Theatre Rhinoceros to Present PERICLES in May

Theatre Rhinoceros & Yerba Buena Gardens Festival will present PERICLES by William Shakespeare, conceived and directed by John Fisher, May 26-27, 2023 at Yerba Buena Gardens. Performances are free.

To those who have seen and loved Theatre Rhinoceros' queer outdoor Shakespeare revels of years past, which have included high-drama tragedies like King Lear, Titus Andronicus, and Macbeth, Pericles might seem like a wildcard. Historians often group Pericles, Prince of Tyre with The Tempest and The Winter's Tale, Shakespeare's later romances; indeed they share a tragicomic, darker tone and fantasy-like structure, which oddly makes Pericles the perfect selection to showcase Rhino's talented ensemble against the unique and beautiful architecture of Yerba Buena Gardens and its surrounding structures.

Pericles follows the journey of the titular prince (played by Bay Area newcomer Sam Hattersley), as he scrambles with only his wits and best intentions to keep his family alive against a string of vengeful acts by the gods of his world - pursued by an incestuous king's assassin, he marries a princess he barely knows, only to have her die at sea, forcing him to leave his daughter (Berkeley Shakespeare & African-American Shakespeare Company alum Mars Holscher) with a jealous Royal Foster couple, who allow her to be kidnapped by brothel workers. It's a bizarre marriage of the Christian story of Job and Homer's Odyssey, which somehow still manages to tie everything up happily at the end.

The traveling production, at its heart, shows off downtown San Francisco with love, inviting audience members to take the time to truly see the landscape of Yerba Buena Gardens, the architecture, the streets, the people performing, and the people simply passing by. Pericles is set at sea, but it is also very much set in the immediate city, with the hopes of allowing San Franciscans old and new to experience or re-experience the iconic park, and maybe encounter parts of it they hadn't considered before.

Pericles is directed by Theatre Rhinoceros' Executive Artistic Director John Fisher as part of the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival. The performance begins at the Stone Stage and travels all over the gardens.

Theatre Rhinoceros was founded in 1977, and is the longest running LGBTQ+ theatre in the nation. We develop and produce works of theatre that enlighten, enrich, and explore both the ordinary and the extraordinary aspects of our queer community. Our emphasis is on new works, works about under-represented members of the larger queer community, and revivals of lesser-known queer classics. Over the years Theatre Rhinoceros has received many awards of recognition including: Theatre Rhinoceros Day in the City Proclamation from Mayor Gavin Newsom, State Assembly Certificate of Recognition from Senator Mark Leno, recognitions from Congressperson Nancy Pelosi and Assembly Persons Tom Ammiano and Carole Migden, numerous Cable Car, BATCC and TBA Awards and Nominations, and the GLAAD Media Award for Best LGBT Theatre.

The Artists

Sarah Catherine Chan (Dionyza & others), a Bay Area native, loved music, singing, track and field, friends, and giving speeches in class. She felt her heart lived somewhere in presentations when she was growing up. She attended UC Davis, where she majored in Economics, minored in Psychology, majored in becoming an All-American Triple Jumper, and minored in learning that mistakes are OK. Sarah is looking forward to playing Mary in THE LANGUAGE ARCHIVE at Masquers Playhouse, as well as Huck in THE FANTASTICKS at the Chanticleers Theatre in the Fall.

Michael DeMartini (Cerimon & others) is amazed, thrilled, and extremely humbled to still be storytelling with Theatre Rhinoceros, since his first performance with the company in Victor Bumbalo's KITCHEN DUTY in 1980. A few of his more recent credits include, THE ADDAMS FAMILY (Uncle Fester), CAROLINE, OR CHANGE (Mr. Stopnick), and JERUSALEM (the Professor). As a native San Franciscan, Michael feels blessed to still be able to call it 'home', and would like to dedicate this outdoor romp to truly dear San Francisco pioneers in his life - Allan, Kevin, Tom...and Nello!

John Fisher (Director, Antiochus & others) recently completed an eight-month run of his show A HISTORY OF WORLD WAR II at The Marsh, after playing two successful runs of the show in Manhattan (United Solo Festival/Theatre Row - Best Actor Award - and Pangea Performance Venue) and another in Los Angeles (The Broadwater.) He is a two-time winner of the Will Glickman Playwright Award, as well as being a recipient of the GLAAD Media Award, the Theatre Bay Area Award, two Cable Car Awards, The Bay Guardian Goldie Award, the BackStage West Garland Award, and seven Critics' Circle Awards. His plays include the award-winning ACTION HERO, SHAKESPEARE GOES TO WAR, TO SLEEP AND DREAM, COMBAT!, and MEDEA, THE MUSICAL. His ESP solo enterprise has racked up 94 shows to date in NYC and San Francisco and were the recipient of a special citation from the Bay Area Critics Circle.

Sam Hattersley (Pericles & others) is thrilled to join Theatre Rhinoceros for their production of PERICLES. Sam is a soon to be graduate of San Francisco State University. Some of Sam's favorite roles include Duke Orsino in TWELFTH NIGHT, Demetrius in A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, and Vindici in THE REVENGER'S TRAGEDY. Sam would like to thank their friends and family for the endless support.

Mars Holscher (Marina & others) feels beyond grateful to be a part of her first production with Theatre Rhinoceros! Her past roles include Laura Wingfield in THE GLASS MENAGERIE (The African-American Shakespeare Company) and Fabian in TWELFTH NIGHT (Berkeley Shakespeare Company). When Mars isn't acting in plays, she's writing them. One of her favorite roles was Tox, an evil spirit in her own horror play, "Shouldn't You Be Terrified?" She's also a medical coder by day and regularly trains Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Crystal Liu (Assistant Director, Thaisa & others) has performed with, worked backstage for, and held administrative positions in theater companies all over the Bay Area. She holds BAs in Theater and Anthropology from Yale University and was recently seen onstage in productions with Pear Theatre and Awesome Theatre, and in the SF Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band's annual "Dance-Along Nutcracker". She is particularly interested in theatre with emphasis on education, youth, and marginalized communities and is thrilled to be performing with Theatre Rhinoceros again.

Flannery Mays (Thaliard & others) is originally from Los Angeles and was last seen as Roxanne in A SLICE OF LIFE at Theatre Rhinoceros. Flannery is currently part of The Pan Theater Improv Troupe and the Dinner Detective Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre. She starred in two independent features, as Nika in "A Man Goes On a Killing Spree" and Joan in "The Last Day of Retrograde," which received Best Overall Feature and Best Gender-Queer/Non- Binary Representation at the 2022 Merced Queer Film Festival. Flannery is wrapping up her first co-directed short film as the principal actor in "The Elements".

Raye Narra (Stage Manager) got started with stage managing for solo performance in 2018 with The Marsh in San Francisco and Berkeley. Raye is excited and honored to work with the talented team of creative minds bringing PERICLES to life here at The Rhino.

Pati Shojaee (Gower/Diana & others) is an adjunct professor at San Francisco State University and a stand-up comic. PERICLES is Pati's debut with Theatre Rhino.

Photo Credit: Vince Thomas

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