Lesher Center Presents: Contemporary Voices

Page 1

Digital Programs

Beginning in 2024, Lesher Center’s Headliners Series adopted the use of digital programs meant to be viewed on mobile devices. By cutting our paper use and eliminating substantial printing costs we are sustaining our mission to elevate the arts in the greater Contra Costa region.

Please be considerate of other patrons and artists when viewing digital programs on your mobile devices. View digital programs before the performance begins or during intermissions.

Patrons who create distractions may be asked to leave.

Welcome

Land Acknowledgement

Meet the Panelists

About Re-Discovering Native America: Stories in Motion with The Red Road Project

Upcoming Lesher Center Events

Support Lesher Center

Program Details

Approx 90 minutes with no intermission

Table of Contents

Welcome

Thank you for joining us!

Our Lesher Center Presents series is designed to bring audiences year-round entertainment and inspiring artistic voices through our Headliners Series, Center Repertory Company productions, and Bedford Gallery exhibitions.

At the Lesher Center you’ll find a diverse array of genres, artists, and themes at this beautiful home for incredible, innovative arts experiences. In the following pages of this digital program, we invite you to explore our programming and learn more—you won’t want to miss what you’ll find at the Lesher Center!

Peggy + Carolyn

Peggy White

Executive Director, Diablo Regional Arts Association

Carolyn Jackson

General Manager, Lesher Center for the Arts

Land Acknowledgement

Lesher Center and Bedford Gallery acknowledge and honor our presence on the unceded ancestral lands of the Me-Wuk (Bay Miwok), Yokuts, Muwekma, and the Confederated villages of Lisjan, now colonially known as Walnut Creek. The land from which we benefit continues to be a place of foremost importance to these indigenous peoples and their descendants.

With a commitment to honor the art, resources, and values of indigenous peoples and tribes, Lesher Center and Bedford Gallery recognizes the fundamental role they’ve played in our present-day programs. We’re grateful to our friends at the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust for their guidance as we continue to educate ourselves and to uplift and support indigenous communities. To

learn more about Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, and specifically how to pay Shuumi Land Tax to honor the indigenous community, please visit sogoreate-landtrust.org.

To learn more about the land that you reside on, please visit native-land.ca.

Meet the Panelists

TAZBAH CHAVEZ

Tazbah Rose Chavez (Dinè, Nüümü, San Carlos Apache) is a performance poet turned WGAnominated television writer and director from the Bishop Paiute Reservation. Tazbah is a CoExecutive Producer/episodic Director on FX’s Reservation Dogs. She has worked on SyFy’s Resident Alien, Peacock’s Rutherford Falls, directed on HBOMAX’s Sex Lives of College Girls and is a Writer/ Director on FOX’s new series, Accused. Tazbah has written ads for Nike N7, directed health and cultural preservation campaigns and PSAs for tribes throughout

California. She has performed her poetry in acclaimed spaces such as the Smithsonian - National Museum of the American Indian, Meow Wolf and the Grand Performances Stage to name a few. She holds a degree in American Indian Studies from UCLA and is the former co-chair of the Writer’s Guild of America Native and Indigenous Writers Committee.

Additionally, Tazbah was awarded the 2023 Changemaker Award by Film2Future, is the inaugural recipient of the 2024 Sundance Graton Fellowship for California Native Artists and has been recognized by the California Tribal Leaders Association and the city of Los Angeles for her work in film and television. Instagram: @tazbah

DANIELLE SEEWALKER

Danielle SeeWalker is a Húŋkpapȟa Lakȟóta citizen of the Standing Rock Sioux Nation in North Dakota. She is a mother, artist, writer, curator, activist and businesswoman and is currently based in Denver, Colorado. Her visual artwork often incorporates the use of mixed media and experimentation while incorporating traditional Native American materials, scenes, and messaging. Storytelling is an integral part of her artwork and pays homage to her identity as a Lakȟóta wíŋyaŋ as well as her passion to redirect the narrative to an accurate and insightful representation of

contemporary Native America while still acknowledging historical events. Danielle is also a freelance writer and recently published her first book, Still Here: A Past to Present Insight of Native American People & Culture. She is very dedicated and involved in the Native American community and has served the past two years as CoChair for the Denver American Indian Commission. Through her work on the Commission, she has been involved in several pieces of legislation impacting the Native American community including; a law to abolish derogatory Native American mascots (2021) and an effort to create an Office and Liaison for Missing & Murdered Indigenous Relatives (MMIR) investigations (2022 and 2023). Danielle considers

herself an “artivist” as she is able to voice many important topics through her artwork and also be boots on the ground to make change happen. Danielle’s exhibition Re-Discovering Native America: Stories in Motion with The Red Road Project runs from April 13 – June 23, 2024 at the Lesher Center for the Arts Bedford Gallery.

Instagram: @seewalker_art

TOMMY ORANGE

Tommy Orange is an author and filmmaker born and raised in Oakland, California. His debut novel, There There was a New York Times bestseller and named as one of the paper’s 10 Best Books of the Year for 2018. Its many honors include the 2018 PEN America Hemingway Award, The National Book Critics’ Circle John Leonard Prize and the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize; it was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in fiction. His newest release, Wandering Stars, a follow up to There There, is a prequel and sequel following the lives of the

beloved characters centered in his debut novel. He earned his MFA at the Institute of American Indian Arts, where he now serves as faculty. Orange is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma.

JACKIE KELIIAA Moderator

Jackie Keliiaa (Yerington Paiute & Washoe) is a comedian, writer, and actor. She has been featured on Comedy Central, Team Coco, Amazon Prime’s First Nations Comedy Experience and she voiced the character Bubble on Spirit Rangers (Netflix). Jackie wrote for the web series You’re Welcome America and was featured in the book, We Had a Little Real Estate Problem. She produces and hosts Good Medicine, an all-Native comedy show which has soldout theaters in the San Francisco

Bay Area and beyond. Jackie is a regular at Bay Area venues and has performed at San Francisco SketchFest, Punch Line San Francisco and Cobb’s Comedy Club.

Instagram: @jackiecomedy X: @jackiecomedy

Bedford Gallery in the News!

A new Walnut Creek exhibit showcases Native American voices Native American artists share their experience in photos and a panel discussion at Walnut Creek’s Lesher Center for the Arts

May 23, 2024

Installation view from “Re-Discovering Native America: Stories in Motion with The Red Road Project,” presented through June 23 at the Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek.

For too long, stories about Native Americans have been told by nonNative people, whether in movies, TV shows, books or the visual arts. That’s not the case with “ReDiscovering Native America: Stories in Motion with The Red Road Project,” a stunning exhibition of photos at Walnut Creek’s Bedford Gallery through June 23, or with a June 1 panel discussion, featuring leading Native American artists, including Oakland novelist Tommy Orange.

The exhibition showcases some 100 photos, personal stories and other artworks, collected by Red Road Project founders, Danielle SeeWalker and Carlotta Cardana. The photos document the lives of contemporary Native Americans, from the sweeping landscapes of remote reservations to their living rooms in towns

and cities, as they celebrate their communities, traditional practices and achievements, or give voice to the ongoing challenges of historic displacement and oppression.

SeeWalker also joins “There There” author Orange in the June 1 panel discussion. They will talk about their inspiration and process for creating their work. Rounding out the panel

Julian of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North Dakota and his son, Elijah. (Photo/Carlotta Cardana)

are: Tazbah Chavez, co-creator of the FX series “Reservation Dogs”; and moderator Jackie Keliiaa, a comedian, writer and actor known for Amazon Prime’s “First Nations Comedy Experience.”

Details: Both the photo exhibition and the “Contemporary Voices” panel discussion are presented at the Lesher Center for the Arts. The exhibition continues through June 23 in the Bedford Gallery, with a “pay-what-you can” admission. The panel discussion will be at 2 p.m. June 1 in the Margaret Lesher Theatre, with tickets costing $35$40. https://www.lesherartscenter.org/

Lesher Center Resident Programs

Our nonprofit partner, DRAA, invests in the power of the arts to transform lives and creates avenues for everyone to experience the arts.

Support Lesher Center

Fiesta Cultural 2023 Street Fair, Chavalos Danzas por Nicaragua, photo by Ben Krantz Studio

There are many ways to show your support! Your gifts through the Lesher Center’s nonprofit partner, Diablo Regional Arts Association, drive excellence, innovation, diversity, and access for all through performances, exhibitions, and education programs.

• Make a one-time or monthly donation

• Sponsor an event or program

• Donate stock or IRA

• Make a legacy with planned giving

• Use your corporate match program

• Volunteer Donate Now QUESTIONS? Contact DRAA! (925) 295-1470 or info@draa.org

Thank you to our Sponsors Presenting Sponsor

Season Sponsors

Thank you to our Donors

Donors 1-1-23 thru 1-8-24

$100-$249

June Aguilar

Amy Alanes

Beverly Anderson

Marty Aufhauser

Christine Barclay

Carol & Claude Benedix

Muriel Bentsen

Amos & Carla Blackmon

Stephen & Anne Bruenn

Alan Burckin

Zenaida Campos

Sue & Rich Carlston

Tameca Carr

Javier Carrillo

Duane & Helen Carroll

Christy Casassa

David Clark

Chris Clevers

Marilyn Dalziel

Jan Dolan

Joan Dorsey

Ben Drew

Sheila Driscoll

John Edwards & Anna Meniktas-Edwards

Richard Einstoss

Paula Elliott

Jennifer & Andy Enzminger

Robert & Carrol Foxall

Jean & Richard Frankel

Barry Gross

Carol Haig

Sandra Haley

Tom & Anjali Hanzel

Carol Hess

Susan & Donald Hill

Virginia Hind Hodgson

Virginia Horgan

Ruth Hussey

Diana Ichikawa

Glenn Jackson

Ruth James

Ning Jiang

Sophia Kassab

Ann Keiffer

Sally Kennedy

Toni & Craig Kilcoyne

Carol Ann King

Louanne Klein & Dave Radosevich

Cheryl & Eric Kohleriter

Alisa Kramer

Dave Kwinter

Yvonne LaLanne & Mark Rubenstein

Thank you to our Donors

Donors 1-1-23 thru 1-8-24

Linda Lamerdin

Claire Laverdiere

John & Gwenn Lennox

Kiran Lopez

Margaret Marx

Heather Marx-Zavattero

Terry Mason

Larry & Kathy McEwen

Tracy Melone

Gene Miller

John Minney & Susan Cliff

Amal Moulik

Jacquelyn Nissim

Candace O`Brien

Martha Parriott

Rayna & Richard Ravitz

Andy & Meghan Read

Ronald & Phyllis Rogness

Dennis & Renee Ross

Louise Schulden

Fred Sciammas

Andrea Shipman

Marilyn Simonsen

Linda Sonner

Gail Stevens

Lori Talbot

Carole Temps

Rebecca Thompson

June Thornton

Brooke Trost

Pat Van Oss

Linda & Clark Vilas

Alison Willett

Gary Wong

Hua Yang

$250-$499

Lori Allio

Cherlene Andresen

Jeanie & Edward Beatson

Jamie Broadhurst

Margaret & Karl Buckley-Brown

Carolyn Bybee

Manny Cho

Phyllis Christopher & Jill Garcia

Dottie & Eric Curole

Chris & Nancy Doan

Bill & Keva Dodd

Jerome S. Frantz

Linda Giffin

Marsha Ginsburg

Jean Godwin

Nicole Green

Ellen & Peter Hauskens

Thank you to our Donors

Donors 1-1-23 thru 1-8-24

Ira Hillyer

Nancy & Bruce Kaufman

Carol & James Kennedy

Kathy Klein & Scott Fink

Linda & James Landau

Marjorie & Peter Li

Elaine & Ward Lindenmayer

Sidne Long

Paula & Mark Lowery

Rita MacKay

Christiane & Jeffrey Maier

Ann Merideth

Toni Ratner Miller

Richard & Suzi Mills

Maryanne Mitchell

Matt Morrow

Kathryn Mulkey

Jenny & Bill Perttula

Jean & Gary Pokorny

Jason Pretzlaf

Sue Rainey

Gerald Ricker

Adrienne & Jeff Rogers

Andrea & Chad Silver

Mary Jane Sullivan

Meredith Taylor

Vickie & David Tugwell

Susan Tuttle

Mary & Thomas Twist

Catherine Watters

Kim & Stuart Weinstein

Judy & Bob Wilkenfeld

James & Barbara Wolpman

$500-$999

Andrea Baldacci

Samantha Caygill

Lorraine & Lionel Chan

Paul Cocotis

Serdar Copur

Jana Corral

Brian Dean & Palvir Shoker

Scott Denison & Kerri Shawn

Dennis Drew

Jim & Beverly Dubrin

Michele Ducharme

Holly Eliot

Jane & Roger Emanuel

Emilee Enders

Joseph Ficurelli

Gary & Susie Fisher

Barney Fonzi

Shannon Gross

Kathy & John Hemmenway

Thank you to our Donors

Donors 1-1-23 thru 1-8-24

Carol Holland

Reshea Holman

Natalie & Roger Hughes

Carolyn & Anthony Jackson

Linda Johnson

Barbara Kline

Linda Kramer

June Krug

Richard Leffingwell

Leslie Lessenger

Tina Locke

Christine Mitroff

Tracy & Robyn Nishimura

Elizabeth & Mark Orcutt

Johnathan Plumpton

Elaine & Ken Richter

Davis & Louise Riemer

Barbara & Danny Riggio

Jeff & Jodi Riley

Allison & Sean Roberts

Andrew Robinson

Gary Schaub & Maria Gounaris

William & Nathalie Schmicker

Chris & Rosario Toler

Violet & Carl Torneros

Gerry Wallace

$1,000-$2,499

Judy Ackerhalt

Clara & Marty Ardron

Angela & Dan Ashley

Bobbi & Marty Bach

Gretchen Bartzen & Michael

Rippey

Donna Batchelor

Annette & Don Bausley

Virginia & Mark Bigelow

David & Manny Bowlby

Dawn & Peter Brightbill

Kristen & Dan Buckshi

Patrick & Shirley Campbell

Jacqueline & James Carroll

Melissa Carucci

Barbara Cavella

Gloria & Randy Christensen

Tricia & Eric Copeland

Carrie Cox

Cindy & Gary Darling

Juliet Don

Jennifer Fish

Mary & Jan Francis

Lynn Garrett

Nishta & Vito Giallorenzo

Claude Grillo

Anne Grodin

Thank you to our Donors

Donors 1-1-23 thru 1-8-24

Susie & Charles Hanson

Nicholas Harrison

Robin & Chuck Henry

Carle Hirahara

Ellen Hole

Alice Hunter & Mark McKenna

Marion Iles

Peter Johnson

Robert Kaliski

Lynda & Bill Keller

Trudy Ketelhut

Julianne & Bill Kloos

Ellen & James Kocins

Bob Linscheid

Beverly & David Loder

Carol Jane Louisell

David & Joan Lucchese

Sandra & Thomas Magill

Denise & Frank Mallozzi

Katie McDonald

Gail & Jim Murray

Kathleen & John Odne

Isabelle Ord & Doug Spear

Jill & Bill Purcell

Jonathan & Jane Raymond

Susan & Mark Reckers

Ruth Reeves

Mari Reid

Paul Renard

Susanne & Chip Renner

Jeffrey Rose

Olga Jane & Maynard Rotermund

M. Louise Rothman-Riemer

Vanessa & Glen Ryan

Michele & Kevin Safine

Christine & Fred Seely

Maryann Sheridan

Tina & Scott Simmons

Linda & Rory Snyder

Anne Marie & Tom Taylor

Sue & Tom Terrill

Allan Tobias & Carol Gegner

Melissa Ward

Donna & John Warnken-Brill

Ann & Tom Watrous

Gayl Westendorf & Laura Kim

Matt Whelan & Camille Priselac

Kevin & Jill Wilk

Stephen Woodhead & Lisa

McConnell

Emily & Danny Wu

Carole Wynstra

Broadway Plaza

Dudum Corp

Thank you to our Donors

Donors 1-1-23 thru 1-8-24

F&M Bank

Macy’s/Bloomingdales

The Safeway Foundation

TWANDA Foundation

$2,500-$4,999

Annette & Tom Alborg

Douglas Alvey

Catharine & Dan Baker

Sharon & Paul Baker

Alice Beckman

Diane Crowley Young & Lance

Young

Suzanne & CJ Doherty

Carol & Ken Fowler

Samantha & Matt Francois

Richard Goodman

Loella & Ralph Haskew

Todd & Katrine Heintz

Natalie Inouye

Tineke & Torsten Jacobsen

Sandeep Kaujalgi & Reeni

Sondhi

Linda & Steven Lazare

Carolyn & Don Moeller

Jeannie & Bob Power

Desiree Renee Ralph

Jana & Gary Stein

Elaine Taylor

Lavergne & Howard Thomas

Wendy & Mike Thomas

Peggy & Michael White

Wendy & Scott Wilcox

COPA Innovations Laboratories

Hanson Bridgett LLP

ZMC Hotels, LLC

$5,000-$9,999

Beth & Bob Borchers

Janet & Rick Cronk

Denise & Ed Del Beccaro

Julie & Tom Ducharme

Nikita & Barry Gordon

Deborah & Phil Herndon

Kathy & Jerry Hicks

Nevin Kessler

Laura & Eric Lamison

Cynthia Ann Lesher

Steve & Mackenzie Lesher

Jill O’Brien

Celia Mason

Robert Mathewson & Lucinda

Tay

Patricia Niven & Chris Dix

Jeanne Ryan

Thank you to our Donors

Donors 1-1-23 thru 1-8-24

Marsha & Richard Servetnick

Cindy & Tom Silva

Linda & Jack Thompson

Deveney & Larry Totten

Bonnie Waters & Dennis

Winslow

Community Bank of the Bay ParkSmart, Inc.

Republic Services

William A. Kerr Foundation

$10,000-$24,999

Anonymous (2)

Tammy & Ken Anderson

Angie & Peter Coffee

Brian Hirahara

Mort Johnson & Donna Andrews

Karen Kahn & Bill Kaufmann

Sharon & Jim Moore

Bob Power

Dino Riggio

Jane & Chuck Roehrig

Spalding Rooker

Kevin Sánchez

Gary Skrel

Patricia Stull

Jennifer & Peters Suh

Cheryl & Christian Valentine

Mike & Paula Weintraub

John Muir Health

Martinez Refining Company

Miller Starr Regalia

$25,000-$49,999

Hofmann Family Foundation

Holly Ingraham & David Julius

Gay White

$50,000-$99,999

Sharon Simpson $100,000 + Eric Rudney

Chevron

Dean & Margaret Lesher Foundation

Kaiser Permanente, Diablo Area

Leadership

City of Walnut Creek

Leadership

Loella Haskew

Mayor

Cindy Darling, Matt Francois, Cindy Silva, Kevin Wilk

City Council Members

Jill Dresser (Vice-Chair), Peter Magnani, Netsanet (Net) Tesfay, Iasmine Klauber, Sarah Baltazar

Arts Commission Members

Dan Buckshi

City Manager

Kevin Safine

Arts + Recreation Department

Director

Diablo Regional Arts Association Board of Directors

David Julius Board President

Catharine Baker

Peter Brightbill

Jamie Broadhurst

Angie Coffee

Nadia Costa

Juliet Don

Julie Ducharme

Barry Gordon

Todd Heintz

Brian Hirahara

Natalie Inouye

Laura Lamison

Sandeep Kaujalgi

Nevin Kessler

Bob Power

Dino Riggio

Spalding Rooker

Eric Rudney

Kevin Sanchez

Marsha Servetnick

Patricia Stull

Peters Suh

Mike Weintraub

Deneen Wohlford

Steve Woodhead

Peggy White Executive Director

Lesher Center Team

General Manager

Carolyn Jackson

Production Services Supervisor

Toni Kilcoyne

Technical Staff

Daniel Aldrich

Alex Bull

Terry D’Emidio

Meghan DeBellis

Claire Denman

Alex Howard

Chris Joe

Steve Pino

Garrick Schuster

Josh Stouffer

Fiona Sundy

Josh Yarnell

Steve Young

Audience Services Supervisor

Jeremiah Vierling

Ticket Office Staff

Cian Chu

Penelope Griffin

Hali Loyd

Robert Nolan

Julia Toon

Zeus Valentine

Aurora Wassmuth

House Managers

Peter Catalano

Reece Jordahl

Karen Kopp

Denise Kruft, Katie Ladowicz

Cameron Lippincott

Krizzia Manlangit

Carole Price

Amelia Record

Lucia Robke

Sam Samuels

Bell Stark

Cheryl Wong-Ng

Usher Coordinator

Pat Rusich

Office Specialists

Linda Nomura

Sarah Wilcox

Marketing Staff

Katrienne Lemye

Shelly Rose

Randy Taradash

Bedford Gallery provides exhibitions and public programs that reflect and engage the diverse audiences of the Contra Costa region.

@BedfordGallery Follow Us!

The resident professional theatre company of Lesher Center. Celebrate the power of the human imagination and enrich the cultural life of our community. Follow Us!

@CenterREP
1601 Civic Drive Walnut Creek, CA, 94596 LesherArtsCenter.org @LesherCenter Follow Us!

Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.