San Diego County, California, United States
I'm an actor, theatre director, and a grant writer; I also have taught acting, although not formally since 2002-2003 with the Old Globe Theatre here in San Diego (save for individual coaching on monologues, audition pieces, etc.). I taught acting at the University of Colorado-Boulder in 1998, 2000, and 2001, three of the six seasons I worked as an actor with the Colorado Shakespeare Festival. I have been grant-writing since 2002, when I worked for Episcopal Community Services here in San Diego. Then I freelanced for a couple of years before joining Jewish Family Service of San Diego in July, 2006. As of 2013, I am back to freelancing as a grant writer, both for theatres and my own projects, and have gotten increasingly more into directing, especially so far for the La Jolla Theatre Ensemble, a group I co-founded in March, 2010 as the Riford Readers Theatre, which performs at the La Jolla Community Center and has also branched out to performing elsewhere; we have also performed many times at the La Jolla Public Library and several at St. James by-the-Sea Episcopal Church, as well as a series of baseball-related plays produced at the Tenth Avenue Theater downtown the summer the Major League Baseball All-Star Game was held in San Diego at Petco Park. Before the pandemic, I had produced nearly 90 staged readings and other events with the La Jolla Theatre Ensemble over a ten-year period... We return in June of 2021 with a very special program, STILL, WE RISE, a Celebration of Resilience with jazz by the Rob Thorsen Trio (with Rob on the upright bass, Alexander Anderson on keys and Richard Sellers on percussion) and poetry by Maya Angelou, Amanda Gorman, Langston Hughes, Yolanda Marie Franklin, and Ernie McCray, as performed by Yolanda and Ernie themselves. Specialties: Works of classical theatre, especially Shakespeare. I have acted in two-thirds of the canon; and, in addition to performing in more than a dozen staged readings either of Shakespeare's plays or works based on them, at one point I had acted in at least one full production of a Shakespeare play 24 of 26 years. (That streak was unsustainable as Shakespeare productions in the San Diego area have dropped off considerably the last half-dozen years.)
Played Pistol and Westmoreland in HENRY V, directed by Richard Baird and Matthew Henerson, October 23 - November 9 at the ion theatre BLK BOX space in Hillcrest: 3704 Sixth Avenue; San Diego, CA 92103. Also: directed the Staged Reading of New Fortune's Artistic Director Richard Baird's adaptation of Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray," Monday, October 27th @ 7:30pm, also at ion theatre.
Co-founded w D.Huchel @the Riford Ctr, now the LJ Community Ctr: 6811 LJ Blvd 92037. 1st: Riford Readers Theatre; now: LA JOLLA THEATRE ENSEMBLE Director & Actor or Narrator: stgd readings of A VIEW From The BRIDGE; TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE, STEEL MAGNOLIAS; ROUNDING THIRD; The TRIP To BOUNTIFUL; HARVEY; GIFT Of The MAGI w Oscar Wilde Fairy Tales,"The Fisherman & His Soul"+"The Happy Prince" ('12) & "The Star Child"+"The Devoted Friend"('13). JUNE, '13 & FEB '15: DRIVING MISS DAISY w Connie Korn, Ernie McCray, Tom Andrew JULY '13: ON GOLDEN POND w Ed Eigner, Jamie Henkin, Gabe Krut, Roberta Wolff, J.Tessmer, Nick Young AUG: MORNING'S At SEVEN (also 2010), this time in Ctr's outdoor courtyard, w Lucy Ann Albert, June Gottlieb, Lauren Griffo, Patrick Hubbard, Karen Menin, Neal Sullivan, Geo.Weinberg-Harter, R.Wolff, J.Tessmer OCT: GRACE & GLORIE w Lucy A.Albert, Laura Bohlin JAN '14: CHAPTER TWO, Dir. by Geo. Bailey+Kristen Fogle, w K.Fogle, Chris Pittman, Daisy Talley, J.Tessmer FEB '14: LOVE IS A MANY-SPLENDORED THING, variety show w music, comedy, poetry+song APR: CLOSE TIES JUNE: DIXIE SWIM CLUB w Katherine Brecka, Barb Cole, Kathi Copeland, L.Griffo AUG: LADY FROM THE SEA w Rin & Graham Ehlers-Sheldon, Tyler Jones, Tatiana Mac, Molly O'Meara, Rob Biter, G. Weinberg-Harter, J.Tessmer SEP: THE GLASS MENAGERIE w Erika Phillips, K.Brecka,Tyler Hewes, J.Tessmer DEC:TINY TIM'S XMAS CAROL FEB 15: MARY, MARY w E.Phillips, T.Andrew, Walter Ritter,Amanda Schaar, J.Tessmer MAR: THE CLEARING MAY: ROCKET To The MOON SUMMER: ALAS, POOR YORICK; RAY'S LAST CASE, AMICI FALL: 4 By ARTHUR MILLER; THE SEAGULL; WITTENBERG WINTER 16: PERMANENT COLLECTION; JOHN GABRIEL BORKMAN SPRING: THE ULTIMATE SHAKESPEARE PROOF; COOPERSTOWN; INVENTING VAN GOGH SUMMER: MR. RICKEY CALLS A MEETING; CAT On A HOT TIN ROOF; I'M NOT RAPPAPORT FALL: SHERLOCK HOLMES & The LEGACY Of BLOOD; PHOEBE IN WINTER DEC: CHRISTMAS CAROL Classic Radio Play JAN '17: THE SAVANNAH DISPUTATION FEB: IN WHITE AMERICA
I work as a standardized patient, simulating actual patients with a condition and/or chief complaint as well as their history.... I also on occasion work as a trainer and/or as a quality control monitor for the program.
Work as a standardized patient for the UCSD Medical School, playing patients with various and sundry conditions: e.g. back pain, shoulder pain, chest pain, etc.
Seasonal Position for LJMS's annual SUMMERFEST, August 3 - 27, 2016...(!)....