
Please join us for this exciting new theatrical work created by our students. This devised play will combine acting, singing, dancing, poetry and stand-up . We’re giving voice to our community experience of the past three challenging years! Instructor Reed Martin guides the collaborative process, having been involved in the development of new student works at UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, Napa Valley College, and San Joaquin Delta College.
This production contains potentially triggering content, including themes of eating disorders, self-harm and suicide, and may not be suitable for all audiences.
RUNNING TIME
90 minutes without intermission
ARTISTIC
TEAM
Director
Digital Director/Sound Coordinator
Vocal Director
Choreographer/Dance Mentor
Background and Animations Designer
Costume Designer
Makeup and Hair Designer
Stage Manager
Assistant Stage Manager
Makeup and Design Mentor
REED MARTIN
THEO BRIDANT
TINA LLOYD MEALS
ALYCE FINWALL
AMBER MACLEAN
ARIEL ALLEN
TERRY ZAVALA
ALLY BRAY
DIYA THAPLIYAL
COLEEN SCOTT TRIVETT
DIRECTOR'S NOTES
Life is about the stories we tell and the stories we hear. “overcome” is a show about stories, specifically personal stories from the lives of the cast. The title “overcome” has two meanings: things that overcome us, and things that we overcome. “overcome” is a devised show – meaning rehearsals began without a script. The performers have written all their own material based on their life experiences – stories, songs, scenes, poems, and dances.
So often actors are dependent on someone else to give them work. “overcome” has given the cast the opportunity to learn how to develop their own self-generated material and create their own art. I hope audiences are as inspired by these writers/performers as I have been.
Reed Martin
"Zoom-a-rama"
"Opening Song"
"This Ain't Everest"
"Ghost in the Machine"
"Three Years Gone"
"One Step At A Time"
"Fire Behind My Eyes"
"Mistake"
“Resilience Redefined”
"Grow A Spine"
"Overjoyed"
"More Than She Bargained For"
"Covie"
"Unforgettable"
"Seven Clients, Seven Days"
“Dreams.....Perhaps?”
"Let Go"
"Lunch Bunch"
"Lockdown"
"What You Know"
"Stream of Conciousness"
"Dear Universe"
"I'm Sorry...I Love You"
"McBrain"
"Autistic Girl"
"Overcome"
Ensemble. Written by Norman Eisley and Chris Shayota
Emma LeFever, Grace Mosier
Spencer J. Scruggs, Sky Hernandez-Simard
Alexx Killian
Spencer J. Scruggs
Christopher Shayota
Rachel Calos
Samuel J. Gleason
Kira Catanzaro, Gwendolyn Phair, Chinel Kremesec
Grace Mosier
Alexx Killian
Peri Zoe Yildirim-Stanley
Emma LeFever
Grace Mosier
Norman Eisley
Peri Zoe Yildirim-Stanley
Emma LeFever
Grace Mosier, Spencer J. Scruggs, Rachel Calos
Peri Zoe Yildirim-Stanley
Samuel J. Gleason, Emma LeFever
Alexx Killian
Sky Hernandez-Simard
Spencer J. Scruggs
Sky Hernandez-Simard, Emma LeFever, Alexx Killian
Rachel Calos
Ensemble*
*Music and Lyrics by Norman Eisley and Spencer J. Scruggs.
Arranged by Tina Lloyd Meals.
This performance of overcome combines
spoken word, song and dance, all devised by the ensemble.
RACHEL CALOS is a Theatre Arts major and is on track to get her Associate of Arts for Transfer. Having performed in many local productions, her favorite role was Fifi Garcia in How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents. Recently she worked on run crew for SRJC’s show, Murder on the Orient Express.
KIRA CATANZARO is completing her Acting Certificate at SRJC where she played Sister Berthe in the Sound of Music and Cinderella’s Stepmother in Into the Woods. She has performed at Spreckels Theater Company, 6th Street Playhouse, and Sonoma Theatre Alliance. She designed costumes for It’s a Wonderful Life last fall.
NORMAN EISLEY is thrilled to be performing with SRJC Theatre Arts for the first time. He’s been acting off and on since he was twelve and has been a professional storyteller for over 25 years. When not howling at the moon he is a Scoutmaster, Teacher, and Financial Advisor.
SAMUEL J. GLEASON is an alumnus of the ArtQuest Theatre Arts program at SRHS and is glad to be back at SRJC since performing in The Cripple of Inishmaan last spring. His past credits include A Christmas Carol (Young Scrooge), Rocky Horror (Phantom), and The Tempest (Caliban).
SKY HERNANDEZ-SIMARD is a returning student to the SRJC Theatre Arts program, after completing her Bachelors of Music degree at Sonoma State. This is Sky’s second time performing in a virtual show at SRJC having performed in the role of Mrs. Hubbard in Murder on the Orient Express last fall.
ALEXX KILLIAN has studied with the Lesher Center for the Arts and has been involved in a variety of roles including the Seven Corpse Murder Mystery dinner theatre, and various shows with the Champaign-Urbana Theatre Company. This is their sixth show with the SRJC and they couldn’t be more thrilled to be a part of this unique production.
CHINEL KREMESEC has taken several acting classes at SRJC, most recently Shakespeare Workshop. She has fought numerous health issues for much of her life. Despite those issues, she is pursuing a career in acting and is grateful to be a part of this show, which is her first production at SRJC.
EMMA LEFEVER is thrilled to return to SRJC Theatre Arts after attending her first year at Pacific Conservatory of Performing Arts (PCPA) in Santa Maria. Emma has performed in several shows at SRJC and in Sonoma County Community Theatres. She is tremendously grateful for such a freeing and creative opportunity.
GRACE MOSIER has performed in multiple high-level choirs and most recently played Amaryllis in The Music Man at Maria Carrillo High School. Grace is finishing her second year at SRJC with a degree in Humanities and loves learning new languages. She is so happy to be participating in her first production at SRJC!
GWENDOLYN PHAIR has performed with Cinnabar Theatre, 6th Street Playhouse, The Ross Valley Players, and Novato Theatre Company. A favorite role is Young Mona in Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean. She has studied tap, jazz, ballet and Irish dance. Recently, she was in SRJC’s She Kills Monsters.
SPENCER J. SCRUGGS is a Theater Arts major and a folk singer-songwriter. He has classically trained in the arts since 2005. He has worked on many productions including the role of Sammy in SRJC’s The Wedding Singer and several Hollywood productions. He plans to earn his BFA in Acting while continuing his career in Folk Rock Music.
CHRISTOPHER SHAYOTA is a student of Music and Theatre Arts at Santa Rosa Junior College. He has performed locally at Sonoma State University, Redwood Theatre Company, and 6th Street Playhouse. His SRJC credits include the ensembles of Into the Woods and Shrek the Musical, and the Professor in All the Great Books [abridged].
PERI ZOE YILDIRIM-STANLEY is excited to be in her second production at SRJC, after performing in last season’s It’s a Wonderful Life. In past years, she has performed in many productions, most notably in West Side Story, Gypsy, A Christmas Story, and The Buddy Holly Story. She is currently training in ArtQuest’s Theatre Program.
CAST BIOS
PRODUCTION
CREW
Costume Crew Lead
Costume Crew
Makeup Crew Lead
Makeup Crew
Props Crew
Running Crew
Tech Crew
LORELEI VOEGELS
CLAIRE GRODRIAN
ANJELICA JOSHUA
ALEX JIMENEZ
KATHY PING-ROGERS
RACHEL CALOS
AURELIO AGUILAR
RILEY CRAIG
DANIEL DOW
SAMUEL J. GLEASON
LETTER FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
In the past three years, Theatre Arts has faced many challenges: cancellations due to fires, performing in swing spaces, move-in delays to the remodeled Burbank, and now Covid-19 closures. Thank you for standing by and with our students. We are still here! The show will go on!
We are adapting to our remote world and we are thrilled to welcome you back with inventive online performances for the fall and spring. These remote productions are challenging our staff, student designers and actors to explore bold, new ways of creating our live art form. Some of the shows will be performed completely live online, some will also include prerecorded footage. But rest assured that all of our shows will feature the outstanding production values and fine acting that you have come to expect from SRJC Theatre Arts.
In these astonishing times, the faculty, staff and students raise our voices to join the swelling chorus of solidarity with those crying out their truth and with all those sounding the clarion call that Black Lives Matter and major social change is needed.
With heartfelt appreciation for your support,
Leslie McCauley
Chair/Artistic Director
PRODUCTION TEAM BIOS
ARIEL ALLEN (Costume Designer) has designed costumes with SRJC since 2017, most recently for She Kills Monsters. A freelance Illustrator, she is also a teaching artist with San Francisco's Word for Word Performing Arts and ZSpace. Ariel holds an AA in Illustration and a BFA in Costume Design, both from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.
ALLY BRAY (Stage Manager) has played many roles as an SRJC Theatre Arts student, including Eileen in The Cripple of Inishmaan, ensemble in Jesus Christ Superstar, and ASM for The Good Doctor. She is pursuing a career as an Expressive Arts Therapist, in order to symphonize her work as a Healing Arts Practitioner with her great love of Theatre.
THEO BRIDANT (Digital Director/Sound Coordinator) was the Technical Director for SRJC Theatre Arts from 1991 – 2007. He is currently in the same position for SSU’s Department of Theater and Dance. Theo is also an Adjunct Professor of Technical Theater for SRJC Theatre Arts, and is honored to be a part of such a unique production opportunity in his 30th year as an employee at SRJC.
ALYCE FINWALL (Choreographer/Dance Mentor) Past productions include, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Sound of Music, Shrek, The Little Mermaid, The Wedding Singer and It’s a Wonderful Life. Alyce teaches in the dance and theatre departments at SRJC (MFA Mills College), and is the director of Moving Arts Academy of Dance in San Francisco, and is an American Ballet Theatre certified teacher.
ANGELA HUNTER (Business Manager) is a jack-of-all-trades. She holds AA degrees in Culinary Arts from LA Trade Tech and Merchandise Marketing from FIDM. Most recently she completed her BA in Graphic Design & Media Arts. She is also a mom to two wonderful boys.
TINA LLOYD MEALS (Vocal Coach) has vocal directed for SRJC’s The Sound of Music and It’s a Wonderful Life. She is an experienced music director/performer and sang with the San Francisco Opera Chorus. She trains singers in her private studio and is certified with SLS, Advanced Instructor with IVA, and is a Level 1 instructor with MVT (Modern Vocal Training).
AMBER L. MACLEAN (Background and Animations Designer) has worked in a variety of media for commercials, educational, and cartoons. Her SRJC theatre work includes Into the Woods, Asst. Design for Shrek, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Animation/ Costume design on Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express, where she received an honorable mention at '21 Kennedy Center ACTF.
REED MARTIN (Director) has taught at SRJC since 2007. He’s best known as a writer/performer with the internationally renowned touring comedy troupe Reduced Shakespeare Company. He’s performed twice at the White House, in Madison Square Garden, London, Off-Broadway, plus 46 states and 11 countries. Reed’s written for NPR, the BBC, and the Washington Post.
LESLIE MCCAULEY (Department Chair/Artistic Director) teaches theatre history and acting, with a focus on Shakespeare. Her most recent SRJC directing credit is She Kills Monsters: Virtual Realms. Leslie holds an MFA in Acting from UC Davis and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association. She is also an avid Argentine Tango dancer.
JUSTIN J SMITH (Production Manager/Production Lab Instructor) is new to Sonoma County and is excited to join the fabulous production team here at Theatre Arts. Justin received his MFA from University of Virginia and has worked in several regional theatres across the country including Tony Award-winning Trinity Repertory Company in Providence, Rhode Island and ZaCH theatre in Austin, Texas. For the last 7 years he has worked as the Technical Director for Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas.
COLEEN SCOTT TRIVETT (Faculty/Makeup Mentor) is a new faculty member in costume technology and makeup at Santa Rosa Junior College. She has a Master's Degree in Costume Design from Boston University, is a proud member of IATSE USA Local 892 and has been a professional costume designer for over 20 years, primarily in New York City. Her scholarly monograph, The Costumes of Burlesque: 1866-2018 was published by Routledge, Taylor and Francis in 2019.
DIYA THAPLIYAL (Assistant Stage Manager) is a first-year student at SRJC with previous involvement in theatre management. Her prior experience includes stage managing shows such as The Sound of Music, After Juliet, and Something Wicked This Way Comes at Montgomery High School. Outside of theatre, she is a CS and Engineering major.
TERRY ZAVALA (Makeup/Hair Designer) is a visual fine artist with an interest in makeup design. She has taken Theatrical Makeup Design and is currently in the SFX Makeup class at SRJC. This is her first makeup design for a theatre production.

THEO BRIDANT
PETER CROMPTON
ELIZABETH DALE
LAURA DOWNING-LEE
ALYCE FINWALL
CASANDRA HILLMAN
ANGELA HUNTER
SHANNON JAEGER
ROXIE JOHNSON
JULIA KWITCHOFF
FREYA MARCELIUS
REED MARTIN
LESLIE MCCAULEY
TINA LLOYD MEALS
VINCE MOTHERSBAUGH
JAMES NEWMAN
SARAH MARTIN
COLEEN SCOTT TRIVETT
MARYANNE SCOZZARI
JOHN SHILLINGTON
JUSTIN SMITH
TANYA TOLMASOFF
JANIS DUNSUN WILSON
WENDY WISELY
Instructor/Stagecraft
Instructor/Designer
Instructor/Acting
Instructor/Director
Dance Faculty/Choreographer
Dance Faculty/Dance Concert
Theatre Arts Business Manager
SRT Business Manager
Instructor/Makeup and Hair
Instructor/Designer
Costume Studio Assistant
Instructor/Director
Dept. Chair/Instructor/Director
Vocal Director
Instructor/Lighting
SRT Artistic Director
Box Office Manager
Instructor/Designer/Costumes
Instructor/Designer, retired Spring 2020
Instructor/Director
Instructor/Technical Theatre/Production Mgr
Dance Faculty/Dance Concert
Instructor/Music Director
Instructor/Acting
Frank Chong, Ed.D.
Superintendent/President
Jane Saldana-Talley
Vice President, Academic Affairs/Assistant Superintendent
Kerry Loewen
Dean of Arts & Humanities
DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION
THEATRE ARTS FACULTY & STAFF 2020-2021
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Kerry Loewen
Matthew “Q” McQuaig and Media Services
Ben Trivett
We acknowledge that we gather at Santa Rosa Junior College on the territorial traditional land of the Pomo People in Santa Rosa and the Coast Miwok People in Petaluma, past and present, and honor with gratitude the land itself and the people who have stewarded it throughout the generations.
Thank you for your support
PRODUCTION
STAFF
Artistic Director
Business Manager
Production Manager
Production Crew Instructors
Graphic Artists
Box Office Manager
Publicity and Production Photographer
LESLIE MCCAULEY
ANGELA HUNTER
JUSTIN SMITH
JUSTIN SMITH
COLEEN SCOTT TRIVETT
JESSE HILSENRAD
ANGELA HUNTER
SARAH MARTIN
THOMAS CHOWN
