the boiling by Sunhui Chang
Directed by Ellen Sebastian Chang
April 2 - April 20, 205
“the boiling” by Sunhui Chang, is the story of a Korean American adoptee, Brian, a virologist from the Midwest, and a former homicide detective, Vee, a Black Woman in the Pacific Northwest. The unlikely two are partnered to “trace and track” from the North to the South, David, a white nihilistic carrier of a feverish virus called “the boiling”: the search reveals the intersections of science, identity, homeplace, and birding within an American landscape of our histories and traditions of redemptive violence.
Ellen Sebastian Chang - Director/Dramaturg
My full name is Ellen McLaughlin Washington Sebastian Chang. I began my life in a small rural farm town in Eastern Washington. I became aware of theater at Laney College at age 19, working backstage as crew and eventually light design. I have worked as a designer, teacher, consultant, writer and director in performance art, theater, dance and music for 50 years. This year at age 70, I am grateful to direct the première of Sunhui Chang’s “the boiling” followed by the June 2025 premiere of Arisa White(librettist) and Jessica Jones(composer) first opera, “Post Pardon” in Maine. I hope to begin working full time as a stand-up comic by age 80.
Sunhui Chang - Playwright/Assistant Director
Sunhui Chang was born in Korea and grew up on the island of Guam, where he discovered his love of stories while watching double features on the weekends. His artistic collaborations began in 2009 with The People’s Cook Project with Robert Karimi; in 2013, he participated in The Making of… by the Kitchen Sisters/KQED, presented at SFMOMA, and in 2015, in Kimchi Diplomacy. In 2019, Catharine Clark Gallery commissioned the hybrid installation of How to Fall in Love in a Brothel based upon his script of the same name. The short film from the installation and his directorial debut has been selected in over 30 film festivals, winning awards for Best Short Film, Best Love Story, Best Drama, Best Cinematography, and Best Lighting. He was the award-winning chef and owner of FuseBOX restaurant in West Oakland until 2017 when the restaurant closed. He is a 2023 Creative Capital Awardee with multi-media artist Joan Osato.
Cast
Jeannine Anderson as Miss Lolli*
Jeannine Anderson, mezzo, brings a breadth of experiences to her career. She is a classically trained opera singer, who after college couldn’t decide which genre she preferred, so she chose many (Opera, Jazz, Broadway, Blues and Gospel). Ms. Anderson has toured across the United States and Europe, as a professional artist to perform operas and shows, such as Madame Lidione in Poulenc’s Dialogue of the Carmelites, the titular role in Puccini’s Suor Angelica, and Erste Dame in Mozart’s Die Zauberflote. Ms. Anderson has delighted audiences across the US, singing concerts and Oratorios such as Mozart’s Requiem in Princeton, NJ, Barber’s Summer of Knoxville 1915 in Cleveland, OH, and Handel’s Messiah in numerous locations. Jeannine has been featured on many recordings with local artists and bands showing off her range of styles in jazz, blues, gospel, and even pop *gasp*. Most recently, Ms. Anderson was seen in the Loraine Hansberry’s world premiere production of Halie: A Musical, last Winter.
John Brougher as Brian Wheeler
John Lee Brougher is a Korean American adoptee actor, filmmaker, and advocate. He plays Brian Wheeler in the upcoming premiere of “the boiling” at Magic Theatre, and seeks to use storytelling to challenge our beliefs and values so that we can live as our most authentic, most empathetic, and kindest selves.
Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe as Vee
Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe is an accomplished actor, director, writer, working in the Bay Area for almost 40 years. The founding artistic director of the award-winning ensemble Black Artists Contemporary Cultural Experience (BACCE), she has directed and produced 10 critically acclaimed productions for the company. She has acted and directed with the San Francisco Mime Troupe where her professional career began. She has directed at Trinity Rep, Capitol Rep, Southern Rep, Carpetbag Theatre, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, WaterTower Theatre, Curious Theater, SF Playhouse, Magic Theatre, TheatreWorks, and Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, receiving accolades from Dallas’ Rabin Awards and Backstage’s Dean Goodman Award for Excellence. Edris has appeared as an actor in productions throughout California, including her most recent turn as Prospero in SF Shakespeare Festival and has performed at the historic Arts Theatre, Ibadan, Nigeria. She was a foundational member of Rhodessa Jones’ Medea Project: Theater for Incarcerated Women. Her plays Adventures of A Black Girl In Search of Academic Clarity and Inclusion and There are Women Waiting are published in the anthologies solo/ black/woman, and Black Medea, respectively. Edris is a resident artist at Brava Theatre, a core company member of Word for Word theatre company and a member of the Campo Santo/Magic family of artists.
Markaila Dyson* as "D"
MARKAILA DYSON (SHE/THEY) Markaila Dyson is beyond grateful to be making their Magic Theatre debut with the lovely cast and crew assembled for this production of the boiling. Their most recent productions include Fly By Night (Miriam) at Hillbarn, Kinky Boots (Ensemble/US Lauren) at Berkeley Playhouse, an original musical titled by Sign My Name to Freedom (dancer) with SFBATCO, as well as Caroline or Change (Emmie), Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (Becca) and Legally Blonde (Pilar) with Ray of Light. Markaila is grateful to have been raised amid the rich and vibrant culture of San Francisco and thanks every single person that invested in their artistry from a very young age!
Donald E. Lacy, Jr*., as Birder
Donald E. Lacy, Jr. is a writer, director, actor, comedian, radio talk show host, and activist. In 2018, The Studio City Film Festival created the Donald E. Lacy, Jr. Social Justice Award. T.V./Film Acting credits include: The Masquerade (2025) Matchpoint (2024) Butterfly Boxing (2023) About Cherry, The Other Barrio, Trauma (NBC), Jack, Blood In Blood Out, L.A. Heat, Hangin' with Mr. Cooper and Wolf. Stage Credits include: The N Lovers and Josephine’s Feast with Campo Santo; his one man show ColorStruck, made its New York debut in 2019 and returned in 2020 by popular demand; Casa De Spirits written and directed by Roger Guenveur Smith, Wynton in The Royal, Gabriel in August Wilson’s Fences; A 25 city tour with The Miles Davis Experience for Columbia Records, Gem of the Ocean as Solly 2 Kings, Whining Boy Piano Lesson, Nobody Move, Alleluia The Road, Hairy Ape, Good Person of Szechwan at Berkeley Repertory Theater, The Shelter at the Odyssey Theater under the direction of Valery Belyakovich of the Moscow Art Theater.
Lawrence Radecker* as Carrier X
Lawrence is honored to return to the Magic where he appeared in The Gangster of Love, Dogeaters and Buried Child. He is a company member with Golden Thread Productions where he has developed and debuted roles in numerous world premieres. Other theatre credits include productions with Berkeley Rep, Crowded Fire, Aurora, San Jose Stage, Marin TheatreCompany and New Conservatory Theatre to name a few.
Jesse Vaughn as Cee Davidson
Jesse Vaughn is an actor and guitarist from Oakland California. Jesse has been performing in the Bay Area for several years, giving him the chance to work with such talented groups such as Ubuntu Theatre Project, Custom Made Theatre, Theatre Rhinoceros and The Playwrights Foundation. He is very excited to be making his debut with The Magic Theatre.
Creative Team
Carlos-Antonio Aceves** Scenic Design
Carlos-Antonio Aceves (He/They) (Scenic Designer) Carlos-Antonio is a multidisciplinary Designer and Theater Maker whose practice focuses on new works and social justice theater. Selected scenic and multimedia designs credits include: Returning to Haifa, Golden Thread Productions; Yaga, Marin Theatre; The Displaced, Crowded Fire Theatre; BREAKDOWN, San Francisco Mime Troupe; PrEP Play or Blue Parachute, New Conservatory Theatre Center; Dream Hou$e, Shotgun Players; Justice, Marin Theatre; Carrie: The Musical, (projection design) American Conservatory Theatre YC; Cruzar la Cara de la Luna, West Edge Opera; Cyrano, Aurora Theatre Company; and Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Shotgun Players. Carlos-Antonio extends his heartfelt gratitude to the creative and production team of The Boiling for their unwavering commitment and tireless efforts. Explore more of Carlos-Antonio's past and upcoming work at: CarlosDesignsSets.myportfolio.com
Emily Brandau Production Assistant
Emily is a San Francisco native, and is honored to be making her debut at the Magic Theatre. Previously, she has worked with Pixar Animation Studios and has acted in several stage and film productions in both the Bay Area and Southern California. In addition, she holds a BA in Theatre, Film, and Digital Productions from UC Riverside. Emily is excited for future opportunities in theatre and film in the Bay Area and beyond.
Camryn Daniels* Assistant Stage Manager
Camryn Daniels is a Bay Area based Stage Manager. This is Camryn Daniels’s second season with The Magic Theatre as Assistant Stage Manager and is delighted to back with Magic for the 2025 season. She has also worked as a Stage Manager with The Playwrights Foundation and The San Francisco Bay Area Theater Company. She thanks her family, friends and partner for their unwavering love and support.
Kendra Kimbrough Barnes Special Movement Choreographer
Kendra Kimbrough Barnes (she, her) is a Producer, Choreographer, Dance Instructor, and Co-Founder of Black Choreographers Festival: Here & Now. She holds an MAA from Golden Gate University and a BFA from San Francisco State University. She is the director of K*STAR*PRODUCTIONS founded in 1996, and serves as the umbrella organization for the Kendra Kimbrough Dance Ensemble (KKDE). Her dance company’s repertoire holistically addresses urgent, socially-conscious issues such as breast cancer, incarceration and sexual assault. Additionally, she is Dance Instructor at University of California, Berkeley and Adjunct Advisor at St. Mary’s College’s LEAP Program. As an artist she has studied Dunham, Horton and Silvestre Techniques and worked with such notables as Dr. Albirda Rose-Eberhardt, Robert Moses’ Kin, Donald Byrd, Bill T. Jones, Rosangela Silvestre and bay area legends Chitresh Das, Malonga Casquelourd, and Carlos Aceituno. Her theater credits as choreographer include Cal Shakes, the African-American Shakespeare Company, Crowded Fire Theater, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, Center REP Theater, Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, and this is a gracious debut with Magic Theatre. Thank you Ellen - an honor to work with you, FamBam and LM for your unwavering love & support!
Barney Jones Additional Sound Effects
Barney Jones is delighted to return to Magic Theater after more than thirty years away. In the 80’s he designed sound for many shows, like SCAR, SHARON AND BILLY, HOUSE OF YES and many others. He has fond memories of hours spent smoking in tech rehearsals with Albert Takazaukas, John Lion, Erin Cressida Wilson, Ed Harris and many others. Since 2007 he has been employed full time at Pixar Animation Studios as a production music editor . He worked on TOY STORY 2, 3, and 4, MONSTERS, INC., FINDING NEMO, BRAVE, THE GOOD DINOSAUR, COCO and INSIDE OUT 2. He created scores and sound designs for Pixar shorts, “Float”, “Smash & Grab”, “Blue Umbrella” and “Day & Night”. In 1984, he started Earwax Productions with Jim McKee, with whom he’s collaborated on numerous soundtracks for Antenna Theater, National Geographic, Apple Computer, National Public Radio, KQED Television, American Zoetrope.
Ashley Méndez Props Design
Ashley Méndez (she/ her/ hers) is a Mexican-American scenic designer. Her work is informed by her multidisciplinary background in literature, performance, and direction一 exploring the relationship between text, body, and space. Select credits include Mary Glen-Fredrick’s Edit Annie directed by Leigh Rondon-Davis and Nailah Harper-Malveaux (Crowded Fire Theater/ Magic Theater), Deneen Reynolds-Knott’s Babes in Ho-lland directed by Leigh Rondon-Davis (Shotgun Players/ Ashby Stage), 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), and The Thanksgiving Play directed by Carin Heidelbach (California State University, Stanislaus). | IG: @ashleymendez03| ashleymilagros.com
Abhiraj S. Muhar Costume Design and 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.
Joan Osato Video and Projection Design
Joan’s played a pivotal role in national theater for over two decades and is a committed community organizer. A core member of Youth Speaks since 2001 - she is Director of Narrative Change. She is also Producing Director for The Living Word Project and Campo Santo. 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 Garuda’s Wing by Naomi Iizuka, The Travelers, by Luis Alfaro, Josephine’s Feast and Side Effects by Star Finch and Dirty White Teslas Make Me Sad by Ashley Smiley. Current work includes Atlan by Luis Alfaro, EARTH SEED by People’s Kitchen, Life is Living, Jerry Garcia in the Lower Mission by Richard Montoya, and Rashomon by Ashley Smiley. She is awardee of Creative Capital’s Wild Futures for this project, supported by the Creative Capital Foundation. Her deepest love to the cast and crew and her co-conspirators; Ellen, Suhui and Sean.
Lauren Quan* Stage Manager
Lauren is a Bay Area based stage manager. She is excited to return for Magic Theatre's 2025 season after previously stage managing the theatre's past three seasons. Lauren has also stage managed for other Bay Area theaters such as Aurora Theater, Berkeley Playhouse, and The San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company. Her most recent achievement was working as the stage manager for Magic Theatre's Will Glickman award winning tour of The Travelers by Luis Alfaro with the Latino Theatre Company at the historic Los Angeles Theatre Center.
Bio forthcoming
Christopher Sauceda Sound Design
Bio forthcoming
Maximilliano Urrezmendi** Lighting Design
Bio forthcoming
Kyo Yohena** Costume Design
Kyo is an artist and performer in the Bay Area and has spent the last 12 years designing, building, and maintaining costumes for actors, dancers, and musicians. She has designed many shows at the Magic such as Richard II, Josephine's Feast and Garuda's Wing. 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 and scenic painter for the Stanford Theater Department and currently tour manages Daryl Hall's band and crew. She wouldn't be able to do this without her right hand assistant Abhiraj Muhar who has been the powerhouse behind Kyo's designs. 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.
Héctor Zavala Technical Director
Héctor Zavala is a multifaceted artist with extensive international experience in theater, film, and dance. As a performer, set designer, production manager and technical director, Héctor has brought his diverse talents to stages and screens around the world. His notable work includes productions such as "The Legend of Georgia McBride" and "Seeking the Last Gay Man," which showcase his dynamic acting and storytelling skills in both English and Spanish. Héctor's production experience extends to the management and direction of complex projects, such as the Canary Islands production of "El Millo de las mujeres " and the web series "40, Latino, Single and Gay." His technical direction has been instrumental in major productions, including the critically acclaimed "Galaxies a Gogo" and the groundbreaking "Solo Performance Festival." He’s been recently invited to produce “Rojo descolonial” at the antropólogo museum off Mexico City
Ogie Zulueta Fight Choreographer
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.
Technical Crew
Illia Campbell - Master Electrician
Frankenstein Fregoso - Master Electrician
Mikael Creedon - Electrician
Kia Linton - Electrician
Arashi Cesana - Rigging/Stage Technician
Alan Fucile - Rigging/Stage Technician
Siera Yau - Scenic Painter
Sara "Edie" Saavedra - Board Operator
Ashley Smiley - jardiner@ de campo santo
Magic Theatre Team
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
Producing Director DANIEL DUQUE-ESTRADA
Director of Institutional Giving BRECHIN FLOURNOY Administrative Coordinator SUSIE LAMPERT
Bookkeeper 2 PLUS 2 BOOKKEEPING
Marketing and PR Consultant SCOTT HORTON
Resident Sound Design and Tech CHRISTOPER SAUCEDA Production and Administrative Associate OLIVER HOLMES
Magic Board of Directors
Co-Chairs KATHRYN KERSEY & LEIGH WOLF
Co-Secretaries ANNE LAI & KATHERINE DANIEL
Trustees
COLMAN DOMINGO
KAREN DONOVAN
IRENE FAYE DULLER
ANGELA MARINO
KEVIN NELSON
JOAN OSATO
SEAN SAN JOSÉ
RICHARD TSANG
Our Generous Donors
Craig Moody
Jerome Gentes
Jay Yamada
Greg Price
Arthur Rock
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 Bedoya
Virginia Reed
Susanne Lampert
Special thanks
"far from over" lyrics by Ellen Sebastian Chang music by Barney Jones with piano accompaniment Eula Janeen Wyatt.
Individual funders for the boiling: Jan Munroe, Susan Sillins, Ann McLaughlin and Bill Wadt
Special thank you to Clayton Anderson, Cari Borja and Clio's Bookstore, Central Works Theater, Jan Zvaifler, Tami Berlin, Anne Galjour Lauren Elder, Deb Fink,Anne Galjour, Lauren Elder
