Shotgun Spotlight: Tom Parrish
The Shotgun Players Podcast
Tom Parrish loves a challenge. He accepted his first leadership role in theater at 26 and hasn't looked back. Each new position he's accepted has been nearly double the budget of the organization he was leaving. He also has a reputation for obeying the campsite rule: leave it in better shape than you found it. Four years ago, he became just the third managing director in Berkeley Rep's nearly 60-year history, stepping in after the retirement of Susie Maddock, one of the most respected and accomplished managing directors in history. 2022 was a tough time to be running an American theater,...
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Shotgun Spotlight: Jennifer King
The Shotgun Players Podcast
Jennifer King is on a mission! Over the last few decades she landed multiple leadership positions here in the Bay Area and abroad. Her directoral interests include everything from experimental new works, musicals, to the classics! She is a directorial omnivore who also happens to be an award winning actress. But perhaps her biggest challenge yet, is still waiting in the wings. Jennifer King has accepted the opportunity to become, with the partnership of Managing Director Jenn Ruygt, the next artistic director of the Auroa Theatre Company.
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Shotgun Spotlight: Michelle Talgarow
The Shotgun Players Podcast
Michelle Talgarow has been a creative engine and arts leader of the small- to mid-sized Bay Area theatre community for nearly 30 years. I can still remember her amazing work from the old days with Art Street Theater, Ferocious Lotus, The Paducah Mining Company, Mugwumpin, among several others. More recently, with Bindlestiff and SFBatco, and our very own Shotgun Players. Just today, Friday, August 7th, I had the pleasure of meeting with her to discuss her latest project: directing the West Coast Premiere of Gary Owen’s Iphigenia in Splott. We had an in-depth conversation about that story...
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Discussion with Alicia Mason from Iphigenia in Splott
The Shotgun Players Podcast
Patrick Dooley and Alicia Mason speak about the parallels between the Greek myth and Gary Owen's modern Iphigenia in Shotgun Players’ first one-person play. Mason plays Effie, a self-determined, messy martyr from a nowhere town in Wales, who chooses to make an uncharacteristic sacrifice in Shotgun Players' production of Iphigenia in Splott. SPOILERS AT 8:50 You can find out more about this production or any of our other programming at our website .
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Shotgun Spotlight: Regina Morones
The Shotgun Players Podcast
Regina Morones is one of my favorite Bay Area actors. She has so much range. I’ve seen her excel in slapstick comedies and be fearless in tragedies. She can sing she can dance and she can handle classical text. More importantly she brings a spirit of integrity and authenticity to all of her characters. Unsurprisingly, she’s also an incredibly kind person and fantastic storyteller! If you don’t know Regina‘s work, you still have a chance to see her perform in our current production of Continuity by Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winner, Bess Woh, before it closes on Saturday,...
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Shotgun Spotlight: Margo Hall
The Shotgun Players Podcast
Wow. I just finished an inspiring conversation with Bay Area Theater royalty, the incomparable Margo Hall. As an actress, she had made her presence felt on every major Bay Area stage from the rough and tumble Intersection for the Arts in the Mission to the big houses at ACT, BRep, and Cal Shakes. She’s taught and mentored hundreds of theatre artists and directed over two dozen plays. Perhaps more importantly, she has shown many emerging theater artists how hustle, hard work, and a big heart can cut a path to a gratifying and successful career. As you can imagine, Margo is a spectacular...
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Radio Wolinsky Podcast: Patrick Dooley
The Shotgun Players Podcast
So, this is something a little different. I just had the pleasure of being interviewed by Richard Wolinsky. Most folks in the Bay Area will know him from his 50+ years at KPFA, Berkeley's flagship public radio station. He recently reviewed our production of Edward Albee's The Goat, closing on Sunday, May 3rd, and he wanted the opportunity to spend some time discussing the history of Shotgun Players and all the other plays we've got coming up in our 2026 season. It was an honor to be in conversation with someone who has interviewed such legends as Gore Vidal, Joyce Carol...
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Shotgun Spotlight: Jon Tracy
The Shotgun Players Podcast
Jon Tracy is one of the most prolific theater artists in the Bay Area. By sheer force of will and a determined, workmanlike approach, he has carved out a career that has put his prodigious skills to work in nearly every mid-sized theatre in town. Remarkably, he is also that rare breed of theater maker who spends more time listening than talking when he’s in a room. He epitomizes the expression, “speak softly but carry a big stick.” Or, in his case, VISION. Fortunately, I was able to squeeze some time into his busy schedule, so he could share some of his remarkable journey and what...
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Shotgun Spotlight: Joy Carlin
The Shotgun Players Podcast
Joy Carlin is the closest thing the Bay Area has to theatre royalty. She has held leadership positions in our two flagship organizations, as interim Artistic Director of Berkeley Rep and as the Associate Artistic Director at ACT. She has also acted and directed in nearly every other mid-sized to large theatre company around. Throughout this time, she’s also made it a priority to attend shows and stay engaged with every level of Bay Area theatre: from the smallest back room black boxes to the biggest houses. She’s the most accessible legend you’ll ever have the pleasure of...
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Shotgun Spotlight: Lily Janiak
The Shotgun Players Podcast
After dabbling in theater for years as an artist and administrator, Lily Janiak finally found her calling: crrrritic. After a few short stints at the SF Weekly and SF Bay Times, 10 years ago this spring, she stepped onto the biggest stage for theater criticism in Northern California: the San Francisco Chronicle. In our most recent Spotlight, Lily generously pulled back the curtain on the unique pleasures and pressures of her position. She also cracked quite a few jokes. This episode was recorded in front of a live, packed audience at...
info_outlineAfter dabbling in theater for years as an artist and administrator, Lily Janiak finally found her calling: crrrritic. After a few short stints at the SF Weekly and SF Bay Times, 10 years ago this spring, she stepped onto the biggest stage for theater criticism in Northern California: the San Francisco Chronicle. In our most recent Spotlight, Lily generously pulled back the curtain on the unique pleasures and pressures of her position. She also cracked quite a few jokes.
This episode was recorded in front of a live, packed audience at the Shotgun Studios on Friday, March 13th. I hope you’ll enjoy hearing this conversation as much as I enjoyed having it. As always, your feedback and suggestions are welcome at [email protected]