ARTISTIC Team

DIRECTED BY Ariella Wolfe

Catching Up by Ray Butts — MIKEY: Cody Johnson, SAM: George Alexander K.

LIEs of Three by Danni Camden — ELIAS: Scott Schwerdtfeger, INGRID: Yuki Nakazaki, LOGAN: Cody Johnson

The Insomniac’s Lament by Felix Rae — HYPNOS: George Alexander K., NYX: Yuki Nakazaki

Stranger of Yore by Chelsea Reyes — DYLAN: Scott Schwerdtfeger, KAYLA: Lauren Rascoe

To See You Sooner by Olga Klymenko — PATRICIA: Tamitha Justice, JOSH: George Alexander K.

Disillusionment* by Amara Collins — MAN: George Alexander K., VALERIE: Lauren Rascoe

Lifeline by North Fox — ADRIANNE: Yuki Nakazaki, MIRIAM: Tamitha Justice

Open Up by Victoria Salazar — MATHILDE: Tamitha Justice, JOSEPHINE: Lauren Rascoe

*Content Warnings: mentions of alcohol, substance abuse, and death

Production Team

STAGE MANAGER: Rose Curfman

LEAD TECHNICIAN/LIGHTING/CO-SOUND DESIGN: Corinne Balmain

SCENIC, PROP, COSTUME, CO-SOUND DESIGN: J. Lynn Dutra

PLAYWRITING INSTRUCTOR/TECHNICAL DIRECTOR: Nicholas J. Maurer

STAGE CREW: Zouapa Lor

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT: Chase Krause

ARTISTIC CONSULTANTS: Megan Abbanat, V’Santi Tobey

Director's Note

The process of making new plays is a constant collaboration. It is joyful, challenging, and often messy. But through this mess emerges ideas and discoveries that help expand our understanding of ourselves and each other. In Sandcastle Theater Company’s second year of partnership with Marin School of the Arts on the Emerging Voices program, I am grateful for how our relationships have grown and deepened through this collaboration and for the new artists who have joined our team.

The plays you will see this evening are a collection of work by multi-talented students-playwrights; some of them had never written a play before, while others participated in last year’s workshop and production process. This year’s featured plays all touch on themes of identity: how we become who we are, who we allow to see that true self, and how we can come to truly understand one another. Rather than dictate the themes of the work, Sandcastle invites students to write what’s on their hearts and minds. Each year we discover together what central theme arises from the pieces organically.

The Emerging Voices program exists to foster a space of collaboration between students and professional artists. In this journey, plays grow from the seed of an idea to something with voice and resonance. Tonight is the first time these new works of theatre will be shared with you, our community. We thank you for witnessing these stories with us and celebrating the beauty and mess of creative collaboration.

Playwrights’ Notes

CATCHING UP was heavily inspired by me and my sister. I would love to thank her for being my first best friend and apologize for making her character far meaner than she is!

The first draft of LIEs of THREE was about something very different from the final product. Before it was a lot darker, with less comedy and more commentary on why we do the things we do. I drew inspiration for both pieces from my curiosity about the way humans interact with one another. Throughout the actual rehearsal process I took the way the actors read the lines and other suggestions they made and tried to incorporate them into the script. For this piece it was especially important to have actions that, while ridiculous and nonsensical, also felt like the characters would really do them. My hope is the audience will forget they are watching a play. I want the absurdity of the final product to distract them and entice them in the comedy of three, forgive me, idiots trying to survive a plane crash. I would like to thank Sandcastle Theater Company for this opportunity and letting me experience it a second time with a completely different toned piece. I would also like to thank my Creative Writing teacher for helping me throughout this process and even get here in the first place. The other playwrights also really helped me make sure jokes landed and story beats made sense. Thank you so much to the world also for having interesting people for me to comment on. 

THE INSOMNIAC’S LAMENT is a play inspired by Greek mythos and my own experience with insomnia. Writing this play and creating these characters helped me understand myself and my circumstances better. I’m happy to say that I sleep better now. 

My main inspiration for STRANGER OF YORE was the idea of what changes as we get older, especially as we transition from being teenagers to young adults. Do we really have to lose all of our childish qualities when we grow up, and what parts of our past affect who we are today? Writing and revising this play has definitely been a struggle, as I often found it difficult figuring out what I really wanted this play to be about. I hope that people can take away the idea that it's okay to not have everything in life figured out yet, and even as we age and mature, we can still have a little bit of child-like fun.

TO SEE YOU SOONER outlines acts of compassion through sympathy and personal grief; a reminder that kindness goes a long way. 

Throughout the entire process of creating DISILLUSIONMENT, it was a wonderful experience working with the people from Sandcastle Theater Company. The actors always had helpful input on the interpretation of the script and they made the characters come to life. I would like to thank everyone at Sandcastle for fostering an incredibly collaborative environment throughout the rehearsal process and for making this entire production possible.  

The writing process of LIFELINE was a learning experience for sure. As someone who has been involved in theatre programs throughout my life, but hadn't actually sat down and written a script, I never fully grasped how much effort went into producing a creation that was fit for the stage. I am grateful to Sandcastle Theater Company for allowing me this opportunity, as I genuinely do believe it has caused me to grow tremendously as a writer and creative. 

The inspiration for OPEN UP came from thinking about the pressure we feel as teenagers and how to embody that into a parent that just wants what is best for their child and not make them the villain of the story. This was my first time writing a play, so I am honored that I get to see it performed on a real stage! I loved working with the actors and seeing what comes naturally to them. It was also really cool to see this as an actress myself and be able to see the process of creating an original play. I hope audiences feel that it is ok not to have a solution immediately, but as long as you can work through it, it will get better! Thanks to my parents for supporting me through everything and making sure I have every opportunity in life. I wouldn’t be anywhere without them! Thank you to Sandcastle Theater, Rose, Ariella and the wonderful actors, Tamitha and Lauren! 

Special Thanks

To our partners at Marin School of the Arts / Novato High School. Thank you to Michelle Cortez (MSA Director) and Shannon Miller (MSA Program Specialist) and to the custodial staff who helped us access rehearsal space. To our partner teachers Rebecca Pollack (Creative Writing) and Rodney Franz (Theatre) for your collaboration and generosity. Thanks to Steven Hess (Center for the Arts Facilities Manager) for your coordination and support. Our deepest gratitude to our artists and crew, and a special thank you to all the young writers: we wouldn’t be here without you. Congratulations!