The Yay - A Bay Area Theatre Podcast
Episode 372: Dr. Austin Dean Ashford
Jake and I next welcome Dr. Austin Dean Ashford – Latin Grammy nominated artist and playwright who’s one man show, Rap Monologues, is part of TheatreWorks’ New Works Festival – he next performs on Saturday (Aug 15th) at 8pm. Dr. Ashford has performed at the Kennedy Center and his show, Austin Dean Ashford Live, is on Amazon Prime Video. Jake and I talk about his background, his work in the bay area and where he’s going in the future. You can reach Dr. Ashford directly via Instagram: @draustindeanashford If you had ever went to a Douglas Morrison Production, you would have seen amazingly built sets, created by the resident set designer, Tom Earlywine. Most of the staff was let go immediately after COVID, but all of us remember the excellent work of Tom. I’m sad to report that Tom passed away June 16, after a heart attack – he leaves behind his wife and two children. They have a Go Fund Me page to help them with funeral bills and other financial demands – if you ever cared for the great work of Tom Earlywine, I invite you to give – whatever you have. The link to the page is here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/supporting-jenny-peter-and-sally-after-toms-passing?utm_id=97758_v0_s00_e227_tv2_tp1_a1dennhbg3mj0m SHOWS: The Prince, Part II (Central Works) Aug 1 – Sept 6 (Pt. II) Brennan Pickman-Thoon (Episode 281) is in the show Marah Sotelo (Episode 124) is in Part II Gary Graves (Episodes 24 & 277) wrote and directed the show https://centralworks.org Hairspray (SF Playhouse) July 10 – Sept 12 Adam Kuveniemann (Episode 274) is in the show https://sfplayhouse.org/2025-2026-season/hairspray/ Present Laughter (Orinda Starlight Players) July 24 – August 15 Max Chang (Episode 247) is in the show https://www.orsvp.org/present-laughter Antony & Cleopatra (SF Shakes) July 25 – Sept 27 Elizabeth Carter (Episode 159) is in the show https://sfshakes.org/performance/free-shakes/ac/ Manning (Crowded Fire) Sept 5 – Sept 26 Sarah Jiang (Episode 367) is in the show https://www.crowdedfire.org/manning/ El Silencio Arido Del Agua or The Arid Silence of the Water (Brava) Aug 5 – Aug 16 Virginia Blanco (Episode 238) is directing the show Taylor Gonzalez (Episode 342) is the projectionist and programmer for the show https://www.brava.org/all-events/lelsilencio-5bpzg Julius Caesar (Marin Shakes) Aug 14 – Sept 13 Jon Tracy (Episode 169) is in the show Brady Morales-Woolery (Episode 305) is in the show Dave Garrett (Episode 123) is in the show Ray Archie (Episode 365) is the sound designer David Maier (Episode 301) is the fight coordinator Jeunee Simon (Episode 297) is the intimacy coordinator https://www.marinshakespeare.org/julius-caesar/ A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Actor’s Ensemble) Aug 22 – Sept 7 Cynthia Lagodzinski (Episodes 96 & 266) is in the show Bruce Kaplan (Episode 294) is in the show https://www.aeofberkeley.org/94-news/latest-news/430-a-midsummer-night-s-dream-opens-august-22nd-2026 South Pacific (6th Street Playhouse) Aug 21 – Sept 20 Eiko Moon-Yamamoto (Episodes 120 & 225) is in the show https://6thstreetplayhouse.com/shows/rodgers-hammersteins-south-pacific/ Eureka Day (City Lights Theatre) Sept 24 – Oct 18 Kimberly Ridgeway (Episodes 155 & 251) is in the show Jonathan Spector (Episode 280) wrote this Tony winning play https://cltc.org/event/eureka-day/ Follow us on Facebook and Bluesky (TheYayPodcast)
