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Sunday, March 9
A staged reading of
The Trees
About the Musical
“I do not want anyone else with me but you,” President Teddy Roosevelt wrote to naturalist John Muir before their historic campout.
The Trees is an eco-homo-erotic musical, written by Kristy Lin Billuni, composed by Larry D. Lariosa, with Additional Lyrics by Tony Howard and Arranged by Jake Gale, where singing Trees invite the audience to interrogate two progressive heroes and reimagine this American folklore as a queer fantasia that heals us and our planet.
Kristy Lin Billuni,
Playwright / Producer
Kristy Lin Billuni (she/her) writes plays about queer triumph and proud outcasts. With roots in sex work, queer activism, and sex ed, she has earned her living for more than twenty years as The Sexy Grammarian, teacher of bold, free, turned-on writers. A proud company member of SF Eagle Players, Left Coast Theatre Company, San Francisco Playground Writer’s Pool, and a 3 Girls Brady Fellow, Kristy’s prized stage credits include readings at an HIV clinic in the Castro and productions at a leather bar in Chelsea. She lives with her heroic social worker wife in San Francisco. She believes gay sex can change the world.
Claire Ganem,
Director
Claire Ganem (she/her) is a Bay Area-based theatre director who specializes in new play development. She loves stories that explore feminine rage, queer joy, and the chaos of our rawest deepest emotions. Claire is a current company member and ambassador at Playground SF. In addition to Playground, her work has been featured at Cutting Ball Theatre. Town Hall Theatre, 3Girls Theatre, Z Below, Pianofight, Left Coast Theatre Company, and Magic Theatre, where she was an artistic direction apprentice during their 2018-2019 season.
Larry D. Lariosa,
Composer & Lyricist
Larry D. Lariosa (he/ him) is a musician, songwriter, filmmaker, and performer. Drawing from his 20+ years as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the Bay Area, Larry uses his art to tell stories as a form of self-expression, activism, and healing. He lives in Oakland, CA with his partner and co-filmmaker, Terry.
Jake Gale,
Arranger
Jake Gale (he/him) is a Music Director, Actor, and multi-instrumentalist from the UK, splitting his time between music direction, and performing on stage and with an instrument. With a background in performance he has played in orchestras, jazz ensembles, and pits both here in the Bay Area and back in England. Recent music directing credits include Tommy (Novato Theatre Co.), She Loves Me (Mountain Play, RVP), Spring Awakening (TBA Award), Guys and Dolls (MMTC). Recent acting credits are Guy, Once (Hillbarn), Sebastian, Cruel Intentions & Charlie Price, Kinky Boots (Ray of Light) Harold Bride, Titanic, and Sveč, Once (42nd St. Moon).
Jad Bernardo,
Music Director and Pianist
Jad Bernardo’s (he/him) past Bay Area productions include CRUEL INTENTIONS, EVERYBODY'S TALKING ABOUT JAMIE, LEGALLY BLONDE(ROLT SF); SOMETHING ROTTEN, ASSASSINS(Hillbarn). He’s thrilled to be part of THE TREES!
Jaron Vesely,
Dramaturg & Music Supervisor
Jaron Vesely (any/all pronouns with respect) was raised on musical theater. Weekends were spent with their grandparents seeing every dinner theater production that Southern California had to offer. Jaron could sing the entire score to Sweeney Todd before he was Bar Mitzvahed. This led Jaron to spend nearly 15 years in New York making theater as an actor, director, musician, and dramaturg. But like so many artists, he found it was not feasible to be financially stable while pursuing a career in theater. So, Jaron moved to the Bay Area where they found a second career in tech at companies like Adobe, Meta, and Lyft leading learning and organizational development functions and serving as an executive coach. Jaron brings a fusion of corporate business acumen and artistic pedigree to this work. Many thanks to Josh without whom I'd never have the courage to pursue my dreams.
Tony Howard, Additional Lyrics
Tony Howard (he/ him) is currently studying Vocals and Musical Theatre at Studio A.C.T. Tony has performed with independent Bay Area & Sacramento Theater & Event Company JB Presents and Vocalist/Music Theatre Director Keren Geiser Productions. He lives in San Francisco with his partner of 20 years, Anthony, who is a personal trainer.
Raphael Louis,
Production Stage Manager
Raphael Louis (he/him) is elated to rejoin the collaborative team of Kristy Lin Billuni's "The Trees" after its successful workshop in January '24. The collective's creativity, talent, and dedication fuel his support and care of the production and its collaborators, and nourish his interest and profession in Production Stage Management. When not juggling with work, Raphael spends his time with his long-time constant, 11-year old puppy, Trixie. Raphael is grateful for Kristy & Claire for their continued trust, his collaborators past and present, and his partner, Josh, for his unwavering support.
Joshua Gilstein,
Producing Advisor
Joshua Gilstein (he/him) is a San Francisco-based arts manager, writer, and pianist with extensive experience in performance and administration. As the founder of JRG Management, he specializes in managing talent and producing projects in musical theater and live performance, helping bring artistic visions to life. Recently, he partnered with Play Café to produce a staged reading of Jewish Boys: The Musical, his latest work still in development. As a pianist, he performs solo shows as Just Joshin' and in a musical duo as Just Neighbors. He holds an M.A. in Arts Administration from Indiana University. joshuagilstein.com
Cast
Jessica Coker as Oak
Jessica Coker (she/her) was most recently seen in the reading of Gravity a Newtonian Musical at BATCO Head Over Heels (Gynecia) at Berkeley Playhouse, Guys and Dolls (Big Jule) at SF Playhouse, Spring Awakening (Adult Woman) at Ray of Light Theatre as well as many other credits across the bay area. She serves as the general manager for Ray of Light Theatre, a cabaret artist, fur baby mom and is excited to be a part of this special project.
Marshall Forte as Cypress
Marshall Forte (he/him) has enjoyed living and performing in San Francisco for the past four years. His acting roots began with Ray of Light Theatre's 2022 production of Kinky Boots the musical where he played Lola. He most recently performed with Berkeley Playhouse in their 2023 production of RENT as Benny. Now Marshall looks forward to bringing Cypress to life onstage for this engaging performance of, 'The Trees.' As always, a massive thank you to his loving mother - and a special thank you to his friend, Jake :)
Erin Gould as John
Erin Gould (he/him) is thrilled to be part of this reading of The Trees. He is the owner and head filmmaker of Minimum Wage Entertainment (www.mw-entertainment.com). An award-winning actor, Erin has delivered standout performances in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Woman in Mind, Great Expectations (Shellie Award, Best Actor 2020), and Picasso at the Lapin Agile. As a musician, he performs under the name ECHO and released his first album, The Panic & The Pain in 2022 and the new EP On The Way Down in 2024. Check them out!
Mark P. Robinson as Ted
Something of a late bloomer, Mark P. Robinson (he/him) got serious about acting in 2018. He has been making up for lost time, performing in 25 theatrical productions and a dozen independent films. (He stars as the villain in Werewolf Serenade, a feature now on Amazon Prime.) He’s also done commercials and voiceover work. Theatrical credits include roles with Berkeley Playhouse (Bruce in Fun Home), New Conservatory Theatre Center (Jonathan in the world premiere play Before the Sword), Redwood Symphony (Ben in Follies), Berkeley Rep’s Ground Floor, 42nd Street Moon, Hillbarn Theater, and Lamplighters Musical Theater.
Alex Rodriguez as Magnolia
Alex Rodriguez (he/him) is thrilled to be collaborating on this special and incredible piece! He was most recently seen as Che in SF Playhouse's production of Evita. Dir/Choreo: Into the Woods and Ragtime (TBA Nom Choreo) for Berkeley Playhouse. Kinky Boots, Rocky Horror '19, Jesus Christ Superstar (TBA Nom Choreo), The Wild Party (TBA Award Choreo), and Heathers: The Musical (TBA Award Choreo) for Ray of Light. Acting: Hunchback of Notre Dame (Quasimodo - TBA Nom and BATCC Award), Evita (Che - TBA Award), Triassic Parq (V. of Science - TBA Award). National Tour: Miss Saigon. For Herc, Thor, and his PIC.
Marah Sotelo as Sequoyah
Originally from Chicago, Marah Sotelo (she/her) is a featured artist at San Francisco and Bay Area theater companies. Favorite credits include Cinderella in Into the Woods, Eponine in Les Misérables, Mimi in Rent, Amalia in She Loves Me, Cathy in The Last Five Years, Kei Kimura in the Peninsula Premiere of Allegiance, and Sally Bowles in Cabaret (which won her the award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical, BroadwayWorld, San Francisco). She also recently played the roles of Mayala/Lourdes in the World Premiere of Larry the Musical in San Francisco.
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