PLAYWRIGHT

Kristy Lin Billuni writes plays about queer triumph and proud outcasts. With roots in sex work, queer activism, and sex ed, she has earned her living for twenty years as The Sexy Grammarian, teacher of bold, free, turned-on writers. A proud member of the San Francisco Playground Writer’s Pool, and a Brady Fellow, Kristy’s prized stage credits include productions at an HIV clinic in the Castro and a leather bar in Chelsea. She lives in San Francisco with her heroic social worker wife and believes gay sex can save the world.

COMPOSER/LYRICIST

Larry D. Lariosa is a queer filmmaker, singer, songwriter, and musician. The child of immigrant parents, his artistic process draws on both life experience and his 20+ years as a licensed mental health therapist. Under the pseudonym Atir, he self-produced five albums and has performed at local Bay Area venues. On stage, his credits include musical theater productions with Pacifica Spindrift Players, JB Productions, and CCSF's Theater Department. As a filmmaker, Larry wrote the score and self-produced his 2023 documentary, Searching for Kapwa, an exploration on colonialism and its impact on identity. He currently lives in Oakland, California with his partner/co-filmmaker Terry and their 3 chihuahuas.

ARRANGER, ORCHESTRATOR, MUSIC DIRECTOR
Jake Gale 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).

ADDITIONAL LYRICS

Tony Howard is a local singer/songwriter currently studying Vocals and Musical Theatre at Studio A.C.T. Tony has performed regularly in the Bay Area 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.

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.

DIRECTOR
Claire Ganem 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.

PRODUCING ADVISOR
Joshua Gilstein 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