2004-2005 Season

Female Actresses

Michelle Ching
This is Michelle’s second season with the Incubator. She has performed with Trinity Rep, The Perishable Theater, Rites and Reason Theater, and The New York Fringe Festival. Other “Asian American productions” include Eugenie Chan’s NOVELL-AAH!! and Alice Tuan’s IKEBANA. While living in Shanghai, Michelle was a VJ on MTV China. She is a graduate of Brown University and has studied at The William Esper Studio and The Actors Center in New York.

Karla Acosta
Karla Acosta currently spends her days performing in middle schools all over Northern California with one of Kaiser Permanente’s educational theatre shows. She has also toured with New Conservatory Theatre Center’s “The Inner Circle” and has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Favorite past roles have been Geri from “Redwood Curtain” and Romaine Patterson from “Laramie Project.”

Samantha Chanse
Samantha Chanse is a writer/performer who moved to the SF Bay Area in 2001 and has been bitching about the weather ever since. A native new yorker with a knack for public humiliation, Sam has most recently written for & performed in the Bindlestiff Pinay Collective at Bindlestiff Studio and various sketch and standup comedy shows; once upon a time she performed in an Asian American Theater Company production. She is currently the Program Manager at SF-based arts nonprofit Kearny Street Workshop. On the side she entertains fantasies of making music.

Gopi Shastri
Gopi Shastri is a native New Yorker, who is currently working at the Center for South Asian Studies, UC Berkeley. Her first San Francisco theatre debut was “Triptych: Stories of Desi Women”. Gopi’s background includes Kathak, Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Kalaripayattu, Capoeira, Carnatic vocals and jazz vocals. She misses Ray’s Pizza.

Tina Yang
No bio available

Adena Chung
No bio available

Susan Chung
No bio available

Jennifer Fong
A member of Roulette Theatre, which was originally directed by Gerri Lawlor, Jennifer has performed in completely improvised one-act stories including at the San Francisco Fringe Festival 2003. Among her more notable improv roles are Jeannette, an aspiring lion hairdresser and Louis, a naughty British man servant. Jennifer has studied improv at BATS, acting with Studio ACT and the Berkeley Rep School of Theater, and circle singing with Joey Blake and Molly Holm.

Active Acting Alumni

Denise Leong
Denise Leong is a recent graduate of UC Berkeley where she was a member of Theatre Rice (modern Asian American theatre group). She is currently working in the environmental field. Her dream job is to be an international spokesperson for recycling!

Male Actors

Leon Goertzen*
Leon Goertzen is thrilled to be returning to AATC after having played Jack in The Importance of Being Earnest earlier this year. Theatre credits include work with East West Players, Berkeley Rep, Road Theatre Company, Magic Theatre, Lobero Theatre, Alcazar Theatre, San Francisco Mime Troupe, Calaveras Rep, Playground’s Best of Playground, California Conservatory Theatre, Will and Company, Actors Theatre of San Francisco, Knightsbridge Theatre, and New Conservatory Theatre. Leon received a BFA in Drama from North Carolina School of the Arts.

*Denotes member of Actor’s Equity Association

Wilton Yeung
Little is known about this reclusive young man. From the wild look in his eye one might assume that this gentleman is a bit of a lady’s man and a world traveler besides. But why harp on the conspicuous truth? Behind this rugged exterior lies a dashingly witty and intelligent individual who enjoys the quieter moments of life: listening to Metallica and playing his guitar. He feels fortunate to be a part of such an interesting and unique project. He would like to thank his friends and family for being such a positive driving force in his life, and his friend Renee for being the inspirational goddess that she usually is.

Chuck Lacson
Chuck is currently in a state of disbelief. How did he get into a program full of such talented individuals?!? (I mean, have you read the rest of these bios people? Geez!) Chuck is excited and is soo thankful to be part of this season of incubation. Basically a product of the AATC acting program and a Mitzie Abe devotee, Chuck still remains a corporate lackey during the day, but is desperately trying to find his creative soul during his off hours. (Please contact him if you see that lying around somewhere.) Most recently, this SF native was lucky enough to be an actor and a writer in the Bindlestiff “Stories High” Workshop program. The workshop culminated with a production called “8.5 Stories High” where he performed in 2 excellent pieces – “Forever and Ever, Amen” and “The Squeeze” were he played Detective Veltum Shingles. The production also featured his first written piece “Happy Anniversary, Baby”. Much love and thanks to AATC, Bindlestiff, the Korean Karaoke Crew, his partners in acting crime – Sunset Sandhu and Tina “The Princess” Yang (We’ve come a long way!), and of course Sean “Jean” Lim for putting everything together.

Suneet Sandhu
Suneet is about 5’10″, has light brown eyes, black hair, his turn on’s are……..oh wait, not that type of bio!…….uhhh……..Most of Suneet’s acting experience has been within the AATC classrooms, many a karaoke lounge (request Suspicious Minds if you’re ever out to karaoke with him) and an appearance on the local evening news (okay, so the news segment wasn’t really “acting” but a funny story nonetheless!). Looking to re-discover his creative roots Suneet decided to take acting classes and kicked off his experience with his partners in crime,Charles “C-Diddy” Lacson, and Tina “my purse isn’t a fake!” Yang. He has been hooked ever since. He is excited to be part of an interesting and talented group of people and appreciates the opportunity to develop his craft.

Daniel Lee
No bio available

Hawlan Ng
This is Hawlan’s second go-around with AATC, having acted in “Yellow Fever” and “Free Country” in the latter part of the last millennium. He also has appeared with Asiantics and trained at ACT, AATC, and Jean Shelton. He currently is earning his post-doctoral hours as a psychology resident. A Bay Area native, Hawlan lists Hong Kong, South Korea, and New England as former foreign residences.

Ken Liu
No bio available

Jeffrey Sanchez
No bio available

Active Acting Alumni

Jarrett Chin
Jarrett Chin is happy to be a part of the 2004-05 season as an Active Alumni member. His play, Classroom Drama was developed and showcased during this past NewWorks inaugural season. His upcoming film, Babble On, will be released shortly in the film festival circuit. He is currently studying the Trigger and Stretch Approach at Seydways Acting Studio, and has been a student at the Yau Kung Moon Martial Arts Institute for the past 15 years. His acting credits include: Mysterious Acts Improv, a Cash One commercial, and the indy film, Dope In Motion. He will be featured in the Acme Players Ensemble’s upcoming production of Ghost in the Machine.

Jared Asato
No bio available

Christopher Chen
Please see bio under “Playwrights”

Playwrights

Alice Shikina
Alice Shikina received her BFA in theatre from Miami University and has completed some graduate work at the University of Hawaii in Asian theatre and directing. She has been acting since she was 13 and began her directing career in the Czech Republic. Alice moved to San Francisco in 2000 and since then, has directed several shows including Being on the Outside and Crowded Fire’s The Garden of Jezebel. She also dances and was last seen at the International Butoh Festival in 2002. She spends her time during the day designing for StayWell/American Red Cross.

Samantha Chanse
Please see bio under “Female Actresses”

Wesley Du
No bio available

Christopher Chen
Chris was born and raised in San Francisco. He is a graduating senior at UC Berkeley. As a member of Theatre Rice, UC Berkeley’s only Asian American theater group, he has written and directed three plays, as well as run a playwriting workshop. A shorter play of his, Divergence, was produced by the Playwright’s Cafe for the 2003 San Francisco Fringe Festival. He plans on pursuing an M.F.A. in creative writing in the near future.

Frank Isidro
No bio available

Sarah Lau
No bio available

Lisa Kang
No bio available

Andrés Saito
Andrés Saito writes plays, poetry and political and social essays, particularly when pissed-off about some injustice or stupidity. He has lived in Mexico City and Oaxaca, where he studied contemporary Zapotec poetry. Last year, he spent nine months in Ixcan, Guatemala, where he taught theater and poetry through the ArtCorps program (www.nebf.org). He had the honor to teach with Poetry for the People at UC Berkeley, under the direction of June Jordan. He has also been blessed to study with Cherríe Moraga and Alfred Arteaga. He plans to move to Peru next year to apprentice with El Grupo Cultural Yuyachkani, and then pursue and MFA in playwriting. He is currently studying Commedia and Melodrama performance techniques with the San Francisco Mime Troupe (www.sfmt.org). His first play, El Ri­o, received staged readings at Durham Studio Theater at UC Berkeley and La Peqa Cultural Center, followed by a reading of Greetings From the Klondike…Wish You Were Here! at USF’s Gill Theater. His most recent work, Sam the Ham, was written in a workshop taught by Jeannie Barroga through AATC. He would like to direct folks to the League of Pissed-Off Voters (www.indyvoter.org). We need to take this country back.

Sean Lim
Please see bio under “Directors”

Duy Nguyen
Please see bio under “Directors”

Active Playwriting Alumni

Jarrett Chin
Please see bio under “Active Acting Alumni”

Directors

Desdemona Chiang
Desdemona Chiang is thrilled to be involved in her first collaboration with Asian American Theater Company. Her directoral credits include Not Enough Rope, Seventy Scenes of Halloween, Quietpassages, Live of the Great Waitresses, and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged). She has also served as literary assistant for the New Works Festival at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. Ms. Chiang is the Company Services Associate at Theatre Bay Area, and is completing an internship in Artistic Learning with the California Shakespeare Theater. She received her BA in Integrative Biology and Dramatic Arts from the University of California at Berkeley.

Sean Lim
Sean Lim currently serves as the Artistic Director of the Asian American Theater Company. He has directed and produced over 18 productions including Tea by Velina Hasu Houston, Letters to a Student Revolutionary by Elizabeth Wong, The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, Achievers by Michael Golamco and Question 27, Question 28 by Chay Yew. Sean attended Stanford University where he directed the Asian American Theatre Project, a theater company founded by AATC and Stanford alumnus David Henry Hwang. He is the recipient of the 2001 Community Building Award by the Stanford Asian Pacific American Alumni Club.

Joy Wong
Joy Wong studied drama at Stanford University, where her collaborative adaptation of Hosea garnered her the Sherifa Omade Edoga Award for outstanding work relating to social issues. Fond directing escapades include Letters to a Student Revolutionary, The Dreaming of the Bones, Into the Woods, Jr. and numerous original musicals by Elaine C. Chao. Joy has assisted behind-the-scenes at Woodminster Theater, TheatreWorks, and Tabard Theatre Company, and currently serves on the Board of Directors at AATC. By day, Ms. Wong lives the wild life as a classroom teacher.

Duy Nguyen
Duy Nguyen is an aspiring playwright and director in the Bay Area. His works have been produced by Theatre Rice, Center for Theater Arts, AATC, Jon Sims Center, and Z-space studios. He has directed for all these organizations as well. He just recently came back from 1 year in Southeast Asia, teaching theater in Thailand and interning for the Saigon Water puppetry troupe in Vietnam. Thanks mom for giving birth to me. Thanks grandma for getting it on on with grandpa. . . etc. . .

Khai Nguyen
No bio available

Lead Artists

Philip Kan Gotanda (Playwriting)
A long-time resident of San Francisco, Philip Kan Gotanda is one of the nation’s leading playwrights. Mr. Gotanda also holds a law degree from the Hastings College of Law. Mr. Gotanda has worked with East West Players and the Asian American Theater Company, as well as New York’s Manhattan Theatre Club, Mark Taper Forum, and New York Shakespeare Festival. Most recently, Mr. Gotanda’s The Ballad of Yachiyo opened at London’s Gate Theatre in co-production with the National Royal Theatre. Gotanda is presently developing works for San Jose Repertory (an adaptation of Hedda Gabler) and the American Conservatory Theatre (an adaptation of Rashomon). He is an Associate Artist at Seattle Repertory Theatre. Gotanda is also an internationally respected independent filmmaker. His recent feature film debut, Life Tastes Good, which he wrote, directed, and co-produced, was screened at the Sundance Film Festival and Dublin Film Festival.

Jeannie Barroga (Playwriting)
Jeannie Barroga is an Active Member in the Dramatists Guild. She was literary manager 1985-2003 at TheatreWorks. She had founded in 1983 the Palo Alto Playwright Forum. The Off-Off Broadway play RITA’S RESOURCES was produced by Pan Asian Repertory. She received the Maverick Award (Los Angeles Women’s Festival), was awarded the Tino Award, the Joey Award, and was nominated for the CalArts Herb Alpert Award 2000. She had also won the Bay Area Playwrights Festival 10-Minute Play Contest and had two plays developed with BAPF. She assisted on TheatreWorks’ OO-BLA-DEE and VOIR DIRE, directed the tour of KIN, and KENNY WAS A SHORTSHOP at Brava! for Women in the Arts. Her plays have been published such as: WALLS (Asian American Theater), TALK-STORY (TheatreWorks), and EYE OF THE COCONUT (Northwest Asian American Theater). TALK-STORY has also produced at UC-Davis, Kumu Kahua in Honolulu, with workshops at the Mark Taper Forum, Perseverance Theatre, and Western Stage. Barroga served on panels for Theatre Communications Group, the National Endowment for the Arts, the San Francisco Arts Commission, and at the Santa Clara, Oakland, and Marin Arts Councils. More on Jeannie at jeanniesplays.org.

Mitzie Abe (Acting)
Mitzie G. Abe originally hails from Sacramento, CA. Since moving to the Bay Area, she has worked as an actor and singer in numerous theatrical productions. Her acting credits include: Immortal Heart (Mother et al), Twelfth Night (Lady Olivia) Repertory Theater), Macbeth (Lady Macbeth). As a member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) she has worked in television, video, CD-ROM, radio and film. She also works with Kaiser Permanente’s acclaimed Physician Education Program as an actor/facilitator.

A classically trained soprano, she appeared in the world premier of the opera Least of My Children, Modern Japanese Compositions (sponsored by the Japanese Consulate), Oakland Opera’s La Boheme, and Asian American Theater Company’s (AATC) Song of a Nisei Fisherman. She serves as the Soloist for 2nd Church Christian Science, SF, a position she has held for the past twelve years.

Ms. Abe also maintains a vocal teaching practice, both private and class under the aegis of Creative Voice Works. She has taught acting and vocal production classes for AATC’s actor training program and Youth Radio’s young broadcaster program. She has taught improvisation for master’s candidates in theater at UC Davis. She has been invited to mentor the acting component of AATC’s Incubator Program.

Sean Lim (Directing)
Please see bio under “Directors”