression, storytelling and community building. As a performer, she has worked locally with the Kendra Kimbrough Dance Ensemble, Alleluia Panis Dance Theater, Erika Shuch Performance Project, Malia Movement Company, Sydney Loyola Dance, Parangal Dance Company, and beloved collaborators, Rachel Lastimosa and Sean San José. She is an artist in Agasan, a multi-disciplinary arts collective, making spaces for healing through creative expression in movement, sound and visual arts . In 2019, she exhibited her collaborative video installation, Ritwal ng Punla with Roseli Ilano and Lastimosa in the Asian American Women Artists Association show, Agrarianaa: Art Inspired by APA Agricultural Roots at SOMArts. In 2023, she was the movement director for Campo Santo’s production of Luis Alfaro’s The Travelers, directed by Catherine Castellanos at the Magic Theatre and for the restaging, produced by the Latino Theater Company at the Los Angeles Theatre Center.
Tanya Orellana** - Scenic Design
TANYA ORELLANA (she/her – Scenic Designer) designs performance spaces for theatre and opera. Originally from San Francisco’s Mission District, she is a core member of the award-winning ensemble Campo Santo. Recent collaborations include Poor Yella Rednecks: Vietgone 2 directed by Jaime Castañeda, Fefu and Her Friends directed by Pam MacKinnon, Oedipus directed by Jenny Koons at The Getty Villa, The Industry’s Sweet Land, an immersive opera directed by Yuval Sharon and Cannupa Hanska Luger, and LEAR by Marcus Gardley, co-directed by Eric Ting and Dawn Monique Williams. Tanya received her MFA in Scenic Design from CalArts and is the 2016 recipient of the Princess Grace Fabergé Theatre Award. She is a member of Wingspace Theatrical Design and an organizing member of La Gente: The Latine Production Network. www.tanyaorellana.com
Joan Osato - Video Design
Joan has played a pivotal role in local and national theater for over two decades and is a committed local and national community organizer. A core member of Youth Speaks since 2001 where she produces live performance events. She is also Producer for The Living Word Project and the critically acclaimed theater group Campo Santo. As cultural organizer - she works on behalf of national networks, and sits on the board of directors of the National Performance Network, and the Consortium of Asian American Theaters and Artists and has been recognized for her work as Cal Shakes Awardee for Community Engagement, and was named a recipient of Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, YBCA 100. She is an awardee of prestigious grants from the MAP Fund, Creative Capital and the Creative Work Fund. She was the inaugural recipient of SFAC’s Artist and Communities Partnership Grant, Theater Bay Area Award for Excellence in Video Design and the Surdna Foundation’s Artists Engaged in Social Change Award. Plays and films for Campo Santo include The Travelers, by Luis Alfaro, Josephine’s Feast by Star Finch and Dirty White Teslas Make Me Sad by Ashley Smiley.
Lauren Quan* - Stage Manager
FREE PALESTINE! Long live the brave university students all around the world! https://linktr.ee/ucscsjp
Christopher Sauceda - Sound Design
Kyo Yohena** - Costume Design
Kyo is an artist and performer in the Bay Area and has spent the last 11 years mainly designing, building, and maintaining costumes for actors, dancers, and musicians. She has followed Sean San Jose through Campo Santo and now regularly designs at the Magic Theater. Recently, Kyo has designed costumes for indie film The Truer History of the Chan Family and for ODC's dance piece A Brief History of Up & Down. She is also the crafts artisan for the Stanford Theater Department and currently tours with Daryl Hall. Kyo roots her designs from her various experiences in communities embodied in Okinawan connectedness, San Francisco eclecticness, LA grunge and desert dwelling Americana of Corona, California.
Fight Captain:
Ogie Zulueta
Carpenters:
Alan Fucile
Nate Scott
Julian Carson
Electricians:
Desired Effect
Arashi Cesano
Frankenstein Fregoso
Scenic Painter:
Ewa Muszynska
Board Operation:
Sara "Edie" Saavedra
Magic Theatre Team
Artistic/Lead Director SEAN SAN JOSÉ
Managing Director KEVIN NELSON
Director of Growth / Associate Lead Director LIAM VINCENT
Director of Communications STEPHANIE HOLMES
Artistic and Production Liaison SARA HUDDLESTON
Director of Education ELY SONNY ORQUIZA
House Production Technician LEAH HAMMOND
Producing Director DANIEL DUQUE-ESTRADA
Director of Institutional Giving BRECHIN FLOURNOY
Administrative Coordinator SUSIE LAMPERT
Bookkeeper 2 PLUS 2 BOOKKEEPING
Marketing and PR Consultant JONATHAN WHITE
Resident Sound Design and Tech CHRISTOPER SAUCEDA
Production Technician OLIVER HOLMES
Magic Theatre Board of Trustees
Co-Chairs
KATHRYN KERSEY & LEIGH WOLF
Co-Secretaries
ANNE LAI & KATHERINE DANIEL
Trustees
JONATHAN DE LA PAZ
COLMAN DOMINGO
KAREN DONOVAN
IRENE FAYE DULLER
ANGELA MARINO
KEVIN NELSON
JOAN OSATO
VALERIE SAINTE-AGATHE
SEAN SAN JOSÉ
RICHARD TSANG
Our Generous Donors
Craig Moody
Jerome Gentes
Jay Yamada
Greg Price
John F. Marx and Nikki Beach
Andrea Gordon
Lynne and Bob Zolli
David Dickinson
Luis Alfaro
Anne Lai
Linda McKay
Willard Wadt
Betty Shamieh
David and Vicki Fleishhacker
Donna Brorby
Jenckyn Goosby
Seth Ammerman
William Baker
Cynthia Miller
Barbara Wismer
Fred Lonsdale
Ogie Zulueta
Andrea Baker
Michael Jung
Pam MacKinnon
Kathryn Kersey
Michael Endicott
Evelina Fernandez
Krystyna Finlayson
Anastacia Powers
Andrew Meisel
Ann M. O'Connor and Edward Callen Emilie Talbot and Gordon Brooks Lawrence La Fountain-Stokes
Leigh Wolf
Loraine Shields
Lori Hanninen and Jeff Wheaton
Mary Noble
Milo Johnson
Pamela Wu-Kochiyama
Patricia Silver
Robert Aydlett
Robert Gil de Montes
Roberto Bedoyal
Virginia Reed
Susanne Lampert
Play On Shakespeare is a non-profit company promoting and creating contemporary modern verse translations of Shakespeare’s plays. Naomi Iizuka’s Richard II is the latest installment of Play On Shakespeare’s partnership with The Magic. Play On Shakespeare partners with artists and organizations across the globe to deliver and advocate for these translations through theatrical productions, podcasts, and publications. For more information, visit playonshakespeare.org.
Become part of the MAGIC
With the appointment of Sean San José as the new Artistic Director in June 2021, Magic enters a new golden age, as the first person of color to fully lead the organization in its 50+ year history. With this new leadership Magic is dedicated to making the Magic Theatre a home to more people by rightfully centering Black, Indigenous, and people of color.