Artists
Lisa Kang
Lisa is a resident of San Jose and a native of the San Francisco Bay Area, where she has been a playwright, actor, educator and environmental activist for several years. Her work has been performed by theaters in the San Francisco Bay Area, Seoul and Taipei. Her work has been featured in Theater Bay Area’s Playwriting Showcase and has been recognized as finalist or semi-finalist in Playwright’s Foundation, MultiStages (NYC), and Naatak Theater. She is the co-founder of San Jose's City Lights Theater's Light Source playwriting workshop and founder of Butterfly Effect’s playwriting workshop in Taipei. Lisa is a member of Playground and of the Playwrights’ Center of San Francisco. www.lisakang.net/
Lisa is a resident of San Jose and a native of the San Francisco Bay Area, where she has been a playwright, actor, educator and environmental activist for several years. Her work has been performed by theaters in the San Francisco Bay Area, Seoul and Taipei. Her work has been featured in Theater Bay Area’s Playwriting Showcase and has been recognized as finalist or semi-finalist in Playwright’s Foundation, MultiStages (NYC), and Naatak Theater. She is the co-founder of San Jose's City Lights Theater's Light Source playwriting workshop and founder of Butterfly Effect’s playwriting workshop in Taipei. Lisa is a member of Playground and of the Playwrights’ Center of San Francisco. www.lisakang.net/
Linda Amayo-Hassan
Linda is a playwright and in the writers pool for PlayGround. Her short play Latino Souls was selected in November for PlayGround. Linda developed her full length play ¡CHEER! Story of a Dreame, at the Berkeley Rep School and she attended the Kennedy Center Summer Playwriting Intensive in 2018. Linda was commissioned by the Hayward Area Historical Society to write, The Heart of Our Bay, a history of Hayward, California. Linda runs Chabot College Theatre for Young Audiences and is a founding member of Theatre Cultura.
Linda is a playwright and in the writers pool for PlayGround. Her short play Latino Souls was selected in November for PlayGround. Linda developed her full length play ¡CHEER! Story of a Dreame, at the Berkeley Rep School and she attended the Kennedy Center Summer Playwriting Intensive in 2018. Linda was commissioned by the Hayward Area Historical Society to write, The Heart of Our Bay, a history of Hayward, California. Linda runs Chabot College Theatre for Young Audiences and is a founding member of Theatre Cultura.
Lynn Aylward
Lynn studied playwriting at the Writer's Center in Washington, DC where she was a member of the Playwrights Forum. She has been a member of the Writers Pool at Playground for two seasons, and three of her short plays have been presented by Playground at Berkeley Rep. Her short play Twelve Twenty Five was performed at the Shelton Theater in November 2018. Lynn is working on a full-length play on climate change commissioned by Playground and Planet Earth Arts, and her play Three Chords and the Truth was a semi-finalist for the 2019 Bay Area Playwrights Festival. Lynn has a MSc in economics from the London School of Economics and one in environmental science from New York University.
Lynn studied playwriting at the Writer's Center in Washington, DC where she was a member of the Playwrights Forum. She has been a member of the Writers Pool at Playground for two seasons, and three of her short plays have been presented by Playground at Berkeley Rep. Her short play Twelve Twenty Five was performed at the Shelton Theater in November 2018. Lynn is working on a full-length play on climate change commissioned by Playground and Planet Earth Arts, and her play Three Chords and the Truth was a semi-finalist for the 2019 Bay Area Playwrights Festival. Lynn has a MSc in economics from the London School of Economics and one in environmental science from New York University.
Ellen Koivisto
Ellen is an award-winning playwright who co-founded Theatre Artist’s Conspiracy, ran the TAC Limelight Playwriting workshop and was associate program director of The Scene Shop in San Francisco, co-produced the Bay Area Shakespeare Marathon, and is a 2010 Directors’ Lab West alumni. She taught science (chemistry, astronomy, physics, biology, marine biology, and environmental science) for 30 years, and has been an environmental activist since elementary school. Ellen is a member of Dramatists Guild of America, Inc., Playground and the New Play Exchange.
Ellen is an award-winning playwright who co-founded Theatre Artist’s Conspiracy, ran the TAC Limelight Playwriting workshop and was associate program director of The Scene Shop in San Francisco, co-produced the Bay Area Shakespeare Marathon, and is a 2010 Directors’ Lab West alumni. She taught science (chemistry, astronomy, physics, biology, marine biology, and environmental science) for 30 years, and has been an environmental activist since elementary school. Ellen is a member of Dramatists Guild of America, Inc., Playground and the New Play Exchange.
Scott Munson
Scott lives in San Jose, California with his wife, Béatrice, and 22 Koi fish. He was born and raised in Los Angeles in a family of actors and torch singers. He received his Bachelor of Arts in English at UCLA and has also studied law at Harvard University and attended the W.B. Yeats School for Anglo-Irish culture.His plays have been performed in California,Washington, Texas and New York. In the Bay Area, Scott’s work has been seen at City LightsTheater, Playwrights’ FoundationFestival, Custom Made Theater and Ross Valley Players, to mention just a few. His work has received several awards, including Academy of American Poets Young Poets Prize, the Center Theater Ensemble of Chicago International Playwriting Competition and the Southwest Theatre Association New Play Contest and recognition as a finalist in Ashland New Plays Festival, Lark Theater, Long Beach Playhouse, National Repertory Theater Foundation, among others. Based on his background in law, theater, journalism, and instructional design, he sees his primary function as helping people live the richest fullest lives possible and helping them be denied their rightful role in defining their own lives. He is extremely excited to participate in this project!
Scott lives in San Jose, California with his wife, Béatrice, and 22 Koi fish. He was born and raised in Los Angeles in a family of actors and torch singers. He received his Bachelor of Arts in English at UCLA and has also studied law at Harvard University and attended the W.B. Yeats School for Anglo-Irish culture.His plays have been performed in California,Washington, Texas and New York. In the Bay Area, Scott’s work has been seen at City LightsTheater, Playwrights’ FoundationFestival, Custom Made Theater and Ross Valley Players, to mention just a few. His work has received several awards, including Academy of American Poets Young Poets Prize, the Center Theater Ensemble of Chicago International Playwriting Competition and the Southwest Theatre Association New Play Contest and recognition as a finalist in Ashland New Plays Festival, Lark Theater, Long Beach Playhouse, National Repertory Theater Foundation, among others. Based on his background in law, theater, journalism, and instructional design, he sees his primary function as helping people live the richest fullest lives possible and helping them be denied their rightful role in defining their own lives. He is extremely excited to participate in this project!
Bridgette Dutta Portman
Bridgette is a writer based in Fremont, CA. Dozens of her plays have been read or produced in the Bay Area, across the country, and overseas. She is past president of the Playwrights’ Center of San Francisco and a member of the Pear Writers’ Guild and the Dramatists’ Guild. She has been a finalist for the TITAN award, the Bay Area Playwrights' Festival, the PlayPenn Conference, the New Dramatists' playwriting residency, and more. She holds a PhD in political science (UC Irvine, 2011), as well as an MFA from Spalding University (2018) and has long had an interest in politics, including policy related to both the environment and social justice. Her undergraduate honors thesis was on Australian environmental policy. As part of her graduate work, she traveled to and helped research the 2009 US Social Forum, which included movements for environmental protection, workers’ rights, racial and gender equality, and other progressive causes. She is excited about participating in a project that unites her passions for playwriting, social justice and sustainability. www.bridgetteduttaportman.com.
Bridgette is a writer based in Fremont, CA. Dozens of her plays have been read or produced in the Bay Area, across the country, and overseas. She is past president of the Playwrights’ Center of San Francisco and a member of the Pear Writers’ Guild and the Dramatists’ Guild. She has been a finalist for the TITAN award, the Bay Area Playwrights' Festival, the PlayPenn Conference, the New Dramatists' playwriting residency, and more. She holds a PhD in political science (UC Irvine, 2011), as well as an MFA from Spalding University (2018) and has long had an interest in politics, including policy related to both the environment and social justice. Her undergraduate honors thesis was on Australian environmental policy. As part of her graduate work, she traveled to and helped research the 2009 US Social Forum, which included movements for environmental protection, workers’ rights, racial and gender equality, and other progressive causes. She is excited about participating in a project that unites her passions for playwriting, social justice and sustainability. www.bridgetteduttaportman.com.