THE DISPLACED at CFT -- Program

THE DISPLACED

BY ISAAC GÓMEZ DIRECTED BY MINA MORITA AND KARINA GUTIÉRREZ SEP 10– OCT 2 POTRERO STAGE, SAN FRANCISCO

FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Dear friend — I kinda don’t even know where to begin? How to encapsulate every feeling I am having as I am writing this. What the last year-and-a-half has been for myself, for so many of us in the Crowded Fire family. Because… I don’t want to waste time with surface, performative, anything anymore. Every moment is too precious. So… I’ll start with: We continue to survive. And I am so so so grateful to be here with you.

And this past month, as we artists have gathered for the first time in what feels like a millennia — we are remembering ourselves; the blood that runs through our veins as creators.

When so much of this last year has been about loss, grief, trying to hold onto any level of stability with family and friends, and fighting for our community over this destructive selfish idea of the individual…we have remembered the core of ourselves — AS CREATORS: spiritual beings who treasure the ability to make, to be brave, to give to each other, and to SHINE for each other.

Every bit of this event, this art you are about to partake in, to feel in your bones right now, is because an artist chose to be in this room with you to build something to SHARE - by writing, by embodying, by vocally shaping, by scoring, by impulse, with color, with angle, with sound, with engineering, by shopping, by sewing, by crafting, by cutting, by welding, and most importantly with great CARE and JOY. It is a gift to you, and your presence a gift to us, allowing us to be our true selves.

The exchange that we have grieved the loss of is finally possible again.

And it requires that you are here, present, with us.

So please accept this gift, enjoy it as such.

We are all tender, so let us gather with tenderness.

With love,

Mina Morita Artistic Director

Crowded Fire Theater presents West Coast Premiere

THE DISPLACED

by Isaac Gómez directed by Mina Morita and Karina Gutiérrez

Cast

Marísa Jordan Maria Don Lev Troy Rockett

Production Team

Scenic Design Carlos Aceves Props Design Jenny Cedillos Lighting Design Stephanie Anne Johnson Asst. Lighting Design Ashley Munday Special Effects Design Devon LaBelle * Costume Design Alice Ruiz Sound Design Christopher Sauceda Intimacy Choreography Maya Herbsman Fight Choreography Carla Pantoja Stage Manager Toni Lynn Guidry Assistant Stage Manager Mylo Cardona Production Assistant Kelli Westad Production Manager Stephanie Alyson H * Technical Director Beckett Finn * Crowded Fire Theater Resident Artist Content Warning: Haze and strobe effects, blood, violence, self-harm.

The Displaced had its world premiere at Haven Theatre Ian Damont Martin, Artistic Director Angela Salinas, Managing Director The Displaced was developed in part through Downstage Left at Stage Left Theatre The Displaced is produced by special arrangement with THE GERSH AGENCY, 41 Madison Avenue, 33rd Floor, New York, NY 10010 This production was made possible in part by generous grants from the Sam Mazza Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, San Francisco Arts Commission, Zellerbach Family Foundation, and Bernard Osher Foundation.

Crowded Fire is a resident company of Potrero Stage, operated by PlayGround.This production is made possible in part through the Potrero Stage Presenting Program.

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR NOTE “Things are only real if we let them be real,” Marisa’s words ring throughout the play as part reminder, assurance, and conscious denial of the terror before her. However, that paralyzing phrase extends beyond the horrors of Mari and Lev’s apartment. For me, this phrase also describes the uneasy feelings some encounter when constantly navigating personal identity, spirituality, and class. Like our protagonists, we learn to conceal aspects of ourselves in certain spaces; we massage the truth in order to protect the ones we love, all while denying the “real” and “whole” that is us. Like Mari and Lev, these negotiations are constant, necessary, heart-wrenching, and laborious acts of love. They ultimately offer an opportunity to contend with personal trauma, shame, and the shortcomings one brings into relationships with others. Like the premise to all great horror stories, we are not always ready to deal with our internal demons, and what you are unwilling to deal with will ultimately find a way to deal with you.

The Displaced fearlessly explores physical and spiritual displacements, racial injustice, and the violence that threatens communities of color. It challenges us to consider: Can Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) be gentrifiers, or more precisely, gentefiers? What do we move in and inevitably ebb out of the spaces we inhabit? These questions are complex and uncomfortable to consider as they force us to contend with how we, BIPOC and artists, contribute to the very systems of oppression we aim to dismantle. In many ways, the real terror is realizing that even the most self-aware among us can easily recreate the same historical and colonial violence inflicted upon our ancestors. And in the moments when we recognize ourselves as the violators of sacred and historic spaces, our ancestors respond despite our protestations.

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"And in the moments when we recognize ourselves as the violators of sacred & historic spaces, our ancestors respond despite our protestations."

With Gratitude, Karina Gutiérrez

Isaac Gomez gave us so much to contend with inside and outside the rehearsal space.

Mari and Lev inevitably must confront their differences in order to heal their relationship. For some of us, it's taken a global pandemic to shake us awake to the horrors we are capable of causing others. Any seat in the house will offer a different perception of what we individually and collectively have yet to face - making the invisible, visible. But remember, “Things are only real if we let them be real.”

CAST Jordan María Don (Marísa, she/her)is a California based actor who has worked with ACT, Crowded Fire, foolsFURY, SF Playhouse, TheaterFIRST, and is a familia member with Campo Santo and Latinx Mafia. With a particular interest in new works, she is drawn to collaborative, ensemble centered processes grounded in ritual, ceremony and community. When not on stage/set, she works in the business of communication and empathy, carrying her dramatic training into corporate and higher education. Jordan is deeply dedicated to self-actualization and living her full truth, always dedicating time to guitar, dance, travel, health, and fitness. She holds a B.A. in Sociology and Theater from UC Berkeley and has trained with American Conservatory Theater. She is a proud Xicana from East LA where her heart remains with her family. She dedicates this work to her brother, Christopher Paul Don, whose spirit has been with her every step of the way. jordanmariadon.com

Troy Rockett (Lev, he/they) is a multidisciplinary artist and theatre maker based in Oakland, CA. Troy works across the mediums of poetry, performance and visual art to interrogate notions of self and relationship. He has a Master’s in English Literature and Creative Writing, and is a VONA Voices Fellow, an Astraea Lesbian Writer's Fund recipient, and a 2021 Titan Award winner with Theatre Bay Area. His interest in a career in acting was sparked during a film and production intensive with Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project.

Since then he has partnered with the innovative and ritualistic spaces of Bay Area’s black box theaters to deepen his commitment to radical storytelling.

Outside of being thrilled to be part of the great vision and leadership at Crowded Fire Theater, Troy’s play, Bold Fade, is being developed by 3Girls Theatre Company. Finally, he is a company member with Queer Cat Productions where he is producing the company’s first commissioned artist. Find out more here www.troyrockkett.com

CREATIVE TEAM Isaac Gómez (Playwright, he/him) is an award-winning Chicago and Los Angeles based playwright and screenwriter originally from El Paso, Texas/Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. He is currently under commission with LCT3, Steppenwolf Theater Company, South Coast Repertory, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, and IAMA Theatre Company. His plays have been produced and/or developed by Audible Theater, Steppenwolf Theater Com-

pany, Primary Stages, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Goodman Theatre, the Alley Theatre, and many others. He is the recipient of the 2018 Dramatists Guild Lanford Wilson Award, the 2017 Jeffry Melnick New Playwright Award at Primary Stages, an inaugural 3Arts “Make A Wave” grantee. His television credits include the Netflix Original Series Narcos: Mexico, Kings of America on Netflix, and is currently working on upcoming Apple TV+ Limited Series The Last Thing He Told Me. On

the feature side, he is currently under development with a full-length feature at Focus Features. He enjoys good bowls of menudo on Sundays (con bolillos not tortillas, porfis) and can slay a game of millennial loteria. He is represented by The Gersh Agency, ReDefine Entertainment, and Granderson Des Rochers, LLP. Mina Morita (Director, she/her) is a celebrated new plays director who has worked at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Magic Theatre, Center REPertory Company, American Conservatory Theater, Campo Santo, Shotgun Players, Playwrights Foundation, TheatreFirst, Ferocious Lotus, Bay Area Children’s Theatre, Berkeley Playhouse, and Crowded Fire with such creators as Anna Deavere Smith, Star Finch, J.C. Lee, Christopher Chen, Lauren Gunderson, Philip Kan Gotanda, Young Jean Lee, Idris Goodwin, Susan Soon He Stanton, Lloyd Suh, Dave Harris, Amelia Roper, Adam Chanzit, Sean San Jose, Min Kahng, Wes Nisker, and Dustin Chinn. She is a recipient of Theatre Bay Area’s [TBA] Outstanding Direction of a Musical in 2014 and nominated by TBA for Outstanding Direction of a Play in 2017, as well as Shellie Awards Best Director in 2018. Previously, she served as the Artistic Associate at Berkeley Repertory Theatre and its center for the creation and development of new work, The Ground Floor. She has also served as Board President of Shotgun Players; as a 2014 Lincoln Center Director’s Lab participant; as one of the founding members of Bay Area Children’s Theatre; as panelist with the Zellerbach Family Foundation, San Francisco Arts Commission, and Hewlett Foundation; panelist for the

Getty Leadership Summit; lead facilitator for the Lotus Playwriting Retreat with Playwriting Australia; and Guest Artist at UC Berkeley and Stanford University. In 2016, TBA awarded her the 40@40 distinction for her impact on Bay Area Theater. In 2015, Mina was honored to share her story on TEDx, and in 2016, she was chosen as one of the YBCA100, for “asking questions and making provocations that will shape the future of culture.”

Karina Gutiérrez (Associate Director, she/her) is a Bay Area-based actor, director, and dramaturg. She has previously directed projects for Bay Area Children’s Theatre, The Virgin Reading series at The Magic Theatre, and Stanford University. Her upcoming projects include: To the Bone by Lisa Ramirez (Santa Clara University), and Dream Hou$e by Eliana Pipes (Shotgun Players Theatre). She is currently an Assistant Professor of Multicultural Theatre History and Performance Studies at Santa Clara University. Like her artistic practice, her scholarly work concentrates on the intersection of politics and performance with a focus on new Latinx works. In 2020 Gutiérrez was awarded the Carl Webber Prize for integration of Creative Practice and Scholarly Research.

Carlos Aceves (Scenic Designer, he/him) has lived and worked in the San Francisco Bay Area for the past ten years as a Scenic Designer, Charge Artist, and Technical Director. Recently, he’s worked as Scenic Designer for the Eugene O’Neill Festival of Theatre in New Ross Ireland, and New Conservatory Theatre Center where he also

serves as the staff Technical Director.

Carlos is grateful to be a part of live theatre once again. Special thanks to the CFT Family and Creative Team. carlosdesignssets.myportfolio.com Jenny Cedillos (Props Designer, she/ her) is super excited to return to live theatre after a year of no involvement in theatre, and she’s ecstatic that it’s a spooky play for Crowded Fire! Jenny is a recent San Francisco State University graduate with a B.A and M.A in Theatre Arts and her previous work includes Special Effects Design for A.C.T’s Youth Conservatory production of Hookman. She wants to give a big thanks to the entire cast and crew for the awesome experience and for the reminder of why she chose theatre in the first place. Also special shoutout to Devon for all the help and support!

You can catch Jenny wandering around pursuing new experiences in theatre as the world slowly begins to unfold.

Stephanie Anne Johnson (Lighting Designer, she/her) is a second-generation theater practitioner. Her mother Virginia Greene worked with the American Negro theatre. Johnson has been working locally, nationally, and internationally for over forty years. Her work has been seen in France, India, Italy, and Canada, Locally, she has worked with Cultural Odyssey, Oakland Theatre Project, Shotgun Players, TheatreFirst, Aurora Theatre, and Marin Theatre. Johnson is an artist who has had one-person shows in S.F. Dr. Johnson is a founding faculty member of the Visual and Public Art Department at Cal State University, Monterey Bay. Her work can be seen online at www.lightessencedesign.com.

She loves Crowded Fire!

Devon LaBelle * (Special Effects Designer, she/her) is a Prop Lead and SFX artist whose work has been seen across Bay Area stages since 2009. She is a Company Member with Shotgun Players and a TBA-award–winning Props Designer for her work on Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice (Shotgun Players) and Vanya, Sonya, Masha, and Spike (CCCT) Devon is the Prop Shop Coordinator at San Francisco State University. Upcoming projects include: Our Town with CCCT and The Magic Lamp with the Presidio Theatre.

Alice Ruiz (Costume Designer, she/her) is happy to be returning to Crowded Fire after previously costume designing Church. She has worked all over SF and East Bay for the past 7 years. Most recent credits include Elevada (Shotgun Players), White Girl's Guide to International Terrorism (SF Playhouse Sandbox Series), and costume coordinating for Lick-Wilmerding High School. In her spare time, she enjoys attending queer events and going out dancing! You can view her work at www.aliceruizdesign.com.

Christopher Sauceda (Sound Designer, he/him) is a media artist, sound designer and composer. I have been practicing theater all of my life, but I have only been doing it for the last few years in the bay. I owe everything to Campo Santo for putting me on. I work intensely to ensure people are moved or find something in my design, and that has been the work ethic I’ve given to all of my theater work. The world I grew up in is very similar to this story and I hope this moves you. Listen to this story, carry this weight, and share this experience

with your people. We are in scary hours. Our stories need to move this world. sauceda.m.chris@gmail.com Maya Herbsman (Intimacy Choreographer, she/her) is a Middle Eastern Ohlone Land based intimacy director, director, arts administrator, and educator. Maya has been the first intimacy professional at theaters across Northern California including Berkeley Repertory Theater, Theatreworks Silicon Valley, San Francisco Playhouse, Shotgun Players, Golden Thread Productions, Z Space, Cutting Ball Theater, Crowded Fire Theater, and more.

Her work has been featured in the San Francisco Chronicle, J Magazine, and HowlRound. She is currently on faculty at Berkeley Repertory Theater, American Conservatory Theater (ACT), The Urban School of San Francisco, and is a recurring guest lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley, and Stanford University. She holds a BA from Wesleyan University in Theater, with the Rachel Henderson Memorial Prize in Directing.

Carla Pantoja (Fight Choreography, she/her) works as an instructor of theatrical combat for California Shakespeare Theater and San Francisco Shakespeare Festival. She teaches stage combat and acting as an adjunct faculty for Hartnell Community College, and has been an adjunct teacher for Mendocino Community College. She has assisted Master Teacher Gregory Hoffman in classes at the American Conservatory Theater’s MFA program. Carla teaches stage combat to various schools in the Bay Area and is a teaching artist through Berkeley

Repertory Theatre, San Jose Repertory Theatre, and Each One Reach One. Carla received her theatrical combat training through the British Academy of Stage & Screen Combat, Academy of the Sword, Action Actor’s Society, and continues with Dueling Arts International. She is part of a local association branch of Dueling Arts International, Dueling Arts San Francisco along with Dave Maier and Andrea Weber. Carla is currently the resident fight director for Teatro Visión (San Jose) and Woman’s Will (Oakland). She has been nominated for a 2007 Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award for her work on Cutting Ball Theater’s Taming of the Shrew.

Toni Lynn Guidry (Stage Manager, she/her) recently stage managed CFT's online R&D Lab Reading of Kaleidoscope by Julius Rea. She has stage managed her way around the Bay with New Conservatory Theatre Center, Cutting Ball Theater, Aurora Theatre Company, Custom Made Theatre, Just Theater, EXIT Theatre, and as a company member of California Theatre Center. Toni originally hails from South Louisiana, where she earned a BA in music.

Mylo Cardona (Assistant Stage Manager, they/them) is so gratful to be back in business after a year and a half long hiatus. They are currently working towards their BA in Theatre and Performance Studies at UC Berkeley. They have been acting, designing lights, and stage managing for theatres all around the LA and Sacramento area since '15 and they are so delighted to be making their Bay Area debut this fall. Favorite

roles includes playing Man in Chair in the Drowsy Chaperone and Stage Managing for Cabaret. Shoutout to the rad cast and crew that made the magic possible here tonight.

Kelli Westad (Production Assistant, she/they) is super excited to be working with Crowded Fire for this wonderfully spooky return to live theatre!

They have worked as a stage manager with sketch comedy groups Killing My Lobster and Awesome Theatre in San Francisco and Good Chance Theatre in London, U.K. Since graduating from the University of San Francisco this May, Kelli is pursuing acting and playwriting, their true passions. kelliannetheatre.com Stephanie Alyson H * (Production Manager, fae/ faer) has called Crowded Fire home since 2010.

Stephanie has a Bachelor’s Degree in Theater and Performance Studies from UC Berkeley where fae started faer career in stage management, and has freelanced as a stage manager and production manager throughout the Bay Area for both theater and dance.

Stephanie is interested in challenging, important, thought-provoking theater.

Fae enjoys problem-solving, facilitating, and supporting the brilliant artists and technicians fae works with on a daily basis. When not working, you may find faer hand-painting jewelry (faesfare.com), hanging out with faer partner Tristan, or cuddling one of faer three cats. * Crowded Fire Theater Resident Artist

Very Special Thanks To: Belen Gutiérrez; Pepi Ross and Jason Marks; an amazing array of photographers and videographers, Lily Sorenson, Cheshire Isaacs, Adam Tolbert, and LFK Media (Lorenzo Fernandez-Kopec and Marisa G. Ramos); Santa Clara University; Tasi Alabastro; Charlie C. O'Donohue; Dane Troy; Golden Thread Productions; James Ard; Karena Fiorenza Ingersoll and Emrys Ingersoll; our astounding scenic painter, Adeline Smith; our Technical Director Beckett Finn, who went above and beyond with his magic and wizardry; and an amazing load-in crew, Kieran Beccia, Nathaniel Bice, Ross Copeland, Kathryn Gubler, Justin Kelly-Cahill, and Kelsey Tremewan.

Potrero Stage is a 99-seat stateof-the-art performance space located in the heart of San Francisco's Potrero Hill neighborhood, operated by PlayGround, and serving as home to some of the Bay Area's leading new play developers and producers, including PlayGround, Crowded Fire, Golden Thread, and Playwrights Foundation, among others. For more information or to inquire about rentals, email info@potrerostage.org or call (415) 992-6677.

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Yes, YOU!!

Crowded Fire always relies on our community of donors -- but the past locked-down year requires a bigger, bolder font for that THANK YOU. Because of you, we were able to hire nearly 100 artists, more than ever, for: new play readings & workshops, conversations on Twitch, a Feast of Resilience curated by our Playwright in Residence Star Finch, field-wide anti-racism work (Making Good Trouble), and so much more.

Your pay-what-you-can donation for your ticket to The Displaced supports a vast network of artists and art.

Thank you.

Crowded Fire Theater (CFT) is a vital home for fierce new plays in San Francisco. Known for developing and presenting innovative and provocative new plays, CFT has spent 20 years contributing to the creation of a contemporary canon that reflects the diverse world in which we live. Crowded Fire has been described in American Theatre Magazine as “instrumental in introducing the Bay Area to new writers who push the boundaries of what theatre can be” and “one of the most reliable local stops for highquality new work by diverse voices.” In addition to a mainstage show season presented as a resident company of San Francisco’s Potrero Stage, CFT offers a robust new play development program and artistic support.

Staff Stephanie Alyson H, Production Manager Caro Asercion, Producing Artistic Associate Star Finch, Resident Playwright Bethany Herron, Managing Director Mina Morita, Artistic Director Leigh Rondon Davis, Curator of Online Programming Board Emily Rosenthal, President Fatema Crane, Secretary Graham Gockley, Treasurer Hillary Bray Steven Collier Kerstin Firmin Kaili Hwang Sarah Williams

Resident Artists James Ard Laura Brueckner Sonia Fernandez Sara Huddleston Nailah Harper-Malveaux Devon LaBelle Michele Apriña Leavy May Liang Cat Luedtke Julie McCormick Amanda Melton Rachel Mogan Gabriella Momah Lawrence Radecker Lisa Marie Rollins Keiko Shimosato Carreiro Adeline Smith M. Graham Smith

A COMMITMENT TO NEW PLAYS Crowded Fire is a vital home for fierce new plays compelling in language, vision, and structure. In addition to our mainstage productions, we offer a robust new play development program. The Matchbox @ Crowded Fire actively supports the creation of high-quality contemporary theater through commissions, in-house workshops, an R&D lab, a playwright residency, and an annual, free, public, new play reading series.

A COMMITMENT TO DIVERSE VOICES We deeply believe in the power of supporting work by a body of playwrights whose plays give visibility to all communities. We are committed to actively participating in the creation of a contemporary theatrical cannon that more accurately reflects the world in which we live. Learn more about how we work by visiting our Code of Conduct.

A COMMITMENT TO ARTISTS Crowded Fire provides a rich home for our ensemble of Resident Artists made up of top Bay Area actors, designers, dramaturgs, technicians, and directors. This ensemble, with its wealth of interests and ideas, as well as the dedication and talent of its members, represents one of the company’s most significant strengths.

For conversations with these artists and more, as well as a virtual version of our popular post-show Fireside Chats, check out our Twitch stream! www.twitch.tv/crowdedfiretheater

The Potrero-Dogpatch neighborhood is host to some of the Bay Area’s most dynamic performing arts groups, and these organizations have been deeply and negatively impacted by the pandemic, with no in-person performances for more than a year and performing artists out of work.

In support of the local arts community, the Potrero-Dogpatch Merchants Association (PDMA) is launching the PDMA Performing Arts COVID Relief Fund. And, through the generous support of Avenue Greenlight and SFCDMA, PDMA will match 1:1 all donations up to $15,000 made to the Potrero-Dogpatch Performing Arts COVID Relief Fund through September 30.

Support the Potrero-Dogpatch Performing Arts COVID Relief Fund and double your donation today!