Contributing Artists
Ryan Brodkin
Sound Designer
Ryan Brodkin is a technologist and sound designer who has been a contributing member of the SoCal arts scene for over 15 years. He has designed award-winning productions such as Chance Theater’s Lizzie: The Musical, Dogfight, Triassic Parq, The Laramie Project, Fun Home, and Next to Normal; and regional productions such as Chapman University’s The Who’s Tommy and Cabaret and Azusa Pacific University’s The Crucible and To Kill A Mockingbird. Ryan has also supported the conception of many new works, including the world premieres of Chance Theater’s Loch Ness: A New Musical and Theatre of N.O.T.E.’s Alceste, Eat The Runt, and Holy Ghost.
Shammy Dee
Music Director
Shammy Dee loves working on plays with hip hop as the foundation. He’s composed and music directed on A.C.T.’s Vietgone and Poor Yella Rednecks and has other credits including Welcome To Arroyo’s (The Old Globe); How We Got On (Cleveland Playhouse); Tiger Style! (La Jolla Playhouse); Vietgone (East West Players); Poor Yella Rednecks and Last Stop On Market Street (South Coast Repertory); The Realness (Hangar Theatre Company). He was also an adjunct lecturer at USC’s School of Dramatic Arts and is excited to come to UCR to work on Vietgone! Learn more at www.shammydee.com | IG: @shammydee
Thomas F. DeFrantz
Director
New York: On The Town (George Wolfe, dir.); Paul Robeson All American (Ossie Davis, author); Regional: Rough Crossing (GeVa Theatre); Black Eagles (Karamu House); Anything Goes, starring Melba Moore (Montclair Summerfest); Blackbox (Ford’s Theatre). Directs SLIPPAGE: Performance|Culture|Technology, a research lab that explores emerging technology in live performance applications. Believes in our shared capacity to do better and engage creative spirit for a collective good that is anti-racist, proto-feminist, and queer affirming. Teaching: University of the Arts Mobile MFA in Dance; ImPulsTanz; SNDO; Juilliard; New Waves Institute; faculty at Hampshire College, Stanford, Yale, MIT, NYU, Northwestern University; University of Nice. Convenes the Black Performance Theory working group as well as the Collegium for African Diaspora Dance, a growing consortium of 350 researchers committed to exploring Black dance practices in embodied writing. With Jane Gabriel and others convenes Configurations in Motion: Curating for Communities of Color since 2016. DeFrantz acted as a consultant for the Smithsonian Museum of African American Life and Culture, contributing concept and a voice-over for a permanent installation on Black Social Dance that opened with the museum in 2016. slippage.org.
Jasmine Gatewood
Actor
Jasmine T.R. Gatewood graduated with her B.A. in Theatre Arts-Performance from Alabama State University, Montgomery, AL, and her Master’s in Acting from California Institute of the Arts School of Theatre, Santa Clarita, CA. Jasmine’s voice-over work and singing is featured on seven seasons of Dreamworks' “Madagascar: A Little Wild.” Her credits also include Nickelodeon’s “Cousins For Life,” TNT’s “Animal Kingdom,” and the “Fallout” video game franchise. She loves what she does living true to Philippians 4: 13 “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.” “I get an overjoyed sensation that races through my veins when I am able to break down and build up self to create new characters. It is so amazing to me to witness the power of storytelling when it manifests itself throughout an audience because someone can always relate and even if only one person is touched my job is done.”
Andrew Hardin
Actor
Andrew Hardin is an alumnus of University of California, Riverside receiving his BFA in 2017 and MFA in 2020. After graduating, Andrew served as the CEO of Riverside Studios, a non-profit film studio, event space, training center and creative incubator founded by Rickerby Hinds. He last performed for the Riverside Community Players production of Sweat in 2022 and looks forward to bringing Blackbox to life with all the cast and crew.
Andy Lowe
Fight Choreographer
Andy Lowe began his career as a finalist for "Plays by Young Writers '94 for the California Young Playwrights Project" winning production of his play "The Cultural Hyphen at the Old Globe Cassius Carter Stage at the age of 18. He Founded the San Diego Asian American Repertory Theatre, presiding as Producing Artistic Director 1995-2005, directing and/or producing productions and workshops for 10 years. Steered the La Jolla Playhouse's Theatre in Residence program in its inaugural years 2007-12. Toured and performed with the Asian Story Theater as a martial artist, puppeteer, and theatre for youth actor for 8 years. Andy is a student of Master Dwight Love of the Green Dragon Northern Shaolin style. Favorite credits include Fight Direction for Kims Convenience (Laguna Playhouse), Seamless (USC), and Man of God (EWP) which earned him an Ovation Nomination for Best Choreography in 2019. Directing FOB by David Henry Hwang ('01), Goddess of Flowers by Thelma Virata Castro('02), Dear Miss Breed ('07) Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog ('11), Golden Child by DHH (2012), as well as R&D Projects for Walt Disney Imagineering. He currently serves as Director of Production & Casting for East West Players where he has been based the past 10 years.
Jacqueline Malenke
Lighting Designer
Jacqueline Malenke, who also goes by JQ, is an award-winning lighting designer based in Southern California. She recently graduated from UC Irvine with her MFA in Lighting Design. Her interests range from lighting for theatre and dance to themed entertainment and film. She also has highly proficient knowledge of 3D modeling and 2D drafting using Vectorworks.
She received her Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from UC Riverside in 2015, and she has worked at several regional theatres and festivals across the country including The Great River Shakespeare Festival, South Coast Repertory, Actors Theatre of Louisville, and The Williamstown Theatre Festival as a lighting designer and programmer. Jacqueline received the 2015 KCACTF Barbizon Award for Excellence in Lighting Design for the show Blackballin' by Rickerby Hinds produced by UC Riverside.
Oánh Nguyễn
Director
Oánh Nguyễn has been serving as Chance Theater’s founding Artistic Director since 1999. Oánh is a recipient of TCG’s New Generations Grant and the TCG Nathan Cummings Young Leaders of Color Fellowship. He was awarded the Outstanding Artist Award by Arts Orange County, profiled in Orange County Register’s “Most Influential People” series and OC Weekly’s People Issue, inducted into Anaheim High School’s Hall of Fame and was a commencement speaker for Chapman University College of Performing Arts. Oánh was Producing Associate at South Coast Repertory where he initiated and programmed the first three seasons of alternative offerings under the banner of StudioSCR. He also served on the advisory board of the Anaheim High School Performing Arts Conservatory, the board of Network of Ensemble Theatres, LA’s 99-seat Transitional Committee, and OC Theatre Guild, as well as panels and committees for Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, Alternative Theatre Los Angeles, National Endowment for the Arts and Theatre Communications Group. His directing credits include productions at Chance Theater, East West Players, the J. Paul Getty Museum, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, South Coast Repertory, Aurora Theatre Company, Oregon Contemporary Theatre, Chapman University, Azusa Pacific University, AMDA, CSU Fullerton, and served as the Associate Director for the international tour of David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish (Berkeley Repertory, South Coast Repertory, Hong Kong Arts Festival). His selected film credits include Two Brothers, Rush Hour 3, and Lonely Boy (Best First Feature Grand Jury Prize at the 2013 Louisiana International Film Festival and Audience Award Winner at the 2013 BolderLife Festival).
Naathan Phan
Magic Consultant
NAATHAN PHAN (Magic Consultant) is the very model of a modern, manic polymath: he does magic, singing, stand-up comedy, vocal mimicry, acting, improv, writing, and makes the best old fashioned you’ve ever had in your life! He is a graduate of the Orange County School of the Arts (where he majored in Creative Writing), an Eagle Scout, and a member of organizations such as SAG-AFTRA and the Global League of Magicians and Mentalists. As a magical entertainer, seamlessly fusing as many of his skills together as possible, his talents have been featured at The Magic Castle in Hollywood (where he’s a strolling magic champion), Bally’s Las Vegas, Caesars Windsor, Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City, the Winter Gardens Blackpool, as well as countless other theatres, casinos, corporate events, private events, stages, and cruise ships around the world. TV appearances includes Penn & Teller: Fool Us, Celebrity Name Game, America’s Got Talent, Wizard Wars (Winner), The Hollywood Christmas Parade, and the last 8 seasons of Masters of Illusion… with his 9th season premiering Oct. 28th on The CW! In the world of acting, stage credits include: Midsummer Night’s Dream (Puck), Jesus Christ Superstar (Jesus), Sweeney Todd (Toby), The Seagull (Trigorin), and many assorted roles in The Gourmet Detective right here in Riverside! www.MagicAsianMan.com FB/IG: magicasianman
Shinshin Tsai
Intimacy Choreographer
Shinshin Yuder Tsai is a highly accomplished theater director with over a decade of experience bringing stories to life on stage. Known for his bold, dynamic, and inventive productions, Shinshin is dedicated to collaborating with actors, designers, and other artists to create powerful, engaging performances that leave audiences on the edge of their seats.
One of Shinshin’s proudest achievements has been as the co-founder and artistic director of No MSG Added, the only all-AAPI sketch comedy group in Orange County. With a focus on diversity, inclusion, and social commentary, No MSG Added has become a fixture of the local theater scene, entertaining audiences with its razor-sharp wit and irreverent humor. He is honored to have been a part of this groundbreaking group and played a role in bringing their unique vision to life.
Beyond his work with No MSG Added, Shinshin’s recent credits include Mother Courage and Her Children at Chapman University, and She Kills Monsters at Long Beach Playhouse. He works as Chance Theater’s Casting and Administrative Associate and was recently elected to OCTG’s board.
Throughout his career, Shinshin has always been driven by a deep passion for theater and a commitment to excellence in all that he does. Whether working with professional actors or students, he brings the same dedication and attention to detail to every production, striving to create bold, powerful, and emotionally resonant performances. He believes that theater can change lives and inspire people to think, feel, and dream in new ways, and he is honored to be a part of this incredible art form.
Jeremiah Turner
Sound Designer
Jeremiah Turner is a Sound Designer/Engineer from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Some of his notable works in theatre include, The Hangar Theatre’s Billy Elliot: The Musical, UCI Drama's Airness, LSU School of Theatre’s Brooklyn Bridge, and Theatre Baton Rouge's Shrek The Musical. Notable works in podcasting include, Dreams & Screams’ The Somnilyte Sessions and KB Saine’s Black Theatre History Podcast.
Fallon Williams
Video Designer
Fallon Williams is a Multidisciplinary Creative who works across various mediums including live performance, immersive experience, and visual art. She uses storytelling and creative technology to drive her creations. Her recent credits include: The Color Purple (Hattiloo Theatre), Echo: Immersion (B. Dunn Movement), Oedipus The King (Walt Disney Modular Theater), and Ubu Roi, featured in the Common Design Project exhibition at the 2019 Prague Quadrennial.
Fallon is a recipient of the 2021 Princess Grace Award Theater Honoraria. She holds a BFA in Theatre Arts Administration from Howard University and a MFA in Scenic and Lighting Design from California Institute of the Arts.
Hannah Wolf
Director
Hannah Wolf (she/her/hers) is an LA-based theatre director originally from Juneau Alaska. She directs new plays and musicals and subverts old ones. She directed Men on Boats at UC Riverside in 2022. Hannah has directed and developed work at the Geffen Playhouse, B Street Theater, La Jolla's WOW Festival, The Playwright’s Center, Perseverance Theatre, Fusebox Festival, IAMA Theater Company, Echo Theater Company, The Fountain Theatre, Dixon Place, The Vineyard Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre, and many others. Recent shows include Fixing King John by Kirk Lynn, Instructions for a Seance by Katie Bender, Airness by Chelsea Marcantel, and Fun Home by Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori. Hannah’s taught and led workshops at Louisiana State University, the University of Missouri- Kansas City, the University of California Riverside, Pomona College, the University of Texas at Austin, and The Kennedy Center, among others.
Hannah's a National Directors Fellow (the O'Neill, NNPN, SDC, and the Kennedy Center), a Fulbright Research Fellow (Bucharest Romania), a member of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab, and the Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab. She received her M.F.A. in Directing from the University of Texas at Austin, her B.A. from Western Washington University, and is a member of SDC. https://www.hannahjwolf.com/