The Marsh Unveils New Guest Line-up For Stephanie's Marshstream

The Marsh welcomes a diversified line-up of guests for Stephanie's MarshStream - from an acclaimed playwright to a leader at the forefront of curriculum education, Bay Area-based actors, a longtime public radio journalist, and more. The Marsh Founder/Artistic Director Stephanie Weisman will explore topics that include when artists can bend ethics for art's sake, how to navigate online dating in the 21st century, the unforeseen impact of technology on culture and lifestyle, the incredible influence of Nelson Mandela, and much more. Weisman will be joined by Wayne Harris (Jan. 21); Lynne Kaufman, Julia McNeal, and Charles Shaw Robinson (Jan. 28); Darryl Van Leer (Feb. 4); Antonia Kasper (Feb. 11); and Laura Sydell (Feb. 18) for exclusive interviews, performance excerpts, and Q&A throughout the course of this Thursday series. For more information, the public may visit www.themarsh.org/marshstream.

7:30pm, Thursday, January 21 - Special guest Wayne Harris

Award-winning solo performer, writer, educator, curriculum innovator, and musician Wayne Harris has accumulated an impressive body of work over the years that include five full-length plays, presentations for schools, directing and designing for pageantry groups as well as various musical projects. In 2013 Harris was asked by the U.S. State Department to perform and hold storytelling workshops in Jerusalem and the West Bank, where he premiered The Letter, his piece about Martin Luther King in Birmingham. Since then his latest play, Mother's Milk: A Blues Riff in Three Acts, has played to enthusiastic audiences winning "Best of Fringe" at the 2014 San Francisco International Fringe Festival. Harris was the Director of Marsh Youth Theater and a Resident Teaching Artist for Stagebridge, an intergenerational theater located in Oakland. With the help and assistance of Bay Area educators, he has performed traditional and new tales of America's most famous African American mythological character, developing a standards-based curriculum and performance that explores the power of myth and storytelling. In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, this interview will be focused on The Letter.

7:30pm, Thursday, January 28 - Special guests Lynne Kaufman, Julia McNeal, and Charles Shaw Robinson

Stephanie Weisman interviews playwright Lynne Kaufman about her new work, Divine Madness, along with its stars, Julia McNeal and Charles Shaw Robinson, who will perform a short excerpt from the play. Divine Madness will be presented January 30 and 31 on MarshStream. Kaufman is the author of 20 full-length plays that have been produced in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and Louisville at such theatres as Magic Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, and many more. Three of Kaufman's works, Acid Test, Two Minds and Who Killed Sylvia Plath, have premiered on stage at The Marsh, while two of her other works, Exposing Margaret Mead and Who Killed Sylvia Plath, have appeared on The Marsh's digital platform, MarshStream. Her plays have won many awards including the Glickman Award for Best New Play (The Couch), the Kennedy Center's Fund for New American Plays Award (Speaking in Tongues), and the Neil Simon Festival New Play Award (William Blake in Hollywood). Actors McNeal and Robinson are favorites on local stages. McNeal has appeared at the Magic Theatre, American Conservatory Theater (ACT), Shotgun Players, SF Playhouse, Marin Theatre Company, and others, and been seen in multiple television and film projects. Robinson is well-known for leading roles at SF Playhouse, Marin Theatre Company, California Shakespeare Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, among others, and has appeared at major regional theaters across the US.

7:30pm, Thursday, February 4 - Special guest Darryl Van Leer

Kicking off Black History Month, Darryl Van Leer joins Stephanie Weisman for an exclusive interview, performance excerpts, and Q&A prior to his Solo Performer Spotlight performance of Mandela: Let Freedom Reign on February 6. Over his career, Van Leer has shared the screen with James Earl Jones, Samuel Jackson, Gregory Harrison, Rue McClanahan, and Beau Bridges. Among his starring roles, Van Leer was a tough-love father in the movie, First Time, the story of Jackie Robinson, and co-starred with Gregory Harrison in Aaron Spelling's weekly series Safe Harbor. He became one of four finalists in TLC's The Messengers series devoted to America's great inspirational speakers, has co-starred in TV shows including One Tree Hill and Sheena, and been featured in the HBO original movies, The Second Civil War and Up Against the Wall, Fox's Steel Chariots and NBC's Witness to the Execution.

7:30pm, Thursday, February 11 - Special guest Antonia Kasper

Prior to her Solo Performer Spotlight performance of 45 Coffee Dates on February 13, writer, producer, actress, and director Antonia Kasper joins Stephanie Weisman for an exclusive interview, performance excerpt, and Q&A. Kasper has performed stand-up at Gotham Comedy Club, Broadway Comedy Club, and has studied at Circle in The Square Theatre School and The Actors Studio. Throughout her career, she has written, produced, directed, and performed theatrical projects throughout the United States as well as in Europe. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kasper founded The Solo Artists' Mastermind Group, which meets monthly via Zoom and helps seasoned solo performers stay creative, supportive, and accountable in their artistic pursuits. Her production company, Kasper Productions, focuses on women-geared material. Since writing 45 Coffee Dates, Kasper has made guest speaker appearances as a dating expert and formed The Dating Smart Workshops for both men and women.

7:30pm, Thursday, February 18- Special guest Laura Sydell

Longtime public radio journalist Laura Sydell joins Stephanie Weisman for an exclusive interview and Q&A. Over her career, Sydell has covered politics, arts, media, religion, and entrepreneurship. Her work focuses on the ways in which technology is transforming our culture and how we live. Before joining NPR in 2003, Sydell served as a Senior Technology Reporter for American Public Media's Marketplace, where her reporting focused on the human impact of new technologies and the personalities behind the Silicon Valley boom and bust. Her reporting on race relations, city politics, and arts was honored with numerous awards from organizations such as The Newswomen's Club of New York, The New York Press Club, and The Society of Professional Journalists. American Women in Radio and Television, The National Federation of Community Broadcasters, and Women in Communications have all honored Sydell for her long-form radio documentary work focused on individuals whose life experiences turned them into activists. She is currently the Digital Culture Correspondent for NPR's All Things Considered, Morning Edition, Weekend Edition, and NPR.org.

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