Airswimming: Meet the Cast

Meet the two women who will be bringing the semi-true story of Airswimming to life this August: 

Katie Anderson (Persephone/Porph) Katie Anderson is so excited to be back at Dragon Theatre again! It's been 6 years since she's been onstage, and she hopes she remembers how to do it! She took a break from theatre to get her master's degree in education and currently teaches kindergarten at Eaton Elementary in Cupertino. In her most recent show, she played Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire at Dragon Theatre with Meredith Hagedorn as Blanche. Years ago, she had the pleasure of sharing the stage with Annamarie MacLeod in And Baby Makes Seven with Theatre Q. It’s been a dream come true reuniting with these wonderful women! At the Dragon, she’s played the Governess in The Turn of the Screw, Soos in The Country Club, and Rosie in Humble Boy (also by Charlotte Jones.) She’s worked at the Pear Theatre as Harper in Angels in America, Emily in Our Town, and Sorel in Hay Fever. At City Lights Theatre, she played Poppy in Noises Off, Georgie in The Full Monty, and Emily Cratchit in A Christmas Twist. She would like to dedicate this show to Shirley Soignet, her grandmother, who fought fearlessly through issues of mental health before modern treatment was available. 

Annamarie MacLeod (Dora/Dorph) is delighted to be back with Dragon Productions, having performed with them in Chekov in Yalta - her Bay Area debut! Regional credits include the Arabian Shakespeare Festival, with which she is an Artistic Associate (Jihad Jones and the Kalashnikov Babes, Othello); the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival (Henry V); Pacific Repertory Theatre (Much Ado About Nothing); the New Conservatory Theatre Center (Tennessee in the Summer; Regrets Only); the Pear Ave Theatre (Northanger Abbey; The Way of the World); and theatre Q (And Baby Makes 7) in which she first enjoyed performing with Ms. Anderson. Ms. MacLeod trained in NYC at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy and in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She is a proud member of Theatre Bay Area.

Why the North Pool Takes Place in 2007

Play scripts are generally very careful about setting the time and place of the story on the first page of the script, and The North Pool is no exception. For The North Pool we're told that the time is 2007 just before Spring Break and the place is a public high school in America. We wondered why the place was so generic while the time was so specific give that the play was first produced in 2011 in Palo Alto, and then we realized - Spring 2007 is just before the birth of the iPhone. Without the ubiquitous smartphone, threads in the play take longer to unravel, so it's a bit of clever trickery on the part of playwright Rajiv Joseph. Once you've seen The North Pool, take a moment to think about how the story would be different in today's world with Snapchat, Facebook, and smartphones.

Today actually marks the 10th birthday of the iPhone so it's an interesting reminder that while things have changed quite a lot in the past ten years, the thrust of the story has sadly not changed and remains as meaningful as ever.

An interview with the playwright

Playwright Rajiv Joseph and Giovanna Sardelli, who directed the world premiere of The North Pool discuss how the play came to be and the themes that Joseph was addressing when he wrote the script.

The North Pool: Meet the Team

Cast

SALIM RAZAWI (Khadim/Producer) is elated to be making his Dragon debut. He most recently performed in Disgraced at San Jose Stage Company and performed in Theatre for the very young with Wheels on the Bus with Bay Area Children's Theatre. Other credits include; TheatreWorks, Broadway By the Bay, Altarena Playhouse, Pacific Coast Repertory Theatre, Berkeley Playhouse, Tri-Valley REP, Tabard Theatre, Livermore Shakespeare Festival, and SF Shakespeare Festival. When not on stage Salim is a director, teaching artist, and stage manager for multiple theatre companies throughout the Bay Area. He thanks you for choosing live theatre tonight! He can also be seen on a featured TEDx Talk. SalimRazawi.com

EDWARD HIGHTOWER* (Dr. Danielson) Edward is delighted to be making his Dragon Productions Theatre Company debut. Most recently, he played Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady at Pacific Coast Repertory Theatre Company. Other favorite roles include: Lord Farquaad in Shrek at Woodminster Amphitheatre (2016 Theatre Bay Area Award), Clown Two in The 39 Steps at San Jose Stage Company, Carl-Magnus in A Little Night Music at Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts, The Storyteller in Cotton Patch Gospel at Custom Made Theatre Company, and the Emcee in Cabaret at Napa Valley Broadway Playhouse. He has performed with TheatreWorks, 42^nd Street Moon and Sierra Repertory Theatre Company. Upcoming performances: Luther Billis in South Pacific at Woodminster Amphitheatre, August 3 – 13; woodminster.com; Billy Flynn in Chicago at Lucky Penny Productions, September 8 –24; luckypennynapa.com. BFA: The Boston Conservatory. Website: ewhightower.com. Edward is a proud member of Actors' Equity Association.

Design Team

 JACQUELYN MONTELLATO (Producer/Director) hails from San Jose, California and discovered directing while in high school. She received the Doc Arends Award for Excellence in Directing in upon graduating from San Jose State in 2011, where she directed Proof in 2012. She has assistant directed at San Jose Rep, TheatreWorks, Palo Alto Players, City Lights, and Renegade Theatre Experiment. At Renegade, she co-directed Imperial Fizz (2013) and directed The Whipping Man (2014), which garnered a Silicon Valley Small Theatre Award for Standout Dramatic Production. She directed an off-off Broadway one woman show Confessions of A Personal Trainer (2015). An avid filmmaker as well, her short film, Showgirl, was an official selection in The Accolade Film Festival 2012. She sends a huge thanks to her family, coworkers, and producing partner for their continual support in this production!

ALEX BROWN (Stage Manager) is thrilled to be on The North Pool team! This is her first time serving as a Stage Manager, and she’d like to thank Dragon Productions for giving her this chance. She was previously an Assistant Stage Manager at The Ross Valley Players. When she’s not managing stages, she’s managing college students and their roommate conflicts at her ever-changing day job. She’s also the co-creator and lead writer for an award-winning audio-drama podcast about wayward Eldritch monsters, abandoned amusement parks, quite a few ghost stories, and a group of people living in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Check it out at thebridgepod.com!

KARL HALLER (Scenic Designer) This is Karl’s first time working with Dragon Productions Theatre, but he has been doing technical theater since he earned the nickname ‘Theater Ninja’ in high school. He is a Jack-of-all-trades, doing everything from sound and lighting to sets. His most recent credits include Technical Director for Quantum Dragon Theatre’s Spell Eternity, and Sound Designer for Pacific Coast Repertory Theatre’s Anything Goes. Karl is a Monster Energy Drink Enthusiast™ but hates writing bios.

LEANNA KEYES (Lighting Designer) is a production manager, lighting designer, and stage manager. She has had the good fortune to work with many Bay Area theatre organizations, including Dragon Productions (Caeneus and Poseidon), The Cutting Ball Theater, 42nd Street Moon, Stanford University, Broadway by the Bay, Performance Design Acronym, and Playwrights Foundation.

CHARLES MCKEITHAN (Master Carpenter) has been working in Bay Area theater for over ten years now as an actor and a carpenter and is happy to be back with the Dragon for another round of fun. His past works include multiple producttions here at the Dragon, Walls of Jericho at the Pear, Collosus at SF Playhouse, and countless productions with Ron Gasparinetti under the guise of Thrust Scenic Design.

ANDREW MONDELLO (Sound Designer) is elated to be joining Dragon for the first time as a part of this project. He loves all things sound related, be it music - which he teaches for a living, or sound designing. He studied sound design on the side while receiving his degree in acting from UC Irvine and is just thrilled for the chance to work his design bone again. Many thanks to producer Salim Razawi who has been his partner in crime on many projects both as an actor and a music director, for this wonderful opportunity. Andrewmondello.com